I'm staying in the era of NWOBHM for a little while longer. Especially within my research of Motörhead I came across one band name that was mentioned frequently: Girlschool.
Formed in 1978 Girlschool was another band that came up with so many other bands during the NWOBHM. Girlschool is today considered "one of the longest-running-all-female-rock-bands, still alive after 40 years". That alone is reason to look closer at this band.
The original band members Kim McAuliffe (rythm guitar, vocals), Enid Williams (bass, vocals), Kelly Johnson (lead guitarist) and Denise Dufort (drums) recorded their first single Take it all away in 1978. The single was heard by Lemmy Kilmister from Motörhead who decided to go and listen to the band live. After seeing them play he offered them a supporting slot at his next live tour.
Like most bands during the NWOBHM Girlschool toured extensively around Britain and Europe. During their career they have been supporting acts for many popular bands like Uriah Heep, Budgie, Iron Maiden, the Scorpians, Saxon, ZZ Top, Quiet Riot, Blue Öyster Cult, Deep Purple, Dio, Black Sabbath, The Beach Boys or Heaven & Hell.
1981 Girlschool and Motörhead released an EP where both bands played together under the name "Headgirl". Denise Dufort played the drums as Motörhead drummer Phil was injured during that time. The EP reached No.5 in the UK single charts and became the biggest hit for either band until then.
Kim McAuliff and Denise Dufort have been constant members of the band form 1978 till today. Bass and guitar players changed frequently but have always been woman. Originally the reason why they were only women in the band was according to McAuliff that they "couldn't find any blokes who wanted to play with us! This was the natural thing to do."
The most successful years for Girlschool were from 1979 till 1982 and especially their first two albums Demolition and Hit and Run are said to be the ones with the truest sound of the band which is describes as "punk-metal-mix tough, but poppy enough for radio". In contrast to Motörhead Girlschool tried to change their music to what was wanted by the audience throughout the years. From 1982 onwards their sound leaned towards hard rock and glam metal and became more polished, trying to please the US listeners. Their appearance changed as well from leather and denim to a more glam style. The albums Play Dirty (1983) and Running Wild (1985) were of little commercial success and the band later described them as "rubbish or even worse" themselves.
After the commercial failure and being dropped by their label in the US they returned to touring the UK and to their original style and sound with the album Nightmare at Maple Cross (1986) which they still retain till today. This change for the US market had cost them their credibility and loyalty with the British fan base and by the end of the 1980s Girschool was no longer relevant in the music business.
Altogether, Girlschool recorded 13 studio albums. The last album Guilty as Sin was released in 2015. The album Hit and Run from 1981 was their commercially most successful album. The album Legacy (2008) was a celebration of their 30-year-anniversary and also a dedication to guitarist Kelly Johnson who had died of cancer in 2007.
My favourite song is Race With The Devil from their first album Demolition from 1980. It has a very catchy riff and features a sound very similar to Motörhead. You can definitely imagine those bands playing together here.
The other songs and albums I listened to were ok and easy to listen to. It is clear why this band is associated with the NWOBHM in their early days. Their later music is more hard rock and rock though.
What stands out to me is the fact that this band has been around for 40 years and despite touring and supporting so many popular bands, they have never managed to come up to their level of success. There are very few female bands or musicians in heavy metal/hard rock and I am curious why this is. Is there less interest from women in this kind of music? Are female heavy metal musicians less accepted by the audience? Are they not suited for this kind of music? I think "Women in Heavy Metal" might be a new blog article all by itself.