Girls at Our Best! were an English

post-punk Post-punk (originally called new musick) is a broad music genre, genre of Punk Music, punk music that emerged in the late 1970s as musicians departed from punk's traditional elements and raw simplicity, instead adopting a variety of avant-garde s ...

band, founded in

Leeds Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by popula ...

, England in 1979 under the name The Butterflies. They had several

UK Independent Singles Chart The UK Independent Singles Chart and UK Independent Albums Chart are charts of the best-selling independent singles and albums, respectively, in the United Kingdom. Originally published in January 1980, and widely known as the indie chart, the rel ...

hits during their three-year existence.

History

The group initially consisted of vocalist Judy "Jo" Evans, guitarist James "Jez" Alan, bassist Gerard "Terry" Swift and drummer Chris Oldroyd.Strong, Martin C. (2003) "Girls at Our Best", in ''The Great Indie Discography'', Canongate, They took their new name from a line in their track "Warm Girls", released as the B-side to their self-financed 1980 debut single "Getting Nowhere Fast". The single, released in April 1980 on their own Record Records, reached No. 9 on the UK Indie Chart. Oldroyd departed to join Music for Pleasure, and was replaced by Paul SimonPaul Simon biography notes
at Ajanta Music (formerly of Limmie Funk Limited, Neo,

Radio Stars Radio Stars were an English new wave group formed in early 1977. They released two albums and had one UK Top 40 single. Career Radio Stars were formed by Sparks exile Martin Gordon (bass, songwriter) and also included ex-John's Children v ...

, the Civilians and Cowboys International). Second single "Politics", backed by "It's Fashion!", was released in November 1980, also on Record Records. It was distributed by Rough Trade, reaching No. 12.Lazell, Barry (1997) ''Indie Hits 1980–1989'', Cherry Red Books, Simon was replaced by Darren Carl Harper (formerly of the Expelaires) before Girls at Our Best! recorded their session for John Peel on 17 February 1981, which was first broadcast 23 February 1981. The group's next single, "Go for Gold", issued in June 1981 by Happy Birthday Records, became their biggest Indie Chart hit, reaching No. 4. On 20 October 1981, the group released their sole album, ''Pleasure''. Rod Johnson shared drumming duties with Harper, who had left the band during the recording process in summer 1981. The album, the first to be released on the Happy Birthday label, came complete with a "Pleasure Bag" of stickers and postcards. ''Pleasure'' reached No. 2 on the UK Indie Chart and No. 60 on the

UK Albums Chart The Official Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales and (from March 2015) audio streaming in the United Kingdom. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the Official Charts ...

., followed by the band's fourth single, "Fast Boyfriends" (backed by "This Train"), released by Happy Birthday in October 1981. Girls at Our Best! split in 1982. The band's 1981 Peel session, produced by

Dale Griffin Terence Dale "Buffin" Griffin (24 October 1948 – 17 January 2016) was an English drummer and a founding member of 1970s rock band Mott the Hoople. Later, he worked as a producer, and produced many of the BBC Radio 1 John Peel sessions from 1 ...

, was released as a 12" EP in 1987 by

Strange Fruit Records Strange Fruit Records was an independent record label in the United Kingdom. The label, established by Clive Selwood and John Peel in 1986, was the primary distributor of BBC recordings, including Peel Sessions.Larkin, Colin (ed.) (1998) ''T ...

. It featured "China Blue" and "This Train" on the A-side and a medley (titled "Getting Beautiful Warm Gold Fast from Nowhere") on the B-side. ''Pleasure'' was reissued in 1994 by Vinyl Japan in an expanded edition that included the first two singles and "This Train". Another reissue, issued by Cherry Red Records on 18 May 2009, included the 1994 edition's bonus material as well as a four-song 1981 Richard Skinner session and a previously unreleased demo track. A 2014 double-vinyl reissue of the album by Optic Nerve Recordings featured the original album on the first LP and all four singles on the second.

Other projects

Evans made a guest appearance on

Thomas Dolby Thomas Morgan Robertson (born 14 October 1958), known by the stage name Thomas Dolby, is an English musician, producer, composer, entrepreneur and teacher. Dolby came to prominence in the 1980s, releasing hit singles including "She Blinded Me ...

's 1982 album ''

The Golden Age of Wireless ''The Golden Age of Wireless'' is the debut album by English musician Thomas Dolby. Originally released in May 1982, the album was reissued in a number of different configurations, with later resequencings including the pop hit " She Blinded M ...

'' (Dolby had guested on synthesizer on ''Pleasure''). Alan joined Sexbeat and later Tall Boys, and is now currently the head of the FD Music Production course at Leeds College of Music. After leaving Girls at Our Best!, Simon formed

the Fallout Club The Fallout Club was a British synth-pop and new wave band formed by Irish singer Trevor Herion, the experimental drummer Paul Simon, future successful Thomas Dolby on keyboards, and bassist Matthew Seligman in 1981. Herion and Simon formed the ...

with Dolby, and later worked with

Ken Lockie Ken Lockie (born 1956) is an English singer-songwriter and producer, best known as the creative force behind English new wave band Cowboys International and as a sometime collaborator with John Lydon in Public Image Ltd. Early life and educa ...

and

Glen Matlock Glen Matlock (born 27 August 1956) is an English musician, best known for being the bass guitarist in the original line-up of the punk rock band the Sex Pistols. He is credited as a songwriter on 10 of the 12 songs on the Sex Pistols' only albu ...

. In the 1990s, he formed Ajanta Music with his brother Robin (guitarist for

Ultravox Ultravox (earlier styled as Ultravox!) were a British new wave band, formed in London in April 1974 as Tiger Lily. Between 1980 and 1986, they scored seven Top Ten albums and seventeen Top 40 singles in the UK, the most successful of which was ...

and Magazine).

Legacy

"Getting Nowhere Fast" was covered by

The Wedding Present The Wedding Present are an English indie rock group originally formed in 1985 in Leeds, England, from the ashes of The Lost Pandas. The band's music has evolved from fast-paced indie rock in the vein of their most obvious influences The Fall, ...

, and included as a B-side on the latter's 1987 12" single "Anyone Can Make a Mistake".

Members

*Judy "Jo" Evans – vocals (1979–1982) *James "Jez" Alan – guitar (1979–1982) *Gerard "Terry" Swift – bass (1979–1982) *Chris Oldroyd – drums (1979–1980) * Paul Simon – drums (1980) *Darren Carl Harper – drums (1980–1981) *Rod Johnson – drums (1981–1982)

Discography

Studio albums

*'' Pleasure'' (1981, Happy Birthday Records) UK Indie Albums No. 2,

UK Albums The Official Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales and (from March 2015) audio streaming in the United Kingdom. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the Official Charts ...

No. 60

Singles and EPs

*"Getting Nowhere Fast" (1980, Record Records) UK Indie Singles No. 9 *"Politics" (1980, Record Records) UK Indie Singles No. 12 *"Go for Gold" (1981, Happy Birthday Records) UK Indie Singles No. 4 *"Fast Boyfriends" (1981, Happy Birthday Records) UK Indie Singles No. 19 *''The Peel Sessions'' EP (1987,

) UK Indie Singles No. 27

References

External links

Tribute page
{{Authority control Post-punk groups from Leeds Musical groups established in 1979 Musical groups disestablished in 1982