Girlschool
Formed: 1977
From:
London,
United Kingdom
Last Known Status: Active
Latest Girlschool News
Below is our complete Girlschool news coverage, including columns and articles pertaining to the band. Some articles listed may be indirectly related, such as side projects of the band members, etc.
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Girlschool, Alcatrazz & Raven Rock Tufnell Park
There are some tours which are almost impossible to pass up. When a legendary band announces a tour it's exciting, but when a team of pioneers get together, then you know you're in for something special (or an explorers expedition.) So when it was announced that Girlschool and Raven, two bands from the New Wave Of British Heavy Metal who, while not always gaining the recognition they deserve, helped lay the foundations for what metal is today, would be hitting the road with Alcatrazz, a band who achieved much success in the heyday of heavy metal, it was a no brainer. Time then to hop on the coach to London once again to visit The Dome in Tufnell Park, just a couple of stops away from Camden on the Northern Line to witness what promised to be a great night of old school heavy metal music.
As if the triple co-headlining sets weren't enough, opening the show was Airforce, who formed back in 1987 and is perhaps most notable for featuring former Iron Maiden drummer Doug Sampson behind the kit. What will immediately strike anyone witnessing them though is the absolute vocal powerhouse that is singer Flávio Lino, the former vocalist of doom metal band On The Loose. Lino has the perfect voice for this kind of metal and if one was looking to start a heavy metal band, he would be exactly the kind of vocalist you'd want. Airforce plays a fun, up-tempo brand of music well suited to this tour and it's of good quality too, leading to a number of fans in attendance singing along, even if they weren't familiar with them before. Airforce is a real treat for lovers of traditional heavy metal and I'd definitely recommend catching them live. More...
Raven, Girlschool & Alcatrazz Announce Tour Dates
New Wave Of British Heavy Metal cult favourites Raven and Girlschool have announced that they will be teaming up, not only together, but with American heavy metal veterans Alcatrazz for a triple co-headlining tour of the United Kingdom in 2024. In addition to this, London NWOBHM stalwarts Airforce will be opening the show as special guests.
The tour dates are as follows:
February 14 - Glasgow - Ivory Blacks
February 15 - Newcastle - Trillians Newcastle
February 16 - Manchester -Manchester Academy
February 17 - London - The Dome
Girlschool Posts New Music Video Online
Forty-five years young, British hard rock royalty, Girlschool, today release their hair-raising new single, "Cold Dark Heart." The song is found on the band’s upcoming album, "WTFortyfive?," out this Friday via Silver Lining Music.
Musically, "Cold Dark Heart" unveils a more sombre and dark side to Girlschool. The tracks kicks off with a chugging, boot-stomping guitar riff, entangled with hypnotic vocals, eerie lyrics, and accompanied by a mesmerizing video with scenes of an otherworldly fantasia, created by Instagood Promotion.
Co-founding frontwoman and guitarist Kim McAuliffe explains of the song, "It includes our heaviest riff ever… so heavy it will eat your very soul. Celebrating our dark side!"
Adds guitarist and backing vocalist Jackie Chambers, "Musically, it’s Killing Joke meets Rammstein and then some!" More...
OpEd
Hear Her Roar: Women In Metal
Today marks International Women's Day, in which we remember the contributions of many great women throughout history as well as in the world today. The day was first celebrated by the Socialist Party Of America on February 28th 1909. The tradition of celebrating women on March 8th was first done in the then newly formed Soviet Union, who declared the day a national holiday. It was adopted by other Communist and Socialist countries as a holiday before the United Nations recognised the event in 1975. Today the significance of the day varies, still being a public holiday in some countries, a day of protest in others and officially ignored in a number of other nations. So, what does all this have to do with heavy metal? Marie Curie, Rosa Luxemburg, Angela Davis and Joan Of Arc may not be common names in the metal world, but we have plenty of our own heroines and ladies to rival the lords.
For a long time, the role of women in heavy metal was seen by outsiders as miniscule or worse, nothing more than objects. Perhaps women have more of a role in metal music than previously thought however. Let's take for example what's considered the first heavy metal album, "Black Sabbath" by Black Sabbath. The cover art depicts a mysterious woman, cloaked in black, stood right in the middle of an illustration of Mapledurham Watermill in Oxfordshire. This is only a tiny example of course, but as heavy metal grew, so did the presence of women. Bands would often sing about women, be it in the context of relationships ("Victim Of Changes" by Judas Priest for example, was comprised of two earlier songs "Whisky Woman" and "Red Light Lady,") sex "Charlotte The Harlot" by Iron Maiden or as inspirations ("Jet City Woman" by Queensryche.) More...
