Freaky Friday: The Bonkers Untold Story of Lash and the Resurgence of Misconceived Hit 'Take Me Away'

The Australian music dream has always been - write and record music with friends, get signed to a big label, release music and play shows before touring the world and becoming household names... but sometimes, the Australian dream can chew you up and spit you out into obscurity before you even have a chance to smell the roses.

But this isn't your average underdog story.

This is an epic journey which found a group of friends thrown into the dizzying heights of mainstream fame, thrust into an active war zone, competing in a Romanian Song Contest and having their big break stolen by a historical terrorist attack.

This is the completely bonkers untold story of one of Australia's promising young acts - who set out to take on the world with their approach to punk rock / grunge - but were lead astray with an abhorrent abuse of contractual rights - and how Disney and an unlikely Hollywood-driven resurgence is righting the wrongs of the past to give them their time in the spotlight following 22 years of misconception.

Do you remember the band Lash?

The big question I've asked colleagues and friends over the two weeks - many of which struggled to put a song to the name - but after hearing the first 12 seconds of their breakthrough single 'Take Me Away', and that angsty 'YEAHHHH' is delivered from bassist/vocalist Micaela Slayford, the memories came flooding back with resounding realisation followed swiftly by the words, "Oh yeah, I know that song!"

Released in March of 2001, it catapulted the group - consisting of Slayford, lead guitarist Jessicca Bennett, rhythm guitarist/vocalist Belinda-Lee Reid and drummer Jaclyn Pearson - to instant recognition in Australia's alternative scene in the same year The Superjesus released Jet Age, Powderfinger unveiled Odyssey Number Five and The Avalanches dropped Since I Left You.

Lash were riding on the wave of success and despite being falsely labelled one-hit wonders, 'Take Me Away' wasn't even their biggest hit! Subsequent single 'Beauty Queen' - which also featured in the original Freaky Friday - peaked higher on the ARIA Charts than its predecessor, proving they were more than a one-trick-pony.

After scoring accolades and praise for their feisty take on rock, the girls were tipped for a prosperous future. It's hard to fathom that in a short two year timeframe, all of their hard work would come crashing down before it even had a chance to flourish.

But let's not get ahead of ourselves so soon...

Prelude: WAM, Bam, ARIA Breakthrough Band

For the ill-informed, Lash were a four-piece all-girl band from Perth who started out playing local pubs and rehearsal spaces in the late 90s-00s era under original name Exteria - a combination of the words exodus and bacteria.

Inspired musically by the likes of Silverchair, Nirvana, Van Halen, Guns 'N Roses and Led Zeppelin, they were rock chicks at heart, hell bent on playing real instruments and touring, despite living in one of the most isolated cities in Australia during a time before the internet.

Lead guitarist Jessicca Bennett recounted the band's formative gigging years, which included being chaperoned by their parents because they were all under age.

"We started actually pretty young like 13, 14 years old jamming at school and from there on we started gigging. Our parents would help carry our equipment to the shows, they had to sit with us through the gig and then we had to leave directly after."

"Legally they had to stay the whole time, which they did, so bikies didn't beat us up in between our set [laughs]. We literally played to five bikies on our first gig at Seaview Tavern in Fremantle." - recounts rhythm guitarist and vocalist Belinda-Lee Reid.

Following those first shows, they broke out after winning the WAM (West Australian Music Industry Awards) Under-18s Song of the Year for 'Aloha Mr Hand', which came with an impressive $1,000 cash prize and resulted in their first signing with local indie label Seeing Ear Records - specialists in marketing Australian-made music to the world.

Belinda reflected on the band's ambitious dreams to follow in the footsteps of another promising act from Newcastle, who were already on their way to the big time.

"When we first signed it was with a sub-label and that was just our dream to get a video or a song out there in mainstream.

We saw Silverchair go from real small from Frogstomp, and by the time we emerged, they were on [Neon] Ballroom and they were just getting huge."

"Our dream was to go on tour. Our dream was not to be famous. [We] always dreamed that we wanted to tour with other bands."

They then caught the attention of producer and manager Andrew Klippel who "bought" the band for between $20-$30,000", signing them to Engine Room with the promise of recording two singles and a debut album. The releases were to be distributed by Festival Records (later becoming Festival Mushroom Records - until dissolving in 2005) through the suggestions of industry guns Michael Parisi, and Barry Palmer [Hunters & Collectors] who was working with Mushroom-signed act 28 Days at the time.

