Girlschool discography

The discography of Girlschool, a British all-female heavy metal band, spans over 30 years of a career and consists of thirteen studio albums, six EPs and a large number of compilations.[1] The band was formed in 1978 by Kim McAuliffe, Enid Williams, Kelly Johnson and Denise Dufort. Their first release was the single "Take It All Away" for the small British rock/punk label City Records (November 1979).[2] The song did not chart, but came to the ear of Lemmy Kilmister and of Motörhead manager Doug Smith, who made Girlschool the supporting band on the Overkill tour and managed to get them a contract with the wealthy label Bronze Records.[2]

Girlschool discography
Girlschool live at Bloodstock Open Air in 2009
Studio albums	13
Live albums	4
Compilation albums	14
Video albums	3
Music videos	11
EPs	6
Singles	13
Split albums	2

During the explosion of the new wave of British heavy metal phenomenon, Girlschool released for Bronze four studio albums and many singles, which entered the British charts. Their greatest success came with the split EP St. Valentine's Day Massacre, recorded with Motörhead, which reached number five on the UK Single Chart. The band's following album Hit and Run peaked at number five on the UK Album Chart.[1]

The band success in the United Kingdom rapidly declined in the following years, with the consequence of Girlschool signing for the US label PolyGram in 1985. As a five-piece group they released the album Running Wild, only for the American market, without any charting success. Alone among the band's studio albums, Running Wild would not be reissued in any format until its 2014 CD release.[3] The band signed a new contract with the British label GWR in 1986 and released other two studio albums, before going into quiescence.[1]

In 1989, Castle Communications, a company specialized in cheap reissues of old recordings,[4] obtained the rights for Girlschool’s back catalogue from the bankrupt Bronze Records[5] and later from GWR. During the 1990s, Castle licensed the songs to various labels specialized in mid-priced editions, reissuing also the band studio albums on economic double album compilations on CD. When Castle was acquired by Sanctuary Records in 2000,[6] the rights of the songs changed hands again. In 2004, the new label released re-mastered editions full of bonus tracks of Girlschool's first four studio albums. The Sanctuary Records Group, which was absorbed by Universal Music Group in 2007[7] but was later divested by the latter through a sale in 2012,[8] now owns the rights to Girlschool's old material, while Warner Music Group handles all global distribution and sales.[9] Universal owns the rights to Running Wild, the band's only Mercury album released exclusively in the United States. The American rights to their other albums originally issued by Mercury were transferred to Warner Music's Alternative Distribution Alliance.

The band continued their recording career with four self-produced albums distributed by British indie label Communiqué, which received good reviews but no significant sale results. Their eleventh album Legacy was instead released by Wacken Records in 2008 and distributed by SPV/Steamhammer, followed by two more albums in 2011 and 2015 for WMG's German label UDR.

Girlschool's songs appear also on many heavy metal compilations published all over the world, often associated with other notable bands of the NWOBHM, such as Motörhead, Tygers of Pan Tang, Saxon, Angel Witch and Tank.

Albums

Girlschool received gold discs in Canada in 1982 for the sales of the album Hit and Run

