Girlfriend was an Australian
girl group
A girl group is a music act featuring several female singers who generally harmonize together. The term "girl group" is also used in a narrower sense in the United States to denote the wave of American female pop music singing groups, many of who ...
formed in 1991. Their debut album ''
Make It Come True
''Make It Come True'' is the debut album released by Australian girl band Girlfriend. The album was released in September 1992 and peaked at number 6 on the ARIA chart
The ARIA Charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued week ...
'' was released in 1992 and contained four
ARIA
In music, an aria (Italian: ; plural: ''arie'' , or ''arias'' in common usage, diminutive form arietta , plural ariette, or in English simply air) is a self-contained piece for one voice, with or without instrumental or orchestral accompanime ...
top 50 singles, including the #1 hit, "
Take It From Me". The group also became recognised for its
fashion sense
Fashion is a form of self-expression and autonomy at a particular period and place and in a specific context, of clothing, footwear, lifestyle, accessories, makeup, hairstyle, and body posture. The term implies a look defined by the fashion in ...
, with their flower hats becoming a symbol of the band; at one point, they had their own clothing line.
After the departure of lead vocalist
Robyn Loau
Robyn Loau (; born 20 October 1972) is an Australian singer, songwriter and actress. From 1991 to 1994, she was lead singer of pop group Girlfriend, Note: n-lineversion established at White Room Electronic Publishing Pty Ltd in 2007 and was expa ...
, the group changed its name to GF4.
Career
Career beginnings and singing
Three of the members—Jacqueline Cowell, Siobhánn Heidenreich and Melanie Alexander — first met while taking dance lessons at age three. Years later, they decided to form a pop group, and through their dance teacher Janice Breen, met Noel MacDonald, a singer, songwriter and
jingle
A jingle is a short song or tune used in advertising and for other commercial uses. Jingles are a form of sound branding. A jingle contains one or more hooks and meaning that explicitly promote the product or service being advertised, usually t ...
producer who saw promise in them. Two more singers were added to the group – Robyn Loau, who MacDonald saw singing at
Wonderland Sydney
Wonderland Sydney (originally known as Australia's Wonderland), was an amusement park in Eastern Creek, Sydney, Australia. Officially opened in December 1985 by the Premier of New South Wales, Neville Wran, the park was the largest in the southe ...
Theme Park, and Lorinda Noble, who auditioned for the group. MacDonald also put the girls in touch with Ross Wood. For two years, Wood, a former television cameraman and director, had struggled to see his own concept of an all-female pop group become a reality. During those two years he had continually presented his idea of an all-girl pop group aimed directly at the neglected younger teen market to virtually all the local record labels, but only Mushroom and BMG expressed any interest in signing them. Of course the "them" at the point Wood was pitching his idea was still a vague idea with unnamed girls. Girlfriend was his idea made flesh, something more tangible to pitch. It was no wonder things moved quickly once a line up was decided – this had been seemingly everyones dream for a long time. Singer and
choreographer
Choreography is the art or practice of designing sequences of movements of physical bodies (or their depictions) in which motion or form or both are specified. ''Choreography'' may also refer to the design itself. A choreographer is one who cr ...
Kelley Abbey
Kelley Abbey (born 28 July 1966) is an Australian actress, choreographer, singer and dancer. She has been a leading performer and choreographer in TV, film and musical theatre for more than 20 years. She remains best known for her role on soap ...
was also brought in to choreograph the group's dance moves. The quintet was signed to a deal with
RCA Records Australia in 1991, after a year of self-promotion. The band were formed with the ambition of being both Australia and Asia's #1 girl band, with the band members, particularly Robyn Loau, undertaking extensive Japanese lessons.
1992–1993: ''Make It Come True'' and ''It's Up to You''
In April 1992, the group released their debut
single
Single may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media
* Single (music), a song release
Songs
* "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004
* "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008
* "Single" (William Wei song), 2016
* "Single", by ...
, "
Take It from Me", which reached No. 1 on the
ARIA chart
The ARIA Charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling songs and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA became the offici ...
.
[ This was followed by " Girl's Life" (#15)][ and " Without You" (#18).][ In September 1992, Girlfriend released their debut studio album, '']Make It Come True
''Make It Come True'' is the debut album released by Australian girl band Girlfriend. The album was released in September 1992 and peaked at number 6 on the ARIA chart
The ARIA Charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued week ...
'' which peaked at number 6 in Australia.
In April 1993, Girlfriend released ''Girl's Life'', a Japan-exclusive album, consisting of songs from ''Make It Come True'', mostly re-recorded with Japanese vocals.
In September 1993, Girlfriend released "Heartbeat
A heartbeat is one cardiac cycle of the heart.
Heartbeat, heart beat, heartbeats, and heart beats may refer to:
Computing
*Heartbeat (computing), a periodic signal to indicate normal operation or to synchronize parts of a system
*Heartbeat, clus ...
