Lash

Few bands can claim their story began with a thousand-dollar prize and ended with a Hollywood film franchise, but Lash was never an ordinary band. Formed in Perth, Western Australia, this all-female pop-punk quartet brought raw energy, sharp melodies, and undeniable talent to the Australian music scene throughout the late 1990s and early 2000s. Their journey from Catholic school corridors to national radio dominance is one of the most compelling stories in Australian pop-punk history.

The seeds of Lash were planted at Santa Maria College, where Belinda-Lee Reid, Jaclyn Pearson, Jessicca Bennett, and Micaela Slayford first discovered their shared love of music. Just weeks after forming, the group — then performing under the name Exteria — boldly entered the West Australian Music Industry Awards in 1996, submitting their original song Aloha Mr Hand into the Open Youth Category for the under-18s WAM Song of the Year. The gamble paid off spectacularly, with the young band claiming the grand prize and catching the eye of manager Andrew Klippel, setting the wheels of their musical destiny firmly in motion.

After years of honing their craft, the band reemerged in 2001 with a new name and a record deal. Signing with Festival Mushroom Records and rebranding as Lash, they wasted no time making their mark. Their debut single Take Me Away, released in March 2001, climbed to number 33 on the ARIA Charts, announcing their arrival with the kind of punchy guitar-driven energy that defined the best of early 2000s pop-punk. The follow-up single Beauty Queen, dropped in August 2001, pushed even higher, peaking at number 31 and cementing the band's reputation as a genuine commercial force.

Recognition came swiftly. Take Me Away earned Lash a nomination for the prestigious ARIA Award for Breakthrough Artist – Single at the 2001 ARIA Music Awards, while the Commercial Radio Australia Awards saw them take home the title of Best New Australian Artist. These were not just industry accolades — they were a validation of everything four young women from Perth had worked tirelessly to achieve.

The momentum carried powerfully into 2002. Lash toured alongside some of Australia's most celebrated rock acts, including Eskimo Joe, The Living End, Motor Ace, and international act Ash, building a devoted live following across the country. Their third single Don't Ever Make My Mind Up arrived in February 2002, paving the way for their debut album The Beautiful and the Damned, released in April 2002. The record peaked at number 74 on the ARIA Charts, offering a full portrait of a band operating at the thrilling intersection of alternative rock and pop-punk. That same year, the band represented Australia on the world stage at the prestigious Golden Stag Festival in Romania, a remarkable milestone for any artist.

Perhaps the most enduring chapter of the Lash story came through cinema. Their anthemic track Beauty Queen was featured in the 2003 Disney film Freaky Friday, starring Jamie Lee Curtis and Lindsay Lohan, and appeared on the film's accompanying soundtrack. Even more notably, Take Me Away received a high-profile cover by Christina Vidal, performed in the film as the signature song of Lohan's character's band. The placement introduced Lash's songwriting to an entirely new global audience, a testament to the timeless appeal of their music. Decades later, the legacy would continue when Christina Vidal's cover version of Take Me Away was featured in the 2025 sequel Freakier Friday, with Bennett and Pearson attending the Hollywood premiere and Reid and Bennett representing the band at the Australian premiere in Sydney.

Despite disbanding in 2003, the members of Lash each carved out remarkable paths of their own. Reid pursued a solo career and later formed The Silver Scene, releasing music through Triple J Unearthed. Bennett and Pearson continued making music together as part of The Preytells, winning the National Campus Band Competition in 2005. Pearson went on to build an extraordinary second career as a microbiologist at the Hudson Institute of Medical Research in Melbourne, while Bennett established Love Shack Studios in Footscray, Victoria, nurturing the next generation of musicians.

The story of Lash is ultimately one of talent meeting tenacity. Four young women from Perth dared to dream loudly, and in doing so, they left a mark on Australian music — and Hollywood soundtracks — that continues to resonate to this day.