When Festival Mushroom dissolved, their catalogue was sold to Warner Music Australia where it remains.

By the end of 2001, Lash more than achieved their ultimate goal of playing shows with "really great bands" such as Eskimo Joe, The Living End and Motor Ace. The four-piece also appeared on Channel [V], Rove Live, and were included on the mixed-genre lineup for Rumba Festival - performing to 40,000+ people in Sydney - with the likes of Emma Bunton (Spice Girls), Robbie Williams, Nelly Furtado, Killing Heidi and a cast of the "hottest" acts in mainstream at the time.

"We had such an experience at such a young age... At that time we came out of High School and straight onto the touring wagon and it was... a lot".

With two hit songs under their studded belts, an ARIA Nomination for Breakthrough Artist - Single for 'Take Me Away', and industry-wide buzz growing immensely, the obvious next step was to record and release their much-anticipated debut album.

But music is a business and sometimes, you're not in control of your fate as they were about to discover...

The Beauties... and The Damned

Lash had spent a year and a half writing and recording their debut album, The Beautiful and The Damned, spending time between at Planet Studios in Perth and relocating to Sydney to record in Studios 301 and INXS' Q Studios.

"Our album sounded pretty damn rock in the studio." reflects Belinda.

With their core roots in mind, they wanted a raw, pure rock sounding vibe and the label enlisted the help of US-based engineer Dave Way - who was working with the likes Savage Garden, Christina Aguilera, Mick Jagger, Michelle Branch and P!nk's second album Missundaztood at the time.

The making of their first record didn't go to plan and the end result was very different from what Lash set out to achieve as Belinda elaborated.

"Our core was sitting around in a garage band writing songs [like] grunge, rock, Led Zeppelin... that real music. The way the record was mixed, it was mixed in a very glittery, fluffy way."

"We did like 20 takes on one guitar part and it sounds like we just did one." said the rhythm guitarist/vocalist. "And we did like 50,000 takes on BVs. All of the leads, all of the BVs and bass parts, everything. There was thousands of takes."

To put it into perspective for the average music fan, the band explained, "[Nirvana's] Nevermind is our Beauty and the Damned, but our In Utero was our studio album. Because it's got that... raw Les Paul sound."

Upon hearing the final cut of their debut album, the band were devastated, notably with the compression which they said sounded "polished up" and "very compressed."

"I was so disappointed with the sound. And you just couldn't do anything about it." Belinda said defeatedly, before explaining further. "It was mixed by Dave Way in New York, it comes back and you can't go 'we're not happy with it 'cause the record company's happy with it... We couldn't change back 'cause it's gonna cost another $30,000 to remix it..."

But this was just the start of of the aspiring musicians losing grasp of their band's identity...

The Dark Side of Mainstream

The red flags started to pop up early, but when you're young and on the cusp of achieving such a massive milestone in your career, it's hard to not sign your life away... in more ways than one.

Firstly, their contracts set them up for future failures which they're still navigating to this day according to Belinda.

"The right record label came along, and they signed us, but.. we signed contracts in the beginning that we really needed lawyers for and to this day, with royalties... there's still discrepancies about those things because you sign something and... you should have really looked at it... We did have lawyers in the end, but we got roped."

"Record contracts are so complicated. It's like a bible of crap that is repeated and it deliberately confuses you that even a lawyer goes 'Actually I don't even know what that means, I gotta have to find that out'.

"Our parents did their absolute best to lawyer up and help us out as much as possible, but these things happen and we were young and vulnerable". - adds Jessicca Bennett.

Even after being signed, there were fierce rivalries and media-fed lies about Lash being a "manufactured band" which found them constantly targeted in headlines comparing them to - or pitted against - another all-female group who rose to fame after being "found" on reality tv series, Popstars.

"We were authentic." Belinda reaffirms before dropping the bombshell that another label tried to poach them prior to signing with Mushroom. "We had a meeting with Sony - they got wind of an all-girl band coming out [that was] a real band [with their] own songs - they wanted something like that.

We didn't sign with them, we went with Mushroom, but they knew about us because we had a meeting with them. But then guess who came out of Sony? Bardot.

Bardot got signed (as in they made Bardot) and as soon as they got released, the press got wind of us making an album with Andrew Klippel and Barry Palmer [of Hunters & Collectors] and this whole thing about us being manufactured came out.

