It was Kim McAuliffe, rhythm guitarist, lead vocalist and founder of Girlschool, who defined the group most succinctly. “Deep down, we’re a rock’n’roll band,” she said. “Like Motörhead. Heavy metal rock’n’roll, we call it.” And nobody understood that better than Motörhead leader Lemmy, an influential ally in Girlschool’s rise to fame in the early 80s.
For an all-female band operating in the male-dominated arena of heavy rock, sexist bullshit was commonplace. Gerry Bron, who had Motörhead and Hawkwind on his label Bronze Records, said of his decision to sign Girlschool: “I went to an early rehearsal and was surprised how well they played their instruments. How terribly chauvinistic of me.”
But Lemmy was better than that. When Girlschool opened for Motörhead on a 1979 tour, he stated authoritatively: “They’re fucking great.” He was outspoken in his support of this and other female bands: “People treat them like second-class citizens, because they’re chicks,” he said. “It’s really poor.”
And the close relationship between Motörhead and Girlschool was cemented in 1981 with the St. Valentine’s Day Massacre E.P. – released under the hybrid name of Headgirl, with the two bands united on a blistering version of Johnny Kidd & The Pirates’ Please Don’t Touch.
McAuliffe is the sole constant in Girlschool’s long history, having formed the band in London in 1975 as Painted Lady. The classic line-up came together in 1978: McAuliffe and bassist/vocalist Enid Williams were joined by lead guitarist Kelly Johnson and drummer Denise Dufort. They took the name Girlschool from the B-side of Paul McCartney And Wings’ hit Mull Of Kintyre.
The debut album Demolition, released in 1980, established Girlschool as rising stars of the New Wave Of British Heavy Metal, and while their success was brief and modest compared to that of Iron Maiden and Def Leppard, the tenacity of McAuliffe has seen the band through lean years and numerous personnel changes.
The tragedy in Girlschool’s story is the loss of Kelly Johnson, who quit in 1984, returned in 1993, but withdrew again in 1999 after being diagnosed with cancer. She died in 2007 at the age of 49. Girlschool will always perform those great songs they recorded with Kelly in the 80s, but as Kim McAuliffe said: “Kelly was great, and we miss her a lot.”
Girlschool's 13th album 45WTFortyfive? is released on July 28.
...and one to avoid
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