| Strawberry Switchblade | |
|---|---|
Strawberry Switchblade: Rose McDowall (left) and Jill Bryson (right). |
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| Background information | |
| Genres | Pop, pop rock, New Wave,[1] Bubblegum[1] |
| Years active | 1981–1986 |
| Labels | WEA, Warner Bros. Platinum Records |
| Website | Fan Website |
| Past members | |
| Jill Bryson Rose McDowall |
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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.
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The punk movement 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.[2]
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.[3] 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.
The sessions were heard by Bill Drummond (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 group's managers.[4]
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,[4] and sold over 10,000 copies. It was featured at number 47 in John Peel's 1983 Festive 50.[3] "Trees and Flowers" was written by Bryson about her medical condition agoraphobia.[2]
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.[5]
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 Europe 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, which 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 skirts worn for the sleeve of "Since Yesterday", attracted coverage at the time. Their somewhat 'gothic' appearance was also of note.
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 50 in the UK Singles Chart.
In March 1985 they released their next single, "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",[6] one of two tracks on the album produced by Phil Thornalley of The Cure.[7]
Their fifth single, an electro-pop cover of Dolly Parton's "Jolene", was issued in September 1985 in the UK and Japan.[6]
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.[6] The second of these only featured McDowall as by this time the partnership had irreparably fractured. By early 1986, the group had 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.[8]
| Releases | ||
|---|---|---|
| ↙Studio albums | 1 | |
| ↙Compilation albums | 2 | |
| ↙Singles | 7 | |
| ↙B-sides | 11 | |
| ↙Music videos | 4 | |
| Year | Album details | Chart positions |
|---|---|---|
| U.K. [9][10] | ||
| 1985 | Strawberry Switchblade | 25 |
| Year | Album details |
|---|---|
| 1985 | The 12" Album
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| 2005 | The Platinum Collection
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| Year | Title | Album | Chart positions | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| U.K. [9][10] |
U.K. Indie [11] |
IRL [12] |
NL [13] |
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| 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" | 53 | – | – | – | ||
| 1986 | "I Can Feel" (released in Japan only) | – | – | – | – | |
| "–" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released in that territory. | ||||||
| Year | Title | Director |
|---|---|---|
| 1984 | "Since Yesterday" | Tim Pope |
| 1985 | "Let Her Go" | |
| "Who Knows What Love Is?" | ||
| "Jolene" |