Girls At Our Best! In session for John Peel – Recorded February 17, 1981 – BBC Radio 1 –
Girls At Our Best! One of many short-lived bands of the early 80s. During a time when the playing field was open and genres were springing up everywhere. Punk was in the process of dying down, being challenged by Post-Punk, a more mainstream-friendly version, with less angst and more pop. Electronica was establishing a presence, via Gary Numan and modified by Ultravox. MTV had become an industry standard and Record companies were looking for bands who could fit an image. For the most part, the major labels were co-opting Punk, taking the spirit of DIY (doing it yourself) and waving checkbooks, along with “suggestions”.
Girls At Our Best were one of those bands who went the DIY route for most of their short three years – their one album, Pleasure, was issued by the indie label Happy Birthday Records and got favorable reviews, with comparisons to Gang Of Four and Siouxsie and The Banshees. The album was also considered an underrated delight, loaded with Spikey-Pop and well-crafted production. It managed to hit #60 on the UK Album chart in 1981.
Ironically, after the band called it quits in 1982, singer Jo Evans worked with Thomas Dolby and drummer Paul Simon. who formed The Fallout Club with Thomas Dolby, as well as working on a string of other musical projects.
Their debut single Getting Nowhere Fast was covered by The Wedding Present in 1987. So they did make an impression, even though it was short-lived.
This session, their first and only for John Peel comes between the release of their second single, Politics which reached #12 on the Indie charts, and ahead of their third single, Go For Gold, which became their biggest hit, reaching #4.
In case you missed them the first time around, here’s a sample.
While you’re here – We’re about a week away from finishing our Past Daily Fall Fundraiser – still a ways off, but the pledges of support keep trickling in. We’re really touched by the outpouring of support for Past Daily – it means a lot and it also means that all the work we do everyday, not just with Music but with all the news and history and Interviews, is being appreciated by you and you want to keep it going. We will, thanks to you – but if you haven’t chipped in yet, here’s you chance – click on the link here: (Past Daily Fall Fundraiser) and make your pledge and donation – it’s Tax-Deductible and can be for whatever amount you’re comfortable with, just as long as we get your support and the chance to keep giving you these rarities from a whole range of places and subjects, for you to check out, listen to and download. It’s a great deal, considering. So do what you can and we’ll keep doing what we do. A huge debt of thanks to all of you who have chipped in so far – you’re making an enormous difference. Now tell your friends.
