ROCK GODDESS
ROCK GODDESS DELIVER MORE THAN ROCK AND ROLL.....
It’s more than rock and roll for Rock Goddess. It’s all about their lives and what has fueled their fire for creating hard-hitting rock and roll since forming back in 1977. Yes, check that. 1977. Rock Goddess were following in one of their major influences footsteps in the Runaways, who back from 1975-1980 were opening doors for female rock bands and making world wide headlines in the process. And yes, Rock Goddess was not only out of high school but was not out of middle school yet!
Rock Goddess formed in Wandsworth, South London, when sisters Jody Turner and Julie Turner were thirteen and nine years old respectively. They found Tracy Lamb who was a high school friend and she would join the band to complete the original line up. Jody is the vocalist and guitarist, Tracey is the bass player and Julie is on drums. There were line up changes along the way while active during the new wave of British heavy metal movement and released two singles that charted in the Top 75 charts in the UK and developed a cult following during the 1980’s performing between 1977 and 1987, and reformed in 2013 featuring the original line up with the Turner sisters and Lamb. They release two albums on A&M records in 1983 with Rock Goddess and Hell Hath No Fury. Now in 2017 they have a new release in the works with on Cargo Records.
“We’re a power three-piece metal band from London, UK. We’re very dedicated to Rock Goddess and each other and still have the same passion, enthusiasm and energy that we had when we started,” said Tracey.
Jody stated, “And we are back with a vengeance. We started together as children, played our first notes together and now years later still have this chemistry, drive and desire that we had way back then. Our excitement about this band and its future is crazy! I remember the excitement we all felt when we did our first original Heavy Metal song, our first gig, our first festival, our first album…We still get really excited and jump up and down like we did then as kids, none of that has gone away or dulled with the years, I think that’s what we’re most happy about; It’s like we never stopped. There is no going through the motions for us, in the immortal words of foreigner: it feels like the first time…”
Rock Goddess began in a totally different era of music, but it was someone special who helped push the girls to play. Getting back to the beginning in their formative years the girls explained, “We started playing together in 1977 and Jody and Julie's father, John, taught us how to play; He motivated me to work hard and practice my scales, said Tracey. Also friends and family used to come to our early rehearsals, and give us lots of encouragement and it felt great to be in a band together. It felt special. My biggest inspirations at that time were the same as Julie's, Suzi Quatro and The Runaways. Then AC/DC, Zeppelin, Purple & Sabbath.”
Julie remembers how her dad helped her at such a young age. “When my dad taught me to play I was only 9! So I would say that my dad was my motivation in the beginning. He made rehearsals fun, but also give us a work ethic that we still use today. As Tracey says, my early inspirations were Suzi Quatro and the first record I bought was ‘Can The Can’. The Runaways were also a massive inspiration to me and I still have and play their vinyl. I was also heavily into ACDC and Black Sabbath, to name a few.” JODY added, “Well, myself and Julie are sisters and our father and original Rock Goddess manager, who’s now retired, is responsible for the start of this band and also this reformation. Julie was 9 and myself and Tracey, who was and still is my best friend, were 13. So we really were young!!” She added, “My father is a musician and was the co-owner of a well-known rehearsal room in London and we played our first notes there with my dad teaching us how to play. I actually started on keyboards as I could play a bit, but soon moved onto guitar. We had to learn to play, and began this journey playing covers we liked, before I began to write, plus we were really getting into metal so once I got the writing together, we began moving from a rock band into a metal band! I was listening to things like Led Zep and Sabbath of course, but was also was getting into bands like Van Halen, Def Leppard, Motorhead etc.”
If one thing was evident, Rock Goddess was truly a youth movement in the music world in their day. “We started gigging when I was 12 and we did our first tour when I was 14! We signed with A&M records when I was 15 and toured with amazing bands like Def Leppard and Iron maiden, so I can honestly say my teenage years were absolutely amazing, I look back on it all and think ‘wow that was pretty cool”, said Julie.
Jody said, “Tracey and I were then 16 when we started doing our first gigs. I mean it was very cool to be that young and in a rock and roll band. But you know we worked for it, when everyone else was out going to the cinema or whatever, we were rehearsing, or I was writing. Of course, it goes without saying it was very worth it!”
It was John Turner again in 2013 that helped bring the girls back together again. “I received an email from my dad one evening, said Julie. Before I even read it I thought I wonder if this is about the band. It was a very strange moment; it was completely out of the blue. I immediately rang him up and after about an hour of talking he said think about it, I replied, ‘I don’t need to, I'm in!” It was simply the perfect time for me.” “Jody tracked me down in Spain in April 2013, said Tracey. I received a text message from Jody asking if I was on the same number. We then spoke and Jody said they wanted to put the original Rock Goddess back together again. It was just what I needed, I was so happy and excited to hear this news and of course said I was in straight away.” Jody said, “My dad and I had been talking of a reformation for a while, but we wanted the original line up. Now I knew Tracey was on board, but Julie had been off the scene bringing up my wonderful niece and nephew, so that was the possible stumbling block. Anyway, my dad spoke to Julie, and although she had questions of course, she was in. Her kids were grown up, and she was ready to pick up the sticks again! She had already been dabbling as her son plays drums so she was kicking him off and having a go herself [Ha Ha].”
Rock Goddess have a new album in the works and no title has been chosen to date but have a new video featuring the track “It’s More Than Rock and Roll”.
“It's actually saying it's not just rock and roll it's so much more. It's why we get up and face the day, why we breathe in and out. It's a song of thanks to rock and roll. The true love of your life,” said Jody.
The band looks forward to releasing their new record. “Jody has written some amazing songs and we can't wait to record and release an album, hopefully very soon,” Julie said. “Jody writes very memorable songs, catchy but heavy, said Tracey. And when we play together, we still have a powerful chemistry and energy.”
Then and now, a span of 40 years for Rock Goddess and it is as fresh now as it was in the beginning. Looking back at their achievements in the world of rock and roll, Julie said, “Our biggest achievement this time round would be making our video and releasing our ep independently - I'm very proud of both.” For Tracey, “Releasing our debut album in '83 and then touring with Def Leppard. And recently recording and releasing our new ep "It's More Than Rock And Roll". It was wonderful listening to it all finished and seeing the finished video.” Jody said, “Yes, I think getting this EP done and the video has been so exciting for us. And the response has been so amazing. Now we are itching to do our album! The whole reforming and the journey we have been on has been special. The way we have been received cannot be given justice to by mere words. We are so thankful for having such amazing supporters.”
Looking to the current plans, they have festivals and recording in the works and plenty of high-energy rock and roll to provide their fans. “We just played a festival in Belgium at the weekend. And Germany at the end of July. We’re also playing the Borderline in London on June 23rd to further promote our ep. The rest of the set will be a mixture of classic Rock Goddess songs and other new songs” said Tracy. JODY said, “We’re itching to play again. Being tied up with recording and doing videos means we haven’t played live for a while, so we can’t wait and really looking forward to playing the EP live.”
Julie promises plenty of loud rock and roll that has made Rock Goddess a staple in the rock world. “Classic Rock Goddess power. We're loud and we play hard!” Along with our dad, all three of us were there on the first day when Rock Goddess was formed, when we learnt to play our instruments, played our first gigs. It feels amazing and very exciting to be back together.” Jody said, “Emotional. Wonderful. Like we had never been apart.”
