Take a Bite

Last updated

Take a Bite
Girlschool take a bite.jpg
Studio album by
Girlschool
Released3 October 1988
RecordedRedwood Studios, London
Genre Heavy metal
Length36:38
Label GWR
Producer André Jacquemin
Girlschool chronology
Nightmare at Maple Cross
(1986)		Take a Bite
(1988)		 Girlschool
(1992)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svg [1]

Take a Bite is the seventh studio album by British heavy metal band, Girlschool, released by GWR Records in 1988. It is the first album to feature Tracey Lamb on bass, replacing Gil Weston-Jones. [2]

Heavy metal is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the United Kingdom. With roots in blues rock, psychedelic rock, and acid rock, the bands that created heavy metal developed a thick, massive sound, characterized by highly amplified distortion, extended guitar solos, emphatic beats, and overall loudness. The genre's lyrics and performance styles are sometimes associated with aggression and machismo.

Girlschool British heavy metal band

Girlschool are a British rock band that formed in the new wave of British heavy metal scene in 1978, frequently associated with contemporaries Motörhead. They are the longest-running all-female rock band, still active after almost 40 years. Formed from a school band called Painted Lady, Girlschool enjoyed strong media exposure and commercial success in the UK in the early 1980s with three albums of 'punk-tinged metal' and a few singles, but lost their momentum in the following years.

GWR Records record label

GWR Records were an independent record label active in the UK from 1986 through to 1991.

Contents

Overview

Take a Bite was recorded at a very low time for Girlschool because, despite the very good reviews for the previous album Nightmare at Maple Cross , they had not succeeded in regaining the fan base support in the UK which they had in the early 80s and they could not improve the sales of their album worldwide for the lack of a US release. The band had hoped to record the new album with their long-time producer Vic Maile, who was not available because of his illness. [3] The album was instead produced by Monty Python's collaborator André Jacquemin at Redwood Studios, which are co-owned by Jacquemin and actor Michael Palin, member of the British comedy group Monty Python. [4] The same studios had been utilised by Motörhead to record their album Rock 'n' Roll the year before. The recording and mixing sessions took a very long time because, to save money, they were scheduled on 'dead time' in the middle of the night, when the studio was empty. [5] On the contrary, the artwork, photos and packaging are the result of a rushed work done in less than a week. [5] "We got to the situation where we needed photographs of the band and all we had were these snaps taken by the fans" remarked guitarist Cris Bonacci in an interview to Kerrang! magazine about the unsatisfying results of the album packaging. [5]

<i>Nightmare at Maple Cross</i> 1986 studio album by Girlschool

Nightmare at Maple Cross is the sixth studio album by the British heavy metal band, Girlschool, released on GWR Records in 1986. Under the direction of producer Vic Maile, this album marks the return of the band to the sound of their earlier works and to a four-piece formation. All tracks were composed by the four musicians, except for the cover of Mud's "Tiger Feet". The US version of the album included a duet with Gary Glitter covering his song, "I'm the Leader of the Gang ".

Vic Maile was a British record producer. After starting his career as sound engineer with Pye mobile studios for The Animals on their song, "We Gotta Get Out of This Place", Maile worked with some of the biggest names in the music industry, such as Fleetwood Mac, Jimi Hendrix, Led Zeppelin, Eric Clapton, The Pirates, Hawkwind, Motörhead, The Godfathers, The Kinks, The Small Faces, The Inmates, Dr. Feelgood, The Screaming Blue Messiahs, The Lords of The New Church, Girlschool and Michael Moorcock & The Deep Fix

Monty Python British surreal comedy group

Monty Python are a British surreal comedy group who created the sketch comedy television show Monty Python's Flying Circus, which first aired on the BBC in 1969. Forty-five episodes were made over four series. The Python phenomenon developed from the television series into something larger in scope and impact, including touring stage shows, films, numerous albums, several books, and musicals. The Pythons' influence on comedy has been compared to the Beatles' influence on music. Regarded as enduring icons of 1970s pop culture, their sketch show has been referred to as being “an important moment in the evolution of television comedy".

The very good reviews and their UK tour with Gary Glitter did not help the album to chart at home and after an American and European tour GWR did not renew their contract. By the end of 1989, Girlschool had practically disbanded. [6]

Gary Glitter former English glam rock singer-songwriter and musician, convicted sex offender

Paul Francis Gadd, known by the stage name Gary Glitter, is an English former glam rock singer who achieved popular success in the 1970s and 1980s. He was known for his extreme glam image of glitter suits, make-up and platform boots, and his energetic live performances. He sold over 20 million records, had 26 hit singles which spent a total of 180 weeks in the UK Singles Chart; twelve reaching the Top 10, with three charting at number-one. He is listed in the Top 100 UK most successful chart acts. From 1997, he returned to public notice for committing sex offences, being imprisoned for downloading child pornography in 1999, and child sexual abuse and attempted rape in 2006 and 2015. Formerly one of the best-loved entertainers in British music history, in 2015 Glitter was described by Alexis Petridis of The Guardian as a "public hate figure".