Studio albums

Year	Album details	Peak chart positions				Certifications (sales thresholds)
		UK [10]	CAN [11]	NZ [12]	US [13]
1980	Demolition Released: 30 June 1980 Label: Bronze (BRON 525) Format: LP, CS, CD	28	—	—	—
1981	Hit and Run Released: 20 April 1981 Label: Bronze (BRON 534) Format: LP, CS, CD	5	50	49	182*	CAN: Gold[14]
1982	Screaming Blue Murder Released: 7 June 1982 Label: Bronze (BRON 541) Format: LP, CS, CD	27	84	—	207
1983	Play Dirty Released: 8 November 1983 Label: Bronze (BRON 548) Format: LP, CS, CD	66	—	—	207
1985	Running Wild Released: 1 February 1985 Label: Mercury (422-824611-1) Format: LP, CS	—	—	—	—
1986	Nightmare at Maple Cross Released: May 1986 Label: GWR (GWLP 2) Format: LP, CS, CD	—	—	—	—
1988	Take a Bite Released: 3 October 1988 Label: GWR (GWLP 21) Format: LP, CS, CD	—	—	—	—
1992	Girlschool Released: November 1992 Label: Communiqué (CMG CD006) Format: CD	—	—	—	—
2002	21st Anniversary: Not That Innocent Released: 14 January 2002 Label: Communiqué (CMG CD024) Format: CD	—	—	—	—
2004	Believe** Released: 26 July 2004 Label: Communiqué (CMG CD027) Format: CD	—	—	—	—
2008	Legacy Released: 24 October 2008 Label: Wacken Records - SPV/Steamhammer (SPV92732 CD) Format: CD	—	—	—	—
2011	Hit and Run – Revisited Released: 26 September 2011 Label: Wacken Records - UDR (UDR 0051) Format: LP, CD	—	—	—	—
2015	Guilty as Sin Released: 13 November 2015 Label: UDR (UDR 056P01) Format: LP, CD	—	—	—	—
"—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released in that country.
* the album was a compilation of songs from Demolition and Hit and Run
** the album was also re-issued by the band themselves in combination with the DVD Around the World

Live albums

Year	Album details
1995	Girlschool Live Released: 1 November 1995 Label: Communiqué (CMG CD013) Format: CD
1997	King Biscuit Flower Hour Presents Girlschool Released: 17 June 1997 Label: King Biscuit Flower Hour (70710-88032-2) Format: CD
1998	Race with the Devil Live Released: 24 April 1998 Label: Receiver (RRCD 254) Format: CD
2002	Race with the Devil Released: 6 June 2002 Label: Disky (SI 794122) Format: CD

Compilation albums

Year	Album details
1986	Race with the Devil Released: 1986 Label: Raw Power / Castle Communications (RAW LP013) Format: double LP
1989	Cheers You Lot! Released: 1989 Label: Razor Records (METALPM 127) Format: LP, CS, CD
1991	C'mon Let's Go Released: September 1991 Label: Castle - Marble Arch (CMA CD 149) Format: CS, CD
1991	The Collection Released: 1991 Label: Castle (CCSCD 314) Format: LP, CD
1993	The Best of Girlschool Released: 1993 Label: Castle - Dojo (DOJO CD 103) Format: CD
1994	From the Vaults Released: 1994 Label: Castle - Sequel (NEM CD 642) Format: CD
1997	Emergency Released: 1997 Label: Snapper (SMD CD 126) Format: CD
1998	The Collection (2CD) Released: 1998 Label: Renaissance - Castle (CCSCD 830) Format: CD
1999	Can't Keep a Good Girl Down Released: 18 November 1999 Label: Delta Music (47 005) Format: CD
2002	The Very Best of Girlschool Released: 2002 Label: Castle - Sanctuary (NEM CD 642) Format: CD
2003	Wild at Heart Released: 2003 Label: Pickwick (781022) Format: CD
2007	The Singles (2CD) Released: 2007 Label: Lemon Recordings - Cherry Red (CD LEM DD101) Format: CD
2012	Private Lessons (2CD) Released: 2012 Label: Southworld Recordings Format: CD
2013	The Bronze Years (4CD) Released: 2013 Label: Lemon Recordings (CD LEMBOX 210) Format: CD

Split albums

Year	Album	Other artist	Songs
1998	British Steel: Heavyweights of Metal Live & Loud Label: Music Collection International	Angel Witch, Samson, Tank	"C'mon Let's Go", "Emergency", "Take It All Away"
2003	The Second Wave: 25 Years of NWOBHM Label: Communiqué	Oliver/Dawson Saxon, Tygers of Pan Tang	"Passion", "Mad Mad Sister", Coming Your Way", "Believe", "Innocent"

