The Metal Crypt - Girlschool Interview

Interviews

Interview with vocalist and guitarist Kim McAuliffe
Interview conducted by Luxi Lahtinen

Date online: November 30, 2025

Live pictures by PP Marila

Thanks to Giles Lavery (Alcatrazz, Warlord, etc.) for setting up the interview

On November 19, 2025, just three hours before Girlschool were set to storm the stage at On the Rocks in Helsinki, I had the pleasure of sitting down with founding guitarist and vocalist Kim McAuliffe for a short conversation. This stop in Finland came as part of a special run of five shows the band performed across the country, sharing the bill with Los Angeles-based hard rock and heavy metal stalwarts Alcatrazz. Amid the hum of pre-show anticipation and the unmistakable Helsinki chill outside, Kim spoke candidly about the band's enduring chemistry, the realities of touring in 2025, and what keeps Girlschool's engine roaring more than four decades into their career. What followed was a warm, insightful, and spirited exchange much like the band itself.

TOUR IN 2025

First off, welcome to Finland once again, Kim!

Kim: Thank you.

You and the band are out on another major run in 2025. What has stood out for you so far on this tour (especially as you supported Saxon)?

Kim: We've got another 15 to go, so we're early at the moment. It's been great so far. It's all been really good, and last night in Turku (Finland) was great as well. It's all been good. It's all been good so far.

Overall, the tour with Saxon earlier this year was great, but it was very long for us. We don't normally like touring for that long these days, but it was great. Of course, we've known them for a long time. We've known them since the beginning, for as long as we knew Motörhead. It was nice being back with them again because they're old mates.

You basically grew up with this whole NWOBHM thing along with such names as Maiden, Saxon, Motörhead, etc.

Kim: Oh, yes, of course. We have been at it since 1978 or whenever it was. A long time ago.

Because your tour this year with Saxon seemed to be so successful, have you had any further talks with them that you might do another tour at some point in the near future, perhaps?

Kim: It was only this year, so I can't see us doing another tour with them in the near future, but possibly. We're always bumping into each other at festivals and stuff like that. We will just see what happens.

Being on the road nonstop for two or three weeks is a tad more demanding than playing just weekends. Have you considered concentrating on playing shows during weekends only because it would be less stressful than being on the road for many weeks without stopping?

Kim: Oh, yes, we love that. It's lovely doing three or four days or something, having a laugh and then coming back home again. Sometimes when you're on the road for a long time, especially at our age now, it gets a bit tiring.

The 2025 tour has involved plenty of travel and historic venues. How do you keep your energy high every night, and has the rhythm of touring changed for you compared to earlier years?

Kim: It hasn't really changed. It's always the same. When I say, "Oh, we're going to Helsinki," or wherever, people go, "Oh, brilliant." I go, "Oh, yes, brilliant." We get in a van, we fly, then we travel for six hours, then we go to the hotel, then we go to the soundcheck, and then we go back to the hotel, and then we go somewhere else. Most of the time, you don't even see where you're going. It hasn't really changed over the years. It's still fun, because obviously, we all get on really well, and so it's really good fun. Otherwise, we wouldn't bother doing it, really. We're hoping that we're going to carry on until our 50th anniversary. I can't believe I just said that. We've got another two years. Then I think we might say that's it, that's enough. It's all right for blokes to do it, but the women, I'm not going to be going on stage when I'm 70. I refuse to do that.

The 50th anniversary tour sounds great because it's a big milestone for any band to carry on that long. After you have reached that, you might ask yourself, "Do I still have something to give to our fans?" I mean, nobody can continue forever...

Kim: Exactly. I don't think we'll be doing a lot of touring next year because we're concentrating on a new album. We'll be doing that next year and a few festivals.

NEW ALBUM?

After the release of your recent album WTFortyfive? and all the touring, can fans expect new material from Girlschool at some point? Are you already writing or planning studio time in the near future?

Kim: We haven't really started yet, but it'll be next year that we'll be doing it. I know I keep saying our new album and I don't remember that it's been out two years already. Time goes so fast. We haven't got anything ready at the moment, however.

Anyway, we'll record a new Girlschool album for sure. As I say, we start after Christmas in the new year. We'll be concentrating on that for next year. Then I think they want another one for the 50th, but I don't think we'll be able to do another one in that time. We might have a best of or a compilation or something like that for the 50th. Who knows? Watch this space.

When you start writing new songs, in what direction do you see Girlschool heading musically? Given your roots in the New Wave of British Heavy Metal and the punk energy, will you be revisiting that classic sound, or exploring something different?

Kim: Basically, WTFortyFive... We did go back a bit on that one. It could be quite heavy. I think we'll go right back to our roots. Of course, we've got Liv now, our new bass player. She's a really heavy bass player. She's going to come up with a few bits as well. It'll be interesting. It'll be fun.

What about those early Girlschool albums? Do you ever revisit them, just for the sake of old times, for example?

Kim: I don't listen to them myself, no. Are you kidding? I've been playing them for 47 years. No, not really.

For longtime fans, the question always looms: will you include more "hits" or classics in your sets while introducing new songs? How do you balance that?

Kim: Which is why we play mostly classics. We pick, but it's mostly the old ones. I still enjoy playing them.

That's what we try and do. It's really difficult. If we, say, want to put a new song in, we have to take one out. It's really difficult to juggle it all. I know that if I went to see a band and they didn't play the old songs I knew, I'd be really upset. That's why we do that.

