Strawberry Switchblade
Encyclopedia
Strawberry Switchblade was a female pop rock
band formed in Scotland
in 1981 by Jill Bryson and Rose McDowall
, best known for their song "Since Yesterday" in 1985.
expanded rapidly in the United Kingdom
in 1976. At the time, Rose McDowall and Jill Bryson were classic Glasgow
punks. As the punk rock scene electrified Glasgow in the late '70s, they were a part of the bohemian
art scene who adored the New York Dolls
and who followed Scottish punk band Nu-Sonics during their career, with McDowall playing and recording with Paisley punk band The Poems.
As friends, McDowall and Bryson socialised in Glasgow pubs, catching many local bands at the time. One of these bands was Orange Juice
, fronted by Edwyn Collins
. Those emerging from New Pop and Orange Juice
had recorded a live version of "Felicity" as a flexi-disc and intended to release it. The fanzine was to be named after a James Kirk song, and was to be called "Strawberry Switchblade". The fanzine never materialised, however, and the "Felicity" flexi eventually appeared as an addition to the debut Postcard single "Falling and Laughing". The name Strawberry Switchblade became Rose and Jill's moniker as they began their career to pop stardom.
Having played at a John Peel
gig in Scotland, Strawberry Switchblade were invited to record a session for his BBC Radio 1
show in October 1982. They also recorded a session for David Jensen
's Radio 1 show three days later. On both sessions the band were augmented by James Kirk from Orange Juice on bass and Shahid Sarwar from The Recognitions on drums.
(a Scottish
musician who went on to form The KLF
) and David Balfe
, respectively manager and keyboard player with the recently defunct the Teardrop Explodes
, who became the groups managers.
The band's first single, "Trees and Flowers", was released in July 1983 through 92 Happy Customers, an independent record label run by Will Sergeant
from Echo & The Bunnymen
, and sold over 10,000 copies. It was featured at number 47 in John Peel's 1983 Festive 50. "Trees and Flowers" was written by Bryson about her medical condition agoraphobia
.
Drummond signed the band to Warner Music Group
subsidiary Korova in 1983. They got a full backing band with whom they toured and began recording an album with producer Robin Millar
. However, at the record company's behest, they reverted to the duo of Bryson and McDowall and for production duties they hired David Motion, who would soon go on to produce hits for Red Box.
and Japan
.
Their cover version
of "Sunday Morning" (originally by Velvet Underground) was released as an extra track on the 12" of "Since Yesterday". It was not included on any of the Strawberry Switchblade albums.
The track's opening fanfare came from Sibelius' Symphony No.5 and had also featured prominently in the coda section of the earlier hit "Beach Baby" by The First Class
. The band's' strikingly contrasting black and white wardrobe, including the polka dot
rah-rah skirt
s worn for the sleeve of "Since Yesterday", attracted coverage at the time. Their somewhat 'gothic
' appearance was also of note.
in the UK Singles Chart
.
In March 1985 they released their next single was "Let Her Go", a tune in a similar vein to "Since Yesterday".
Following the release of their eponymous album in April, in May 1985 they released a further single, the ballad "Who Knows What Love Is", one of two tracks on the album produced by Phil Thornalley
of The Cure
.
Their fifth single, an electro-pop cover of Dolly Parton
's Jolene
was issued in September 1985 in the UK and Japan.
Although their commercial success had waned in the UK they remained popular in Japan and two later singles, "Ecstasy (Apple of My Eye)" and "I Can Feel" were only issued in that country. The second of these only featured McDowall as by this time the partnership had irreparably fractured. By early 1986, the group disbanded.
In December 2005, Warner Bros. Platinum Records released a career retrospective of the band, made up of sixteen different tracks from various recordings on one compact disc.
Pop rock
Pop rock is a music genre which mixes a catchy pop style and light lyrics in its guitar-based rock songs. There are varying definitions of the term, ranging from a slower and mellower form of rock music to a subgenre of pop music...
band formed in Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
in 1981 by Jill Bryson and Rose McDowall
Rose McDowall
Rose McDowall is a Scottish musician, most notably as a vocalist in the pop band Strawberry Switchblade.-History:...
, best known for their song "Since Yesterday" in 1985.
