Girl

I just got a new reissue CD by this band and the interviews with members say that Pete Barnacle and Bryson Graham are both on 'Wasted Youth'. They sort of hint that Graham was never really a member but they don't say it flat out and they sort of say that Barnacle was sort of a semi-member only but he was the one on the cover. But both are on the album; looks like Graham first then Barnacle - they might even have been at the same time.

[www.rockunited.com] http://www.rockunited.com/girl.htm is our main source right now. It's an interview with Gerry Laffy, and I'll admit he leaves a little wiggle room for different interpretations. How unambiguous are the interviews in the new reissue?

Here's the text from the link above:

There was a line up change -you brought in Pete Barnacle on drums. How did you find working with Pete?

Pete was the drummer for Broken Home, a band with a singer called Dicken who supported us on a UK tour. We got on well with Pete and at the end of the tour we asked him to join us as our days with Dave Gaynor (or was it Bryson) had come to an end. ...

Did you also use some of Bryson Graham's drumming on the Wasted Youth album?

Yeah, Bryson played on all of it I think although Pete is credited as drummer. I think it was because he was a band member by then and it seemed dumb to not credit him. Bryson didn't care; he'd been paid for it and didn’t want to be in the band anymore anyhow.

Sleeve notes say:
"The person Girl initially brought in on drums was Bryson Graham... He was also a renowned session musician."

Quote from Phil Lewis (all are new interviews for this re-release I believe)
"We were doing demos... and that's where we met Bryson and he got really involved in our songwriting"

Sleeve notes:
"Graham wasn't the only drummer the band would use on the album. Pete Barnacle was also brought in."

Quote from SIMON Laffy
"Bryson and Pete were very different... Pete was more of a traditional hard rocker. Having the two playing separately on the album did cause a problem because you can tell they had widely differing styles.And nothing was done to make sure there was uniformity with the way the drums sound on the second record (i.e. 'Wasted Youth')."

Quote from Lewis
"If you look at the cover... it is Pete... but they were both featured... Bryson... wanted to be a studio drummer and didn't want to go on tour. So we were forced to look elsewhere. But... neither were right for us. We never did find the drummer who fitted in with what Girl were all about"

Thank you. Simon Laffy and Phil Lewis are very clear about both drummers being on it, and the Gerry Laffy interview I quoted shows that there was some uncertainty to some of what he was saying.

They do hint that Bryson Graham wasn't much of a member. On the other hand, they don't call him a guest. This language about his return to the band the following year makes it seem that he could have been a member during both of his stints in the band, so I am inclined to list both.

[www.rockunited.com] http://www.rockunited.com/girl.htm :

"Did you sit down with Phil and your brother Simon to discuss a replacement for Phil or did you all decide to call it a day?

No, to be honest we had Bryson back after Pete had moved on and he knew a guy Pete Bonus who was a good laugh and a really good player."