"Trouble" is a song by British female

pop music Pop music is a genre of popular music that originated in its modern form during the mid-1950s in the United States and the United Kingdom. The terms ''popular music'' and ''pop music'' are often used interchangeably, although the former describ ...

duo

Shampoo Shampoo () is a hair care product, typically in the form of a viscous liquid, that is used for cleaning hair. Less commonly, shampoo is available in solid bar format. Shampoo is used by applying it to wet hair, massaging the product into th ...

, released as the first single from their debut album, ''We Are Shampoo'' (1994). It peaked at 11 on the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

and reached the top 20 in Australia, Belgium, Finland and the Netherlands, as well as No. 37 in Canada. Attempting to break into the US market, the song was released as a promotional single for the 1995 film '' Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Movie'', in anticipation of the release of the US version of ''We Are Shampoo''. A new

music video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing devi ...

was filmed featuring clips from the ''Power Rangers'' film. '' NME'' magazine ranked "Trouble" at No. 23 on their list of the 50 best songs of 1994.

Release

The US promotional campaign for Shampoo, which centred on the single "Trouble", was described by ''

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'' as a massive effort. In addition to releasing the song as a promotion single for the ''Power Rangers'' film, 15,000 promotional cassettes of "Trouble" were given away at Wet Seal stores, as were coupons for the full album, and a video-reel containing music videos for "Trouble" and Shampoo's other singles, "Delicious" and "Viva La Megababes" was made, with the hopes of finding in-store play at over 200 music retail outlets.

Critical reception

Tom Demalon from

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the dat ...

said that within seconds of hearing the track "most listeners will either be gleefully giggling along with the girls or scrambling for the stop button." While reviewing the ''Jawbreaker'' soundtrack, another editor, Doug Stone spoke favourably of the track, and Jonathan Bernstein from '' Spin'' described it as Shampoo's version of " No Sleep till Brooklyn", stating the song catapulted them to success, particularly in Japan.

Larry Flick Larry Flick is an American journalist, former dance music columnist, single reviewer, and Senior Talent Editor for ''Billboard'' magazine, where he worked for 14 years. Now he produces and hosts Sirius XM radio shows. Flick started in the music ...

from ''

'' stated the song was just as goofy as the ''Power Rangers'' film it was supporting, and that it would probably only be of interest to children and

top 40 In the music industry, the Top 40 is the current, 40 most-popular songs in a particular genre. It is the best-selling or most frequently broadcast popular music. Record charts have traditionally consisted of a total of 40 songs. "Top 40" or "conte ...

radio as a novelty. Caroline Sullivan from ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper A newspaper is a periodical publication containing written information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background. Newspapers can cover a wide ...

'' said, "The music is in the pouting, yelping tradition of

the Slits The Slits were a punk and post-punk band based in London, formed there in 1976 by members of the groups the Flowers of Romance and the Castrators. The group's early line-up consisted of Ari Up (Ariane Forster) and Palmolive (a.k.a. Paloma ...

, cushioned by the most basic of backbeats. Fetching enough, but their self-conscious emphasis on the minutiae of adolescence ('School is boring, let's go home') is tiresome." Chuck Campbell from ''

Knoxville News Sentinel The ''Knoxville News Sentinel, also known as Knox News,'' is a daily newspaper in Knoxville, Tennessee, United States, owned by the Gannett Company. History The newspaper was formed in 1926 from the merger of two competing newspapers: ''The ...

'' declared "Trouble" as "a romping tale of party girls who stay out too late and can't get home". In his weekly UK chart commentary,

James Masterton James Masterton (born 2 September 1973) is a music writer and columnist, his work focusing on the UK Singles Chart having been an online fixture on various sites since the 1990s. Masterton is also a producer for talkSPORT, and has worked on air a ...

commented, "Whether they can be any more than a summer novelty is open to question and I will watch with interest." Pan-European magazine ''

Music & Media ''Music & Media'' was a pan-European magazine for radio, music and entertainment. It was published for the first time in 1984 as ''Eurotipsheet'', but in 1986 it changed name to ''Music & Media''. It was originally based in Amsterdam, but later ...

'' wrote, "Please meet Jacqui & Carrie. Headmasters beware of these schoolgirl versions of Polly Styrene (

X-Ray Specs X-ray specs or X-ray glasses are an American novelty item, purported to allow users to see through or into solid objects. In reality, the spectacles merely create an optical illusion; no X-rays are involved. The current paper version is sold und ...

) and ex-

Transvision Vamp Transvision Vamp were an English pop rock band. Formed in 1986 by Nick Christian Sayer and Wendy James, the band enjoyed chart success in the late 1980s, particularly in 1989. James, the lead singer and focal-point of the group, attracted med ...

Wendy James provoking with punky bubble gum pop." An editor, Robbert Tilli, compared their style to the likes of

Bananarama Bananarama are an English pop duo from London, formed as a trio in 1980 by friends Sara Dallin, Siobhan Fahey and Keren Woodward. Fahey left the group in 1988 and was replaced by Jacquie O'Sullivan until 1991, when the trio became a duo. The ...

, Transvision Vamp and

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. Alan Jones from ''

Music Week ''Music Week'' is a trade publication for the UK record industry distributed via a website and a monthly print magazine. It is published by Future. History Founded in 1959 as '' Record Retailer'', it relaunched on 18 March 1972 as ''Music W ...

'' said, "Taking their cue from

the B-52's The B-52's, also styled as The B-52s, are an American new wave band formed in Athens, Georgia, in 1976. The original lineup consisted of Fred Schneider (vocals, percussion), Kate Pierson (vocals, keyboards, synth bass), Cindy Wilson (vocals, ...

, circa " Love Shack", Shampoo are not one of the most original bands around, but they are good fun. Sure to score."

Music videos

The original

for the song was directed by Chris D'Adda. It features the girls trying to get home from central London after a night out, as their lyrics describe. The re-make music video to promote '' Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Movie'' features new footage of the girls singing to the camera, intercut with footage from the film.

Appearances

In addition to the ''Power Rangers'' film and soundtrack, the song featured on the soundtrack of the 1996 film ''

Foxfire Foxfire, also called fairy fire and chimpanzee fire, is the bioluminescence created by some species of fungi present in decaying wood. The bluish-green glow is attributed to a luciferase, an oxidative enzyme, which emits light as it reacts with ...

'' and the 1999 film '' Jawbreaker''. The song is sung by characters in the 1997 film ''

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'', though it was not included on the film's soundtrack, and it also appears in episode three of the TV series '' Clueless''. In 2007 the cast of the film '' St Trinians'' recorded a cover of the song, which was released on the film's soundtrack. The cast also recorded a music video for the song.

Zebrahead Zebrahead is an American rap-punk band from La Habra, California. Formed in 1996, the band has released thirteen studio albums to date. History 1996–2001: Formation and early years Zebrahead was formed in La Habra, California in summe ...

covered the song on their 2009 album ''

Panty Raid A panty raid was an American 1950s and early 1960s college prank in which large groups of male students attempted to invade the living quarters of female students and steal their panties (undergarments) as the trophies of a successful raid. The ...

''. Lyrics from the song are referenced in the 2014 single " Double Bubble Trouble" by M.I.A.

Track listing

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Release history

References

{{Authority control 1994 singles 1994 songs 20th Century Fox Records singles Atlantic Records singles Food Records singles I.R.S. Records singles Shampoo (duo) songs