I guess it's really tough to please everyone when balancing between the old and new stuff, right?

Kim: Oh, it is. Yes, definitely. Then, of course, we start arguing, "Oh, no, we can't take that one out. We can't do that. We can't do that." I think we strike quite a good balance.

When you are figuring out what songs you should include for your setlist, all four of you sit down, start talking about the chosen songs on your setlist democratically, kind of voting for them?

Kim: Of course, we're a democratic band. I mean, there's no leader in the band. I'm just the singer, but there's no leader. We all shout as loud as the others. [*chuckles*]

I didn't even realize you might record a new album after WTFortyfive?

Kim: It's a bit weird because obviously we've got this far, so people are saying, "You might--" Because we were thinking of packing it in at the 45, but then we're still going 47 years later, so why not carry on another couple to make the 50? That's why that's happening.

Finland has a passionate metal audience and a strong live-culture environment. How does playing in Finland compare to other parts of Europe in terms of audience energy, setting, or post-show experiences?

Kim: We love the Finnish people. You're definitely different, definitely your own country, and we love it here. We've always loved coming to Finland. The Finnish crowd seems to differ from the rest of European crowds for having this party mode on when they come to see us.

FINLAND MEMORIES

Do you have any funny "only-in-Finland" stories you're willing to share (for example, late-night traditions, venue quirks, or fan moments)?

Kim: Actually, my funniest memory had nothing to do with the gig. It was one time we had a night off in Helsinki, so this was a time that we could actually go out and see something. We went to the ice bar. It was hilarious. I've never laughed so much. We were all wearing those coats with the hoods and everything, and we were just dancing with each other. We filmed it, and every time I see that, I laugh my head off.

So, wearing those hooded coats I assume you didn't want to get recognized by your die-hard fans either, eh?

Kim: We had to wear those coats because it was an ice bar you know. It was freezing. You're in there, so you're all wearing these big coat things. That was a real good memory. I remember that a lot about Helsinki.

So, that happened like many years ago, I guess.

Kim: Oh, God, yes, quite a few years back.

You have also played a lot of shows in some small towns in Finland over the years. Do you have any memories from playing in those remote towns, which basically have a bar, one grocery store, one bank, etc. and a great bunch of drunk people wandering around the streets?

Kim: [*laughter*] Nothing really specific, but they've always been really good fun. We've gotten to make quite a few friends over the years as well. That's quite nice when we play.

Do you know any Finnish musicians personally whom you have become friends with over the years?

Kim: Last time we played here, Andy McCoy turned up. Obviously, I've known him for donkey's years. Over the years, there's been a few, but they're the most famous ones, I suppose.

Hanoi Rocks, as a Finnish band, is basically very familiar to many people around the world, influencing a bunch of bands back in the day...

Kim: Oh yes, definitely. They were quite an influence, obviously. As a lot of these bands said, like Guns N' Roses and Mötley Crüe, they were quite an influence on them, so good on them.

Indeed. Looking further into the future, do you have any plans to shoot some new videos once your next album will be released?

Kim: We did a couple of videos, obviously, for the last album. But yes, there will be videos and stuff. As I say, at the moment, we haven't really done anything yet. It's all going to happen next year. We're just going to get through this tour, then Christmas and New Year, then start again next year.

You will be taking your time with these new songs because you really don't want to rush things too much, I guess.

Kim: No, it's got to be the best, obviously, the best one. Obviously, every time you do an album, you always say it's got to be the best, but this one's got to be the best, definitely.

Also, I assume there's no label pressure, so that you can work on your songs as long as you want, and they will be ready when they are ready.

Kim: Yes, they don't pressure us at all. They leave us to it, which is great. They're a great company, Silver Lining Music.

Back in the day, it was different because labels were pushing their bands up, setting up strict deadlines for their artists and stuff.

Kim: Yes, they did. Obviously, when we first started out, and I'm quite pleased we did when we did because, obviously, it's all changed now. That's why we are still lucky, I think, to be on a proper record label because a lot of it now is all digital and all the rest of it. Whereas, obviously, when we started out, it was proper record companies that gave you a three-album deal and helped you to become who you are, whatever. It's completely different. I feel a bit sorry for young bands today.

It was like the whole experience of being signed to a proper record company and doing all that stuff.

It's like a lot of bands don't even go into a studio anymore. It's remote, and it's like the others. Of course, we've always had the experience of all going in the studio together, which is, I think, part of being in a band.

It would sound kind of absurd and not really you at all, if you recorded your own parts for a record at home, then collected the sound files into one file that would form a full song.

Kim: Yes, I know. We're all over the place. I couldn't do it because I'm hopeless at all this techno stuff. I wouldn't be on it. [*chuckles*] Obviously, Jackie's got her own little recording studio and stuff like that. Other people we know have got their own little studios. I haven't. [*chuckles*] I have no intention of getting one.

And why should you change your recording methods if they have worked before? You like to do things the old-school way, right?

Kim: Put it this way, not only are we old school, but we're old school as well.

[*laughter*]

That's it. I just want to thank for sitting down and having this pleasant conversation with me, and of course, all the best for your tonight's show here at On the Rocks, Helsinki, too!

Kim: Oh, thank you so much. Kippis!

Other information about Girlschool on this site

Review: WTFortyfive?