Bernadette Jean "Kelly" Johnson (20 June 1958 – 15 July 2007) was an English guitarist and singer, widely known in the UK in the early 1980s as the lead guitarist of the all-female rock band

Girlschool Girlschool are a British rock band that formed in the new wave of British heavy metal scene in 1978. Frequently associated with contemporaries Motörhead, they are the longest-running all-female rock band, still active after more than 40 ye ...

Biography

Johnson started playing piano after her father when she was five years old, switching to guitar at age twelve. She attended Edmonton County School in

Edmonton, London Edmonton is a town in north London, England within the London Borough of Enfield, a local government district of Greater London. The northern part of the town is known as Lower Edmonton or Edmonton Green, and the southern part as Upper Edmo ...

, where she discovered rock music and played bass and piano in school bands. She went back to guitar and was already writing and playing her own material when she met her future bandmates at the age of 19. After her first encounter with Kim McAuliffe and Enid Williams in April 1978, she was immediately accepted in the ranks of the new band formed from the ashes of the group Painted Lady, which took the name of

. Girlschool's full-on raucous guitar playing, tousled, leather-clad looks (and what one reviewer described as "stiletto in the groin" attitude) soon won the band a cult following, giving them prominence in the emerging new wave of British heavy metal, thanks also to their strong relationship with contemporaries

Motörhead Motörhead () were an English rock band formed in London in 1975 by Lemmy (lead vocals, bass), Larry Wallis (guitar) and Lucas Fox (drums). Lemmy was also the primary songwriter and only constant member. The band are often considered a prec ...

. Johnson's and McAuliffe's drinking bouts were otherwise memorable as much as their fast ascension to headliner band. Kilmister, Ian and Garza, Janiss ''White Line Fever'' (2002) –

Simon & Schuster Simon & Schuster () is an American publishing company and a subsidiary of Paramount Global. It was founded in New York City on January 2, 1924 by Richard L. Simon and M. Lincoln Schuster. As of 2016, Simon & Schuster was the third largest publi ...

pp. 126-128 . Johnson was a songwriter, playing lead guitar and singing both lead and backing vocals on the group's first four albums. She provided both a strong visual focus for the band with her tall figure and blonde hair and an excellent musical contribution with her trenchant guitar playing. On hearing Johnson's riffs on "Race With the Devil" guitarist

Jeff Beck Geoffrey Arnold Beck (born 24 June 1944) is an English rock guitarist. He rose to prominence with the Yardbirds and after fronted the Jeff Beck Group and Beck, Bogert & Appice. In 1975, he switched to a mainly instrumental style, with a fo ...

was quoted "There's no way that's a girl playing" a remark described by the DJ

John Peel John Robert Parker Ravenscroft (30 August 1939 – 25 October 2004), known professionally as John Peel, was an English disc jockey (DJ) and radio presenter. He was the longest-serving of the original BBC Radio 1 DJs, broadcasting regularly fr ...

as the most sexist comment he had ever heard. Whilst

Lemmy Ian Fraser Kilmister (24 December 1945 – 28 December 2015), better known as Lemmy Kilmister or simply Lemmy, was an English musician. He was the founder, lead singer, bassist and primary songwriter of the rock band Motörhead, of which he wa ...

of Motörhead declared "I thought they were fucking great. I got them on the tour in the first place and everybody else went like, 'Ugh, girls,' and I said, 'Fuck you, they're as good as you.' Kelly Johnson, on a good day, is as good as Jeff Beck in his rock & roll days. She's a fucking brilliant guitar player." Girlschool did not take feminist positions, but as an all-female band in a genre dominated by male musicians and often by machismo and sexist attitudes, their existence was a statement in itself. Moreover, Johnson professed from the beginning of her career a strong sensibility to environmental themes, which was expressed in some of her songs. She became later an

environmentalist An environmentalist is a person who is concerned with and/or advocates for the protection of the environment. An environmentalist can be considered a supporter of the goals of the environmental movement, "a political and ethical movement that se ...

, an activist for

animal rights Animal rights is the philosophy according to which many or all sentient animals have moral worth that is independent of their utility for humans, and that their most basic interests—such as avoiding suffering—should be afforded the s ...

and also a

vegetarian Vegetarianism is the practice of abstaining from the consumption of meat (red meat, poultry, seafood, insects, and the flesh of any other animal). It may also include abstaining from eating all by-products of animal slaughter. Vegetariani ...

Girlschool had their best UK chart success in 1980 and 1981, with the EP '' St. Valentine's Day Massacre'' and the album ''

Hit and Run In traffic laws, a hit and run or a hit-and-run is the act of causing a traffic collision and not stopping afterwards. It is considered a supplemental crime in most jurisdictions. Additional obligation In many jurisdictions, there may be a ...

'', but their success soon declined and their approach to the US market with the album ''

Play Dirty ''Play Dirty'' is a 1969 British war film starring Michael Caine, Nigel Davenport, Nigel Green and Harry Andrews. It was director Andre DeToth's last film, based on a screenplay by Melvyn Bragg and Lotte Colin. The film's story is inspired by ...

'' was not as successful as hoped. At the beginning of 1984, Johnson left the band. As Kim McAuliffe stated in 1997, "basically Kelly just got fed up with the whole thing (...) she wasn't into heavy rock anymore". Johnson left England for the US, to start a new career and to live with Vicki Blue, former bassist of the American all-female band The Runaways, who was also her manager. In

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world ...

