Painted Ladies...
Girlschool, originally named Painted Lady, is an English group formed in 1978 by Kim McAuliffe and Dinah Williams, who were soon joined by Kelly Johnson and Denise Dufort. A group whose particularity is to have always been made up exclusively of women for 40 years !
A first single "Take it all away" was released in 1979, a single that unfortunately went completely unnoticed except for Ian Kilmister, leader of the Motörhead. Which offers the girls the first part of the tour that his group must do in the months that follow.
A media exposure of the most positive which allows the girls to sign with the label Bronze Records, label which allows them to release their first album “Demolition” one year later in 1980. The album knows a significant success across the Channel and produces finally a first title classified with the single "Race with the devil".
A great adventure which gained momentum from 1981 when the album "Hit and run" was released, an album which was to be a hit in the entire Anglo-Saxon sphere and propel girls to the rank of global phenomenon, in particular thanks to the single that bears the name of the album.
The same year, they collaborated with Mötorhead on the mini album "St Valentine's Day Massacre", a fruitful collaboration since the single "Please don’t touch" which was to be extracted from it was a significant success.
The years go by but unfortunately are not necessarily alike. The year 1982 saw the release of the album "Screaming blue murder", which was also a significant success but struggled to produce any major single. Just like "Play dirty" which was released a year later in 1983. It would be even worse for the album "Running wild" which was released in 1985 and which was not even classified.
And everything that comes out afterwards will go almost unnoticed, gradually relegating the girls to the depths of oblivion ...
To discover or rediscover.
Discography (among others ...) :
Take it all away 1979
Emergency 1980
Nothing to lose 1980
Race with devil 1980
Yeah right 1980
Hit and run 1981
C’Mon let’s go 1981
Don’t call it love 1982
20th century boy 1983
Burning in the heat 1984
I’m the leader of the gang (I am) 1986
All day all night 1987
Head over heels 1988
Fox on the run 1988
Clips :
1979 ... the beginnings to say the least punchy and which immediately set the trend : with these girls, it does not laugh and it will beat up hard, very hard !
1980 ... an entry into the 1980s which is also particularly punchy ! The style of the girls has nothing to envy that of the men on the beating side, that's for sure ...
1980 ... the fact remains that this group has real talent. Certainly, it hits hard but what they offer is not without interest, it is clear !
1980 ... they finally get a semblance of the beginning of recognition. The success is limited to England but it's always better than nothing as they say !
1980 ... an incredible energy and especially rare among girls in this decade of 80. A literally energized group that almost makes you dizzy ...
1981 ... the style is refined year after year. More structured, more inspired, it allows girls to achieve the greatest success of their career here. HU-GE !
1981 ... a year 1981 which will undoubtedly remain as their best vintage. They obtain here a second notorious success which makes them definitively fit into the musical legend of the 80s. Bravo girls !
1982 ... the rest will prove to be more complicated to manage than expected. The sound evolution only lasts a while and the girls quickly come back to their basics. Race result : free fall in the Charts ...
1983 ... at the rate of only one title per year, it is clear that this is not how the girls risk turning the tide. Too bad because they did not lack much to do just beautiful things ...
1984 ... the year 1984 is no exception to the rule, it will also be a single title that year. The delay now taken on the competition is irreparable and this despite a title of quality yet obvious ...
1986 ... after a year 1985 downright empty, we find the girls in this year 1986 in a relative form. Sufficient in any case to land a little hit in the land of kangaroos ...
1987 ... a sound that has hardly changed since their debut has been their main mistake. Unfortunately, they will pay a heavy price for this error ...
1988 ... an adventure to say the least original and which will have lasted almost 10 years. Unfortunately, the girls will not have been able to adapt to the new musical trends of the moment ...
1988 ... a refusal to adapt which will inexorably precipitate them towards a pure and simple disappearance in the long term. Frankly shame ...
Wiki :
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Girlschool
Official Website :
Greatest Hits :
https://www.deezer.com/us/artist/9921
Discography :
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCHYKzyqS2j_HwaTmpMoowRQ/featured