Rock music has traditionally been a male preserve for a long time, heavy metal moreso, and the idea of an all-girl heavy metal band was, well, just not really credible back when the NWOBHM broke upon the music scene of Britain, but that didn't stop these four ladies, who had already started a band called Painted Lady in the late seventies, later breaking up and reforming under the name Girlschool. With a combination of catchy punk/metal songs, a sexy image and what they call these days a USP (Unique Selling Point), Girlschool would attract the boys to their gigs by virtue of the skintight leather they wore and the girls due to their early demonstration of "girl power", before the Spice Girls were even born. They quickly latched on to fellow metallers Motorhead, forming a fast friendship with Lemmy and the boys, and even performed together on a rather successful single, part of an EP they recorded.
Riding the wave both of the NWOBHM itself and the "novelty factor" of a girl band, (remember Alan Partridge's chauvinistic comment: "A girl drummer! Close your eyes, could be a man!"?) Girlschool achieved great exposure, touring alongside emerging acts like Maiden, Saxon, Uriah Heep, Black Sabbath and of course Motorhead, and their earthy brand of just-as-good-as-the-boys rock and roll went down really well. As Gerry Bron, head of Bronze records noted in 1980, none of them were particularly good-looking, but then, they weren't necessarily trading on how pretty they were, more the sex appeal linked to the noise and power of heavy metal fever that was at the time gripping the nation. They certainly worked hard though, and with a final stable lineup that consisted of Kim McAuliffe and Kelly Johnson on guitars, Denise Dufort on drums and Enid Williams on bass, and the lion's share (or should that be the lioness's share?) of the vocals, Girlschool released their first of ten studio albums in 1980.
Demolition --- Girlschool --- 1980 (Bronze)
Opening with a long air-raid siren sound, the album kicks off with essentially the title track, "Demolition boys", and you can hear right away the similarities to Motorhead, though Girlschool are not as fast or loud as the masters of heavy metal noise. It's quite tuneful actually, with good heavy guitars from McAuliffe and Johnson, and a decent vocal from McAuliffe on one of the three tracks she sings on, a voice that kind of reminds me of Kim Wilde at her height. The track powers along nicely and ends with the sound of metal and pipes and things falling, and the girls laughing. Then we're into "Not for sale", a mid-paced rocker with somehow a more mid-eighties sound about it, Williams taking over the vocal duties, while "Race with the devil", their first real hit is a cover of a sixties song by Gun, Adrian Gurvitz's band before hitting it big with the Baker Gurvitz Army. It's a real boogie rocker with some great squealing guitar and a tap-along bassline.
Plenty of boogie too in "Take it all away", reminding me of a much heavier Bob Seger, some great vocal harmonies and a really enjoyable guitar solo before Kim takes vocals again for "Nothing to lose", and really there's not a lot to choose between the two girls, they're both good vocalists and I couldn't say who I prefer. The song is a good fast rocker with some really hooky parts, great guitar solo and then the one vocal contribution from Kelly Johnson is on "Breakdown", which to be fair is not a great track. Her vocal is okay but the other two are far better I feel. We're back with Enid then for the rest of the album bar the closer, and it really shows on "Midnight ride", where the vocal quality just takes a real upswing again, although in fairness the track is not much to write home about. "Emergency" gets things moving again, with chiming guitars, thrumming bass, decent hooks, real rocky track, kind of setting a marker down for their other popular song "Yeah right".
"Baby doll" sounds like it's either recorded live or made to sound as if it has been, and it's driven on some almost hypnotic bass from Williams, some fine guitar from Johnson and McAuliffe painting their own strokes across the canvas, then we close on McAuliffe's last vocal performance as "Deadline" brings the curtain down with a good hard rocker and to be fair, a very decent vocal.
