Live at the Gasometer

Girlschool: cult rock band finally back in Vienna

Girlschool 2023 around band leader and main songwriter Kim McAuliffe (2nd from right).

(Bild: Adam Kennedy)

More than 45 years ago, Girlschool, the first female rock band, formed in South London. Under the leadership of front woman Kim McAuliffe, the band is still successfully on the road - for example on February 21 with Saxon at the Vienna Gasometer. The thoroughbred musician told the "Krone" about her exciting life with the band.

What seems almost unimaginable in today's music landscape was still the norm a few decades ago - women playing instruments were criminally underrepresented. One of the most important pioneers of a successful counter-movement was the South London collective Girlschool, which was founded around singer and guitarist Kim McAuliffe back in 1978 and is now regarded as the longest-lasting female rock band in music history. "It all started with the Painted Lady project - a terrible name, I know - and cover songs," says McAuliffe rustic and cheerful in the Krone interview, "back then we had no idea how to hold the instruments properly. But we had the great guitarist Deirdre Cartwright. She was a few years older than us, then turned to jazz and helped us immensely on our way to becoming independent musicians. We were simply enthusiastic about the music and wanted to play as much as possible."

Tragic fate
The classic line-up consisted of McAuliffe, drummer Denise Dufort, Enid Williams and Kelly Johnson. Only the first two are still on board today. Williams left the band at its peak in the early 80s to go into theater and work temporarily as an astrologer. She later returned, but retired from the music business completely at the beginning of 2019. Johnson was the main songwriter alongside McAuliffe, providing the pop flavor of the tracks alongside the punk, rock and heavy metal quotes. In 1984, she moved to Los Angeles to join Vicki Blue from the Runaways, and also returned to Girlschool in the 90s, but lost her tough battle with spinal cord cancer in 2007 at the age of just 49. The history of Girlschool is full of dizzying successes and sad lows - a more than suitable template for an official film adaptation.

"My cousin's brother wouldn't let me play because they didn't want women in the band. So we had no choice but to set something up ourselves in order to pursue our passion. Today I'm grateful that we've always done it this way and never integrated men into the band," she laughs mischievously. During the boom of hard British music, however, McAuliffe and Co. had to "stand their ground" early on. Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, Saxon and Def Leppard took off from England, and Motörhead had long been superstars by the early 80s. The often gnarled-looking thoroughbred rock'n'roller Lemmy Kilmister was one of Girlschool's biggest fans and supporters. Not only did he treat the band with respect (which was anything but a matter of course back then), but he also took them on tour time and again and ensured that an ever-growing audience turned up.

The years go by
The first two albums "Demolition" (1980) and "Hit And Run" (1981) are generally regarded as great classics, and Girlschool regularly released new material well into the early 90s. For the last 30 years or so, they have concentrated on touring, festival appearances and managing their own legends - but without forgetting to keep writing new material. The last album dates from 2023 and bears the resounding name "WTFortyfive?", a brute-humorous allusion to the band's 45th anniversary. Girlschool are now approaching 50, with McAuliffe celebrating her 65th birthday last year. "We were in our 20s when we had the biggest successes and a real rock'n'roll life," she recalls happily, "we never thought we'd still be on stage in our 40s. And now we're partly in our mid-60s - goddammit!"

The Rolling Stones, some of whom are now in their ninth decade, are constantly pushing the supposedly immovable boundaries. "A lot of male rock stars are snow white, look completely knackered and are still playing," laughs McAuliffe, "it's not so easy with women. But we look the way we look. I can't imagine us still going on stage in our 70s, but who knows. Maybe by then there will be technologies that will make us look younger again." How you can survive so long in the shark tank that is the music business is a mystery to the front woman herself. "For fun, we've always blamed it on our stubbornness and naivety. No matter what hurdles stood in our way, we just kept going. Problems are there to be solved."

Times have changed
As for almost all women in the rock segment, cult musician Suzi Quatro was a role model and inspiration for Girlschool. "There weren't many more women back then. She was the only woman who could play an instrument. Then came the Runaways, but we were already at the start ourselves." With bands like Thundermother, Vulvarine and the Burning Witches, the rock/metal sector is now full of women. Girlschool has laid the foundation for all these ambitious acts. At a more mature age, however, the quartet also enjoys certain comforts. "Today we have good hotels with breakfast and a certain level of service. The days of squeezing into a bus and drinking all night are over," laughs the 65-year-old, "but that doesn't mean we don't still let it rip when it suits us."

With Saxon live in Vienna
On Friday, February 21, Girlschool will be supporting Saxon on their "Hell, Fire And Steel Tour" at the Vienna Gasometer. After various gigs in western Austria, this will actually be the cult band's first live show in Vienna since 1993! There are still a few tickets available for this month's heavy metal highlight at www.oeticket.com.