Girlschool
Longest-running all-female rock band, formed in 1978.
Girlschool, a British rock band, emerged from the new wave of British heavy metal in 1978. Often linked with Motörhead, they hold the record as the longest-running all-female rock band, still active after over four decades. They gained significant UK media attention and early-80s success with three punk-tinged metal albums.
Quick Facts
- Origin
- London, England
- Genre
- Hard rock
- heavy metal
- biker metal
- Years active
- 1978–present
- Label
- City
- Bronze
- Mercury
- GWR
- Communiqué
- Wacken
- Cleopatra
- Silver Lining Music
- Spinoffs
- She-Devils, Strange Girls
- Current members
- Kim McAuliffe
- Denise Dufort
- Jackie Chambers
- Olivia Airey
- Past members
- Kelly Johnson
- Gil Weston
- Cris Bonacci
- Tracey Lamb
- Jackie Bodimead
- Jackie Carrera
- Enid Williams
Facts from the source article.
History
In 1975, school friends Kim McAuliffe and Dinah Enid Williams formed an all-girl rock cover band called Painted Lady in Wandsworth, South London. The band included Tina Gayle on drums and later Deirdre Cartwright on lead guitar and Val Lloyd on drums, playing local pubs. McAuliffe explained the all-female lineup arose because they could not find male musicians willing to play with them. Cartwright left in 1977 and was briefly replaced by American Kathy Valentine, who returned to the United States in 1978, leading to Painted Lady's breakup. McAuliffe and Williams, seeking to escape their day jobs, reformed the band in April 1978 with lead guitarist Kelly Johnson and drummer Denise Dufort. They renamed themselves Girlschool, taking the name from the B-side of Paul McCartney and Wings' single "Mull of Kintyre", and began touring small venues in France, Ireland and Great Britain.
Music and style
Girlschool's music has been described as a punk-metal mix that was tough but poppy enough for radio. The band members' musical backgrounds included classic hard rock and heavy metal influences, particularly evident in Kelly Johnson's clean, sometimes bluesy solo guitar work. Artists such as Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath, David Bowie, T. Rex and Suzi Quatro influenced the group. Punk rock directly influenced the new wave of British heavy metal, and both Denise Dufort and Gil Weston had played in punk bands before joining Girlschool. McAuliffe stated in 1980 that the band was "too heavy to be New Wave and too punk to be a heavy metal band". The raw, almost live recording sound of their first two albums, produced by Vic Maile, captured the band's core music from 1979 to 1982. Their combination of metal and punk, along with their denim and leather look and rowdy off-stage behaviour, led to the moniker 'sisters of Motörhead'.
Reception
Being an all-female band was seen as a handicap in the sexist, male-dominated heavy metal scene of the early 1980s, but Girlschool's musicianship and aggressive yet fun-loving attitude won over the NWOBHM audience, earning a loyal fan base. In 1980, fans formed a club called 'The Barmy Army' that followed the band on tours in Great Britain and Europe, though it declined by the end of 1982. British weekly magazines such as Sounds and later Kerrang! featured Girlschool on covers and in articles about their performances and off-stage drinking. In 1980, Sounds voted the band second 'Best Newcomer' and Kelly Johnson third 'Best Female Vocalist'; two years later, Kerrang! ranked Johnson second 'Best Female Vocalist' and best 'Female Pin-up'. British radio stations played their singles, and the band appeared on music TV shows, including a performance on Top of the Pops in April 1981 for the single "Hit and Run".
Legacy
In 1980, Sounds writer Pete Makowski called Girlschool "the leading pioneers in the battle against sexism". Reviewers have associated Girlschool with the American feminist Riot Grrrl movement and noted that, like The Runaways, they helped pave the way for women in rock music. However, Williams recalled in 2004 that the band inspired more young male musicians than female ones to start rock bands. Some later female metal bands, such as Crucified Barbara and Drain STH, denied knowing Girlschool's music, though The Donnas publicly acknowledged their influence.
More in New Wave of British Heavy Metal Musical Groups
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