Is this New Wave of British Heavy Metal or New Wave of British Hair Metal? Either way it fits the NWOBHM acronym. But if it’s hair metal it needs to be a different acronym as hair metal probably didn’t exist before Girl came along. A bit of a conundrum eh?
Either way, Girl was an odd name for a rock band full of blokes and the slightly feminine look they had as their style. A brave move for a band who appeared at the height of NWOBHM and didn’t really fit which may have been their downfall.
As a young lad meeself in the late 70s/early 80s I do recall Girl with some fondness. The single “My Number” on clear vinyl, this album and seeing them support Kiss at Stafford Bingley Hall with the burning topic of conversation amongst some sections of the crowd being would Girl “dare” to do their cover of Kiss classic Do You Love Me?
With the marvellous Rock Candy spitting out Sheer Greed as remastered reissue it’s a welcome chance to listen once again to an album long since lost my old vinyl copy and not heard for a good three decades. So what about the music?
Think Ratt, New York Dolls, Duran Duran with “balls”. A sort of heavy/sleazy/punky mixture which is all quite punchy and in your face with some nice chops and tasty guitar from Phil Collen who would of course go on to better thins with Def Leppard. Vocalist Phil Lewis does a passable Bowie impression (some style similarities) and he went on to have a spell with the LA Guns after Girl’s relatively short career flamed out.
Hollywood Tease is a muscular opener. Short, fast, urgent and a fine guitar break. The Things You Say not dissimilar. Lovely Lorraine has a feeling of sleaze to it with all featuring Collen’s shredding ability and variations from solid riffing to frantic but measured soloing. He’s the star here for me.
Here’s the band “performing” Hollywood Tease on TV from yonks ago .
The aforementioned Do You Love Me is very similar to the original. Girl try to mix it up a bit with songs like Passing Clouds which doesn’t (in my opinion) quite work out. A reggae style effort which sounds so out of place as does the mid-section flamenco style guitar.
My Number chugs along nicely with an infectious tone which is perhaps intentional given the single release. Heartbreak America has something of a Def Leppard sound which, who knows, may have been a portent for Collen’s future.
Despite big support from Jet Records Girl were perhaps a band out of time. Both “moniker” and glam-rock style not doing them any favours in years dominated by heavier rock and NWOBHM.
Had they come along a handful of years later they’d have fitted right in with the likes of Motley Crue, Autograph, Cheap Trick et al.
Sheer Greed remains a good listen. Mostly short, punchy hard rock with a glam edge bar the odd slip such as Passing Clouds.
A curiosity from the turn of the 1980s well worth checking out. Recommended.
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