On January 21, 1982, New Wave of British Heavy Metal paragons Girlschool played Tokyo – the first all-female British band ever to perform live in Japan, and one of the very first NWOBHM bands to do so as well.
And on November 6, Cleopatra Records’s on-going roll-out of classic Girlschool live shows commemorates the 45th anniversary of that historic show with a CD and a first ever vinyl release for Tokyo Breakdown, a raw, no-frills, high-voltage recounting of the that so memorable night.
Vocalist and guitarist Kim McAuliffe recalls, “We had no idea what to expect. The big thing I remember about the whole Tokyo experience was, we kept getting screamed at, everywhere we went. We literally… the first day, we got to our hotel, checked in, went out, walked around the corner and there was a MacDonalds, even then. And then all these little girls came up screaming, and we were,‘What the hell’s going on?’”
The barrage continued when the band took the stage. “We went on, and the screaming was so loud, we thought we were the Beatles. It was mad!”
You can hear the audience’s excitement (and the screaming!) throughout Tokyo Breakdown – in fact, mixed in with the band’s opening tape, with the aircraft sounds and howling sirens, the noise makes it sound as though a full-scale disaster is taking place.
But no, it’s Girlschool, launching into one of the most energetic performances of “C’mon Let’s Go” they’ve ever delivered. From there, 15 more songs roar out, with the band’s two albums to date, Demolition and Hit and Run,stretching their legs in front of an audience that can barely believe that Girlschool have finally arrived – “Victim,” “Kick It Down,” “Breakdown,” “Race With The Devil” (“this was our single over here,” Kim reminds the crowd) all leading up to a breathless closing salvo that wraps “Yeah Right,” “Hit and Run” and “Tonight” into a relentless stream of adrenalin, before the performance wraps up with “Tush,” the ZZ Top boogie that Girlschool had totally made their own.
“The Hunter,” the first single from the album, is released today, to capture – and preview, in devastating fashion – all the energy of the night.
SINGLE: https://orcd.co/girschool_thehuntertokyo1982
Formed in 1978, Girlschool were one of the first NWOBHM bands to break into the mainstream, first with their incendiary take on “Race With The Devil,” and then with the St Valentine’s Day Massacre EP, pairing them with long-time supporters Motörhead… Lemmy was a regular sight at their club and pub gigs.
Those first two albums, too, were hits – the debut nudging the Top 30, Hit’N’Run racing into the Top 5 in spring 1981. That summer, Girlschool became the first (and, so far, only) all-female rock band to headline the annual Reading Festival – a memorable show captured on another Cleopatra CD, Nothin’ To Lose In Reading – more astonishing performances from this same peak era will be along in 2027, as the spotlight turns to the group’s first US tour in April, 1982.
For now, though, Tokyo Breakdown sees this year out with one of the most dramatic, dynamic live shows you’ll have heard all year.
CD/VINYL: https://cleorecs.com/search?q=girlschool+tokyo
DIGITAL: https://orcd.co/girslchool_tokyobreakdown1982
Track listing
1. C’mon Let’s Go
2. The Hunter
3. (I’m Your) Victim
4. Midnight Ride [CD ONLY]
5. Race with the Devil
6. Kick It Down
7. Don’t Call It Love
8. Don’t Stop
9. Breakdown [CD ONLY]
10. Nothing to Lose [CD ONLY]
11. Watch Your Step
12. Future Flash
13. Yeah Right
14. Hit ‘N Run
15. Tonight
16. Tush [CD ONLY]