Girlschool Parts Ways With Bassist
New Wave Of British Heavy Metal legends Girlschool has announced that they have parted company with bass player Enid Williams. A message posted on Facebook reads as follows:
"We wish to inform our fans that Girlschool have parted ways once again with bassist Enid Williams .
"Tracey Lamb formerly of Rock Goddess and Girlschool (1987-1991 & 1993-2000) will be helping us out on upcoming dates until we find a permanent replacement.
"Girlschool would like to wish Enid all the best in all her future Ventures.
"Thanks to you our fans for standing by us all these years and we will see you at all the shows, we’re also looking forward to recording new material soon.
"Kim, Den, & Jax."
Enid Williams is one of the founding members of the band in 1978, but left four years later before returning to the fold in 2000.
Saxon Announces 40th Anniversary Shows
1979 was a monumentous year for British Hard Rock with the birth of the New Wave Of British Heavy Metal and the subsequent rise of future giants of the genre. After 40 years and 22 studio album releases SAXON remain as one of those giants of British Heavy Metal and to prove the fact the band are back in 2019 to play 3 iconic shows in iconic venues.
For the first time since the 1980’s Saxon return to headlining London’s legendary Hammersmith “Odeon” and Manchester Apollo, together with their largest Scottish show to date at Glasgow’s Braehead Arena in October 2019, with a mega show featuring staples of Saxon shows past, the castle set in its enormity together with the classic Eagle Lighting rig!
In addition to the announcement of these shows, the band will release another chapter in the classic “The Eagle Has Landed Live” series of albums with The Eagle Has Landed 4 out on general release on August 2nd 2019 via Silver Lining Music. Renamed “The Eagle Has Landed 40” to commemorate the anniversary, the album will be a double CD set (available on other formats including a special box set) containing 40 songs spanning the bands career. More...
Girlschool Streaming "Take It Like A Band"
London quartet Girlschool will release 13th studio album, "Guilty As Sin," next Friday, November 13 in North America via UDR Music. In celebration of next week's release, album cut "Take It Like A Band" is now available online for streaming.
Produced by Chris Tsangarides (Judas Priest, Thin Lizzy) at the Ecology Room Studios in Kent, England, "Guilty As Sin" includes 10 tracks of the driven, melodic yet gloriously riff-heavy rock'n'roll that Kim McAuliffe (vocals and guitar), Enid Williams (vocals and bass), Jackie Chambers (lead guitar and backing vocals) and Denise Dufort (drums) are world famous for. More...
Girlschool Is "Guilty As Sin"
They’re loud, they’re hard, they’re tough, they’re uncompromising, and now the members of Girlschool - the London-based hard rock quartet covered in our look back at the history of NWOBHM - are proud to announce the upcoming release of their 13th studio album, "Guilty As Sin," hitting stores on November 13 in North America via UDR Music in red colored vinyl, digital download and a deluxe ecolbook formats.
Pre-orders for Guilty As Sin will begin on October 9 with the first single “Come The Revolution” (included on the physical U.S. edition) as an instant-grat download track.
Produced by Chris Tsangarides (Judas Priest, Thin Lizzy) at the Ecology Room Studios in Kent, England, "Guilty As Sin" includes 10 tracks of the driven, melodic, and gloriously riff-heavy rock’ n’ roll that Kim McAuliffe (vocals and guitar), Enid Williams (vocals and bass), Jackie Chambers (lead guitar and backing vocals) and Denise Dufort (drums) are famous for. More...
OpEd
Denim And Leather: Celebrating 35 Years Of NWOBHM
This month marks thirty five years since one of the most important terms in heavy metal history was coined. After a show featuring Iron Maiden, Angel Witch and Samson, Sounds writer Geoff "Deaf" Barton wrote a review of the concert in which a phrase was used that still stands strong today. It was the time when head banging public was introduced to the New Wave of British Heavy Metal. The term was arguably created to cause a stir amongst fans who would argue that heavy metal bands in Britain was nothing new and that the likes of Black Sabbath and Judas Priest had been packing out large venues and appearing on such television shows as Top of the Pops for the last few years, despite the dominance of punk rock. However, these bands were different. They possessed the energy of punk but had the look and volume of the early metal bands before them. They took heavy metal away from the grandiose indulgence which some bands had become embroiled in and brought it back to the common man.
