Marine Girls were an English
post-punk
Post-punk (originally called new musick) is a broad genre of 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 sensibilities and non-roc ...
group from
Hatfield, Hertfordshire
Hatfield is a town and civil parish in Hertfordshire, England, in the borough of Welwyn Hatfield. It had a population of 29,616 in 2001, and 39,201 at the 2011 Census. The settlement is of Saxon origin. Hatfield House, home of the Marquess of ...
, England. The group was formed in 1980, by two
sixth form
In the education systems of England, Northern Ireland, Wales, Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago and some other Commonwealth countries, sixth form represents the final two years of secondary education, ages 16 to 18. Pupils typically prepare for A-l ...
schoolfriends;
Tracey Thorn
Tracey Anne Thorn (born 26 September 1962) is a British singer. She is best known as being one half of the duo Everything but the Girl from 1982 to 1999. She was a member of the band Marine Girls between 1980 and 1983 and since 2007 has been ...
and Gina Hartman. Originally, Thorn just played guitar and Hartman was the lead vocalist and percussionist. Thorn overcame her shyness and started singing too by the time they started making records. They were later joined by Jane Fox on bass and her younger sister, Alice, on joint vocals and percussion.
History
Contemporaries of acts such as
Young Marble Giants
Young Marble Giants were a Welsh post-punk band formed in Cardiff, Wales, in 1978. Their music was based around the vocals of Alison Statton along with the minimalist instrumentation of brothers Philip and Stuart Moxham. Their early sound was ...
and
The Raincoats
The Raincoats are a British experimental post-punk band. Ana da Silva (vocals, guitar) and Gina Birch (vocals, bass) formed the group in 1977 while they were students at Hornsey College of Art in London.
Signed to the label Rough Trade, the ...
, the group applied the
DIY
"Do it yourself" ("DIY") is the method of building, modifying, or repairing things by oneself without the direct aid of professionals or certified experts. Academic research has described DIY as behaviors where "individuals use raw and semi ...
ethic of the time to record a self-produced and self-released cassette called ''A Day by the Sea''. This features otherwise-unavailable songs such as "Getting Away from It All", "Lorna", "Hour of Need" and "Harbours".
They went on to record an album called ''
Beach Party
''Beach Party'' is a 1963 American film and the first of seven beach party films from American International Pictures (AIP) aimed at a teen audience.Smith, Gary A. Smith (2009) ''The American International Pictures Video Guide'', McFarland p.21 ...
'' which was recorded in a garden shed by Pat Bermingham and released on In-Phaze then re-released by Dan Treacy of
Television Personalities
The Television Personalities are an English post-punk band formed in 1977 by London singer-songwriter Dan Treacy.Earp, Joseph.The Missing Man Of Music: A Search For The Elusive Dan Treacy Of Television Personalities. ''The Brag'', 26 July 2016 ...
for his label Whaam! Records.
[Strong, Martin C. (2003) ''The Great Indie Discography'', Canongate, , p. 408] In October 1981, Thorn moved to
Hull to attend university, and Hartman left the band in 1981 to pursue other musical projects whilst the Fox sisters both went on to art school in Brighton. The group still performed together and released a second album, ''
Lazy Ways
''Lazy Ways'' is the second album of the British indie pop group, Marine Girls. The album was released by Cherry Red Records in 1983. The song "Lazy Ways" appears on the Cherry Red showcase compilation ''Pillows & Prayers'', while "A Place in the ...
'', in April 1983.
It was ranked at number 42 among the "Albums of the Year" by ''
NME
''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming, and culture website and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a 'rock inkie', the NME would become a magazine that ended up as a f ...
''.
Marine Girls recorded two
Peel Session
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 ...
s. Their first, from 1982, contains five songs; "Don't Come Back", "Love To Know", "He Got the Girl", "Fever" and "A Place in the Sun".