Extended plays

Year	Album details	Peak chart positions	Certifications (sales thresholds)	Notes
		UK [10]
1981	St. Valentine's Day Massacre Released: 1 February 1981 Label: Bronze	5	UK: Silver[15]	a collaboration between Motörhead and Girlschool.
	Hard Rock on 12 Inch / Stay Clean Released: 1981 Label: Bronze	—		split EP by Motörhead and Girlschool, containing the songs "Please Don't Touch" and "Demolition Boys" (live)
1982	Live and More Released: January 1982 Label: Victor	—		released only in Japan before the 1982 tour
1982	Wildlife Released: 29 March 1982 Label: Bronze	58
1983	1-2-3-4 Rock and Roll Released: August 1983 Label: Bronze	—		released also as a 7 inch single, with an edited version of "1-2-3-4 Rock and Roll".
2015	Propaganda! Released: 2015 Label: UDR/Morriello Music	—
"—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released in that country.

Singles

Year	Titles	Peak chart positions		Album
		UK [10]	AUS [16]
1979	"Take It All Away / It Could Be Better"	—	—	Non-album track
1980	"Emergency / Furniture Fire"	—	—	Demolition
	"Nothing to Lose / Baby Doll"	—	—
	"Race with the Devil / Take It All Away"	49	—
	"Yeah Right / The Hunter"	—	—	Hit and Run
1981	"Hit and Run / Tonight"	32	—
	"C'mon Let's Go / Tonight (live)"	42	—
1982	"Don't Call It Love / Wildlife"	—	—	Screaming Blue Murder
1983	"20th Century Boy / Breaking All the Rules"	—	—	Play Dirty
1984	"Burning in the Heat / Surrender"	—	—
1986	"I'm the Leader of the Gang (I Am) with Gary Glitter / Never Too Late"	—	12	Nightmare at Maple Cross
1987	"All Day All Night / Play with Fire"	—	—
1988	"Head over Heels" (US only promo single)	—	—	Take a Bite
	"Fox on the Run" (US only promo single)	—	—
"—" denotes singles that did not chart, have not charted yet, or were not released.

Other appearances

Year	Song	Album	Comments
1986	"Nowhere to Run"[17]	Reform School Girls soundtrack	Rhino Records RNLP 70310
1989	"I'm the Leader of the Gang (I Am)" (live)[18]	Gary Glitter's Gangshow: The Gang, the Band, the Leader	Recorded during the 1989 tour in support of Gary Glitter.
1994	"Twas the Night Before Christmas"[19]	X-Mas: The Metal Way	Metal version of a Christmas classic.
2008	"Auld Lang Syne"[20]	We Wish You a Metal Xmas and a Headbanging New Year deluxe edition	Metal version of a Christmas classic previously released for download on Eagle Rock Entertainment website.[21]
	"Metropolis"[22]	Sheep in Wolves' Clothing: A Tribute to Motorhead	Motörhead cover recorded with Eddie Clarke for Motörhead fan club tribute album, which preceded its release on Legacy by a few months

Video albums

Year	Video details	Notes
1985	Play Dirty Live Released: 1985 Label: Castle (CMV 1017) Format: VHS	The show was filmed in London on 7 December 1984, before the US-only release of the album Running Wild. It was directed by Marc Over and released in the USA by PolyGram Videos.[23]
2005	Live from London Released: 2005 Label: Iguana Project (B0009U5DGW) Format: DVD	This is a re-release in DVD of Play Dirty Live by the British label Iguana Project, specialized in new editions on DVD of old material. The DVD has the same content of the VHS, with the addition of a presentation of the musicians.[24]
	Around the World Released: 2005 Label: self-released Format: DVD	Self-released DVD, containing live footage from tours in the 2000s, interviews and photos. It was sold through the Girlschool Official website combined with the album Believe.[25][26]

Music videos

Year	Song	Director	Ref
1980	"Race with the Devil"	???
	"Emergency"	???
	"Yeah Right"	???
1982	"Don't Call It Love"	???
	"Tush"	???
1983	"20th Century Boy"	Sebastian Harris	[27]
	"Play Dirty"
1985	"Running Wild"	???
1986	"I'm the Leader of the Gang (I Am)"	???
1988	"Fox on the Run"	Jean Pellerin	[28]
2004	"Come On Up"	???
2005	"Emergency"	???

