OK, it’s a bit of a misleading title, in that she’s not my bassist at all! She is very much her own person.
About whom am I talking Ghislaine Weston. That’s about whom. The post picture is she, playing bass at a Girlschool gig.
Ghislaine who?
Ghislaine Weston (once described as “The Queen of Punk” in a music magazine), is the former bass guitarist of rock band Girlschool and Punk band The Killjoys.
Birmingham born (Ghislaine) Gil (also called Gem) Weston played bass guitar for Kevin Rowland’s pre-Dexys Birmingham-based punk band The Killjoys. Mostly self-taught, Gil played bass (and wrote one song) in The Killjoys for two years, between 1976 and 1978, until the band split. After they split, Gil was recommended to replace Enid Williams (then bassist for heavy metal all-girl group Girlschool), on the recommendation of Motörhead‘s lead singer Lemmy, in 1982.
Gil went on to play bass for Girlschool for five years, between 1982 and 1987, playing on several Girlschool albums.
Gil used to work in an office where she dealt with NHS security issues and played with pets. She’s now retired, but before she did, she moved offices with her team and she worked to implement local policies within the NHS.
The NHS
The gentle reader may be aware that I worked in a factory environment for a number of years (the Factory Life posts). And after a number of years (in 1998) I did a complete career change and went to work for the NHS (the British Healthcare system). (Posts about career changes will be forthcoming soon!)
In 1998, the NHS with its various Health Authorities, Hospitals and Surgeries wasn’t the joined-up and networked entity that it (almost) is today. It was the early days of the internet, the early days of the client/server scenario that’s common in today’s businesses.
Where I worked, there was actually very little (or no) email, web browsing or communication (other than telephone) with any other NHS Organisation. However, there was a need for someone to look after and project manage certain areas within the Authority where I worked.
That person turned out to be Ghislaine Weston.
The Project Manager
Gil (as she liked to be called) joined our small team and worked with us in our office. We all (all five of us) got to know and interact with her regularly on a daily basis. She made us all laugh, she was witty, knowledgeable, kind and very generous with the sweets and chocolate that she always had on her desk. We’d chat about music and people and we would regularly quote lines from songs, or use a song quote in the answer to a question.
She once brought in some scones, a jar of jam and a pot of clotted cream for us to have as “a snack”. I remember scoffing the whole pot of clotted cream (on its own), with her, a spoon each. Happy days were had by all. We probably did some work at some point, too.
And yet, I couldn’t shake the feeling that I’d seen her somewhere before!
Christmas
I can’t remember exactly how long it was from first meeting Gil to going down the pub for a Christmas drink. I remember it being a good few months.
It was customary in those days to go down the pub on our last working day before Christmas to have a lunchtime drink and a bit of a get-together (no-one in those days worked over the Christmas period, we were a purely administrative organisation, not a clinical one!).
So there we sat in the pub having a Christmas drink, discussing our plans for Christmas and the upcoming year and generally shooting the breeze. I’m sat next to Gil (as usual) and we’re having one of many conversations about music. We’re talking about rock music, then metal music, then Motörhead. I mentioned that I’d seen the all-girl metal group Girlschool back in the 80’s. There was a bit of a pause, then she very quietly said “oh I used to play bass for them”.
You did what?!
Several moments of stunned silence passed (it seemed like a few minutes, but I expect it was only a couple of seconds) and a classic comedy double-take. There then followed a very animated conversation between Gil and I!! I of course, was the animated one!
It then clicked where I’d seen her before: at The Marquee Club in 1983. I was about 21 and I was there at that Girlschool gig. Unfortunately I can’t remember much about it, but I did remember Gil! 😳
Queenie
Several slow (because it’s 1999!) internet searches later and I’d gathered up most of what I could from various places with Gil, about Gil. I asked her why she didn’t mention earlier that she was a celebrity. She replied that she was totally and utterly unconcerned with all of it. She said she had some good times, but when she left Girlschool in 1987, it was for good and for a reason.
We had some great fun looking up Gil Weston on the internet. She’d been the bass player in one of Kevin Rowland’s first bands – a punk band called The Killjoys. There was a bit of information about The Killjoys, including one article from an online music magazine, that called Gil “The Queen of Punk”. (Sadly, I can’t find that article now.)
Back in those days, we sometimes used nicknames for people (all done in the nicest possible way). When we read the article calling Gil “The Queen of Punk” (which she denies!); “Queenie” was the obvious nickname. And so that stuck. To this day, I and the colleagues that worked with her at that time call her “Queenie”.
Reorganisations
As is the wont of the British Government, reorganisations within the NHS happen quite often. Usually, as the Government changes, some Minister of Health will implement their own plans, meaning NHS Organisations get merged, split, created or dissolved. Health Authorities went and Trusts were created. Hospitals were merged and people got moved from office to office.
Sadly we (the I.T. Team) got split from the Project Managers; Queenie and I went our different physical ways. Fortunately, various communication devices like email, instant messaging and phones meant we could still keep in touch. Along with the odd I.T. support call to Queenies office, to which of course I would inevitably respond. The result? A pleasant afternoon of tea, cake and conversation. Oh and fixing I.T. stuff.
Retirement
Gil decided to retire early from the NHS. Probably very wise considering yet more Organisational changes were on the way. I still keep in touch with her and sometimes goad her into telling me some rock star snippet.
One of the things she did tell me once was that Lemmy, in his earlier Motörhead days, lived on a houseboat in Chelsea that was owned by one Hank Wangford, who was otherwise known as “The Singing Gynaecologist”. That’s made me chuckle for years.
And finally
Little YouTube clip of Gil in action.
This is my favourite Girlschool track “Emergency” from their 1984 Running Wild Tour. This features Gil on bass (far right) and one of my favourite guitar players Cris Bonacci (far left). Enjoy.