It was truly an exciting movement, full of high quality bands which would go on to influence hundreds more and in some cases, become superstars themselves. More or less every metal fan will be able to tell you that Iron Maiden was one such NWOBHM band, with a slightly smaller number being able to point to Def Leppard as another group from the New Wave of British Heavy Metal who went on to stardom after the release of their excellent self-titled EP and debut album, "On Through the Night," following which they shifted direction to the band we know today. More...
More Bands Confirmed For Hard Rock Hell V
Two more bands have been announced for this year's edition of Wales' Hard Rock Hell festival, both of which made their names in the New Wave Of British Heavy Metal Movement. Cirencester based act Dealer will be performing at the event, as will fellow new confirmations Bronz. The festival boasts a host of other NWOBHM acts as well as others and will take place at Pontins in Prestatyn, North Wales from December 1st-4th.
The lineup is as follows:
Airrace
Azincourt
Dan Baird
Black Spiders
Black Stone Cherry
Bonafide
Bronz
Dealer
Demon
Girlschool
Hammerhead
Little Caesar
Magnum
Million Dollar Reload
Orange Goblin
Pallus
Praying Mantis
The Quireboys
Raven
Reckless Love
Sahg
Stampede
Therapy?
Tygers Of Pan Tang
Tyketto
Voodoo Johnson
Voodoo Six
Witchfynde
Wolfsbane
Girlschool Drops Off Diamond Head Tour
Although the two bands had scheduled a few dates in North America together, with more expected to be announced, all female heavy metal legends Girlschool have announced that they have been forced to pull out of their proposed tour supporting fellow New Wave Of British Heavy Metal favourites, Diamond Head. A statement from the group's management reads as follows:
"The main reason for that is the fact that the main sponsor wanted to wait for the album to be released in the US before the band went over to tour.
"This was for the company extremely important and also for us the only possible way to bring the band to the US and join Diamond head on their tour.
"For that reason, the financial situation has become absolutely impossible to work with forcing us to cancel the entire tour. As soon as we have a definite release date for Hit And Run revisited in the US we will be back!"
Full Lineup For 2011 Heavy MTL Festival Announced
Death metal veterans Morbid Angel have announced that they will be taking part in the forthcoming edition of the Heavy MTL festival. Heavy MTL 2011 is set to take place on July 23rd and 24th at Parc Jean-Drapeau in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. You can view the entire festival lineup below.
Saturday, July 23:
DISTURBED
GODSMACK
BILLY TALENT
IN FLAMES
TRIVIUM
MACHINE HEAD
UNEARTH
SUICIDE SILENCE
KINDGOM OF SORROW
ALL SHALL PERISH
RED FANG
STRAIGHT LINE STITCH
BLACKGUARD
CRYPTOPSY
DEAD & DIVINE
NECRONOMICON
SLAVES ON DOPE
MASS MURDER MESSIAH
GRIMSKUNK
Sunday, July 24:
KISS
MOTÖRHEAD
MORBID ANGEL
ANNIHILATOR
OPETH
ANTHRAX
CHILDREN OF BODOM
AS I LAY DYING
THE SWORD
TIMES OF GRACE
DEVILDRIVER
DIAMOND HEAD
GIRLSCHOOL
ENDAST
GORGUTS
LAZURUS A.D.
LES GUENILLES
THE CATALYST
ANONYMUS
Orange Goblin To Play Hard Rock Hell
Orange Goblin announced last month that the band will be entering the studio in August to record a new album. The band also also now been confirmed to appear at the Hard Rock Hell V festival, which takes place at Pontins, Prestatyn, North Wales from Thursday 1st of December to Sunday the 4th of December 2011.
Orange Goblin will play on the Main Stage on Saturday, December 3rd and other acts appearing over the weekend include Girlschool, Tygers of Pan Tang, Black Stone Cherry, The Quireboys, Raven, Praying Mantis, Tyketto, Black Spiders, SAHG, Therapy?, Wolfsbane, Witchfynde, an exclusive festival appearance by Ace Frehley and many more.
Check out this location for more details and ticket information.
