Mambo Taxi special with Lenie Mets

Mambo Taxi special with Lenie Mets in conversation with David Eastaugh

Mambo Taxi were inspired by the UK garage rock scene and US punk. They formed after Lenie was invited to join Anjali, Ella, Andrea and Delia - who were all living together (bar Delia) in a squat in Islington- to form a band. They became part of a vibrant music scene in the early 1990s which centered around three indie labels in London at the time, namely Clawfist, Too Pure and Wiiija. Their sound was a mixture of garage, punk, and pop and they had links to British riot grrrl bands such as Huggy Bear. Drummer Anjali Bhatia left in 1992 in order to form the Voodoo Queens and guitarist Ella Guru joined her in 1993. The other members of the 1992 line-up appearing on the first single - a double 'A' side of "Prom Queen" written by Anjali and "Insecure" written by Lenie - were: Lenie (lead vocal/bass), Delia (guitar/vocals) and Andrea (organ/vocals). Karin Rapp (drums/vocals) joined the band from the second single onwards.