Girl were an English

glam metal Glam metal (also known as hair metal or pop metal) is a subgenre of heavy metal that features pop-influenced hooks and guitar riffs, upbeat rock anthems, and slow power ballads. It borrows heavily from the fashion and image of 1970s glam ...

band formed in London in 1979. They split up in 1982 with band members going on to join

Def Leppard Def Leppard are an English rock band formed in 1976 in Sheffield. Since 1992, the band has consisted of Rick Savage (bass, backing vocals), Joe Elliott (lead vocals), Rick Allen (drums, backing vocals), Phil Collen (guitar, backing vocals), ...

and

L.A. Guns L.A. Guns is an American glam metal band from Los Angeles, formed in 1983. The lineup currently consists of Tracii Guns (lead guitar), Phil Lewis (lead vocals), Ace Von Johnson (rhythm guitar, backing vocals), Johnny Martin (bass, backing vo ...

, among others.

History

Girl were formed in 1979 by vocalist Phil Lewis, guitarists Gerry Laffy and

Phil Collen Philip Kenneth Collen (born 8 December 1957) is an English musician who is best known as the co-lead guitarist for the rock band Def Leppard, joining the band in 1982 during the recording of the ''Pyromania'' album. Prior to joining Def Leppa ...

, drummer Jonathon Trevisick (replaced shortly thereafter by

Dave Gaynor Girl were an English glam metal band formed in London in 1979. They split up in 1982 with band members going on to join Def Leppard and L.A. Guns, among others. History Girl were formed in 1979 by vocalist Phil Lewis, guitarists Gerry Laffy ...

), and bassist Mark Megary (replaced shortly thereafter by Simon Laffy). Collen had previously been in the bands

Lucy Lucy is an English feminine given name derived from the Latin masculine given name Lucius with the meaning ''as of light'' (''born at dawn or daylight'', maybe also ''shiny'', or ''of light complexion''). Alternative spellings are Luci, Luce, Lu ...

, Tush, and

Dumb Blondes The Dumb Blondes were an English glam rock band. The band went through two line-ups, both featuring singer Jeff Hepting and bassist Pete Webb. The first line-up also featured current Def Leppard and Man Raze guitarist Phil Collen and drummer ...

. Girl were first discovered and managed by Jon Lindsay who was looking for bands for former manager of

The Who The Who are an English rock band formed in London in 1964. Their classic lineup consisted of lead singer Roger Daltrey, guitarist and singer Pete Townshend, bass guitarist and singer John Entwistle, and drummer Keith Moon. They are considered ...

, Kit Lambert, for a proposed new record label. Lindsay and Girl separated over managerial decisions when the band wanted to sign a recording deal with

Don Arden Don Arden (born Harry Levy; 4 January 1926 – 21 July 2007) was an English music manager, agent, and businessman. He managed the careers of rock acts such as Jerry Lee Lewis, Little Richard, Air Supply, Small Faces, The Move, Black Sabbat ...

instead of a recording contract negotiated by Lindsay with music figure

Simon Napier-Bell Simon Robert Napier-Bell (born 22 April 1939) is an English record producer, music manager, author and journalist. At different times, he has managed artists as diverse as the Yardbirds, John's Children, Marc Bolan, Japan, London, Ultravox, Bon ...

's Nomis Publishing. The band were signed by

Jet Records Jet Records was a British record label started by Don Arden in 1974, featuring musicians such as Lynsey de Paul, Electric Light Orchestra (ELO), Roy Wood, Gary Moore, Ozzy Osbourne, Alan Price, Adrian Gurvitz, Riot and Magnum. History ...

, releasing two singles prior to their debut album '' Sheer Greed'' (1980), which reached number 33 in 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 ...

. The band's profile was raised by tours with the

Pat Travers Band Patrick Henry Travers (born April 12, 1954) is a Canadian rock guitarist, keyboardist and singer who began his recording career in the mid-1970s. Early life Travers was born and raised in Toronto, Canada. Soon after picking up the guitar at ag ...

and

UFO An unidentified flying object (UFO), more recently renamed by US officials as a UAP (unidentified aerial phenomenon), is any perceived aerial phenomenon that cannot be immediately identified or explained. On investigation, most UFOs are id ...

