''Take a Bite'' is the seventh studio 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 contemporaries Motörhead, they are the longest-running all-female rock band, still active after more than 40 ye ...

, released by

GWR Records GWR Records were an independent record label active in the UK from 1986 through to 1991. By 1984, Gerry Bron's Bronze Records were in financial difficulty leading to a hiatus in recording activity for Motörhead. Eventually, Motörhead manag ...

in 1988. It is the first album to feature Tracey Lamb on bass, replacing Gil Weston-Jones.

Overview

''Take a Bite'' was recorded at a very low time for Girlschool because, despite the very good reviews for the previous album ''

Nightmare at Maple Cross ''Nightmare at Maple Cross'' is the sixth studio album by the British heavy metal band, Girlschool, released on GWR Records in 1986. Under the direction of producer Vic Maile, this album marks the return of the band to the sound of their earl ...

'', they had not succeeded in regaining the fan base support in the UK which they had in the early 80s and they could not improve the sales of their album worldwide for the lack of a US release. The band had hoped to record the new album with their long-time producer

Vic Maile Vic Maile (1943 – 11 July 1989) was a British record producer. After starting his career as sound engineer with Pye mobile studios for the Animals on their song "We Gotta Get Out of This Place", Maile worked with some of the biggest names in th ...

, who was not available because of his illness. The album was instead produced by

Monty Python Monty Python (also collectively known as the Pythons) were a British comedy troupe who created the sketch comedy television show '' Monty Python's Flying Circus'', which first aired on the BBC in 1969. Forty-five episodes were made over four ...

's collaborator André Jacquemin at Redwood Studios, which are co-owned by Jacquemin and actor

Michael Palin Sir Michael Edward Palin (; born 5 May 1943) is an English actor, comedian, writer, television presenter, and public speaker. He was a member of the Monty Python comedy group. Since 1980, he has made a number of travel documentaries. Palin w ...

, member of the British comedy group Monty Python. The same studios had been utilised by

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 precu ...

to record their album ''

Rock 'n' Roll Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock 'n' roll, or rock 'n roll) is a genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It originated from African-American music such as jazz, rhythm an ...

'' the year before. The recording and mixing sessions took a very long time because, to save money, they were scheduled on 'dead time' in the middle of the night, when the studio was empty. On the contrary, the artwork, photos and packaging are the result of a rushed work done in less than a week. "We got to the situation where we needed photographs of the band and all we had were these snaps taken by the fans" remarked guitarist

Cris Bonacci Cristina "Cris" Bonacci (born 15 October 1964) is an Australian-born producer, songwriter, and musician. She was the lead guitarist in the British heavy metal band Girlschool (1984 to 1992, 2004) and has also provided session guitar work for ot ...

in an interview to ''

Kerrang! ''Kerrang!'' is a British weekly magazine devoted to rock, punk and heavy metal music, currently published by Wasted Talent (the same company that owns electronic music publication ''Mixmag''). It was first published on 6 June 1981 as a one- ...

'' magazine about the unsatisfying results of the album packaging. The very good reviews and their UK tour with Gary Glitter did not help the album to chart at home and after an American and European tour GWR did not renew their contract. By the end of 1989, Girlschool had practically disbanded. The song "Head over Heels" contains a text written by Motörhead bassist Lemmy on a napkin, during a night out in a pub with McAuliffe and other friends. 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 publ ...

pp. 209 . The album contains also the cover of

Sweet Sweetness is a basic taste most commonly perceived when eating foods rich in sugars. Sweet tastes are generally regarded as pleasurable. In addition to sugars like sucrose, many other chemical compounds are sweet, including aldehydes, ketones ...

's single " Fox on the Run", taken from the album ''

Desolation Boulevard ''Desolation Boulevard'' is the third studio album by the British glam rock band Sweet, originally released in the United Kingdom in November 1974. Two noticeably different versions of the album were released: one by RCA Records in Europe, and ...

'' of 1974.

Enigma Records Enigma Records (also known as Enigma Entertainment Corporation) was a popular rock and alternative American record label in the 1980s. History Enigma Records launched as a division of Greenworld Distribution, an independent music importer/dis ...

, which produced the album in America, released two promo singles for the songs "Head over Heels" and "Fox on the Run" to be distributed to radio stations in the USA.

Roadrunner Records Roadrunner Records is an American record label focused on heavy metal and hard rock bands. Founded in the Netherlands in 1980, it is now a division of Warner Music Group and is based in New York City. History The label was launched in 1980 in t ...

marketed the album in Europe.

Track listing

Personnel

;Band members *Kim McAuliffe – vocals, rhythm guitar *

– lead guitar *Tracey Lamb – bass *Denise Dufort – drums ;Additional musicians *Merv Goldsworthy,

Pete Jupp FM are a British rock band (referred to as FM UK in North America to avoid confusion with the Canadian progressive rock band FM). They have released thirteen studio albums to date. Three of those, '' Indiscreet'', '' Tough It Out'' and 2015's ...

( FM) – backing vocals on "Girls on Top" *Enid Williams – backing vocals on "This Time"

Release history

References

External links

Official Girlschool discography"Fox on the Run" video clip
{{Authority control 1988 albums Girlschool albums