It was a whole load of bull. And it was so upsetting to us because we were then seen like Bardot and we're nothing like Bardot 'cause we've always played guitars, we've always written music, we've always recorded."

"We used to get frustrated with that - the whole all-girl group as opposed to an all-girl band - and there's all-girl bands out there, but we actually write our songs, we write music. Jessicca fell in love with production because of it. But we're authentic and that's the core of us, we've been together doing this."

With the label calling the shots, and the media's constant comparisons to mainstream pop acts, Lash started drifting away from their edgy punk roots, slowly becoming shells of their former musical selves.

When questioned if they had any say in their music or image, Jessicca divulged.

‍"I feel like we were always able to throw in our ideas, but whether we were listened to or not was another story. I don't remember too much in too much detail but yeah it was an ongoing battle."

Belinda added further cause for concern surrounding the way they were pitched to media outlets, revealing. "I wish they didn't capitalise on the all-girl, girl rock [angle]. I knew that we had to be marketed, and we all knew that, but the fact is it almost took the essence away from our core of our music."

Despite getting invited to tear up the Big Day Out stages at the start of the year, the band consequently broke up in late 2003 and went their separate ways...

"People think 'oh you weren't really together that long' but because they only see us from the year 2000, we don't seem like we've been together that long." Belinda clarified, before reiterating. "But we've been together since we've been 13 and 14.

We'd been playing pub shows, to then signed by record labels, to living together in Sydney. We lived next door to Rove McManus for a while. But all those years was a really condensed time in our career."

However, an unlikely Hollywood connection appeared to possibly keep their legacy alive.

Or so they thought...

A Hollywood Misconception // Lash's Stolen Hit

"Freaky Friday came out in the back end of our career. We were dissipating as a band."

Picture this - You released a single which made you a household name in your own country and then a body-swapping Disney comedy starring Lindsay Lohan and Jamie Lee Curtis was using the song as an integral plot point in their new feature film - you'd be rolling in the fame and notoriety, right? Wrong.

'Take Me Away' was featured heavily in the 2003 release performed by the fictional band Pink Slip - which Lohan's character played guitar in and included a new cheesy guitar solo for some reason - but instead of being promoted as Lash's original song, it was instead marketed as a cover sung by Christina Vidal - one of the film's actresses.

When asked how the inclusion came about, it turns out negotiations were already in place as early as 2001, but the aftermath of a historical terrorist attack halted Lash's plans to fly to United States to record the song for the film.

"At the time they were talking about it, we were so amped about going to America - as either the band or us girls singing it [Micaela and Belinda] just going over. We were trying to work out options."

"[Then] Kelly Osbourne was gonna sing it because we didn't go in the end because 9/11... Then her Mum [Sharon] unfortunately got cancer which was very sad and then they found a band to cover it."

‍"By the time the movie picked it up, we were no longer a band"

For 22 years, young fans grew up listening to a song they believed was performed by Lindsay Lohan and the cast of Freaky Friday. Despite Lash not being active during the same time, there's been a significant resurgence in popularity with the song amassing a whopping 10 Million+ spins on Spotify alone.

Fast forward to now, 'Take Me Away' is once again being used in the new legacy sequel Freakier Friday, which hits Aussie cinemas on August 7th and is once again generating pandemonium on a global scale - since it also marks the return of Lohan to her Disney roots.

The band are expectedly chuffed with the news and when asked if it blows their minds that a song released in 2001 still has a stranglehold on the world in 2025, Jessicca was more than ready to express gratitude.

"Never in a million years would I have thought we'd be here... 20 odd years later. But it's great the song lives on."

A new re-recorded version has been released to promote the film performed by returning cast member Christina Vidal Mitchell. In a wild turn of events, members of Lash hit the red carpet at Freakier Friday's Los Angeles World Premiere late last month.

Drummer Jaclyn Pearson recounted the whirlwind trip to tinsel town.

"Being invited to the World Premiere of Freakier Friday was a bit mind blowing! This whole experience was thrilling from start to finish; Warner got us dolled up and all of the Disney staff we met were incredibly nice to us, kind and interested in what we had done.

It was like travelling back in time a bit, back to the days of the cameras and chaos. I loved it!"

Turns out Disney are righting the wrongs of the past and are making sure the world knows Lash are the original songwriters of their two films' unexpected smash hit; and it would be an understatement to say the Aussies were more than welcomed this time around.

