GIRLSCHOOL has remained one of my favourite bristish bands and I still can't
believe that I did an interview with these ladies who know very well the
meaning of the word "rock" ! The questions were answered by Kelly Johnson
and Jackie Chambers with occasional help from Kim McAuliffe. A big THANK
YOU to Jackie for her great help !!
Do you remember how did you get into hard rock and heavy metal ?
Kim McAuliffe and Enid Williams were in PAINTED
LADY in ’78. How did this band sound ?
Well - not very good!! We were very young, and still learning our instruments.
We weren't yet writing songs of our own, so we were playing covers, like
Tom Petty, Thin Lizzy...
With the addition of Kelly Johnson and Denise Dufort, GIRLSCHOOL was born.
How did you meet the other girls?
The first vinyl apparition of GIRLSCHOOL was the “Take It All Away” 7’’
in ’79 on City Records. How did this one-off single deal come ? It seems
several thousand copies were sold… So, was it like the right single to open
the doors ?
It came about through a friend, Phil Scott, who
had a small independent label called City Records and he asked us if we wanted
to record and release that song - it turned out to be a good move as aside
from selling well for a small label and relatively unheard-of band, it got
us signed to Motorhead's management company, then a record-deal with Bronze.
After the release of the single, you played with MOTORHEAD, and it was
the beginning of a developing friendship between the two bands. What is your
opinion about MOTORHEAD and their long career ?
They're legendary now aren't they? Definitely one
of a kind - I can't imagine Lemmy ever quitting or retiring - it'd be the
death of him. Every time they play London we go see them.
How did you get in touch with Bronze Records ? If I’m correct, it was
at first a deal for the “Emergency” single, and then you signed a deal for
several albums…
Motorhead were already on Bronze, so to 'keep it
all in the family', our manager negotiated a five-album deal with them.
Between the single and the album, you toured with URIAH HEEP. At this
time, the bands played live a lot before recording their first album, and
the consequence was a strong debut album… Now, it seems most of the bands
want at first to record and album and then to play live, and the consequences
are an average album plus an average concert/tour… Do you agree with this
statement ?
Yes pretty much because bands are so busy while
touring there's never enough time to write (well, I meant new trendy bands
which records total shit for their album and play very few on stage -Patrick)
The “Demolition” lp was released in 1980. It is really a good debut album
with heavy and anthemic tunes as “Deadline”, “Demolition Boys”, “Midnight
Ride”… What are your thoughts about this first lp ?
VicMaile was a good choice of producer for us, he
gave us a lot of good ideas in the studio and he was very patient as we didn't
always as a band agree on certain things. The songs were all written before
we went into the studio so we didn't have to sit around writing while we
were there so it was all recorded and mixed in about 3 weeks.
You did a tour with BLACK SABBATH (do you prefer SABBATH with Dio or with
Ozzy ?) and a tour with MOTORHEAD. Have you good memories to tell about these
two tours ?
Well, going on M'Head's Overkill tour was certainly
an experience and we picked up a few bad habits along the way! It was a three-week
tour and by the end of it everyone said how ill we looked - we were wrecks!
You also did a session for the BBC’s Friday Rock Show. How important this
show was for a british band ? Because a lot of bands from the NWOBHM did
a session for that…
It was important to us as it's a popular national
radio show and reaches a wide audience.
In 1981, the “Hit And Run” lp came out, and it is stronger than the first
one. Was it the best selling GIRLSCHOOL album ? Do you think it is the classic
GIRLSCHOOL album ?
The Hit and Run album album was released soon after
the St Valentines day Massacre EP which possibly helped it's sales, so as
yet it remains the best selling album but we're still writing and hope to
have a new album out in 2004.
About the tour, this was the first time you were the headliner. How were
your feelings to be on the top of the bill and to have the time to play a
full concert ?
It aloud us to use a full stage show, lighting rig
and pyro etc... also we were well paid, well fed, stayed at better hotels
and we had a better rider.
You also played in Japan, and Victor Records released the “Live And More”
mlp, containing two live songs and four studio songs. Was this mlp your idea
?
No it wasn't our idea, it was our record companies.
Why did Enid Williams leave the band ? How did you find Ghislaine Weston
?
It was a mutual decision we all felt she'd gone
as far as she could with the band and she wanted to try new things. After
Enid left, Gil was recommended to us by Lemmy.
The year ’82 saw the release of the “Screaming Blue Murder” lp, with heavy
and straight songs. This studio album seems to have been recorded live… How
was the recording for the third lp ?