References

1. Strong, Martin C. (1995). The Great Rock Discography. Edinburgh, Great Britain: Canongate Books. p. 326. ISBN 0-86241-541-1.
2. Corich, Robert M. (1998). The Collection (CD booklet). Girlschool. England: Sanctuary Records (CMDD014).
3. "Girlschool - Running Wild (1985)" (in German). Musik-Sammler.de. Retrieved 3 January 2011.
4. Gilmour, Hugh (2009). "Black Sabbath ruined my life". Tony Iommi Official Website. Archived from the original on 30 June 2012. Retrieved 21 December 2010. Castle Communications PLC (...) had a knack for presenting classic albums (..) and make them look as cheap as possible
5. Siekierski, Jay (1998). "Motörhead Interview". Motörhead Forever. Archived from the original on 30 June 2012. Retrieved 21 December 2010.
6. Masson, Gordon; Ed Christman (8 April 2000). "UK's Sanctuary Buys Castle Music". Billboard: 75, 78.
7. BBC News, "Universal Music to buy Sanctuary", 15 June 2007. Retrieved 16 December 2010.
8. Sweney, Mark (21 September 2012). "Universal's £1.2bn EMI takeover approved – with conditions". London: The Guardian.
9. Ed Christman (28 April 2016). "Warner Music's Global Deal for BMG's Catalog Sets Up Showdown With RED". Billboard.com.
10. "Girlschool Official Charts". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 25 August 2013.
11. "RPM > Girlschool". Library and Archives Canada. 1 October 2004. Retrieved 8 December 2010.
12. "Discography Girlschool". Hung Medien. Retrieved 8 December 2010.
13. "Girlschool > Charts & Awards > Billboard Albums". Allmusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved 10 December 2010.
14. "Gold Platinum Database - Search for Girlschool". Music Canada. Retrieved 19 October 2017.
15. "BPI Certified Awards Searchable Database". BPI. Retrieved 14 August 2010. search under artist for 'motorhead & girls school'
16. Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970-1992. St Ives, New South Wales, Australia. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
17. "Reform School Girls (1986)". Soundtrack Collector.com. Retrieved 25 August 2013.
18. Gary Glitter's Gangshow - The Gang, The Band, The Leader (CD sleeve). Gary Glitter. Castle Communications. 1989.CS1 maint: others (link)
19. "X-Mas: The Metal Way CD". Musik Sammler.de. Retrieved 30 January 2011.
20. "We Wish You A Metal Xmas And A Headbanging New YearCD". Musik Sammler.de. Retrieved 30 January 2011.
21. "Anvil, Doro, Devildriver, Whitesnake Members Featured On New Christmas EP". Blabbermouth.net. 27 October 2009. Retrieved 19 October 2017.
22. Kranitz, Jerry (September 2008). "Various Artists - "Sheep in Wolve's Clothing: A Tribute to Motorhead"". Aural Innovations.com. Retrieved 1 February 2011.
23. "Girlschool - Play Dirty Live". Encyclopaedia Metallum. Retrieved 17 July 2010.
24. "Girlschool - Live From London". EzyDVD. 2006. Archived from the original on 6 July 2011. Retrieved 17 July 2010.
25. Van Poorten, Toine (29 March 2010). "Video and DVD Reviews MM". Metalmaidens.com. Retrieved 25 May 2010.
26. Geesin, Joe (2005). "Interview: Girlschool". Get Ready to Rock! .com. Retrieved 5 July 2010.
27. Dickson, Dave (3 November 1983). "Boxer Tricks". Kerrang!. 54. Morgan Grampian. pp. 22–23.
28. "Girlschool- Fox on the Run promo video". YouTube. Retrieved 26 April 2011.

External links

• Official discography
• Reference discography database