Before being signed
The punk movementPunk rock
Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...
expanded rapidly in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
in 1976. At the time, Rose McDowall and Jill Bryson were classic Glasgow
Glasgow
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
punks. As the punk rock scene electrified Glasgow in the late '70s, they were a part of the bohemian
Bohemian
A Bohemian is a resident of the former Kingdom of Bohemia, either in a narrow sense as the region of Bohemia proper or in a wider meaning as the whole country, now known as the Czech Republic. The word "Bohemian" was used to denote the Czech people as well as the Czech language before the word...
art scene who adored the New York Dolls
New York Dolls
The New York Dolls is an American rock band, formed in New York in 1971. The band's protopunk sound prefigured much of what was to come in the punk rock era; their visual style influenced the look of many new wave and 1980s-era glam metal groups, and they began the local New York scene that later...
and who followed Scottish punk band Nu-Sonics during their career, with McDowall playing and recording with Paisley punk band The Poems.
As friends, McDowall and Bryson socialised in Glasgow pubs, catching many local bands at the time. One of these bands was Orange Juice
Orange Juice
Orange Juice was a Scottish post-punk band founded in the middle class Glasgow suburb of Bearsden as the Nu-Sonics in 1976. Edwyn Collins formed the Nu-Sonics with his school-mate Alan Duncan and was subsequently joined by James Kirk and Steven Daly, who left a band called The Machetes. The band...
, fronted by Edwyn Collins
Edwyn Collins
Edwyn Stephen Collins is an Ivor Novello Award winning Scottish musician, playing mostly electric guitar-driven pop. Collins formed the musical group Nu-Sonics in 1976, which later became Orange Juice...
. Those emerging from New Pop and Orange Juice
Orange Juice
Orange Juice was a Scottish post-punk band founded in the middle class Glasgow suburb of Bearsden as the Nu-Sonics in 1976. Edwyn Collins formed the Nu-Sonics with his school-mate Alan Duncan and was subsequently joined by James Kirk and Steven Daly, who left a band called The Machetes. The band...
had recorded a live version of "Felicity" as a flexi-disc and intended to release it. The fanzine was to be named after a James Kirk song, and was to be called "Strawberry Switchblade". The fanzine never materialised, however, and the "Felicity" flexi eventually appeared as an addition to the debut Postcard single "Falling and Laughing". The name Strawberry Switchblade became Rose and Jill's moniker as they began their career to pop stardom.
Having played at a John Peel
John Peel
John Robert Parker Ravenscroft, OBE , known professionally as John Peel, was an English disc jockey, radio presenter, record producer and journalist. He was the longest-serving of the original BBC Radio 1 DJs, broadcasting regularly from 1967 until his death in 2004...
gig in Scotland, Strawberry Switchblade were invited to record a session for his BBC Radio 1
BBC Radio 1
BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation which also broadcasts internationally, specialising in current popular music and chart hits throughout the day. Radio 1 provides alternative genres after 7:00pm including electronic dance, hip hop, rock...
show in October 1982. They also recorded a session for David Jensen
David Jensen
David "Kid" Jensen , is a Danish Canadian-born, British radio DJ.-Early career:Born in a Danish family residing Victoria, British Columbia, Jensen began his career in his home country at the age of sixteen playing jazz and classical music. He then joined Radio Luxembourg at the age of eighteen in...
's Radio 1 show three days later. On both sessions the band were augmented by James Kirk from Orange Juice on bass and Shahid Sarwar from The Recognitions on drums.
Early days making records
The sessions were heard by Bill DrummondBill Drummond
William Ernest Drummond is a Scottish artist, musician, writer and record producer. He was the co-founder of late 1980s avant-garde pop group The KLF and its 1990s media-manipulating successor, the K Foundation, with which he burned a million pounds in 1994...
(a Scottish
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
musician who went on to form The KLF
The KLF
The KLF were one of the seminal bands of the British acid house movement during the late 1980s and early 1990s....
) and David Balfe
David Balfe
David Balfe is most notable for playing keyboards with The Teardrop Explodes, founding the Zoo and Food record labels, signing Blur and for being the subject of their number one hit - "Country House".-Biography:...
, respectively manager and keyboard player with the recently defunct the Teardrop Explodes
The Teardrop Explodes
The Teardrop Explodes were an English post-punk/neo-psychedelic band formed in Liverpool in 1978. Best known for their Top Ten UK single "Reward" the group originated as a key band in the emerging Liverpool post-punk scene of the late 1970s, the group also launched the career of group frontman...
, who became the groups managers.