[Garner, Ken (1993) ''In Session Tonight'', BBC Books, , p. 269] Their second, from 1983, contains four songs; "Lazy Ways", "That Day" (otherwise unavailable by Marine Girls, although reworked by the Fox sisters for Grab Grab the Haddock), "Seascape" (otherwise unavailable by Marine Girls although it's a reworking of a song by Tracey Thorn from her début solo album ''
A Distant Shore'') and a
cover version
In popular music, a cover version, cover song, remake, revival, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording by a musician other than the original performer or composer of the song. Originally, it referred to a version of a song release ...
of "
Love You More" by
Buzzcocks
Buzzcocks are an English punk rock band formed in Bolton, England in 1976 by singer-songwriter-guitarist Pete Shelley and singer-songwriter Howard Devoto. They are regarded as a seminal influence on the Manchester music scene, the independen ...
.
From 1982, Thorn concentrated on her studies and her growing personal and professional relationship with fellow
Hull student
Ben Watt
Benjamin Brian Thomas Watt (born 6 December 1962) is a British musician, singer, songwriter, author, DJ and radio presenter, best known as one half of the duo Everything but the Girl.
Early life
Watt was born in Marylebone, London, and grew u ...
(who had contributed the photograph for the front cover of ''Lazy Ways'').
They formed their own musical project,
Everything But The Girl
Everything but the Girl (occasionally referred to as EBTG) are an English musical duo formed in Kingston upon Hull in 1982, consisting of lead singer and occasional guitarist Tracey Thorn and guitarist, keyboardist, producer and singer Ben Watt ...
, and their first single included a re-recording of the Marine Girls song, "On My Mind".
Marine Girls formally disbanded in 1983.
Jane and Alice Fox joined up with guitarist
Lester Noel and drummer Steven Galloway in
Grab Grab the Haddock
Grab Grab the Haddock was an English indie pop group that was formed in 1984.
History
When the Marine Girls disbanded in 1983, the band members Jane Fox (bass) and Alice Fox (vocals and percussion) formed Grab Grab the Haddock with Lester Noel ( ...
and released two singles in 1984 and 1985 before splitting up.
Tracey Thorn continued working with Everything But The Girl until the early 2000s.
''Beach Party'' was named as one of
Kurt Cobain
Kurt Donald Cobain (February 20, 1967 – April 5, 1994) was an American musician who served as the lead vocalist, guitarist and primary songwriter of the rock band Nirvana. Through his angst-fueled songwriting and anti-establishment persona ...
's 50 favourite albums in his diaries.
The two albums were reissued as a "two-fer" on CD by
Cherry Red in 1997.
Current activities
Alice Fox is Deputy Head of the School of Art at
University of Brighton
The University of Brighton is a public university based on four campuses in Brighton and Eastbourne on the south coast of England. Its roots can be traced back to 1858 when the Brighton School of Art was opened in the Royal Pavilion. It achieve ...
and works as a visual and performance artist with socially excluded groups.
Jane Fox is a visual artist and a Senior Lecturer at
University of Brighton
The University of Brighton is a public university based on four campuses in Brighton and Eastbourne on the south coast of England. Its roots can be traced back to 1858 when the Brighton School of Art was opened in the Royal Pavilion. It achieve ...
.
Gina Hartman continues to make music, including in the group Fenestration with Mark Flunder, formerly of
TV Personalities
The Television Personalities are an English post-punk band formed in 1977 by London singer-songwriter Dan Treacy.Earp, Joseph.The Missing Man Of Music: A Search For The Elusive Dan Treacy Of Television Personalities. ''The Brag'', 26 July 2016 ...
.
Tracey Thorn is an author, columnist and solo recording artist.
Discography
Various artists compilation albums
* ''Rupert Preaching at a Picnic'' (1981) – Marine Girls contributed an exclusive song called "Hate the Girl".
* ''
Pillows & Prayers
''Pillows & Prayers'' (subtitled ''Cherry Red 1982-1983'') is a compilation album released Christmas 1982, featuring artists on the Cherry Red record label. The record was originally sold at 99 pence (in fact, "pay no more than 99p" was printed ...
'' (1982) – included "Lazy Ways".
* ''Pillows & Prayers 2'' (1984) – included "A Place in the Sun".
References
External links
AllMusic pageLast.fm
{{Authority control
English rock music groups
English post-punk music groups
English new wave musical groups
All-female bands
Musical groups from Hertfordshire
In Phaze Records artists
Cherry Red Records artists
Cooking Vinyl artists