As ever with the songs in the under two mins series, the accompanying blurb is short and functional.
The Gymslips were an English all-female three-piece punk band from London, and this one comes courtesy of its inclusion on the Make More Noise! Women In UK Independent Music 1977-1987 box set. The song was originally released on the album Drink Problem, released in 1983.
mp3: The Gymslips – Dear Marje
“This song was inspired by Marje Proops and her famous readers’ problems column in the Mirror newspaper. Each verse describes a fictional problem typical of those in her column. Our idea for the record cover was to have the three of us dressed in twinsets and pearls, together with Marje Proops herself, but when I contacted Marje to ask if she’d be willing, she was pleased to have been asked, but unable to oblige due to contractual reasons. We wanted this to be our first single, but Abstract Records preferred us to release a cover of Suzi Quatro’s ’48 Crash’ instead. So, while it was never a single, a video was made, which is the only known surviving footage of the band.
KAREN YARNELL, (drummer with The Gymslips)
THE NEW VINYL VILLAIN 