Girl (band)

Girl
Girl in the early 1980s.
Background information
Origin	London, England
Genres	Hard rock, glam rock
Years active	1979–1982
Labels	Jet Records
Associated acts	Man Raze, Sheer Greed
Past members	Phil Lewis Gerry Laffy Phil Collen Dave Gaynor Mark Megary Simon Laffy Pete Barnacle Bryson Graham Pete Bonas

Girl were an English glam metal band formed in London in 1979, which split up in 1982 with band members going on to join Def Leppard and L.A. Guns, among others.

Girl were formed in 1979 by vocalist Phil Lewis, guitarists Gerry Laffy and Phil Collen, drummer Dave Gaynor, and bassist Mark Megary (replaced shortly thereafter by Simon Laffy). Collen had previously been in the bands Lucy, Tush, and Dumb Blondes. Girl were first discovered and managed by Jon Lindsay who was looking for bands for former manager of The Who, Kit Lambert for a proposed new record label. Lindsay and Girl separated over managerial decisions when the band wanted to sign a recording deal with Don Arden instead of a recording contract negotiated by Lindsay with music figure Simon Napier-Bell's Nomis Publishing.

The band were signed by Jet Records, releasing two singles prior to their debut album Sheer Greed (1980), which reached number 33 in the UK Albums Chart. The band's profile was raised by tours with the Pat Travers Band and UFO, in the midst of the new wave of British heavy metal explosion. Girl recorded a pre-L.A. Guns version of the song "Hollywood Tease", which peaked at No. 50 in the UK Singles Chart in April 1980.

Gaynor left in 1981, to be replaced by former Gillan/Broken Home drummer Pete Barnacle. However, following several live dates with the band, Barnacle himself was replaced by Bryson Graham during the recording of the next album. Both Barnacle and Graham appear on Girl's second album Wasted Youth which was released in 1982 and reached number 92 in the UK. Pete Bonas replaced Phil Collen, who left to join Def Leppard, though the band broke up soon after.