", the lead single from their second studio album, before releasing '' It's Up to You'' in October 1993. The group's two studio albums, ''Make It Come True'' (1992) and ''It's Up to You'' (1993) were certified platinum and gold respectively in Australia.[
In November, the group released a four-track Japan-only ]extended play
An extended play record, usually referred to as an EP, is a musical recording that contains more tracks than a single but fewer than an album or LP record. titled ''Magic''.
1994–1996: GF4
In 1994, after the group had returned from a tour of Europe
Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...
and Japan
Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
, Loau left the group to start a solo career. She later enjoyed minor success with the hit "Sick with Love" which peaked at number 21 on the ARIA Charts, and released an album, ''Malaria''.
The four remaining members renamed themselves as GF4. GF4 released two singles; the first, a cover version of the 1971 Grass Roots
A grassroots movement is one that uses the people in a given district, region or community as the basis for a political or economic movement. Grassroots movements and organizations use collective action from the local level to effect change at t ...
song " Sooner or Later", reached No. 11 on the ARIA singles charts.[ In 1995, Jacqui Cowell left the band and was replaced by future Bardot member, Belinda Chapple, who featured in the music video for GF4's second single, "Need Love (To Make the Sex Right)", filmed in a Sydney nightclub. The video featured band member Siobhann Heidenrich miming to Cowell's spoken lines in the opening to the song. The single narrowly missed the ARIA Top 100 singles chart,][ resulting in the debut album that GF4 had recorded in Los Angeles being shelved.
GF4 did not release any further material as a band and split in 1996.
]
Later appearances
On 13 May 2007, the former five members of Girlfriend appeared on Channel 7's '' Where Are They Now?'' program. The five spoke about their time with Girlfriend and performed an a cappella
''A cappella'' (, also , ; ) music is a performance by a singer or a singing group without instrumental accompaniment, or a piece intended to be performed in this way. The term ''a cappella'' was originally intended to differentiate between Ren ...
rendition of "Take It from Me" for the live audience.
A "best-of" compilation, ''Essential Girlfriend'', was scheduled for release in November 2010, but remains unreleased.
In November 2010, former member Melanie Alexander provided guest vocals on the song "Falling for the Dance Floor" with Australian DJ, Stonedog. The track appears on the compilation album ''Club Anthems Asia'', released through Hong Kong-based independent dance music label Volume Up Records.
In May 2017, Robyn Loau
Robyn Loau (; born 20 October 1972) is an Australian singer, songwriter and actress. From 1991 to 1994, she was lead singer of pop group Girlfriend, Note: n-lineversion established at White Room Electronic Publishing Pty Ltd in 2007 and was expa ...
confirmed that the original members were reuniting for the 25th anniversary of their #1 hit " Take It from Me".
Members
*Robyn Loau
Robyn Loau (; born 20 October 1972) is an Australian singer, songwriter and actress. From 1991 to 1994, she was lead singer of pop group Girlfriend, Note: n-lineversion established at White Room Electronic Publishing Pty Ltd in 2007 and was expa ...
*Melanie Alexander
*Lorinda (Rindy) Noble
*Siobhánn Heidenreich
*Jacqueline (Jacqui) Cowell
*Other
Discography
Studio albums
Compilations
Extended plays
Singles
Awards
ARIA Music Awards
The ARIA Music Awards
The Australian Recording Industry Association Music Awards (commonly known informally as ARIA Music Awards, ARIA Awards, or simply the ARIAs) is an annual series of awards nights celebrating the Australian music industry, put on by the Austr ...
is an annual awards ceremony that recognises excellence, innovation, and achievement across all genres of Australian music
The music of Australia has an extensive history made of music societies. Indigenous Australian music forms a significant part of the unique heritage of a 40,000- to 60,000-year history which produced the iconic didgeridoo. Contemporary fusions of ...
. Girlfriend received three nominations.
, -
, rowspan="2", 1993
File:1993 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Oslo I Accord is signed in an attempt to resolve the Israeli–Palestinian conflict; The Russian White House is shelled during the 1993 Russian constitutional crisis; Czechoslovakia is peace ...
, rowspan="1", ''Make It Come True
''Make It Come True'' is the debut album released by Australian girl band Girlfriend. The album was released in September 1992 and peaked at number 6 on the ARIA chart
The ARIA Charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued week ...
''
, Best New Talent
Best or The Best may refer to:
People
* Best (surname), people with the surname Best
* Best (footballer, born 1968), retired Portuguese footballer
Companies and organizations
* Best & Co., an 1879–1971 clothing chain
* Best Lock Corporatio ...
,
, -
, rowspan="1", " Take It from Me"
, Highest Selling Single
,
, -
, rowspan="1", 1994
File:1994 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1994 Winter Olympics are held in Lillehammer, Norway; The Kaiser Permanente building after the 1994 Northridge earthquake; A model of the MS Estonia, which Sinking of the MS Estonia, sank in ...
, rowspan="1", '' It's Up to You''
, Best Pop Release
,
, -
See also
*
References
External links
*
*
{{Authority control
Australian electronic dance music groups
Australian girl groups
Australian pop music groups
Musical groups established in 1991
Musical groups disestablished in 1996
1991 establishments in Australia