, she wrote her own music and recorded demos of mainstream rock with large use of synthesizers and electronic effects, but no label put her under contract. In 1987, she entered the rock band World's Cutest Killers, which included on rhythm guitar and vocals former Painted Lady and The Go-Go's member Kathy Valentine. WCK changed their name to The Renegades and worked the local club circuit, but gained no record contract. Concluding her experience with this band after two years, she left music altogether to learn sign language and work with the deaf. In 1993, after almost ten years in the US, she returned to the UK to resume her role as lead guitarist of Girlschool for a reunion tour. She remained with the band and toured incessantly until 1999, when she was diagnosed with cancer. After she left the band Johnson remained associated with Girlschool, playing the occasional gig, instructing her substitute Jackie Chambers and gathering photos and material for a band biography. Johnson died on Sunday 15 July 2007, aged 49, after a six-year battle against

spinal cancer Spinal tumors are neoplasms located in either the vertebral column or the spinal cord. There are three main types of spinal tumors classified based on their location: extradural and intradural (intradural-intramedullary and intradural-extramedulla ...

. That she had the disease was not widely known outside her close circle of friends and even closer family. At her memorial, her friend and former bandmate Tracey Lamb read the eulogy. Girlschool performed a tribute gig on 20 August 2007 at the Soho Revue Bar in London, with many of Johnson's friends and former band members.

Equipment

During her first stint with Girlschool, Kelly Johnson used a 1980

Gibson Les Paul The Gibson Les Paul is a solid body electric guitar that was first sold by the Gibson Guitar Corporation in 1952. The guitar was designed by factory manager John Huis and his team with input from and endorsement by guitarist Les Paul. Its typ ...

Gold Top guitar, modified with gold plated machine heads and DiMarzio pickups and an Ibanez Destroyer-II. She used Marshall 50 and 100 amplifiers and no pedals or effects. During her time staying in Los Angeles, she used instead a tiger striped

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 accompa ...

RS guitar, which she continued to use in the 1990s along with a

Gibson SG The Gibson SG is a solid-body electric guitar model introduced by Gibson in 1961 as the Gibson Les Paul SG. It remains in production today in many variations of the initial design. The SG (where "SG" refers to Solid-Body Guitar) Standard is Gi ...

Discography

Studio albums

* ''

Demolition Demolition (also known as razing, cartage, and wrecking) is the science and engineering in safely and efficiently tearing down of buildings and other artificial structures. Demolition contrasts with deconstruction, which involves taking a bu ...

'' (1980) * ''

'' (1981) * '' Screaming Blue Murder'' (1982) * ''

'' (1983) * '' 21st Anniversary: Not That Innocent'' (2002)

EPs

* '' St. Valentine's Day Massacre'' (EP with

) (1981) * ''

Live and More ''Live and More'' is the first live album recorded by American singer-songwriter Donna Summer, and it was her second double album, released on August 28, 1978 by Casablanca Records. The live concert featured on the first three sides of this d ...

'' (EP) (1982) * ''

Wildlife Wildlife refers to domestication, undomesticated animal species (biology), species, but has come to include all organisms that grow or live wilderness, wild in an area without being species, introduced by humans. Wildlife was also synonymous ...

'' (EP) (1982) * '' 1-2-3-4 Rock and Roll'' (EP) (1983)

Live albums

* ''

Girlschool Live ''Girlschool Live'' was the first official live album by British heavy metal band, Girlschool Girlschool are a British rock band that formed in the new wave of British heavy metal scene in 1978. Frequently associated with contemporarie ...

'' (1995) * ''

King Biscuit Flower Hour Presents Girlschool ''King Biscuit Flower Hour Presents Girlschool'' is a live album by British heavy metal band Girlschool, released by King Biscuit Flower Hour Records in 1997. It was recorded during the 1984 ''Play Dirty ''Play Dirty'' is a 1969 British ...

'' (1997) * '' Race with the Devil Live'' (1998) * ''

Race with the Devil ''Race with the Devil'' is a 1975 American action horror film directed by Jack Starrett, written by Wes Bishop and Lee Frost, and starring Peter Fonda, Warren Oates, Loretta Swit, and Lara Parker. This was the second of three films Fonda and ...

'' (2002)

Compilations

* ''A Quiet Night In'' (1981) * ''Cheers You Lot!'' (1989) * ''C'mon Let's Go'' (1991) * ''The Collection'' (1991) * ''The Best of Girlschool'' (1993) * ''From the Vaults'' (1994) * ''Emergency'' (1997) * '' The Collection (2 CD)'' (1998) * ''Can't Keep a Good Girl Down'' (1999) * ''The Very Best of Girlschool'' (2002) * ''Wild at Heart'' (2006) * ''The Singles'' (2007)

Singles

*"Take It All Away / It Could Be Better" (1979) *"Emergency / Furniture Fire" (1980) *"Nothing to Lose / Baby Doll" (1980) *"Race with the Devil / Take It All Away" (1980) UK #49 *"Yeah Right / The Hunter" (1980) *"Hit And Run / Tonight" (1981) UK #32 *"C'Mon Let's Go / Tonight (live)" (1981) UK #42 *"Don't Call It Love / Wildlife" (1982) *"20th Century Boy / Breaking All the Rules" (1983) *"Burning in the Heat / Surrender" (1984)

References

External links

Edmonton County former pupilsGirlschool official siteKelly Johnson tribute page
*

List of Gibson players This is an alphabetized list of musicians who have made notable use of Gibson Guitar models in live performances or studio recordings. Because of the great popularity of these models, musicians are listed here only if their use of these ins ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Johnson, Kelly (guitarist) 1958 births 2007 deaths English women guitarists Lead guitarists English heavy metal guitarists English heavy metal singers English rock guitarists English songwriters Women heavy metal singers People from Edmonton, London Singers from London Deaths from cancer in England Neurological disease deaths in England Girlschool members Deaths from spinal cancer 20th-century English singers 20th-century British guitarists 20th-century English women singers People educated at Edmonton County School 20th-century women guitarists