CRASHING AWKWARDLY in to a scene that was almost exclusively primed for down and dirty hard rock, Girl were utterly out of step with the times. Hard rock bands during the very early 1980s complied with a strict in-vogue youth uniform of denim, leather and greasy long hair. The NWOBHM, as it was labelled, may have been a force for good but it certainly wasn’t tolerant of aesthetic deviation… something that Girl found to be a major stumbling block. Dressed to kill, they resembled a car-crash combination of Duran Duran, Japan and the New York Dolls. Musically, however, their riff-tastic style was more in tune with Aerosmith, Cheap Trick and Kiss. The band’s somewhat androgynous look, penchant for eye makeup and cocky pouts, set them apart and there was no getting away from the fact that visually these guys were totally out of step with the scene. Sadly, therefore, they suffered some ridicule; despite the fact that they were actually trailblazing a style that was later successfully utilised by acts such as Hanoi Rocks, Mötley Crüe and Ratt. Signed to Jet Records (owned and operated by the Mr Big of rock, Don Arden), this, the band’s debut album, co-produced by Chris Tsangarides (Y&T, Thin Lizzy) and Nick Tauber (Def Leppard, UFO), made the critics swoon, but on the streets it was a different story, with the band failing to make inroads and wrestling with a label that didn’t quite ‘get it’. It remains, however, a masterpiece of musical juxtaposition boasting explosive tracks like ‘My Number’, ‘Hollywood Tease’ and an OTT cover of the Kiss Klassic ‘Do You Love Me’.