, in the midst of the

new wave of British heavy metal The new wave of British heavy metal (commonly abbreviated as NWOBHM) was a nationwide musical movement that started in England in the mid-1970s and achieved international attention by the early 1980s. Journalist Geoff Barton coined the term i ...

explosion.Larkin, Colin (1999) ''The Virgin Encyclopedia of Heavy Rock'', Virgin Books, , p. 183-4 Girl recorded a pre-L.A. Guns version of the song "Hollywood Tease", which peaked at No. 50 in the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

in April 1980. Gaynor left in 1981, to be replaced by former Gillan/Broken Home drummer Pete Barnacle. However, following several live dates with the band, Barnacle himself was replaced by Bryson Graham during the recording of the next album. Both Barnacle and Graham appear on Girl's second album '' Wasted Youth'' which was released in 1982 and reached number 92 in the UK. Pete Bonas replaced Phil Collen, who left to join

, though the band broke up soon after. Girl still have six albums available through

Sanctuary Records Sanctuary Records Group Limited was a record label based in the United Kingdom and is as of 2013 a subsidiary of BMG Rights Management solely for reissues. Until June 2007, it was the largest independent record label in the UK and the largest m ...

(previously released by

): ''Sheer Greed'', ''Wasted Youth'', ''Killing Time'', '' Live at the Marquee'', ''

Live at the Exposition Hall, Osaka, Japan ''Live at the Exposition Hall, Osaka, Japan'' is a live album by the British glam rock band Girl, originally recorded in 1982. Particulars of ''Live at The Exposition Hall, Osaka, Japan'' www.allmusic.com. Track listing #"Wasted Youth" - 3:31 #" ...

'', the 37 track anthology '' My Number: The Anthology'', ''Bootleg - Live in Tokyo 1980'' and ''Girl-Sheer Greed-Gerry Laffy - The Rare DVD Collection''. After the band's dissolution, Phil Lewis joined The London Cowboys, then Airrace, and in 1987

. Lewis also sang with New Torpedos,

Tormé Tormé were a band featuring Irish guitarist Bernie Tormé, whom the band was named after. Tormé's singer was Phil Lewis, who had previously been in the bands Girl A girl is a young female human, usually a child or an adolescent. ...

, Filthy Lucre, and The Liberators. Gerry Laffy, Simon Laffy, and Pete Barnacle went on to play in Sheer Greed, which also featured guest appearances from both Lewis and Collen. Sheer Greed also recorded two versions of "Hollywood Tease", one recorded in studio for the album '' Sublime to the Ridiculous'' and another live for '' Live in London''. Collen and Simon Laffy are currently in a band called Man Raze, along with former Sex Pistols drummer

Paul Cook Paul Thomas Cook (born 20 July 1956) is an English drummer and member of the punk rock band the Sex Pistols. He was also called "Cookie" by his friends on the punk music scene. Early life and career Cook was raised in Hammersmith and atte ...

.DEF LEPPARD Guitarist's MAN RAZE: New Single Cover Artwork Unveiled
,

Blabbermouth.net Blabbermouth.net is a website dedicated to heavy metal and hard rock news, as well as album and music DVD reviews. Blabbermouth.net was founded and is run by Borivoj Krgin. The first version of the website was launched in March 2001; in Octob ...

, 4 May 2011, retrieved 2011-05-07

Members

* Phil Lewis – vocals (1979–1982) * Gerry Laffy – guitars (1979–1982) *

– guitars (1979–1982) * Jonathon Trevisick – drums (1979) *

– drums (1979–1981) *Mark Megary – bass (1979) * Simon Laffy – bass (1979–1982) * Pete Barnacle – drums (1981–1982) * Bryson Graham – drums (1982) *Pete Bonas – guitars (1982)

Timeline

Discography

Studio albums

* '' Sheer Greed'' (1980) - UK #33 * '' Wasted Youth'' (1982) - UK #92

Live albums

* '' Live at the Marquee'' (2001) * ''

'' (2001) * ''Live at the Greyhound: Fulham London 1982'' (2013) * ''Live at the Paris Theatre: London 1980'' (2013) * ''Rainbow Tease'' (2013) * ''Live in London'' (2014)

Compilations

* '' Killing Time'' (1997) * '' My Number: The Anthology'' (2001)

Bootlegs

* ''Live in London 2-23-82'' * ''Live in Tokyo 1980'' (possibly the same as ''Tokyo, Japan 11-26-80'')

Singles

* ''Hollywood Tease'' (12/04/1980) - UK #50

Videography

* ''Girl-Sheer Greed-Gerry Laffy: The Rare DVD Collection'' (2006)

References

;General sources
https://web.archive.org/web/20070109173951/http://www.nwobhm.com/girl.htm

External links

Gerry Laffy's Myspace
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Girl English glam metal musical groups English hard rock musical groups New Wave of British Heavy Metal musical groups Musical groups from London