Daily Record

18 January 1985

STRAWBERRY SHAKE
The polka-dot princesses of Pop love the limelight

By Billy Sloan Scotland’s No 1 Rock Writer

Strawberry Switchblade will never forget the day they launched themselves in the pop world.

Glasgow was covered in a thick blanket of snow, and bus services in the city had ground to a halt in the freezing weather.

As a result, only 20 people turned up for their first-ever performance in a trendy West End pizza parlour.

That was in 1981 – now the talented Glasgow duo are stars.

This week, the pair – Rose McDowall and Jill Bryson – rocketed to number 10 in the national charts with their great single Since Yesterday.

Already their bizarre and colourful polka-dot image s being copied by pop fans all over the country.

And the girls can still manage a smile over their humble beginnings.

During a break in the recording of their new album, called simply Strawberry Switchblade, Rose told me of their first gig: ‘We only had six songs at the time, and I wobbled so much with nerves that the audience thought I was dancing and it was part of the act

‘The kids loved us because we looked as if we’d just climbed down from the top of a Christmas tree, but the mums and dads seemed a bit bemused by our shaky voices.’

Rose, from Parkhead, and Jill, from Shawlands, first met at a punk rock disco in 1977 – and their friendship blossomed into the idea to form their own pop group.

Even then they were both wearing ribbons in their hair, stick-out party frocks and [unclear] – ALL made of polka-dot material.

‘I’ve always loved polka-dots – they’re so cuddly and homely,’ said Rose. And Jill agrees.

‘They’re so bold, the simplest designs you can get, and much better than stripes any day.’

Now the Strawberry Switchblade diary is crammed full of recording schedules, television appearances, photo-calls and interviews – and for Jill the group’s phenomenal success has had a fantastic side-effect.

Last year the girls released a single called Trees and Flowers, which dealt with the problem of Jill’s agoraphobia. She was too scared to go out on her own – and even lost a year’s schooling because of her complaint.

‘I used to hate going out on my own, and I still suffer from this a wee bit.

‘But it’s our success with the group that’s helped cure me,’ she admitted.

‘If I didn’t HAVE to go out to interviews, photo sessions and TV shows, I’d probably have stayed at home.’

Another side-effect of Rose and Jill’s stardom is the effect they have on men.

Rose said: ‘You know what it’s like when a normal girl walks past some guys working on a building site, so you can imagine what we get.

‘But most of the male fans we meet are very shy and polite – we haven’t had any boy groupies so far.’

And Jill said finally: ‘Most men think we’ve just stepped off the top of a birthday cake, and we’ve heard all the insults before – “Is it Halloween again?”, “Are you one of the Addams Family?” and “Look, it’s the bride of Frankenstein”.

‘We don’t mind at all.’

We’re grateful to the generous people at Zounds Abound for finding us this article. They do such a brilliant job of trawling vintage newspapers for music articles that people want to read today. They’re raising funds and awareness for Teenage Cancer Trust in memory of their son Noah. You can read about Noah, the care the Trust enabled him to have, and make a donation here.