TRACKLISTING
1. Demolition boys
2. Not for sale
3. Race with the devil
4. Take it all away
5. Nothing to lose
6. Breakdown
7. Midnight ride
8. Emergency
9. Baby doll
10. Deadline
So, an all-girl metal band? The press were interested, although mostly it has to be said for the novelty factor: "What's it like working in an arena dominated by men?" "Do boys AND girls come to your shows?" "Any boyfriends?" and such scintillating questions dogged the girls after the release of ther first album, but although this was no doubt tiresome the attention certainly helped raise their profiles, as did plum support gigs with big bands in their own sphere. The relationship with Motorhead culminated in the recording of the EP "Saint Valentine's Day massacre", from which another big hit, the track "Please don't touch", performed under the name Headgirl, would secure them a slot on BBC's premier music showcase, "Top of the Pops" and a number five single in the UK.
But it was time for the girls to record a followup to their debut, and it would turn out to be their most successful album, with a very iconic, risque cover that, if nothing else, would guarantee attention from males who might be casually browsing the record bins. This album would see a great vocal presence for Kelly Johnson, who would sing on four of the eleven tracks, Kim McAuliffe only singing on one, but the bulk of vocal work would still fall to Enid Williams.
Hit and Run --- Girlschool --- 1982 (Bronze)
Whereas the debut album began with the sound of a siren, this followup opens with perhaps a sound more closely tied to metal, the firing up of a motorcycle engine as the appropriately-titled "Come on let's go!" revs up and starts this album as powerfully as the previous, again with a sense of Motorhead in the music. It's Kelly who takes the vocal on this, and she has improved since the debut in my opinion, though again there are great backing vocals all over the album. Great guitar solo from her, perhaps one of the hardest Girlschool have yet done. It's a song that must have been a great opener to gigs and a real crowd-pleaser, and it's followed by "The hunter", which though other bands and artistes have had songs titled the same, is a Girlschool original, again sung by Kelly. It's somewhat slower and less rocky but a good song; not sure her vocals are as good on this though. Song's a little pedestrian; not quite boring but a little meh.
Things kick back up then on a "One-two-three-four!" as Enid comes back in on her first vocal on the album for "(I'm your) victim", which if I'm honest sounds like a metal version of the Bangles, and I mean that as a compliment. Williams is definitely emerging as the more competent vocalist in the band for me, so no surprise she again takes the larger share of the tracks here. Another great screeching solo and the song has a lot of youthful power and energy, and is a lot faster than either of the first two, while "Kick it down" keeps up the tempo with the only vocal performance by Kim McAuliffe (who still sounds like Kim Wilde to me!); good job from her. Great kicking percussion from Denise Dufort too, who once stood in for Phil "Philthy Animal" Taylor of Motorhead, and impressed everyone, even Lemmy!
"Following the crowd" sees a return to the mike for Williams, but it's a relatively sub-par song. Then we get the cover of ZZ Top's "Tush", again with Enid on vocals and she just struts and swaggers through this, doing Messrs. Gibbons, Hill and Beard proud. One of my favourite Girlschool tracks, even if it's not an original. It's the title track up next, and oddly enough this was the single that made an appearance on TOTP for them, scraping almost into the top thirty. It's a bit fifties rock if I'm honest, bit Go-Gos or Runaways, and really not the sort of thing I would expect from these four hard-rockin' ladies. Quite bland, almost AOR in ways, and I suppose now I can see why it made a little dent on the charts. I would have preferred "Yeah right!" or "Come on let's go!" but it wasn't to be. They were both released, but did nothing. Bloody charts. Anyway, it's not the worst ever track, but certainly a low point on the album for me. It also doesn't help that it's our girl Kelly back on vocals. Following it is "Watch your step", which at least has Enid shoulder Kelly out of the way and take her rightful place at the microphone. It's got a fast punchy drumbeat and grinding, Fast Eddie-like guitar, and yeah, we're back on track now!