"Disney are playing a big part in that now and they've been incredible in including us in this latest release, giving us a lot of opportunities." Jess clarified.

"They're giving us a voice to tell people we are the original songwriters of 'Take Me Away' and they've been super supportive on that."

But Disney aren't just stopping at crediting the songwriters, they're also using the original song in more ways than ever before, especially across social media which Belinda confirmed.

"They're trying to push our song to be used with the promo of Jamie Lee Curtis [in the film]. She's using the original song... And it's our song, which we're really proud about that."

"But the sad thing is we didn't get that success in Australia. Some of the record company people like Andrew Klippel always said 'I wished we'd released you in America first'."

The Wildest Places Music Lead Lash!

"Things went down in our careers that weren't quite normal."

It wasn't always red carpets in LA, or the ARIAs... Lash followed in the footsteps of fellow Aussies Kylie Minogue, John Farnham and The Living End to perform in East Timor in 2003 - when the musicians were flown via a Hercules plane to headline with the Sydney Army Band as entertainment relief for the INTERFET troops during the active East Timorese crisis.

"The East Timor trip was amazing." Belinda shared excitedly, before mentioning. "We had to learn how to shoot real guns!"

"We landed on the tarmac and they had machine guns and we had to learn how to shoot a gun in case there was a security breach [or] in case our driver got shot and we had to shoot the enemy."

"We drove APCs and Belinda nearly ran us over with a tank." Jess jokingly added, before Belinda continued. "I was crying out of joy to get the hell out of that place.

"It was a big reality check to us because we'd never been in a [war torn] country and because of the band we got to experience [one] that was recovering in the aftermath. We wanted to interact with the local East Timor people though we had strict limitations where we were not allowed to interact with the children"

"There was nine people slaughtered [in the war] where we stayed in our accommodation. It was like being in a movie"

Keep in mind, they were merely teenagers during this time. But the movie-like craziness continued when the girls were sent to represent Australia in unique European song contest... No, not the one you're thinking of.

In August 2002, Lash took part in the prestigious Golden Stag Festival - an international song contest held in Brasov, Romania - featuring 15 musical acts from around the world competing. As part of their entry, they had to perform a Romanian song titled 'Forget About It' which they fused with the intro riff from AC/DC's 'You Shook Me All Night Long', as well as their signature hit 'Take Me Away'.

Belinda retraced the steps of this puzzling experience perfectly.

"We learned a song in Romanian and we had to sing it like a Romanian that had no vocal tone.

But the weirdest thing for me... is that we came through the airport thinking we're gonna get a cab to our hotel. We had no makeup on, we looked like we'd been up for five days. This flight literally took two days to get there. It was awful.

We got there, the doors open [and] the actual Brasov tour press is all lining up taking photos of everyone coming through that are playing. Boyz II Men were playing, [and] we were like 'oh my gosh' we went back into the [airport], went to the toilet quickly and were like 'Quick, let's do something with our hair and makeup, this is so embarrassing!"

"We went in with dark glasses, hoodies... we looked like Slipknot."

Getting mobbed by the Romanian paparazzi was one thing, but the car ride to the hotel was like something from an action film as the rhythm guitarist went on with the anecdote.

"It was literally like Princess Diana arrived, they put us in separate cars. They all went in succession like a Mission Impossible movie."

"The weirdest thing happened on the way to the hotel, a dude came up on a skateboard, and I was trying to get a good look [by] winding down my window and the driver goes 'don't open your window, it's a beggar!'

I looked out the window and he had literally no legs, he was lugeing around for change... and, there was a dead body."

‍Lash actually ended up winning the competition and coveted trophy (which they later broke on the flight home) beating the likes of Boyz II Men, t.A.T.u and iconic German rockers Scorpions. With the victory in their back pockets, The Age reported the band were invited back to tour the following year and that their debut album would be released in Romania and other European territories.

But we already know how that story ended...

What's present day Lash up to?

After the demise of Lash, the members went their separate ways, but still come together in some capacity.

Belinda dabbled with a solo project, once again working with Barry Palmer and enlisting the help of Jess to record and Jac to play drums. She also started the band The Silver Scene and has recently started revisiting music again. Outside of the industry she is a Real Estate Agent in Perth.

Jess and Jaclyn swapped genres and performed in indie rock band The Preytells. Jess has since relocated to Melbourne where they run Love Shack Studios - a passion that was prevalent throughout Lash's history.

