Metal Bulletin Zine: Rock Goddess

The New Wave of British Heavy Metal band Rock Goddess was gone for a long, long time, but they always felt like they had more music to give. They have been reunited for several years now. Below you will find a little bit of footage of the band in action in the recent years. You will also find information from Wikipedia and from Iron Fist zine, from an interview with said publication.

"Rock Goddess are an English all-female heavy metal band formed in Wandsworth, South London, in 1977 by sisters Jody Turner and Julie Turner. The band were initially active during the new wave of British heavy metal musical movement, releasing two singles that entered the Top 75 charts in the UK. The band had a cult following throughout the 1980s and reformed in 2013. The band was formed in Wandsworth, South London in 1977, by sisters Jody Turner (vocals and guitar) and Julie Turner (drums) when they were thirteen and nine years old respectively. They recruited high school friend Tracey Lamb on bass guitar and that completed their first line-up. Later Donnica Colman joined, adding a second guitar, and after her departure, Jackie Apperley replaced her, also on second guitar. After Apperley left, the band rehearsed intensively as a trio, and placed a track on a sampler album, which circulated in the London music underground. Meanwhile, their manager John Turner, Jody and Julie's father, who owned a music store and rehearsal rooms, used his musical connections to get the band their first gigs. Finally, after an appearance at the Reading Festival in 1982, the band obtained a recording contract with A&M.

They released their eponymous debut studio album with record producer Vic Maile in February 1983, and at that time there were temporary legal problems – Julie Turner was still a minor attending high school and she was restricted in the number of live shows that she could participate in. Also during this period, Kat Burbella briefly joined the band as a second guitarist, and Tracey Lamb became disgruntled and quit the band, initially forming the band She with Burbella, but then joining Girlschool in 1987. She was replaced by Dee O'Malley, who played the bass guitar and keyboards on the band's second studio album, Hell Hath No Fury, which was produced by Chris Tsangarides and released in October 1983. The band co-headlined with Y&T, supported Iron Maiden and Def Leppard on UK and European tours, and embarked on their own headlining tours. O'Malley announced her pregnancy just before Rock Goddess' first US tour and left the band. Rock Goddess left A&M with their third album unfinished and unreleased. O'Malley was replaced by Julia Longman on bass guitar, and Becky Axten on keyboards.

In 1987, their third studio album was released exclusively in France, with the title Young and Free, however, due to insurmountable problems Rock Goddess disbanded 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. Jody Turner fronted a new line-up of Rock Goddess in 1994. After a name change to Braindance, the band disbanded again in 1995. They played their last gig at the pub Thomas O'Becket.

The band reformed in 2009 to play the Hard Rock Hell music festival in Prestatyn, Wales, but were forced to split before they had a chance to perform. In March 2013, it was announced that the original line-up of Jody Turner, Julie Turner, and Tracey Lamb had reformed and would start recording a new album. The three of them are now in the process of recording a new album tentatively titled Unfinished Business."

Jody Turner - vocals, guitars (1977-1987, 1994-1995, 2013-present)

Tracey Lamb - bass (1977-1983, 2013-present)

Julie Turner - drums (1977-1987, 2013-present)

from Iron Fist zine:

A love for hard rock and heavy metal convinced two school friends, and the singer’s younger sister, aged just nine at the time, to form a band. That band would go on to win them support slots with the likes of Iron Maiden, front covers of Kerrang! and record deals with major labels. And now they’re back! GREG MOFFIT meets ROCK GODDESS and discovers that LOVE LINGERS STILL

Formed in Wandsworth, south London in 1977, Rock Goddess were one of the few all-girl rock bands of their era. The original line-up of sisters Jody (guitar/vocals) and Julie Turner (drums) alongside bassist and school friend Tracey Lamb released just two albums at the height of their fame, but they remain one of the most memorable acts from the NWOBHM, and not just as members of the fairer sex. In ’77, Jody and Tracey were a mere thirteen – that’s one three – years old, while Julie was – wait for it – just nine. They may have still been several years away from gigging or recording, but their sheer fresh-faced innocence places them none too far from the likes of The Jackson Five in terms of diaper-to-stage career curves.

Casual observers might baulk at their inclusion in the NWOBHM, but they were right at the heart of it. Beyond generic notions of what a typical band of the day sounded like, the NWOBHM was a surprisingly broad (pun intended) church, and the Rock Goddess sound – gritty, thudding, straight-for-the-throat, with the occasional ballad tossed in – captured the working class, street life zeitgeist as well as any other.

Managed by Jody and Julie’s father John, the girls enjoyed an almost meteoric rise to fame compared to some of their male counterparts – it was almost as if the testosterone-fuelled press hadn’t seen an all-girl outfit before – but they duly paid their dues in the sweaty, piss-stained pubs and clubs, asked no favours and received no special treatment. When success did arrive, it was well-deserved. By contrast, line-up disruption and record company woes tragically meant that albums three and four achieved almost nothing. Album three remains in a dust-covered vault somewhere, unreleased to this day, while album four appeared only in France. We’ll leave you to decide which record suffered the worse fate. Our tale of ladies, leather and hot licks, however, begins at the beginning…

“Our dad’s a musician and had been in the business since forever,” Jody recalls, “so for me and Julie, that’s how we became involved in music. Tracey was my best friend from school. My dad also had a rehearsal room and one day I brought Tracey down for a jam and from that minute the band was literally born. We were very, very young so it’s all a bit vague! But I do remember that first day at rehearsal and Julie with her school skirt on behind the kit. We were all buzzing that we were in a band!”

Rock Goddess LIVE (Keep It True Festival 2016)