For this album we had a new producer Nigel Gray
who'd produced Police and Siouxsie and Banshees beforehand but he didn't
work out for us, he changed our sound.
You toured in the UK as a headliner with RAVEN opening, and toured as
opener with IRON MAIDEN in the USA and with RAINBOW in Europe. How were these
three tours ?
The tour in the Uk went well, Raven were great
fun so we all had a laugh. The tour in the USA was a 3 band package with
us Iron Maiden and The Scorpions which lasted nearly 4 months. It was great
for us as we were playing stadiums for the first time. We thought it was
never going to end and the van broke down all the time in searing heat with
no air conditioning but apart from that it was a great tour. Rainbow tour
was about 3 weeks long which Denise particularly enjoyed as they were her
favourite band.
The fourth lp, “Play Dirty”, was released in ’83. It contained traditional
GIRLSCHOOL heavy songs (“Play Dirty”, “Breakout”, “Running For Cover”…) but
also more accessible songs… Was it some experimentations or some concessions
to the market ?
It wasn't intentionally aimed at any market but
the production was a bit more polished than usual (Noddy Holder /Jim Lea
of Slade).
Which was the reason for the departure of Kelly Johnson ? Was it difficult
to replace her by Cris Bonacci ?
Around 1983 Kelly had set herself a goal of doing
1 more Tour and one more album as she felt it was time to move on. Girlschool
headhunted Cris Bonacci as they'd seen her play live with another all girl
band called 'She' they asked her if she wanted to join and she said yes.
You parted company with Bronze Records. Were you disappointing by this
label ? Also, this label went into liquidation a little later…
They did a pretty good job, there were no major
disagreements.
Before the recording of the following album, you added Jackie Bodimead
as a vocalist. Why did you take that decision ?
After Kelly left, Kim really wanted to try changing
the band into a 5 piece to include a front person and a bit of keyboards
just to see how it would go.
You signed a deal with Mercury/Phonogram for the “Running Wild” lp in
’85. Was it a suitable label for the band ? And how was received this album
by fans and mags ?
Basically the label was so big that we just got
lost in it all, also they were based in America and with the band being based
in London that made communication difficult too. They tried to change the
band too much pushing us for an American market. The Album wasn’t released
in the UK, our fans didn’t like it too much and we kind of ignore it too.
You toured with MAGNUM and Jackie Bodimead left after that tour… Was she
not satisfied by her vocalist role in GIRLSCHOOL ?
It just didn’t work out well with Jackie Bodimead,
she wasn’t happy with the band and disliked touring which was obviously a
big problem seeing as though we were constantly on tour then.
How did the deal with GWR come ? MOTORHEAD were on GWR too… And they were
also on Bronze when you signed with this label…
Dougie Smith who was ours and Motorheads manager
formed GWR and then signed us both up to the record company. Tom, who now
runs Communique records which our last album came out on, came to work for
GWR and that’s how we all met.
“Nightmare At Maple Cross” was released in ’86. This album looks like
the follower of “Play Dirty”, as they are heavy songs and more accessible
songs. It is an enjoyable lp, but it seems the response was not great, wasn’t
it ?
We had a fairly good response in the UK but we’re
not sure how it was received abroad.
Gil Weston left and was replaced by ex-ROCK GODDESS Tracey Lamb. How was
the relationship with ROCK GODDESS ? This question, because I remember some
journalists trying to instigate a rivalry between the two bands in the eighties…
Rock Goddess and Girlschool were really good friends,
we used to socialise a lot at that time. Even after Tracey Lamb left them
and joined us we all still remained friends. They got another bass player
and carried on anyway. There wasn’t any rivalry that was just made up by
journalists who believed that there had to be seeing as though we were both
Female bands.
What was this project band with Kim McAuliffe, Philthy Taylor, Nick Lashley
and Beki Bond ?
(its B. Bondage) It was just a group of friends
getting together to write, play and have fun. There were never any gigs and
nothing ever came of it at all.
Following album, “Take A Bite”, came out in ’88, but it got a poor response.
Thinking back, was it a good idea to tour with GARY GLITTER ? Why did you
decide to break up in ’89 ?
The band grew up listening to Rock and Glam rock
too so it was really good fun to do but a couple of members of the band didn’t
really want to do it at the time as they thought that it could ruin the bands
Rock image. Contrary to belief Girlschool have NEVER split up, there have
been quiet years where members have gone off to do side projects but the
band have always done the odd gig during that time and kept on writing ready
for the next Girlschool album.
