Au Pairs
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The Au Pairs were a post punk band who formed in Birmingham in 1979. Musically they were very similar to bands such as the Gang of Four and the Delta 5. That is, the rhythm section was tight and funky (obvious influences were James Brown and Funkadelic) but the guitars were light and "scratchy" like Subway Sect. All these bands shared a strongly left wing social outlook, but the Au Pairs stood out due to their frontwoman, Lesley Woods, being an ardent feminist and lesbian: the band were greatly influential in this respect on the riot grrl movement a decade later. Their first album "Playing with a Different Sex" is something of a post-punk classic with strong, sarcastic songs like "It's Obvious" and "We're so cool" taking a dry look at gender relations. Other songs (such as "Armagh") took a pro-republican look at the then ongoing "Troubles" in Northern Ireland, which caused some controversy at the time. The band's second album ("Sense and Sensuality") showed an even greater influence of jazz, funk and disco on the band's sound, but was less well received. The band broke up in 1983. Woods formed an all woman band called "The Darlings" in the late '80s, but then left the music industry. She now works as a lawyer.
Discography : 1978-1983
Singles:
You / Domestic Departure - Kerb Crawler (021 Records, OTO 2, 1979)
Diet / It's Obvious (021 Records, OTO 4, 1980)
Inconvenience / Pretty Boys (Human Records, HUM 8, 1981)
Inconvenience / Pretty Boys - Headache For Michelle (remix) (Human Records, HUM 8/12, 1981)
Albums:
Playing With A Different Sex (Human Records, HUMAN 1, 1981)
Sense & Sensuality (Kamera Records, KAM 010, 1982)
Live In Berlin (AKA Records, AKA6, taped 1982, released '83)
Note: there is also a "Best of" CD "Shock to the System" available on Cherry Red records.
Original Members:
Lesley Woods - guitar/vocals
Paul Foad - guitar/vocals
Jane Munro - bass
Pete Hammond - drums
External Links
photos of the band (http://www.newwavephotos.com/AuPairs.htm)
VH1 page on the band (http://www.vh1.com/artists/az/au_pairs/artist.jhtml)