Punk Metal? Glam Rock? Who Knows. They Played with Everyone and Their Uncle.
I'm staying in the era of NWOBHM a little while longer—partly for research, partly because you inevitably trip over a dozen side projects, a suspicious amount of eyeliner, and several Motörhead-adjacent rabbit holes.Somewhere in that glorious mess, one name kept coming up: Girlschool.
Formed in 1978, Girlschool were one of the many bands spawned by the New Wave of British Heavy Metal—except with one key difference: they were all women. Still are. Still going. Still alive after 40 years, which is more than can be said for most of their male contemporaries. They're now considered “one of the longest-running all-female rock bands, still alive after 40 years.” That alone earns them a closer look.
Lemmy Heard It. That Was That.
The original line-up—Kim McAuliffe (rhythm guitar, vocals), Enid Williams (bass, vocals), Kelly Johnson (lead guitar), and Denise Dufort (drums)—recorded their first single, Take It All Away, in 1978. It got picked up by none other than Lemmy Kilmister. Yes, that Lemmy.
He liked what he heard, went to see them live, and promptly invited them to support Motörhead on tour. Casual. Just a normal Tuesday for Girlschool.
The Tour That Never Ended
Like most NWOBHM bands, Girlschool hit the road hard—touring all over Britain and Europe with bands like Uriah Heep, Budgie, Iron Maiden, The Scorpions, ZZ Top, Quiet Riot, Deep Purple, Dio, Black Sabbath… and, for reasons I’m not emotionally equipped to unpack, The Beach Boys.
Yes. Really.
Headgirl Was a Thing
In 1981, Girlschool and Motörhead joined forces to release an EP under the name Headgirl. Phil "Animal" Taylor was out with an injury, so Denise Dufort took over on drums. The EP hit No. 5 in the UK charts and was, bizarrely, the biggest hit for either band up to that point. Because apparently this is what happens when you give women the drumsticks.
"We Couldn’t Find Any Blokes"
Kim McAuliffe and Denise Dufort have been there since day one. The rest of the line-up? Less consistent. Still, the line-up has always stayed entirely female. Why? Because, according to McAuliffe, "we couldn’t find any blokes who wanted to play with us." So they didn’t. And honestly, mood.
Punk Metal with Pop Hooks (and Zero Apologies)
Their most successful stretch ran from 1979 to 1982. The first two albums—Demolition and Hit and Run—capture the band’s raw sound best. Think punk-metal with enough pop sensibility to sneak onto radio, but still tough enough to make your eyeliner run.
Unlike Motörhead, Girlschool eventually caved to the market. Starting in 1982, their sound shifted towards hard rock and glam metal, trying to appeal to the American crowd. Along with the music, the image changed too—goodbye leather and denim, hello glam. The albums Play Dirty (1983) and Running Wild (1985) flopped, and the band later described them as "rubbish or even worse." Which is impressively honest, frankly.
Back to Basics (and Back to Britain)
After their label dropped them like a bad habit, they returned to their roots—both musically and geographically. Nightmare at Maple Cross (1986) brought back their original sound, which they’ve stuck with ever since. But the American detour had already cost them dearly: credibility down, UK fanbase alienated, and by the end of the '80s, they were more or less off the mainstream radar.
Thirteen Albums, Zero Quits
In total, Girlschool have released 13 studio albums so far. Their most commercially successful was Hit and Run (1981). Legacy (2008) marked their 30-year anniversary and was dedicated to guitarist Kelly Johnson, who died of cancer in 2007. Their most recent release, Guilty as Sin, came out in 2015. They never stopped. Not when it got hard. Not when no one was watching.
My personal favourite is Race with the Devil, off their debut album Demolition (1980). It’s got a ridiculously catchy riff and a sound that sits squarely in the Motörhead-neighbourhood—grimy, fast, no nonsense. You can absolutely picture them sharing a stage. Possibly a bottle of something questionable, too.
The other songs and albums I listened to were alright—nothing that blew my boots off, but easy enough to listen to.
So—Why Weren’t They Bigger?
What stands out to me is that this band has been around for over 40 years and, despite touring relentlessly and supporting some of the biggest names in rock, they never quite reached the same level of success. There are still very few all-female bands or visible women in heavy metal and hard rock, and I can’t help but wonder why.
Is there less interest from women in this kind of music? Are female musicians less accepted by the audience? Or is it just harder for them to be taken seriously?
It’s a question I don’t have the answer to yet. But "Women in Heavy Metal"might just be a future blog post waiting to happen.