GIRLSCHOOL never did things the easy way. In August 1981, little more than two years after the all-female south London metal band launched itself onto the U.K. club scene, they were firmly established among the very few New Wave Of British Heavy Metal acts either capable of, or deserving to, top the first night bill the annual Reading Festival — the first female rock band ever to headline the festival and, all these years later, still the only one.

They were fabulous, as well; indeed, by the end of the festival, filing out drunk on 26 bands’ worth of music, more than a few voices reckoned that GIRLSCHOOL should have headlined the entire event. No one could better have wrapped things up late on Sunday night.

But first, the band’s hired car — a pink Caddy said to have belonged to actress Jayne Mansfield — was involved in a fender bender and arrived at the venue “broken and rattling.” Then, one of the roadies restrung lead guitarist Kelly Johnson‘s guitar with two D strings; and, finally, the band’s flashing neon backdrop was sabotaged by one of the other bands on the bill.

But did GIRLSCHOOL care? No. Not even Kelly. As vocalist/guitarist Kim McAuliffe explains: “”The thing with Kelly is, she was such a genius and natural player, you could put anything in front of her and she could play it. She had an instinct. I used to watch her onstage sometimes, and I was quite amazed by her. She was such an incredible presence on stage. [The roadie] could probably have handed her a guitar with four strings and she’d still have been brilliant. I don’t think having two strings the same would have bothered her at all.”

Previewed today by a single of its earthquaking title track, “Nothin’ To Lose (Live In Reading 1981)” hits the streets on September 25, on CD and striking red and white spatter vinyl.

The first of five archive GIRLSCHOOL live albums scheduled for release over the next few months, it is an utterly coruscating reminder of just what a powerful live act they were. And just how lucky Reading was to get them — the band was at its primal peak, still young enough to remember the tribulations of the years that preceded their breakthrough.. sleeping in the van, living on fast food, using the ladies room as a dressing room; but experienced enough to convert even the most cynical observer.

Shouting for songs, calling out the musicians’ names… no matter how many times the crowd might have seen GIRLSCHOOL in the past (and a lot of the faces did look familiar),it treated the band like royalty, resolute in the knowledge that whereas all the other names sewn onto the back of their jackets would some day let them down, GIRLSCHOOL never would. This band was more than the real thing. At that point in time, they were the only thing,

Their then-current album, 1981’s “Hit And Run”, dominated the set — indeed, for the first three songs, it was as if GIRLSCHOOL intended replaying the entire LP in order… “The Hunter” and “(I’m Your Victim)” followed “C’mon Let’s Go”, exactly as they did on record. But, of course, the band also swerved back to their debut, 1980’s “Demolition”, with “Breakdown” and “Nothing To Lose”, while a closing salvo that included “Race With The Devil”, their now-signature cover of the old GUN hit; and the then-current album’s “Yeah Right” was absolutely breathtaking. Even today, all these years later, it’s hard not to get goosebumps as somewhere between 20,000 and 30,000 people roared their approval at the band.

Kim still shares their excitement. This wasn’t her first visit to the venerable festival, after all. “I’d been there a couple of years before, standing on the other side in the mud, with this big plastic bag thing over me and knee deep in mud,” she says. “So happy to be there, grinning away, having the time of my life. Little did I know I’d actually be headlining a couple of years later. It was absolutely nuts.”

Which is what a lot of local residents thought, too. “We had the biggest pyrotechnic flashpots ever,” Kim continues. “Huge things. And apparently they could be heard seven miles away, so we were pleased about that. People wondering what the hell was going on with these massive bangs.” And thinking about it, that might be why the song during which they were unleashed, “Future Flash”, didn’t make it on to tape. The explosions probably blew out the microphones.

Track listing

01. C’mon Let’s Go
02. The Hunter
03. (I’m Your) Victim
04. Breakdown
05. Nothin’ To Lose
06. Hit ‘N Run
07. Tonight
08. Race With The Devil
09. Yeah Right

GIRLSCHOOL is planning to celebrate its 50th anniversary in 2028 with the release a new studio album. The upcoming effort will be the follow-up to “WTFortyfive?”, which came out in July 2023 via Silver Lining Music.