Louchie Lou & Michie One

Louchie Lou & Michie One
Origin	United Kingdom
Genres	Reggae
Years active	1993–1998
Labels	FFRR Records, China Records, Indochina Records
Past members
Louise Gold (Louchie Lou) Michelle Charles (Michie One)

Louchie Lou & Michie One (Louise Gold and Michelle Charles^[1]) were a female reggae/rap duo from London, who met in 1991 at a Rebel MC gig.^[2] They found the backing of the independent record label, Fashion Records, for their debut single, "Rich Girl".^[2] Switching to London Records in 1993, they made their musical debut in the UK Singles Chart that year with their number 7 hit, "Shout".^[1][2] It was a mash-up of the 1964 Lulu hit, originally recorded by The Isley Brothers, with the Henry Mancini composition, the "Peter Gunn theme" as performed by The Art of Noise and Duane Eddy from 1986.

After protracted legal wranglings they eventually signed to China Records in 1994, and worked on their debut album in Jamaica with Sly and Robbie, and then in Los Angeles, California with Quincy Jones' son, QDIII.^[2] II Be Free, was released in October 1995 and contained the singles "Rich Girl" and "Champagne & Wine".^[2] They also went on to headline the Japansplash festival alongside Shaggy, Snow and Barrington Levy, performing to audiences of over 100,000, while further tours of Japan and the Far East served to strengthen their popularity in the Asian market.^[2]

Their second album, Danger-Us, released in the summer of 1996, featured the single "The Honeymoon Is Over" as well as a cover version of the Brazilian hit, "Crickets Sing For Anamaria". The same year they were featured as vocalists on Suggs' hit, "Cecilia".^[1] Danger-Us again featured QDIII and Sly and Robbie, with additional production work by Jazzwad (Buju Banton, Shabba Ranks) and Buzz Productions (Maxi Priest, Barrington Levy).^[2]

The duo left China Records in the spring of 1998 and signed a new recording contract with Interscope Records.^[2] They have since released various compilation albums, including 7 Years Of Plenty.

Michie One released a solo album entitled Power of One, although this was not issued in the UK. She is currently working on further solo material, and featuring her vocals on dance music tracks.

Discography

Studio albums

• 1995: II Be Free
• 1996: Danger-Us

Compilation albums

• 2001: 7 Years of Plenty

Singles

• "Shout" (1993) - UK #7
• "Somebody Else's Guy" (1993) - UK #54
• "Rich Girl" (1994) - UK #?
• "Get Down On It" (1995) - UK #58
• "Cecilia" (1996) - UK #4 †
• "Good Sweet Lovin'" (1996) - UK #34
• "No More Alcohol" (1996) - UK #24 †

† Credited to Suggs featuring Louchie Lou and Michie One ^[1]

References

1. ^ ^{a b c d} Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 330. ISBN 1-904994-10-5. 
2. ^ ^{a b c d e f g h} NME.com