The song "Head over Heels" contains a text written by Motörhead bassist Lemmy on a napkin, during a night out in a pub with McAuliffe and other friends. [7] The album contains also the cover of Sweet's single "Fox on the Run", taken from the album Desolation Boulevard of 1974. Enigma Records, which produced the album in America, released two promo singles for the songs "Head over Heels" and "Fox on the Run" to be distributed to radio stations in the USA. Roadrunner Records marketed the album in Europe.

Lemmy British singer-songwriter

Ian Fraser "Lemmy" Kilmister, was an English singer, songwriter, and musician, best known as the founder, lead singer, bassist, and primary songwriter of the rock band Motörhead.

The Sweet British glam-rock band

The Sweet are a British glam rock band that rose to worldwide fame in the 1970s. Their best known line-up consisted of lead vocalist Brian Connolly, bass player Steve Priest, guitarist Andy Scott, and drummer Mick Tucker. The group was originally called Sweetshop.

Fox on the Run (Sweet song) song by Sweet

"Fox on the Run" is a song by the British band Sweet, first recorded in 1974. It was the first Sweet single written by the band, rather than producers Nicky Chinn and Mike Chapman, and was their 14th single overall. "Fox" being slang for an attractive woman, the lyrics are apparently about one of the band's groupies; Bomp! called the song "a definitive hard-rock bubblegum record" and "one of the last glitter classics".

Track listing

Side one
  1. "Action" (Kim McAuliffe, Cris Bonacci, Denise Dufort, Tracey Lamb) – 3:04
  2. "Fox on the Run" (Brian Connolly, Steve Priest, Mick Tucker, Andy Scott) – 3:54
  3. "Girls on Top" (McAuliffe, Bonacci) – 3:50
  4. "Tear it Up" (McAuliffe, Bonacci, Dufort, Lamb) – 3:53
  5. "Love at First Bite" (McAuliffe, Bonacci) – 3:49
Side two
  1. "Head over Heels" (Ian Kilmister, McAuliffe, Bonacci) – 3:35
  2. "Up All Night" (McAuliffe, Bonacci) – 3:14
  3. "This Time" (McAuliffe, Bonacci, Dufort, Lamb) – 3:23
  4. "Don't Walk Away" (McAuliffe, Bonacci, Dufort, Lamb) – 4:05
  5. "Too Hot to Handle" (McAuliffe, Bonacci) – 3:51

Personnel

Band members

Cristina "Cris" Bonacci is an Australian-born producer, songwriter, and musician. She was the lead guitarist in the British heavy metal band Girlschool and has also provided session guitar work for other artists.

Additional musicians

Pete Jupp is a British drummer/musician who played in the bands The English Rogues, Wildlife, and Samson, before forming FM in 1984 with the (parenthetically) aforementioned musicians.

FM (British band) British rock band

FM are a British rock band. They have released eleven studio albums to date. Three of those, Indiscreet, Tough It Out and 2015's Heroes and Villains reached the UK Albums Chart, whilst five of the band's singles made inroads into the UK Singles Chart.

Release history

DateRegionLabelCatalogueFormatNotes
3 October 1988UK GWR GWLP21vinyl [8]
1988SwedenLyric RecordsLRLP 5003vinyl
1988SwitzerlandLyric RecordsLRCD 5003CD
1988HollandGWRRR 9513 1vinyl
1988CanadaGWR/Enigma 7 75406-2CD
1989CanadaGWR/Enigma7 75406-1vinyl
1991JapanGWRTECP-25645CDpublished in a double album compilation with Nightmare at Maple Cross [9]
1992FranceDojo/Castle LOMA CD 8CDpublished in a double album compilation with Nightmare at Maple Cross
2006UKCastle/Sanctuary CMRCD1382CDpublished in a double album compilation with Nightmare at Maple Cross

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References

  1. ↑ Hill, Gary. "Girlschool Take a Bite review". AllMusic . Rovi Corporation . Retrieved 17 June 2011.
  2. ↑ "Girlschool – Take A Bite". Encyclopaedia Metallum . Retrieved 25 May 2010.
  3. ↑ Dome, Malcolm (28 May 1987). "Girlschool". Kerrang! . 147. London, UK: Spotlight Publications Ltd. p. 7.
  4. ↑ "André Jacquemin CV" (PDF). 24 September 2003. Archived from the original (PDF) on 7 July 2010. Retrieved 28 June 2010.
  5. 1 2 3 Watts, Chris (19 November 1988). "Once Bitten... Twice Dry". Kerrang! . 214. London, UK: Spotlight Publications Ltd. pp. 28–29.
  6. ↑ "Girlschool biography". Former Girschool website. Retrieved 13 December 2010.
  7. ↑ Kilmister, Ian and Garza, Janiss White Line Fever (2002) — Simon & Schuster pp. 209 ISBN   0-684-85868-1.
  8. ↑ "Girlschool Take A Bite (1988)" (in German). Musik Sammler.de. Retrieved 9 January 2011.
  9. ↑ "Girlschool Nightmare at Maple Cross / Take A Bite (1992)" (in German). Musik Sammler.de. Retrieved 9 January 2011.
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