''Take a Bite'' is the seventh studio album by British heavy metal band,

Girlschool 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 more than 40 ...

, released by

GWR Records GWR Records was an independent record label active in the UK from 1986 through to 1991. By 1984, Gerry Bron's Bronze Records was in financial difficulty leading to a hiatus in recording activity for Motörhead. Eventually, Motörhead manager ...

in 1988. It is the first album to feature Tracey Lamb on bass, replacing Gil Weston-Jones.

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. The album was instead produced by

Monty Python Monty Python, also known as the Pythons, were a British comedy troupe formed in 1969 consisting of Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle, Terry Jones and Michael Palin. The group came to prominence for the sketch comedy ser ...

's collaborator André Jacquemin at Redwood Studios, which are co-owned by Jacquemin and actor

Michael Palin Sir Michael Edward Palin (; born 5 May 1943) is an English actor, comedian, writer, and television presenter. He was a member of the Monty Python comedy group. He received the BAFTA Academy Fellowship Award, BAFTA Fellowship in 2013 and was knig ...

, member of the British comedy group Monty Python. The same studios had been utilised by

Motörhead Motörhead () were an English rock music, rock band formed in London in 1975 by bassist and lead vocalist Lemmy Kilmister, guitarist Larry Wallis and drummer Lucas Fox. Kilmister was the primary songwriter and only constant member. The band a ...

to record their album ''

Rock 'n' Roll Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock-n-roll, and rock 'n' roll) is a Genre (music), genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It Origins of rock and roll, originated from African ...

'' 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. On the contrary, the artwork, photos and packaging are the result of a rushed work done in less than a week. "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 Cristina "Cris" Bonacci (born 15 October 1964) is an Australian-born producer, songwriter, and musician. She was the lead guitarist in the British heavy metal band Girlschool (1984 to 1992, 2004) and has also provided session guitar work for ot ...

in an interview to ''

Kerrang! ''Kerrang!'' is a British music webzine and quarterly magazine that primarily covers rock, punk and heavy metal music. Since 2017, the magazine has been published by Wasted Talent Ltd (the same company that owns electronic music publication ...

'' magazine about the unsatisfying results of the album packaging. The very good reviews and their UK tour with

Gary Glitter Paul Francis Gadd (born 8 May 1944), better known by his stage name Gary Glitter, is an English former singer who achieved fame and success during the 1970s and 1980s. His career ended after he was convicted of downloading child pornography i ...

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. The song "Head over Heels" contains a text written by Motörhead bassist

Lemmy Ian Fraser Kilmister (24 December 1945 – 28 December 2015), better known as Lemmy Kilmister or simply Lemmy, was a British musician. He was the founder, lead vocalist, bassist and primary songwriter of the metal band Motörhead, of which he ...

on a napkin, during a night out in a pub with McAuliffe and other friends. Kilmister, Ian and Garza, Janiss ''White Line Fever'' (2002) –

Simon & Schuster Simon & Schuster LLC (, ) is an American publishing house owned by Kohlberg Kravis Roberts since 2023. It was founded in New York City in 1924, by Richard L. Simon and M. Lincoln Schuster. Along with Penguin Random House, Hachette Book Group US ...

pp. 209 . The album contains also the cover of

Sweet Sweetness is a basic taste most commonly perceived when eating foods rich in sugars. Sweet tastes are generally regarded as pleasurable. In addition to sugars like sucrose, many other chemical compounds are sweet, including aldehydes, ketones, ...

's single " Fox on the Run", taken from the album ''

Desolation Boulevard ''Desolation Boulevard'' is the third studio album by English glam rock band Sweet, released in the UK in November 1974. Two noticeably different versions of the album were released: one by RCA Records in Europe, and another by Capitol Record ...

'' of 1974.

Enigma Records Enigma Records (also known as Enigma Entertainment Corporation) was a popular rock and alternative American record label in the 1980s. History Enigma Records launched as a division of Greenworld Distribution, an independent music importer/d ...

, 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 Roadrunner Records is a Dutch–American record label focused on Heavy metal music, heavy metal and hard rock music. Founded in the Netherlands in 1980, it is now a division of Warner Music Group and is based in New York City. Formerly seen as ...

marketed the album in Europe.

Track listing

Personnel

;Band members *Kim McAuliffe – vocals, rhythm guitar *

– lead guitar *Tracey Lamb – bass *Denise Dufort – drums ;Additional musicians *Merv Goldsworthy,

Pete Jupp FM are a British rock band (referred to as FM UK in North America to avoid confusion with the Canadian progressive rock band FM). They have released fourteen studio albums to date. Three of those, '' Indiscreet'', '' Tough It Out'' and 2015' ...

( FM) – backing vocals on "Girls on Top" *Enid Williams – backing vocals on "This Time"

Release history

References

External links

Official Girlschool discography"Fox on the Run" video clip
{{Authority control 1988 albums Girlschool albums