For those wondering, this is the very first time that this show has been made officially available on CD in a new, exclusive CD / DVD set.

Filmed at the Camden Palace on December 7th, 1984, this recording captured the London-based Queen’s of heavy metal, Girlschool, while they were midway through recording their 1985 album, ‘Running Wild’.

After a run of classic albums for Bronze Records, home of Motorhead and Uriah Heep, Girlschool had been signed to American major label, Mercury Records.

Featuring Cris Bonnaci on lead guitar, and vocalist Jackie Bodimead, alongside founder members Kim McAuliffe and Denise Dufort, with bassist Gil Weston, unsurprisingly this set features a total of five songs – ‘Running Wild’, ‘Are You Ready?’, ‘Nowhere To Run’, ‘Love Is A Lie & Can’t You See’ - from the yet to be released ‘Running Wild’, their first album without lead guitarist and lead singer Kelly Johnson.

This raucous, hour-long set was originally filmed for TV, while acting as a useful promotional tool for the imminent US release (inexplicably, the album wouldn’t receive an official release outside of the States until 2015, when it was made available on CD for the first time by HNE).

It also now features liner notes from Rich Davenport, based on new interviews with Kim McAuliffe.

CD / DVD:
1. C’mon Let’s Go
2. Nowhere To Run
3. You Got Me
4. Play Dirty
5. Love Is A Lie
6. Hit And Run
7. Future Flash
8. Rock Me Shock Me
9. Running for Cover
10. Can’t You See
11. Running Wild
12. I Like It Like That
13. Are You Ready?
14. Emergency

A rare gem of a visual find (albeit the footage is notably grainy, with an old VHS tape feeling, but seeing Camden Palace again was a lovely treat), let alone the brilliant audio aspect of this CD / DVD combo set, the new album at the time Running Wild was their fifth and, overall, was a mixed bag, to say the least.

That said, they open this show on the propulsive, almost brattish lead track from their second album C’mon Let’s Go before the first new track Nowhere To Run is unleashed. Next up is the forceful rocker You Got Me from their third album, the Def Leppard-esque Play Dirty, before another one from the new album, the melodic Love Is A Lie.

Their rousingly beloved Hit And Run, a straight-up no-frills, all-fury rock ’n’ roll cut is next and is backed by another from that album Future Flash, then we get two from Play Dirty in the form of the foot pounding headbanger Rock Me Shock Me and the melodic pop-rock of Running for Cover, before the new album closer Can’t You See is upon us.

While some tracks on the new album were praised at the time for their raw energy and old school Girlschool sound, others are a little underwhelming, to be honest (maybe as it marked a period of transition for the band, with the addition of new members and a move to a major label), and yet still contain some memorable hooks. One of those is the titular Running Wild, which helps round this live recording out along with the metal-rocker I Like It Like That, the gritty new track Are You Ready? and the propulsively catchy Emergency from their scorching Demolition album. [R.I.P. Kelly Johnson].

Official Purchase Link

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