Biography
The post-punk group Girls at Our Best! from Leeds maintained only a brief run yet produced notable impact across that short span. Their jagged, taut compositions echoed the exploratory direction pursued by LiLiPUT, the Raincoats, and Delta 5 in the late-1970s-to-early-1980s timeframe, while the band’s own serrated guitar textures and new wave inflections supplied an extra measure of biting energy. Activity wound down informally around 1982, leaving several EPs and the lone album Pleasure from 1981, a release that came to be viewed as a core post-punk reference point.
Girls at Our Best! originated in Leeds, England, in 1979 when vocalist Judy Evans, guitarist James Alan, and bassist Gerald Swift came together. Initially known as the Butterflies, they circulated through the British punk circuit and stood close to dissolution before answering an advertisement from a Cambridge-area studio that offered reduced session fees. Drummer Chris Oldroyd joined for the occasion, yielding the tracks “Warm Girls” and “Getting Nowhere Fast.” The resulting demo surfaced as a single on Rough Trade in spring 1980 under the Girls at Our Best! moniker, drawn from a line in “Warm Girls.” Session drummer Paul Simon then assisted on the follow-up single “Politics,” which matched its predecessor by reaching the top of the U.K. indie charts. Former Expelaires drummer Carl Harper became a permanent member, enabling the release of a third single, “Go for Gold,” and the long-planned debut album Pleasure in 1981. Although no official disbandment statement was issued, that album marked the group’s final output. Pleasure included guest synthesizer contributions from Thomas Dolby and later appeared in expanded reissues across subsequent decades. Band members continued working in music through projects such as Sexbeat and the synth pop outfit the Fallout Club, the latter also involving Dolby prior to his emergence as a solo artist.
Girls at Our Best! originated in Leeds, England, in 1979 when vocalist Judy Evans, guitarist James Alan, and bassist Gerald Swift came together. Initially known as the Butterflies, they circulated through the British punk circuit and stood close to dissolution before answering an advertisement from a Cambridge-area studio that offered reduced session fees. Drummer Chris Oldroyd joined for the occasion, yielding the tracks “Warm Girls” and “Getting Nowhere Fast.” The resulting demo surfaced as a single on Rough Trade in spring 1980 under the Girls at Our Best! moniker, drawn from a line in “Warm Girls.” Session drummer Paul Simon then assisted on the follow-up single “Politics,” which matched its predecessor by reaching the top of the U.K. indie charts. Former Expelaires drummer Carl Harper became a permanent member, enabling the release of a third single, “Go for Gold,” and the long-planned debut album Pleasure in 1981. Although no official disbandment statement was issued, that album marked the group’s final output. Pleasure included guest synthesizer contributions from Thomas Dolby and later appeared in expanded reissues across subsequent decades. Band members continued working in music through projects such as Sexbeat and the synth pop outfit the Fallout Club, the latter also involving Dolby prior to his emergence as a solo artist.
Albums
