January 10, 2014
Rose McDowalll and Jill Bryson and Glasgow technical College ca. 1982
Sometimes, you just have to give in to a record and buy it because it just looks perfect. My friend Tom and I ran into such a record one day while perusing the bins at Murmur Records some time in 1984. Kiss® famously thought that “if one Alice Cooper was a sensation – then a whole band of Alice Coopers would rule the world!” This looked like a duo made up of women with the aesthetic sensibilities of Lene Lovich. I can’t remember if it was Tom or myself who saw the sharp black and silver cover, but upon examining the record a bit more closely, we both ended up taking a copy home that afternoon. The band were named Strawberry Switchblade, the cover was beautifully printed in black ink on silver paper, and as if to whack our skulls with a 2″ x 4″ the pressings we bought had stickers proclaiming “FREE POSTER” inside. At that time I think an import 12″ at Murmur was still $5.00. How could we not try it?
Korova Records | UK | 12″ | 1984 | KOW 38T
Strawberry Switchblade: Since Yesterday UK 12″ [1984]
- Since Yesterday
- Sunday Morning
- By The Sea
When the needle hit side A we were immediately rewarded with an ebullient rush of perfect synthpop [digital style] and an overflowing euphony of vibrant melodies. Best of all, the giddy vibe of the production was totally at odds with the downbeat breakup lyrics; giving those frissons of contrast and paradox that mark much of my favorite pop music. This was one of those singles that we bought because it looked promising, and we couldn’t have imagined how perfect it actually was once we played it.
Better still, the B-side of the record had two tracks that were light years away from the sugary pop sound on the A-side. The venerable Velvet Underground classic “Sunday Morning” was given a sensitive, introverted performance that was completely acoustic. We love it when artists can drive on the electronic or acoustic road with equal aplomb. This was the bonus track on the 12″ single with the remaining song, “By the Sea” also on the 7″ of this title.
“By the Sea” was another song in the vein of “Sunday Morning.” It was an introverted little song. As modest and shy as the A-side was bold and brassy. Together, all three songs marked Strawberry Switchblade as the kind of talents that blended incredible harmony and melody brought together with an introverted sensitivity that was belied by the sound of the production on the A-side. Euphoria cheek by jowl with introspection and getting on like a house on fire.
“For I hate the trees
And I hate the flowers
And I hate the buildings
And the way they tower over me
Can’t you see
I get so frightened
No-one else seems frightened
Only me, only me” – Strawberry Switchblade
Strawberry Switchblade became a new obsession with any and all releases targeted and four the Record Cell. “Since Yesterday” was their major label debut. We quickly backpedalled and bought their debut single, “Trees + Flowers” and were rewarded with the most beautiful song about agoraphobia possible. We stayed on the Strawberry Switchblade bus for the 18 or so months that it lasted before the inevitable acrimonious split. Their final single was their great hi-nrg electro production of Dolly Parton’s weeper “Jolene.” Unbelievably, that was the first time I ever heard that song but certainly not the last.
At least their album got a release before the end happened, but “Since Yesterday” was a top five UK hit and the album and follow ups all underperformed, but in the 80s, bands were known to break up when their single hit #36 instead of #4. It was the Thatcher era [sighs]. What we’d all give for a #36 in 1984 that sold 100,000 copies versus a top ten today that clears 20,000, eh? Still, all of the 12″ers as well as the album/Japanese CD [and even the Canadian remix CD] have a berth in the Record Cell. Rose McDowell went on to perform with Current 93 but I never picked any of that music up. However, I did buy the Ornamental 12″ single of “No Pain” which was a brilliant mashup of Strawberry Switchblade and Sugarcubes with Einar duetting with Rose on the magnificent dance number… but that’s a record for another day.
– 30 –
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Post-Punk Monk 
PPM, This 12″ was the first record I bought by them as well. I too went back for Trees + Flowers, also as a 12″. Two very different singles. You can hear why Postcard Records signed them early on. Had that sound for sure. If Postcard had been around to issue that first single and had lasted even another year, I suspect Strawberry Switchblade’s fate would have been much different. Certainly no songs in the top 10. I’m not sure if you knew about the 7″ that came out earlier with the less than imaginative title 1982 4-Piece Demo, but it’s a must if you’re really into the band’s early stages. They were a four piece then. Extremely limited, but I was able to snag a copy from Stephen Pastel’s record shop in Glasgow. Pastel wrote the liner notes. So i took a shot he might have some copies for sale. The chase paid off.
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Brian – Yes, I’d seen that the Night School label who reissued “Cut With The Cake Knife” had put that demo EP out earlier this year. I don’t have it yet though.
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Quite a similar experience here. I once watched the “Since Yesterday” video, these girls reminded me of Lene Lovich and Shakespears Sister. They are so cute, but I wasn’t that impressed by the voices (gosh I was wrong) and the music in the video. Two months passed, I have earned a bit of money and I started building my CD collection. I think I listened to some more tracks by Strawberry Switchblade but never been impressed, probably cause I was expecting a strong, Lene-like vocal.
One day I just… bought the CD, the 11 tracks version. It wasn’t cheap but I was like “they look fabulous and I might have a daughter one day who will like this”. Little did I know that the amount of money I spent on something I bought because of a picture would turn into a huge favourite of mine and would pay every single bit of money I spent on it.
With a friend in my car we were drifting around town when I started playing the CD. “Deep Water” came… The rest is history, I’m a fan.
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Hishten Hien – So you heard Strawberry Switchblade after Shakespear’s Sister, then? Do you remember the year? I got the LP when it came out and waited a few years until WEA Japan released it on CD. I never got the JPN DLX RM, mostly because I had the Canadian “12” Album” on CD.
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Yes, thing is that I am in my early 30s and I have yet to discover a lot of things. I am from a poor country, and no one has ever heard of this kind of music.
I knew Shakespears Sister for some time but truly discovered them in 2017-8 I suppose, when I moved from the city to a village. At the same time I discovered Propaganda and Claudia Brücken. Oddly enough the situation was similar to Strawberry – at first I thought Shakespears are too pop.
Strawberry Switchblade is actually a true discovery from 2022-3, so the story I told is not that old. Thing is I was mostly into metal music when growing up and Lene Lovich for example was one of the artists during my metal days that I fell in love with from the very first listen.
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Hishten Hien – You are aware that Lene Lovich has sung with Lemmy on Nina Hagen’s song “Where’s The Party,” right?
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Absolutely, Lene, Nina and a sip of Motörhead, what a treat! Been following Lene Lovich for quite some years now and I dug a lot for rare tracks, demos, lives etc. The one blog by Josh Black called lenelovichdetails at Blogspot helped me a lot, but there was also a lot of discogs digging.
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