The band's first single, "Trees and Flowers", was released in July 1983 through 92 Happy Customers, an independent record label run by Will Sergeant
Will Sergeant
Will Sergeant is an English guitarist, best known for being a member of Echo & the Bunnymen. Born in the centre of Liverpool, he grew up in the suburb of Melling and attended nearby Deyes High School...
from Echo & The Bunnymen
Echo & the Bunnymen
Echo & the Bunnymen are an English post-punk band, formed in Liverpool in 1978. The original line-up consisted of vocalist Ian McCulloch, guitarist Will Sergeant and bass player Les Pattinson, supplemented by a drum machine. By 1980, Pete de Freitas had joined as the band's drummer, and their debut...
, and sold over 10,000 copies. It was featured at number 47 in John Peel's 1983 Festive 50. "Trees and Flowers" was written by Bryson about her medical condition agoraphobia
Agoraphobia
Agoraphobia is an anxiety disorder defined as a morbid fear of having a panic attack or panic-like symptoms in a situation from which it is perceived to be difficult to escape. These situations can include, but are not limited to, wide-open spaces, crowds, or uncontrolled social conditions...
.
Drummond signed the band to Warner Music Group
Warner Music Group
Warner Music Group is the third largest business group and family of record labels in the recording industry, making it one of the big four record companies...
subsidiary Korova in 1983. They got a full backing band with whom they toured and began recording an album with producer Robin Millar
Robin Millar
Robin John Christian Millar CBE is an English musician, songwriter and record producer.-Early life:...
. However, at the record company's behest, they reverted to the duo of Bryson and McDowall and for production duties they hired David Motion, who would soon go on to produce hits for Red Box.
Since Yesterday
In late 1984 their second single, "Since Yesterday", was released. Having been given a large marketing push over the festive period, it became a UK top ten hit in early 1985 peaking at number 5, and also met with success in EuropeEurope
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
and Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
.
Their cover version
Cover version
In popular music, a cover version or cover song, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording of a contemporary or previously recorded, commercially released song or popular song...
of "Sunday Morning" (originally by Velvet Underground) was released as an extra track on the 12" of "Since Yesterday". It was not included on any of the Strawberry Switchblade albums.
The track's opening fanfare came from Sibelius' Symphony No.5 and had also featured prominently in the coda section of the earlier hit "Beach Baby" by The First Class
The First Class
The First Class was a British pop music studio-based group, put together by songwriter and record producer John Carter.-Career:The First Class was the studio creation of the British singer-songwriter John Carter and singers Tony Burrows and Chas Mills as an outlet for material Carter wrote with his...
. The band's' strikingly contrasting black and white wardrobe, including the polka dot
Polka dot
Polka dot is a pattern consisting of an array of filled circles, generally equally sized and spaced relatively closely in relation to their diameters. Polka dots are most commonly seen on children's clothing, toys, and furniture, but they appear in a wide array of contexts...
rah-rah skirt
Rah-rah skirt
The rah-rah skirt is a short flounced skirt that originated in cheerleading and became popular among teenage girls in the early 1980s. As such it marked, as the Oxford Dictionary noted, the first successful attempt to revive the miniskirt that had been introduced in the mid 1960s...
s worn for the sleeve of "Since Yesterday", attracted coverage at the time. Their somewhat 'gothic
Gothic fashion
Gothic fashion is a clothing style worn by members of the Goth subculture; a dark, sometimes morbid, eroticized fashion and style of dress. Typical Gothic fashion includes dyed black hair, black lips and black clothes. Both male and female goths wear dark eyeliner and dark fingernails. Styles are...
' appearance was also of note.
Later records
However, they attained little more than the unenviable title of one-hit wonders, when all subsequent releases to "Since Yesterday" failed to reach the Top 50Top 50
The Top 50 refers to a list of weekly hit singles, or albums. Contrary to popular belief, it is not the same but similar to the top 40, but with 10 extra places....
in the UK Singles Chart
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
.
In March 1985 they released their next single was "Let Her Go", a tune in a similar vein to "Since Yesterday".
Following the release of their eponymous album in April, in May 1985 they released a further single, the ballad "Who Knows What Love Is", one of two tracks on the album produced by Phil Thornalley
Phil Thornalley
Phil Thornalley is a songwriter-producer who has worked in the music industry since 1978. He is perhaps best known for co-writing the song "Torn" which Natalie Imbruglia later covered to great success for her 1997 debut album, Left of the Middle...
of The Cure
The Cure
The Cure are an English rock band formed in Crawley, West Sussex in 1976. The band has experienced several line-up changes, with frontman, vocalist, guitarist and principal songwriter Robert Smith being the only constant member...