"I always felt like that was something I wanted to do - post-professional career playing in a band. I always wanted to be on the other side of the [studio] glass, always took an interest when we were recording."

Dr. Jaclyn now lives in Scotland and in a major turn of events, is a microbiologist. The scientist picks up the sticks from time to time and spoke about her audacious career change and doctorate.

"I went back to Uni in 2007 to finish my degree at UWA, happened to get really good grades so decided to do a PhD in Microbiology in Melbourne between 2009-2013. I absolutely loved it, it was so satisfying and heaps of fun.

I moved to St Andrews in Scotland in 2024 to be closer to my wife’s family. I work at the University of St Andrews, established in 1413!! Blows my mind that it’s the 3rd oldest University in the English speaking world, behind Oxford and Cambridge. It’s a beautiful seaside town."

The band has unfortunately lost touch with Micaela who has since started a family following her rock star beginnings.

Future Lashings & Final Thoughts

"I've been trying to bend the arms of Jess and Jac. Jac being the scientist from far away..."

As we look into the future, the next question that comes is obviously what does the future hold? Give the popularity and resurgence of 'Take Me Away' at home and abroad, has the thought crossed their mind to get back together and play shows or record new-age punk lashings for long-term fans?

Turns out, the ideas are there and swimming around their collective brains as Belinda pointed out.

"How about releasing a new record? And this time it won't be compressed and over polished - it's gonna be a raw, rock album."

"We could re-release something. We've got songs we never released. We've got amazing songs on the album [like] 'Better Than You'."

The band spoke about their love for the track they pitched to be their third single, but once again, lost out to the decisions of the label who insisted on 'Don't Ever Make My Mind Up' - much to their disapproval.

Given the recording process and end result wasn't what they intended, I did suggest going down the same path as Taylor Swift and re-recording the album their way, but it turns out, they're happy with their current representation... finally!

"We did look into reclaiming those masters, but Warner's doing a really good job with us. I wish we had them from the beginning."

The ideas are circling, but is the rest of the band on board for a comeback to the stage? Jess straight up said they are "Very open to it,". while Belinda ascertained there'd be stipulations on their sound.

‍"I'd love to play again in a band with Jess, like pure rock."

Given the success of nostalgia-driven reformations in recent years, 2026 could be the ideal opportunity to hit the road for the 25th Anniversary of the releases for 'Take Me Away' and 'Beauty Queen'. I personally see Good Things Festival as the perfect place to start an said I'll put in a good word with promoter Chris O'Brien - C'mon Chris, you know I'm right!

As for all four OG members all coming back, there may be some teething issues.

‍"It might not happen with all of us, but if there's some members... we can do it." says Belinda, with lead guitarist Jess adding. "We're pretty keen beans"

"If you can get us a [position] on a big tour or a big show I can bend Jess' arm to play with me and Jac. So if you get us on something... that's it, get us there. Just get us a date, we're gonna be there." - Belinda-Lee Reid on a Lash comeback.

The missing piece of the puzzle is the angsty bassist and vocalist we first mentioned at the top of the piece, Micaela Slayford. If the band can rekindle their connection in time, who knows what the future holds. If Oasis can put their differences aside, then surely Lash are the next big unexpected comeback of the music world.

As we wrapped up our chat, the former punk rock superstars shared their collective gratitude for the fans who have stuck with them after all this time, and the ones who were there from day dot.

Jessicca - "I have to say a big thank you to the people, the hardcore fans, that know there is no guitar solo in 'Take Me Away' and they never ask about it"

Jaclyn - "We absolutely loved what we did, it was a privilege to be part of the Aus music scene. I just wish we had got to do it a little bit differently and play a few more big shows, do our own tour and maybe play overseas. We became very competent musicians after a few years and I wish we got the show the world that."

Belinda - "Thank you so much to all the fans. They come out of the woodwork and they come online and write things on photos [saying] 'where have you guys been?' or 'we loved you guys' and that all makes it all worthwhile.

We can get caught up in all the negative press back in the day and things that had happened, but it's the fans that make us. That's who we wanted to play to."

"The first time they actually sung back the song and we were playing, we were so dumbfounded. We can't even explain how that felt on stage. It was just a dream come true."

And let this be a lesson: Never settle for second best and ALWAYS fight for your intellectual property and the recognition you rightfully deserve. And most importantly, don't grow up, just get out - and take on the world!

Feature editorial by Paul 'Browny' Brown @brownypaul

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