GIRLSCHOOL – London 1980 (CD) / Glasgow 1982 (CD) (via Cleopatra)

American label Cleopatra have been doing a fine job of releasing excellent and rare rock music, from live material to rare LPs on CD. Even if some of the live material is far from perfectly recorded.

And NWoBHM band Girlschool have always been a popular live draw. So we’re off to a good start. These two live sets from early in their career, officially released for the first time, showcase their brand of metal, their leather clad sweaty rock’n’roll at its best. The band are still going to this day, featuring three out of the original lone up.

With their roots in mid 70s cover bands, Girlschool came together in London in the late 70s, and after an indie label single, signed to Bronze and so started a long Motorhead associated. But, aside the St Valentine’s Day Massacre EP joint venture, Girlschool’s style of rock’n’roll had more in common with punk and glam rock. And excellent though the music is, the band sadly never had the success of their contemporaries Saxon, Iron Maiden, Def Leppard et al.

Their debut album, ‘Demolition’, was released in June 1980 and the band’s original line-up featured rhythm guitarist / vocalist Kim McAuliffe, lead guitarist / vocalist Kelly Johnson, drummer Denise Dufort and bassist / vocalist Di ‘Enid’ Williams. Tours with Black Sabbath and Uriah Heep, and several singles included ‘Emergency and there’s also a storming cover of Gun’s ‘Race With The Devil’.

The London 1980 live set was recorded in October that year, and kicks off (brutally) with ‘Demolition Boys’, a storming number and the performance here is energetic, rough’n’ready. McAuliffe enjoys a chat with the crowd, and a cover of Tush follows (later recorded for their 1981 LP ‘Hit (And Run)’. The vocals and guitar solo really come over well here, sadly the drums a bass sound a

little muddled. Midnight Ride is an excellent album track the girls could do with adding to the setlist now. ’The Hunter’, another one from the following year’s LP, goes down well, and the aforementioned ‘Race With The Devil’ goes down a storm. The Girlschool version of this classic is really well worth checking out and here’s the proof.  And Emergency, a bit of a Girlschool trade-mark song, a rousing set closer. The twin guitars really do rock, and the rhythm section’s pretty bloody good too.

Sadly some of the finesse is lost in the recording, which does have a slight bootleg feel. But the raw and honest energy is obvious.

The Glasgow set was recorded in May 1982, a month before their 3rd album ‘Screaming Blue Murder’, and now features Killjoys bassist Gil Weston. Disappointedly much overlooked album (it is far superior to the first two), and the title track opens the set here and takes the place by storm.

The same energy and raw passion is still obvious, tracks like The ‘Hunter’, ‘Nothing To Lose’ and ‘Race With The Devil’ as good (if not better) than on the 1980 live set. Add to that Hit And Run, Future Flash and the newer When your Blood Runs Cold and Live With Me and here’s the proof that it was a good period for the band.

The band went on, through line-up changes (McAuliffe and Dufort the constant members), and the sad passing of Kelly Johnson, and are still rocking. Here’s evidence of their beginnings. Recording quality aside, there’s some excellent live music here.

If the label can dig up live material from the Play Dirty and Take A Bite tours (by far the band’s two best albums), I’ll be even happier. 8/10

Joe Geesin