Great blasting guitar solo from Kelly, doing what she does best, and Denise pounding hell out of those drums, with a cool little funky bassline thrown in halfway by Enid: yeah, this is what metal is all about! **** the charts, who needs them? Slowing things down then with a tough grinder in "Back to start", and one of the honkiest basslines I really have ever heard: sounds like some sort of synth or trumpet! Super cool! Oh, and it's not a ballad, in case you were wondering. It's okay but if it wasn't for that mad bass the song wouldn't be that remarkable. Then it's fun all the way as the girls rock out against parents and authority figures everywhere on "Yeah right", with the chorus shouted in a real sarcastic way by the band. Love this song, it's just so rebellious and yet so cute. Cute? Yeah, that's what I said. I love this. The imitation of the mother warning the girls about all the things they should not do (as if they're going to listen!) is hilarious in a Monty Python kind of way. Hopefully Kelly won't ruin the ending of this album now, because she's back on vocals one more time for the closer, "Future flash".
Meh, I won't say she ruins it but to be fair it's not a great track, and to be totally fair that's not down to her. It's just a pretty substandard closer to what is generally a pretty solid album throughout. I do like her whispered middle eighth and the weird little alien noises, and the guitar solo as ever I have nothing but praise for. Perhaps "Yeah right!" would have been a better one to end the album on though.
TRACKLISTING
1. Come on let's go
2. The hunter
3. (I'm your) victim
4. Kick it down
5. Following the crowd
6. Tush
7. Hit and run
8. Watch your step
9. Back to start
10. Yeah right
11. Future flash
This album was pretty much Girlschool's pinnacle, and like many bands popular in the NWOBHM they became less and less relevant as the wave crashed and broke, and heavy metal either settled along the lines of bigger bands like Iron Maiden, Def Leppard, Saxon and Motorhead, or was pushed to the background as new fads took its place. A year after releasing "Hit and run", Enid Williams quit the band, and so Girlschool lost not only their bassist but their best singer. She was replaced by Gil Weston, who had made her name playing bass with the Killjoys, and the new lineup recorded Girlschool's third album, "Screaming blue murder".
Over their career the girls recorded ten studio albums, so it'll be no surprise to anyone that I won't be reviewing them all. However, the third album was not well received and generally considered a weaker offering than "Hit and run", in my opinion due to the loss of Williams, who I always saw as the band's main lynchpin. Following this it was Kelly Johnson who flirted with the idea of leaving, but was persuaded to remiain for the release of their fourth album, on the back of which they consciously and deliberately tried to break into the lucrative American market. They tailored their sound more towards the US, with more AOR songs and a sort of glam metal sound, and even changed their own image to try to pander more to American audiences, who weren't really interested in seeing four leather-clad British girls with attitudes singing about motorbikes and boys. Pah! What do they know?
Play dirty --- Girlschool --- 1983 (Bronze)
You can see right away, before you even hear a note, that the whole look has changed. Gone are the tight leather pants (awww!), the youthful/brash look, the don't-give-a-damn style. In its place is a more sophisticated, mature image of four ladies who might not be out of place on the sleeve of the latest Heart album. They're dressed differently, their hair is immaculately coiffed, and they have those smouldering come-to-bed eyes that often looked out at you from eighties album covers by female artistes. Not so much "Yeah right!" as "Mm-hmm... right....." This was also the first Girlschool album cover on which you could really see the girls, the previous one having them cralwing all over a wire fence but the light not good enough to see them properly, while the prior one to that was a drawing and the debut didn't even feature them on the cover. For the first time the girls' feminine side was being brought out on one of their album covers. But what about the music?
Okay, well though no keyboards are credited, that sounds like one at the beginning, and the sound is very clearly more AOR-oriented, with a long intro to the opener, "Going under", though it is underscored then by hard guitar and thumping drums. This soon drops away though and we can hear Kelly sing in a very American way, with vocal harmonies more suited to a Styx or REO album than a Motorhead one. In fact, there's little evidence of the hard-edged metal they had played on the last two at least (haven't heard the third) albums, and though it's s decent start it's very obviously a move away from overt metal to try to play to the gallery and sell records in the US of A. Perhaps the lyric spoke more of the girls' discomfort with this new direction than anything, as Kelly croons
"Help me! I think I'm going under!"
