| Rock Goddess | |
|---|---|
| Also known as | Braindance |
| Origin | London, England |
| Genres | Heavy metal |
| Years active | 1977–1987, 1994–1995, 2009 |
| Labels | A&M, JID, Thunderbolts |
| Associated acts | The Jody Turner Band, Girlschool |
| Website | Rock Goddess website |
| Members | |
| Jody Turner, Isabella Fronzoni, Aki Shibahara, Nicky Shaw | |
| Past members | |
| Tracey Lamb, Donnica Colman, Kat Burbella, Dee O’Malley, Julia Longman, Beckie Axten, Julie Turner | |
Rock Goddess was an all-female heavy metal band from the New Wave of British Heavy Metal era that briefly enjoyed cult status in the early 1980s in Great Britain.
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The band was formed in Wandsworth, South London in 1977, by sisters Jody Turner (guitar and vocals) and Julie Turner (drums) when they were thirteen and nine years old respectively.[1] They recruited school friend Tracey Lamb on bass guitar and Donnica Colman on keyboards to complete the first line-up. The girls rehearsed intensively and, through a friend, managed to place a track on a sampler album, which circulated in the London music underground.[1] Meanwhile, John Turner, Jody and Julie's father, who ran a music shop used his connections to get the band their first gigs. Finally, after the production of a four tracks demo tape and an appearance at the Reading Festival in 1982, the band obtained a recording contract with A&M.[1]
They released their eponymous debut album with producer Vic Maile in 1983 as a power trio, without Colman, who had already left the group. At that time, there were temporary legal problems, because Julie Turner was still a minor attending school and she was restricted in the number of live shows she could play.[1] Also in this period, Kat Burbella briefly joined the band as a second guitarist. Tracey Lamb became disgruntled at what she perceived to be the domination of the Turners[1] and quit Rock Goddess to initially form the band She with Burbella, but ending up joining Girlschool in 1987. She was replaced by Dee O'Malley, who played bass and keyboards on the band's second album, Hell Hath No Fury, produced by Chris Tsangarides and released in 1984. The band co-headlined with Y&T and Iron Maiden on UK tours, and with Saxon in France. O'Malley announced her pregnancy just before Rock Goddess' first US tour and left the band in 1986.[2] She was replaced by Julia Longman on bass and Becky Axten on keyboards.[1]
After their contract with A&M expired in 1987, the already recorded in 1985 Rock Goddess' third album was released only in France, with the title Young and Free. However, their career was cut short by financial and contractual problems, which forced them to disband shortly thereafter. In 1988, the Turner sisters reappeared as The Jody Turner Band with two male musicians, but they did not go beyond the local club circuit.[2] Jody Turner fronted a new line-up of Rock Goddess in 1994, to promote the re-release of Young and Free on the British Thunderbolt record label. After a name change to Braindance,[1] the group disbanded again in 1995, after playing their last gig at the Thomas O'Becket public house.
The band reformed in 2009 to play the Hard Rock Hell music festival in Prestatyn, Wales, but split before they had a chance to perform.[3]