Girl school
| Girl school | |
|---|---|
 Girlschool at Bloodstock Open Air 2009 |
|
| General information | |
| origin | London , England |
| Genre (s) | Heavy metal , hard rock , NWOBHM |
| founding | 1978 |
| Website | http://www.girlschool.co.uk/ |
| Founding members | |
| Enid Williams (until 1982, 2000-2019) | |
Vocals, guitar
|
Kim McAuliffe |
Vocals, guitar |
Kelly Johnson † (until 1984, 1993–2000) |
| Denise Dufort | |
| Current occupation | |
Vocals, guitar |
Kim McAuliffe |
Vocals, bass |
Tracey Lamb (1987–1991, 1993–2000, since 2019) |
guitar |
Jackie Chambers (since 2000) |
Drums |
Denise Dufort |
| former members | |
Vocals, bass |
Gil Weston (1982-1987) |
Vocals, bass |
Enid Williams |
Vocals, keyboard
|
Jackie Bodimead (1984-1985) |
guitar |
Cris Bonacci (1984-1992) |
bass |
Jackie Carrera (1992) |
Girlschool is a British heavy metal band that was formed in London in 1978 .
Band history
The founding members were Enid Williams, Kim McAuliffe, Kelly Johnson and Denise Dufort. All four wore mostly black leather and gave numerous concerts. In 1978 their first single, Take It All Away, was released .
The albums Demolition (1980) and Hit and Run (1981) sold very well, but received poor reviews. Also in 1981 the EP St. Valentine's Day Massacre came out, which was recorded together with Motörhead and attracted more criticism.
In 1982 Williams left the band, replaced by Gil Weston. The album Screaming Blue Murder , created in the same year, was described as noisy and monotonous by the critics. In late 1982 or early 1983, McAuliffe suffered a severe electrocution that nearly killed her. In 1983 the album Play Dirty , produced by Noddy Holder and Jim Lea (Slade), was released , on which the band began to shape a glam rock image. In 1984 there was another change of members: Johnson said goodbye to girl school, but Cris Bonacci and Jackie Bodimead joined the band. When Running Wild was released in 1985, Girlschool had completely switched their outfit to glitter. Shortly after the release, Bodimead left the band behind.
The band became more popular again at the end of 1985 through an appearance in the supporting act for Blue Öyster Cult . Together with Gary Glitter she created a new version of Glitters I'm the Leader of the Gang (I Am) in 1986 and released the album Nightmares at Maple Cross . In 1987 Weston left the band and was replaced by Tracey Lamb. Girlschool toured Europe with Motörhead that year and the album Take a Bite was well received by critics. A little later, Lamb Girlschool also left behind.
Bassist Jackie Carrera (ex The Flatmates) was added to replace Lamb. In 1992 the band released the self-produced album Girlschool , which led to the band's renewed popularity. In 1993 Kelly Johnson and Tracey Lamb returned to the band, and in 1995 the album Girlschool: LIVE was recorded, with the new songs Little Green Men and Knife . Kelly and Tracy left the band in 2000 and Enid Williams returned, bringing in new lead guitarist Jackie Chambers.
In 2002, 21st Anniversary: Not That Innocent was recorded, produced by Girlschool and Tim Hamill.
In 2003 Girlschool recorded two new songs along with three tracks from 21st Anniversary: Not That Innocent for a CD, which was released under the name The Second Wave: 25 years of NWOBHM on their label Communique. The same line-up then released the album Believe on July 26, 2004, again on Communique Records and again produced by Tim Hamill and Girlschool.
In November 2005 Girlschool released their first download single, a re-recorded version of Emergency and London , these tracks are only available for download there and a donation for every download of Emergency goes to the London Air Ambulance . On July 15, 2007, founding member Kelly Johnson died of complications from cancer.
In 2008 the band performed at Wacken Open Air and Bang Your Head and on October 24th of the same year the album Legacy was released . Another gig at the Wacken Open Air took place in 2011, where the band played in the Bullhead City tent on August 6th.
On November 13, 2015, the band released their 13th studio album, Guilty as Sin .
On January 29, 2019, Girlschool announced that bassist Enid Williams is leaving the band and will be replaced by Tracey Lamb.
Discography
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Chart positions Explanation of the data |
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Studio albums
- 1980: Demolition (bronze)
- 1981: Hit and Run (Bronze)
- 1982: Screaming Blue Murder (Bronze)
- 1983: Play Dirty (Bronze)
- 1985: Running Wild (Mercury)
- 1986: Nightmare at Maple Cross (GWR)
- 1988: Take a Bite (UK: GWR / US: Enigma)
- 1989: Cheers You Lot (Metal Masters)
- 1992: Girlschool (Communique)
- 2002: 21st Anniversary: Not That Innocent (Communique)
- 2004: Believe (Communique)
- 2008: Legacy (Wacken Records / SPV)
- 2011: Hit and Run - Revisited (UDR)
- 2015: Guilty as Sin (UDR)
Others
- 1981: St. Valentine's Day Massacre (Bronze: EP with Motörhead )
- 1986: Race with the Devil Live (Raw Power)
- 1995: Live (Communique)
- 1997: King Biscuit Flower Hour (King Biscuit)
- 2005: Live from London 1984
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Biography. In: Band homepage. Accessed January 11, 2018 .
- ↑ Wacken Open Air: Running Order 2011 .
- ↑ Announcement on blabbermouth.net (English). Retrieved November 13, 2015 .
- ↑ https://www.loudersound.com/news/girlschool-part-ways-with-enid-williams-again
- ↑ a b Chart sources: UK
- ↑ Music Sales Awards: UK