"High and dry" is worse, with a melody pulled from The Kinks' "Hello I love you" and shot through with a blast of Billy Idol, Kelly again on vocals and her guitar quite restrained in comparison. More close-harmony vocals try to relegate the other girls to the status of backing singers, but they still have the musical ability to make this song work despite its banality. I know that guitar riff too. They then plunder Def Leppard's "Photograph" for the title track, and with Enid gone it falls to Kim McAuliffe to take most of the vocal duties. Still, at least it's heavier than the first two tracks. And things just don't look like they're going to get any better really as we move on into their cover of T-Rex's "20th century boy", which is fine of course but you can't use it as a yardstick to judge the album as it's not an original. A bit of Marc is always good though!
"Burning in the heat" opens with a definite church organ, very Bachesque, then explodes into an almost heavy ELO song, and the AOR jsut keeps coming. This band is hardly recognisable from the one we met on "Hit and run" and their debut. Talk about changing your sound to break into the American market! It's Kelly Johnson back on vocals for the very last time, and she does an okay job, but Kim has taken the crown from the departed Enid Williams, and though she was always second best in my opinion, she's a better singer than Kelly any day. So we're with Kim then for the rest of the album, and "Surrender" starts off well but soon discards its heavy opening for more radio-friendly AOR tropes: I don't know who's playing them but there are
definitely keyboards on this album, and they're pretty heavy on this song. Nice bit of piano too. Not, all in all, the worst Girlschool song I have ever heard, but a long way from the best, or even the top ten.
The pretty abysmally-titled "Rock me shock me" again utilises the Leppard guitar riff, and I must say I'm getting a little tired of the lack of variation on this album. I know they were aiming at a "softer" market, but even so: these girls appear to have, um, lost their balls, so to speak! Now Kim is emulating the great Suzi Quatro, but not doing too great a job at it. "Running for cover" does what it can to up the tempo and kick some life into the album, but it's a losing battle. For an album produced by Slade alumni Noddy Holder and Jim Lea, "Play dirty" is lacking any of the fire, passion or just plain good-humoured anger that characterised that band's albums, and falls far from realising the promise of its title. I think the album should have been renamed "Play safe"!
But we've only one more track left before we can forget about this sanitised, homogenised version of Girlschool and see if they returned to their former glory in later years. It's got the weirdest title of all the tracks, at least the subtitle. "Breakout (Knob in the media)" is a decent hard rocker with a good spurt of speed on it, almost a nod back to their earlier material, with no keyboards that I can hear. I think it's dedicated to those music magazine hacks who would visit a show, make up their own mind after one or two songs and then run back to thier offices to write a damning review, which surely must have happened to the girls on occasion. Given their desire to break the US this might seem an unnecessarily angry or even bitter track, but I suppose at least it proves that, right at the end of a pretty sedate album Girlschool rediscovered the fire and passion that had characterised their first albums. Bit late, though.
TRACKLISTING
1. Going under
2. High and dry
3. Play dirty
4. 20th century boy
5. Breaking all the rules
6. Burning in the heat
7. Surrender
8. Rock me shock me
9. Running for cover
10. Breakout (Knob in the media)
Following the tour to promote "Play dirty", which had not done as well as they had hoped despite --- or perhaps because of --- the change in musical direction, and which had succeeded in alienating their hardcore fans back in the UK, resulting in a very poor chart showing for the album, Kelly Johnson quit the group. On top of that, their label went almost bust, and they were taken on by Mercury, who forced them in an even more AOR direction, with keyboard-driven songs replacing their snarling trademark guitars on their fourth album, "Running wild". Although they found replacements for Kelly in two separate band members, one a singer and one a guitarist, Girlschool's image was tarnished and they were sliding down the incline towards AOR obscurity and banality.