{"product_id":"strawberry-switchblade-1982-4-piece-demo-2026-repress","title":"STRAWBERRY SWITCHBLADE - 1982 4-Piece Demo (2026 Repress)","description":"\u003cp data-start=\"0\" data-end=\"304\"\u003eOriginally released in limited formats in 2017 and having since been repressed several times, 2026 sees a new pressing to acknowledge the enduring legacy of this recording. In 2024, the song \u003cem data-start=\"191\" data-end=\"208\"\u003eTrees \u0026amp; Flowers\u003c\/em\u003e became an unexpected hit on TikTok, introducing a new generation to these timeless songs.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"306\" data-end=\"774\"\u003e\u003cem data-start=\"306\" data-end=\"325\"\u003e1982 4-Piece Demo\u003c\/em\u003e is the first official, fully licensed, and unreleased material to be released under the name \u003cstrong data-start=\"419\" data-end=\"445\"\u003eStrawberry Switchblade\u003c\/strong\u003e in 30 years. Since disbanding amid major record label acrimony and personal differences in 1986, the already-cult band has only grown in stature and legend. Trailblazers in many ways, the band’s mythology justifiably centers around the charismatic duo of \u003cstrong data-start=\"701\" data-end=\"716\"\u003eJill Bryson\u003c\/strong\u003e and \u003cstrong data-start=\"721\" data-end=\"738\"\u003eRose McDowall\u003c\/strong\u003e, but that isn’t the full picture.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"776\" data-end=\"1542\"\u003eBryson and McDowall’s growing friendship—having met years earlier on the punk scene—became a creative partnership: Bryson’s art school background and McDowall’s history in avant-punk group \u003cstrong data-start=\"981\" data-end=\"994\" data-is-only-node=\"\"\u003eThe Poets\u003c\/strong\u003e meant \u003cstrong data-start=\"1001\" data-end=\"1027\"\u003eStrawberr\u003c\/strong\u003ey Switchblade was a band pitted against many established norms. The band’s very first incarnation, an all-female four-piece, recorded one demo at Glasgow’s Hellfire Club and played a handful of gigs. Friends \u003cstrong data-start=\"1226\" data-end=\"1245\"\u003eJanice Goodlett\u003c\/strong\u003e and \u003cstrong data-start=\"1250\" data-end=\"1268\"\u003eCarole McGowan\u003c\/strong\u003e completed the lineup on bass and drums, respectively. Strawberry Switchblade would eventually pare down to a duo and go on to chart success, but in these raw, passionate recordings, the songwriting and vocal elements were being hammered out and explored in real time.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"1544\" data-end=\"2464\"\u003e\u003cem data-start=\"1544\" data-end=\"1558\"\u003eSpanish Song\u003c\/em\u003e is a previously unreleased track. With McDowall’s instantly recognizable lead vocal dovetailing with Bryson’s harmonies and lead guitar, it offers the first glimpse at an alternative history of Strawberry Switchblade. This incarnation could easily have been featured on a \u003cem data-start=\"1843\" data-end=\"1852\" data-is-only-node=\"\"\u003eNuggets\u003c\/em\u003e compilation or seen as a precursor to the indie-pop revolution that would take over British bedrooms a few years later. \u003cem data-start=\"1973\" data-end=\"1990\"\u003eTrees \u0026amp; Flowers\u003c\/em\u003e is instantly recognizable—a bona fide classic that earned the band its first record deal. Here, it’s given a more forceful rhythm section, with Goodlett and McGowan’s playing sounding remarkably accomplished, belying the band’s youth. \u003cem data-start=\"2234\" data-end=\"2243\"\u003eGo Away\u003c\/em\u003e would also later surface on the band’s debut LP, but here it appears as a moody garage stomper with a psychedelic, haunting refrain. These three songs point to a tantalizing future for the band that was never realized.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"2466\" data-end=\"2758\" data-is-last-node=\"\" data-is-only-node=\"\"\u003eRemastered and restored by Sean Pennycook from the original cassette, this release features artwork based on a single photographic contact sheet—the only visual evidence of the band in this form. It also includes a booklet of photographs and new text from contemporary Stephen Pastel.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Night School","offers":[{"title":"Limited Edition Transparent Green 7 Inch Vinyl","offer_id":59327577948505,"sku":"SDZ-51864","price":16.99,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0588\/3455\/0945\/files\/unnamed_438b0b9b-d05a-4505-bdf9-2c67bbe9e66e.png?v=1788773221","url":"https:\/\/spindizzyrecords.com\/products\/strawberry-switchblade-1982-4-piece-demo-2026-repress","provider":"Spindizzy Dublin","version":"1.0","type":"link"}