Marine Girls

Before establishing her reputation through Everything but the Girl, Tracey Thorn had already shaped a body of mellow, spare indie pop as a member of the all-female group the Marine Girls. Drawing influence from the Raincoats and the Young Marble Giants, she launched the band in 1980 alongside school friend Gina and Jane Fox in Hatfield, Hertfordshire, England. Initially Thorn handled guitar while Gina sang and Fox played bass; lacking any drummer, the members deliberately pursued a stripped-down sound. Gina’s repeated absences from rehearsals led to her departure, after which Jane Fox’s younger sister Alice Fox took over vocals, and Thorn herself later added singing duties. The resulting trio captured a cassette titled A Day by the Sea and distributed copies among friends. Two full-length releases followed in the U.K.: Beach Party in 1982 and Lazy Ways the next year, the latter produced by Stuart Moxham of the Young Marble Giants. While studying at Hull University Thorn began composing material for her own projects, limiting her appearances with the Marine Girls to school holidays. The group dissolved in 1983 after an onstage disagreement between Thorn and Alice Fox following a Glasgow, Scotland concert. Thorn subsequently completed the solo album A Distant Shore and soon afterward formed Everything but the Girl with Ben Watt. Cherry Red Records later paired both Marine Girls albums on a single CD in 1997, with spinART handling the American reissue four years afterward.