.
Their fifth single, an electro-pop cover of Dolly Parton
Dolly Parton
Dolly Rebecca Parton is an American singer-songwriter, author, multi-instrumentalist, actress and philanthropist, best known for her work in country music. Dolly Parton has appeared in movies like 9 to 5, The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, Steel Magnolias and Straight Talk...
's Jolene
Jolene (song)
"Jolene" is a song written and performed by Dolly Parton from her album Jolene , produced by Bob Ferguson. It is ranked #217 on the Rolling Stone magazine's list of "the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time".-History:...
was issued in September 1985 in the UK and Japan.
Although their commercial success had waned in the UK they remained popular in Japan and two later singles, "Ecstasy (Apple of My Eye)" and "I Can Feel" were only issued in that country. The second of these only featured McDowall as by this time the partnership had irreparably fractured. By early 1986, the group disbanded.
In December 2005, Warner Bros. Platinum Records released a career retrospective of the band, made up of sixteen different tracks from various recordings on one compact disc.
Studio albums
| Year | Album details | Chart positions |
|---|---|---|
| U.K. UK Albums Chart The UK Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales in the United Kingdom. It is compiled every week by The Official Charts Company and broadcast on a Sunday on BBC Radio 1 , and published in Music Week magazine and on the OCC website .To qualify for the UK albums chart... |
||
| 1985 | Strawberry Switchblade Strawberry Switchblade (album) -Since Yesterday expanded edition:-Personnel:* Jill Bryson - Vocals, Harmonies, Lead Guitar* Rose McDowall - Lead Vocals, Harmonies, Guitars* Garry Hutchins - Sequences, Keyboards* Alan Park - Keyboards* Bruce Nockles - Trumpet...
|
25 |
Compilation albums
| Year | Album details |
|---|---|
| 1985 | The 12" Album
|
| 2005 | The Platinum Collection
|
Singles
| Year | Title | Album | Chart positions | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| U.K. UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ... |
U.K. Indie |
IRL Irish Singles Chart The Irish Singles Chart is Ireland's music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by the Irish Recorded Music Association and compiled on behalf of the IRMA by Chart-Track. Chart rankings are based on sales, which are compiled through over-the-counter retail data captured... |
NL |
|||
| 1983 | "Trees and Flowers" | — | – | 3 | – | – |
| 1984 | "Since Yesterday" | Strawberry Switchblade | 5 | – | 6 | 24 |
| 1985 | "Let Her Go" | 59 | – | – | – | |
| "Who Knows What Love Is?" | 84 | – | – | – | ||
| "Ecstasy (Apple of My Eye)" (released in Japan only) | — | – | – | – | – | |
| "Jolene Jolene (song) "Jolene" is a song written and performed by Dolly Parton from her album Jolene , produced by Bob Ferguson. It is ranked #217 on the Rolling Stone magazine's list of "the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time".-History:... " |
53 | – | – | – | ||
| 1986 | "I Can Feel" (released in Japan only) | – | – | – | – | |
| "–" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released in that territory. | ||||||
B-sides
- "Go Away" (1983)
- "Trees and Flowers (Just Music)" (1983)
- "By the Sea" (1984)
- "Sunday MorningSunday Morning (The Velvet Underground song)"Sunday Morning" is a song by The Velvet Underground. It is the opening track on their 1967 debut album The Velvet Underground & Nico. It was also released as a single in 1966 with "Femme Fatale".-Recording:...
" (1984) - "Beautiful End" (1985)
- "Michael Who Walks By Night" (1985)
- "Poor Hearts" (1985)
- "Let Her Go (Kitchensynch Mix-Up)" (1985)
- "Black Taxi" (1985)
- "JoleneJolene (song)"Jolene" is a song written and performed by Dolly Parton from her album Jolene , produced by Bob Ferguson. It is ranked #217 on the Rolling Stone magazine's list of "the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time".-History:...
(Extended Mix)" (1985) - "Being Cold" (1985)
Music videos
| Year | Title | Director |
|---|---|---|
| 1984 | "Since Yesterday" | Tim Pope |
| 1985 | "Let Her Go" | |
| "Who Knows What Love Is?" | ||
| "Jolene Jolene (song) "Jolene" is a song written and performed by Dolly Parton from her album Jolene , produced by Bob Ferguson. It is ranked #217 on the Rolling Stone magazine's list of "the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time".-History:... " |
||