Girl (band)

History

Girl came together in 1979, with Phil Lewis on vocals, guitarists Gerry Laffy and Phil Collen, drummer Jonathon Trevisick, and bassist Mark Megary. Trevisick and Megary were soon replaced by Dave Gaynor and Simon Laffy, respectively. Before joining Girl, Collen had played in Lucy, Tush, and Dumb Blondes. The band was discovered and initially managed by Jon Lindsay, who was scouting acts for Kit Lambert, the former manager of The Who, for a new record label. Lindsay and Girl parted ways after the band chose to sign with Don Arden instead of a deal Lindsay had arranged with Simon Napier-Bell’s Nomis Publishing.

Girl signed with Jet Records and put out two singles before their first album, Sheer Greed, which came out in 1980 and hit number 33 on the UK Albums Chart. Their visibility grew through tours with the Pat Travers Band and UFO, during the rise of the new wave of British heavy metal. They recorded a version of “Hollywood Tease” before Phil Lewis joined L.A. Guns, and that song reached number 50 on the UK Singles Chart in April 1980.

In 1981, Gaynor left and was replaced by Pete Barnacle, who had played with Gillan and Broken Home. After a few live shows, Barnacle was swapped out for Bryson Graham while the band worked on their next album. Both drummers appear on Girl’s second record, Wasted Youth, released in 1982, which peaked at number 92 in the UK. Pete Bonas took over for Phil Collen when Collen left to join Def Leppard, but the band broke up shortly after.

Girl still have six albums available through Sanctuary Records, originally released by Don Arden’s Jet Records: Sheer Greed, Wasted Youth, Killing Time, Live at the Marquee, Live at the Exposition Hall, Osaka, Japan, the 37-track anthology My Number: The Anthology, Bootleg - Live in Tokyo 1980, and Girl-Sheer Greed-Gerry Laffy - The Rare DVD Collection.