Kelly Johnson, original lead guitarist and vocalist for the influential British metal band Girlschool, died on July 15 following a six year battle with spinal cancer. She was 49.
The first most anyone became aware of Johnson's condition was on July 13 when a blog post from a friend pointed out "she is in the hospital fighting for her life." Two days later, members of the Donnas and Girlschool posted the sad news of Johnson's death on their MySpace page.
While the Runaways are widely regarded as the first all-girl hard rock band, England's Girlschool were meaner, grittier and more metallic, and Johnson played a major role in establishing the band's early sound. Her guitar leads were fast and bluesy and her playing was packed with aggression and attitude, perfectly matching the band's hybrid of new wave-of-British-heavy-metal rhythms and glam-punk melodies.
Girlschool formed in 1977. Originally, the band was called Painted Lady, but changed its name when Johnson joined. Girlschool released their first single, "Take it All Away," in December 1978, and toured with Motorhead in the spring of 1979. The connection may have seemed a tad tenuous at the time, but Motorhead were one of Girlschool's greatest supporters, taking them on numerous tours, helping them get signed to Bronze Records and recording an EP with them, St Valentine's Day Massacre in 1981.
Johnson played on Girlschool's first four albums, 1980's Demolition, 1981's classic Hit and Run, 1982's Screaming Blue Murder and 1983's Play Dirty.
But in 1983, she left the band and moved to Los Angeles. Ten years later, Johnson rejoined Girlschool and moved back to England. For the next seven years, she toured around the world with them and played on their 1985 concert album Live. Then, five years later, she left the music business for good.
In homage to Johnson, here's Girlschool and Motorhead performing "Please Don't Touch.":
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