More Bands Confirmed For Hard Rock Hell V
The organisers of Britain's Hard Rock Hell festival has announced three more bands for this year's edition of the event. New Wave of British Heavy metal champions Tygers Of Pan Tang will be performing, as will their fellow NWOBHM comrades Girlschool, along with the also newly confirmed Magnum. The festival will take place from December 2nd-4th at Pontins in Prestatyn, North Wales and features the following lineup:
Black Spiders
Bonafide
Dan Baird
Girlschool
Little Caesar
Magnum
Quireboys
Reckless Love
Tygers Of Pan Tang
Column
Sunday Old School: Girlschool
Nowadays, heavy metal fans are pretty used to seeing women in bands. Arch Enemy, Lacuna Coil, Within Temptation to name some of the most successful. But in the late 1970s and early 1980s, heavy metal was seen as dominated by white males and bands were accused of scaring away potential female fans by having a macho image and misogynistic lyrics. However, this perception was changed, or at least altered somewhat by four women from London who called themselves, Girlschool. The band was originally a covers outfit named, Painted Lady but eventually decided to begin writing original material, taking their new name from the B-side of the hit song, "Mull Of Kintyre" by Wings. They released their first single, "Take It All Away" in 1978 and received some radio play, as well as a strengthened sense of enthusiasm from the British metal underground. Not least of the people to take an interest in the group was Motorhead main man Lemmy, who offered Girlschool a supporting slot on their "Overkill" tour. After supporting Welsh rock favourites, Budgie, the band auditioned for, and received, a record deal with Bronze Records.
The band then recorded their debut album, "Demolition," which was released in 1980. The album was well timed, as several other British heavy metal bands such as Judas Priest, Iron Maiden and Motorhead all released albums which were wildly successful and helped the fledgling New Wave Of British Heavy Metal explode in popularity. "Demolition" was successful in and of itself too, reaching number 28 in the British album charts and featured some of the band’s best known work and saw Girlschool becoming one of the most popular bands in the movement. Their popularity continued to grow when they teamed up with Motorhead for an EP entitled, "St. Valentine’s Day Massacre" under the collective pseudonym, Headgirl, which reached number five in the British charts and featured the hit single, “Please Don’t Touch.” The band soon got back to their own work and released the album, "Hit And Run" in 1981, which was even more successful than it’s predecessor, reaching number five in the charts and earned the group supporting slots with the likes of Black Sabbath, Rainbow and Rush. More...
Anvil Announces More European Shows
Canadian heavy metal veterans Anvil has announced some more tour dates for their forthcoming tour of Europe. All headlining shows will see them supported by New Wave Of British Heavy Metal outfit Girlschool and most shows in the United Kingdom will see Anvil supporting glam metal band Ratt.
The updated tour schedule is now as follows: More...
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Motorhead Takes Over The Swindon Oasis
It's almost a given that if you like any form of hard rock or metal, you like Motorhead. No other band has the longevity, the honesty and the volume that Motorhead carry with them at all times. Not only do they live rock and roll, they are the embodiment of it. So having them come to perform in Swindon (which they have only done about three times before in their 34 year history) was a real treat for all concerned.
Opening the show this evening was Girlschool, who have been going for nearly as long as Motorhead, forming in 1978. I unfortunately missed quite a bit of their set but what I did see was alot of fun. They gave a performance that showed how much they enjoy not playing their music, but being on the stage in general. They were definitely a great opening act and set the mood for the great evening of rock and roll that was to follow. I look forward to seeing them again in the future and hopefully getting there on time!
Next up was British punk rock legends The Damned. A little bit of pub trivia for you, The Damned were the first British punk band to release a single, an album and tour the United States, not the Sex Pistols as so many people believe. As Michael Caine might say, not alot of people know that! The Damned approached their live show with a great spirit and got plenty of the crowd excited from the opening sentence of "Hello... We're The Damned.... And we sound a bit like this... Is she really going out with him?" before the pounding drums of "New Rose" kicked off a fantastic performance. I personally had been wanting to see The Damned for six years and it was well worth the wait to see them tear through classic songs like "Neat, Neat, Neat" and "Love Song." They were also as hilarious as they were exciting, with guitarist Captain Sensible joking about the recent Morrissey show in Swindon that ended after the singer collapsed on stage after one song. He declared the tour to be "very anti-Simon Cowell" and a "celebration of rock and roll." They closed with the always classic anthem, "Smash It Up" which was followed with Captain Sensible running over to lead singer Dave Vanian's microphone to perform a bit of his 1980s novelty hit song, "Happy Talk" before being dragged off the stage by his guitar straps by Vanian. If I had to ask anything of The Damned, it would be that next time they play "Machine Gun Etiquette" and "Melody Lee." "Nasty" would be a good addition too, but really, those are only requests. If you're a fan of punk rock, go and see The Damned. You won't regret it!
