"Jill Bryson is a third-year student at art school... when she’s not making dresses, she plays lead guitar in an all-girl band called Strawberry Switchblade." Style tips from a 21 year old student with a big future, Jackie magazine, 12 June 1982

Strawberry Switchblade shirts are finally here & shipping! For the first time in 40 years, official band merch. @nightschoolrecords.bsky.social who released the 1982 4-Piece Demo EP are distributing them. night-school.bandcamp.com/merch

Strawberry Switchblade - making the Who Knows What Love Is video directed by Tim Pope, released 41 years ago this week. (feature originally broadcast on Wide Awake Club, 6 May 1985) www.youtube.com/watch?v=vNui...

Here's the promo video for Strawberry Switchblade's dreamy Who Knows What Love Is, released as a single 41 years ago this week. As with the two previous singles from the album, the video was directed by Tim Pope. www.youtube.com/watch?v=l-Ww...

On this day in 1985, Strawberry Switchblade previewed their single Who Knows What Love Is. This is one of just 3 TV performances of the song that we know of - the Keith Harris Show, 11 May 1985 (Harris was a ventriloquist who somehow managed to get his own TV show). www.youtube.com/watch?v=kNGt...

The brilliant documentary Since Yesterday: The Untold Story of Scotland's Girl Bands is back on BBC iPlayer for 28 days if you're in the UK (or on a VPN set to a UK server if you're elsewhere). Guaranteed to show you music you've never heard of that you'll love! www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/epis...

Little Strawberry Switchblade nugget - here they are on the opening credits of short-lived BBC entertainment news show Friday People, 20 Feb 1985 www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y3A1...

Radhika - Since Yesterday Digi Single releasing April 24. Great version of the Strawberry Switchblade Classic 🍓🍓🍓🍓🍓🍓🍓🍓🍓🍓🍓🍓 glassmodern.bandcamp.com/album/since-... Cine-Pop LP/CD presellng for May 22 glassmodern.bandcamp.com/album/cine-pop @glassmodernr.bsky.social

Strawberry Switchblade's Since Yesterday, reinterpreted by contemporary Austrian anarcho-punksters Harsh Response who blast through it in under 2 minutes. 🧵 www.youtube.com/watch?v=qiSU...

On this day in 2002, ex Strawberry Switchblade singer/guitarist Rose McDowall played a beautiful short solo set at the 500 year old St Olave's church in London. In keeping with her goth aesthetic, the church has carved skulls over its gateway! Here's Since Yesterday www.youtube.com/watch?v=lyDl...

Strawberry Switchblade's album was released on this day in 1985! In the era of vinyl, the album was 2 separate sides, side 1 opened with Since Yesterday & ended on 10 James Orr Street with Andrew Poppy's arresting epilogue demanding you sit quietly & let it resonate 🧵 www.youtube.com/watch?v=XN7N...

Strawberry Switchblade, with Rose's trademark Antigua finish Fender Coronado II taking pride of place. She bought the guitar from James Kirk of Orange Juice, who also thought up Strawberry Switchblade's name & played on their first two BBC radio sessions. Thanks, James!

On this day in 2014, Strawberry Switchblade's Jill Bryson released a new version of Trees & Flowers with her new band The Shapists. The Shapists were Jill Bryson with her daughter Jessie Frost, and guitarist Craig Hood. Stream/download it on Bandcamp theshapists.bandcamp.com/track/trees-...

This week in 1985, Strawberry Switchblade were cover starts of No.1 magazine, a UK weekly music mag for teenagers, with an interview talking about their recent move to London & Jill's agoraphobia.

Rose McDowall live in Glasgow! The fabulous @nightschoolrecords.bsky.social, who released Strawberry Switchblade's 1982 4-Piece Demo EP, are having a 15th anniversary celebration at the Fairfield Social Club on 29 and 30 August.

Because Strawberry Switchblade's Let Her Go wasn't a hit, unlike Since Yesterday there were very few TV performances. We only know of two! Here's the first, from UK kids' TV show Saturday Superstore, 16 March 1985 www.youtube.com/watch?v=q8lg...

Celebrating the anniversary of Strawberry Switchblade's Let Her Go, let's take a moment to consider the remix, Let Her Go (Kitchensynch Mix-Up). Five people are credited with the work: Bill Drummond, David Balfe, Phil Harding, Steve Short & Youth. 🧵 www.youtube.com/watch?v=V-OK...

This week in 1985, both Smash Hits and No.1 magazines had full page lyric posters for Strawberry Switchblade's new single Let Her Go

If you were watching TV in the UK 41 years ago this week, you may well have seen ads for Let Her Go, Strawberry Switchblade's follow up to Since Yesterday. TV ads for singles were really unusual at the time & showed a high level of faith & commitment from the record company

As we mark the 41st anniversary of Strawberry Switchblade's Let Her Go, let's jump back even further in time to the earliest studio recording of it, from their very first BBC session in October 1982. 🧵 www.youtube.com/watch?v=SAFh...

41 years ago this week Strawberry Switchblade released Let Her Go - in the UK it came on a limited edition strawberry shaped picture disc. A very few were issued uncut and have become one of the major Strawberry Switchblade rarities.

Continuing our week marking the anniversary of Strawberry Switchblade's Let Her Go in 1985: the single was given full-page ads in the UK music press - 'from the girls that know'

Happy 41st birthday to Strawberry Switchblade's Let Her Go!The follow-up to Since Yesterday also had a video directed by Tim Pope, delicate harmonies with electro-sparkle dynamics, & a considerable promotional push, but it failed to break into the top 40 youtu.be/sfjvyjlPnuc

40 years ago today Strawberry Switchblade relased their final single - in Japan only. The sensual Hi-NRG track I Can Feel was, like all their songs, credited to the 2 of them equally even though this was solely written & sung by Rose McDowall. Still not on streaming! www.youtube.com/watch?v=NyfU...