Kim McAuliffe and Cris Bonacci played in ALL STARS. Then, Kim and Cris
played with Enid Williams in STRANGE GIRLS. What music did these two bands
play ? Rock or hard rock ?
The all stars were a band made up of friends of
Lee Heart who would come over to jam together for fun, Paul Dianno was one
of those who came along to sing. Never gigged but it was always Heavy Rock
music that was played. The Strange Girls had Toyah singing Lead Vocals with
members of Girlschool backing, playing mainly Rock covers but with a few
originals thrown into the set too.
What are your feelings about Castle Communications taking cash with compilation
cd’s featuring your songs from the Bronze era ?
We didn't really have much of a say as Bronze sold
most of our back Catalogue.
GIRLSCHOOL was back in ’91 with Kim McAuliffe, Denise Dufort, Cris Bonacci
and new bassist Jackie Carrera. How did you get the deal with Communiqué
?
Tom worked for GWR then later went on to form his
own company Communique and Girlschool went with him.
The “Girlschool” cd, released in ’92, is really a strong and excellent
album, and it’s really a shame that this album was ignored. What are your
views about this cd ?
We all thought it was a good album too but there
wasn’t a big enough push to promote the album, a shame but these things happen.
Cris Bonacci and Jackie Carrera left. Tracey Lamb and Kelly Johnson were
back. How did these event happen ?
Kim called Kelly who was by now living in the States
and asked her if she would like to rejoin the band in order to do some short
tours and a live album as Cris was leaving. When Jackie Carrera left the
obvious choice was to get Tracey back in the band.
This line-up toured and finally an official live cd was released in ’95.
It had been a long time to wait for an official album… Didn’t you get opportunities
to release a live double lp in the eighties ?
There were several un-official Live albums that
came out around the world but this was the first official live album. We
were never actually offered the opportunity to record one in the 80's.
What has done GIRLSCHOOL between ’95 and ’99 ?
Girlschool continued touring and writing which culminated
in 1999's album 21st anniversary album 'Not That Innocent'. This was
to be Kelly Johnsons final album, Jackie Chambers was asked to join the band
and was due to play at the Wacken festival as well as a couple of other gigs
that year but due to other commitments was unable to join until after the
festival.
What memories did you keep of your appearance at the 1999 Wacken festival
?
It was a great gig and as usual we all had a good
time there. The audience were fantastic they seemed to know every song which
was really encouraging for us.
Tracey Lamb left to be replaced by original bassist Enid Williams. Original
guitarist Kelly Johnson left a second time the band, and new guitarist is
Jackie Chambers. Do you feel the current line-up will stay a stable one ?
The line up is stable as long as every member in
it is enjoying playing. If for any reason someone wants to leave, which hopefully
won’t happen, then I think the band will still continue on with another new
face or maybe even yet another return of an old face. Over the years we’ve
been together there has only been 10 different members.
At last, in 2002, a new album came out, “21th Anniversary – Not That Innocent”.
Are you satisfied with this album ? And what about the response ?
We all love this album and are very proud of it.
We were really happy with the production by Tim Hamill. We found someone
in Tim that we could really work with. The new line up recorded 2 new songs
to be included before its release.
Which are the reasons for the cancel of the ’03 autumn tour ?
We had nothing to do with the cancellation of the
tour, we were all very disappointed as we were told 3 days beforehand. It
was due to a very poor promotion company who we’ll obviously never use again.
We are trying to rectify the cancellation with a few British dates soon.
Looking back in time, what are your best and worst memories with GIRLSCHOOL
?
JACKIE : Best would be the Sweden rock festival
2002, a great atmosphere loved it, the crowd were fantastic. Worst would
be a gig in Spain were me and Kim kept getting electric shocks in the sound
check and guys were trying to nick my pedals off of the stage while I was
playing.
KIM : There are a few best moments to choose from, Headlining at the Reading
Festival in 1980 would be 1, Supportinmg Deep Purple om tour and also when
we headlined at the Hammersmith Odeon on my Birthday.
Worst moment was being electrocuted on stage in Copenhagen
DENISE :Best memory playing on the Iron Maiden, Scorpions tour in the States
and also The Deep Purple Tour also in the States. Worst memory would be seeing
Kim electrocuted in Copenhagen.
KELLY: Best memory is probably seeing Hit and Run album reach top five in
the British charts in '81 - worst memory being the time Kim was electrocuted
on stage in Copenhagen in '80.
Girlschool
website
interview by Patrick Lefevre
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