"We are Motorhead... We play rock and roll" was the introductory growl from the iconic singing bass player Lemmy as the headliners took the stage. After that it was into the classic, "Iron Fist" and the onslaught of loud instruments and great songs continued from there. The energy the band brings didn't stop for a second and the band brought a few surprises into their set too, which is always good to hear, performing a cover of the Twisted Sister song, "Shoot 'em Down" and the acoustic blues vibe of "Whorehouse Blues." It was also nice to hear songs from their new album, "Motorizer" as well as songs from the previous two albums, "Inferno" and "Kiss Of Death." The band performed the awesome, "One Night Stand" from the latter album and "In The Name Of Tragedy" from the former. They also included timeless songs such as "Going To Brazil," "Killed By Death" and "Over The Top." Hearing the band playing "Bomber" felt fantastic as on the two occassions I had seen them before, they left it out from the set. And for the encore? What else would you expect than the song that defines heavy metal and hard rock and roll in general, "Ace Of Spades," followed by the title track of their second album, "Overkill." Motorhead proved once again why they are one of the true legends of rock with a performance that didn't falter once, great crowd interaction and timeless songs. All in all, it was a great night, though the crowd really were a disappointment. Alot of people in Swindon complain that they don't have a proper music venue to draw bigger acts but if they are as still as many in the crowd were for Motorhead, building a venue would just be a waste of money and time. That aside, if you live in the U.K. and you like your concerts to be f'ing loud (the "f" is not for fairly!) and alot of fun, then you simply have to catch this tour!
Onslaught And More Added To Hard Rock Hell III
The third edition of the Hard Rock Hell festival in Wales has added some more bands to the current bill. The event will now feature performances from British thrash metal legends Onslaught as well as Evile, Toxic Holocaust and Susperia. The festival will be held between December 4th - 6th in Prestatyn in North Wales.
The lineup is now as follows:
ANGEL WITCH
CLOVEN HOOF
DEMON
EVILE
GIRLSCHOOL
LAUREN HARRIS
HYDROGYN
MARYA ROXX
NEW YORK DOLLS
ONSLAUGHT
QUEENSRŸCHE
THE QUIREBOYS
ROCK GODDESS
SONATA ARCTICA
SUSPERIA
TERRORVISION
TIGERTAILZ
TOXIC HOLOCAUST
W.A.S.P
WITCHFYNDE
WRATHCHILD
More Bands Confirmed For Hard Rock Hell III
The organizers of the British rock festival Hard Rock Hell has announced that Angel Witch, Demon and Witchfynde are the latest bands to be added to the festival lineup. The event will be held in Prestatyn in North Wales at the Pontins resort.
The lineup so far is now as follows:
ANGEL WITCH
WITCHFYNDE
DEMON
GIRLSCHOOL
TERRORVISION
WRATHCHILD
LAUREN HARRIS
HYDROGYN
MARYA ROXX
NEW YORK DOLLS
QUEENSRŸCHE
THE QUIREBOYS
ROCK GODDESS
SONATA ARCTICA
TIGERTAILZ
W.A.S.P
The Damned Added To Motorhead U.K. Tour
British punk legends The Damned has been confirmed as an additional support band for Motorhead on their tour of Great Britain later this year. All shows will also see a special guest slot from Girlschool. The tour is in support of Motorhead's latest record, "Motorizer" which is out now through SPV Records.
The tour dates are as follows:
November 11 - Plymouth, UK - Pavilion
November 12 - Bristol, UK - Colsten Hall
November 13 - Newport, UK - Centre
November 15 - Swindon, UK - Oasis
November 16 - Nottingham, UK - Royal Concert Hall
November 17 - Newcastle, UK - City Hall
November 19 - Glasgow, UK - Academy
November 20 - Leeds, UK - Academy
November 21 - Manchester, UK - Apollo
November 23 - Cambridge, UK - Corn Exchange
November 24 - Southend, UK - Cliffs Pavilion
November 25 - Portsmouth, UK - Guildhall
November 27 - Bournemonth, UK - Solent Hall
November 28 - London, UK - Hammersmith Apollo
November 29 - Wolverhampton, UK - Civic Hall