It's Bandcamp Friday! It you order stuff before midnight all the money goes to the label and band. It's a good day to pre-order the new Strawberry Switchblade T shirts (first official merch in 40 years!) night-school.bandcamp.com/merch

Strawberry Switchblade official merch, the first in 40 years! Night School Records, who released the 1982 4-Piece Demo, have worked with the band to produce three T shirt designs night-school.bandcamp.com/merch

Strawberry Switchblade - Who Knows What Love Is on UK kids' TV show Saturday Superstore, 16 March 1985. This was the first time the song had been played anywhere. These days it'd be called dreampop, but back then this gorgeous gossamer music had no named genre. www.youtube.com/watch?v=ckaU...

Happy birthday to Jill Bryson, born this day 1961! The voice, the melodies, the songs, the style, always inventive in her myriad forms of creative expression.

WTF is going on here? Strawberry Switchblade are depicted on the picture sleeve for a 1985 single by comedian Russ Abbot! 🧵

On this day in 1985, Strawberry Switchblade recorded their 5th & final BBC radio session. Although Since Yesterday was still in the top 10 & the album was imminent, the band recorded 4 new songs. Here's Nothing Changes, written & sung by Jill Bryson. 🧵 www.youtube.com/watch?v=WXnj...

Strawberry Switchblade photos from the session for the cover of debut single Trees and Flowers, 1983 📸©️Peter McArthur, used with permission

Wonderful find from Robin Rimbaud on X - a 1984 flier for gigs promoted by Bliss, inc Strawberry Switchblade supporting Farmers Boys at Camden Electric Ballroom. It also has Nick Cave when the Bad Seeds were The Cavemen, between the recording & release of From Her To Eternity 🧵

On this day in 1985, Strawberry Switchblade had their second #topofthepops appearance as Since Yesterday peaked at number 5 in the UK charts www.youtube.com/watch?v=lCXF...

On this day in 1984, Strawberry Switchblade recorded their first BBC radio session for Janice Long, with their 5-piece indie guitar line-up, a few months before they decided to go for electro arrangements instead (forgive the quality, taped off the radio at the time!) www.youtube.com/watch?v=gPFS...

Something odd just happened - Go Away is now Strawberry Switchblade's second most streamed track on Spotify, overtaking Since Yesterday. 🧵

On this day in 1985, it finally happened - Strawberry Switchblade's Since Yesterday had entered the top 40 singles chart and they were featured in the iconic Top of the Pops show. www.youtube.com/watch?v=otrR...

Rose McDowall's polka dot fixation way preceded Strawberry Switchblade! Here she is with her earlier band, The Poems. The photo shows Rose at the left, Ian sitting next to her, her daughter Keri, and Drew McDowall in a Poems T shirt (plus unidentified person standing).

Happy birthday Phil Thornalley, 66 today! As Strawberry Switchblade were finishing their album, Thornalley was recruited to produce Let Her Go & the proto-dreampop Who Knows What Love Is. Here's the video for the latter, directed by another Cure collaborator, Tim Pope. youtu.be/l-WwKeT3Pvw

41 years ago this week the UK saw TV ads for Strawberry Switchblade's Since Yesterday. The single had bobbed about in the low end of the charts since Oct. The record label thought with a bit of a push it could get through the Christmas charts & be a big hit in the new year. They were right.

Not your traditional festive tune. Here's Rose McDowall singing Christmas Time Is Drawing Near, from Coil's 1999 EP 'Winter Solstice: North' www.youtube.com/watch?v=faGE...

Happy birthday Robin Millar, 74 today! Producer of Sade & Fine Young Cannibals he also made 2 tracks with Strawberry Switchblade that were supposed to be the start of the album. The indie guitar sound's very different to where the songs ended up. Here's Secrets: 🧵 www.youtube.com/watch?v=gfgM...

Unused photos from the session for Strawberry Switchblade's debut album cover, 1984. (📸©️ Peter McArthur, used with permission)

Strawberry Switchblade - Hyde Park, London, summer 1983 (📸©️ Peter McArthur, used with permission)

Strawberry Switchblade - Since Yesterday performed on Japanese TV, 1985. www.youtube.com/watch?v=2-2S...

41 years ago this week, December 1984, if you were rushing out to buy the latest Smash Hits you'd have found Strawberry Switchblade on their first ever national magazine cover.

5 years after Stephen Lawrence's murder there was a public inquiry. It was supposed to be the Met coming clean. But they didn't reveal #spycops had been spying on the Lawrence family. Whistleblower officer Peter Francis wanted to tell but was overruled. www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025...

Strawberry Switchblade in the studio during the recording of their album, mid 1984. As befits a practical, work-focused day they are underdressed by their standards (though still flamboyant by anyone else's).

44 years ago today, 22 November 1981, an indie quartet called Strawberry Switchblade went to record a demo at the Hellfire Club, a 4-track studio in Glasgow. The 4 young women made a 3 song tape to help them get their first gigs. 🧵

Strawberry Switchblade's Trees & Flowers (Just Music), the instrumental bonus track from the 1983 12" single with a gorgeous pastoral arrangement. Never been reissued & online versions were iffy quality so we just had it digitised from our treasured vinyl. Enjoy! www.youtube.com/watch?v=C6-6...

New Trees and Flowers cover version just dropped! Madeline Goldstein did this beautiful rendition with Faith-era Cure vibes (and authentic sartorial choices) on 30 October at the Empty Bottle in Chicago. www.youtube.com/watch?v=s85Y...