Girl

Though they never achieved broad popularity, the London-based quintet Girl forged a slender connection between the glam era of the 1970s and the heavier yet equally decadent glam-metal sound that surfaced toward the close of the following decade. Despite their short run and inconsistent recordings, the group is chiefly recalled today as the launchpad for two notable talents who later achieved greater recognition elsewhere.

The band came together in 1979 when vocalist Philip Lewis joined forces with guitarists Phil Collen and Gerry Laffy, bassist Simon Laffy, and drummer Dave Gaynor. Clad in tailored outfits and heavy makeup, the members openly declared their aim to become England’s counterpart to the New York Dolls, an approach that set them apart amid the shift from raw punk toward the New Wave of British Heavy Metal. Their unconventional look and stance nonetheless drew attention, leading a videotaped performance to secure a deal with Jet Records, the label then home to Ozzy Osbourne and ELO. Two singles paved the way for their energetic yet patchy debut album, Sheer Greed, issued in January 1980; it reached number 33 on the U.K. charts and enjoyed stronger sales in Japan.

A British tour supporting UFO came next, yet the live presentation still required refinement and the group faced repeated criticism from a press that had grown weary of their novelty status. Before sessions for the delayed follow-up, Wasted Youth, drummer Pete Barnacle, formerly of Gillan, took Gaynor’s place. By the time the album appeared in 1982 the band’s standing had already declined sharply and its progress had largely stalled. A subsequent Japanese tour merely postponed the end; Girl dissolved later that year once Collen accepted an offer from Def Leppard. Gerry Laffy pursued a low-profile solo path, while Philip Lewis, after brief tenures with the London Cowboys and Airrace, found major success as frontman of the California sleaze-rock outfit L.A. Guns.