Marine Girls were a music group from Hatfield, Hertfordshire. The group was formed in 1980 by two sixth form school friends: Tracey Thorn and Gina Hartman. Originally, Thorn played guitar and Gina was vocalist and percussionist. They were later joined by Jane Fox on bass and her younger sister Alice on joint vocals and percussion. The group sang minimalist songs about the sea, love and everything else.

Overview

Contemporaries of acts such as Young Marble Giants and The Raincoats, the group applied the DIY ethic of the time to record a self-produced and self-released cassette called A Day By The Sea. They went on to record an album Beach Party which was initially released on In Phaze, then later released by Dan Tracey of Television Personalities label Whamm!. In 1981, Tracey Thorn moved to Hull to attend university, but the group still performed together occasionally, and released a second album Lazy Ways in April 1983. Gina Hartman left the band in 1981 to pursue other musical projects.

From 1982 Thorn concentrated on her studies and her growing personal and professional relationship with fellow Hull student Ben Watt. As Everything But The Girl, their first single included a re-recording the Marine Girls song On My Mind.

The Marine Girls formally disbanded in 1983. Tracey Thorn achieved success with Everything But The Girl, while the Fox sisters recorded as Grab Grab the Haddock.

Trivia

• Marine Girls were listed in Kurt Cobains top 50 albums in his diaries published in 2002.

• Currently, the Fox sisters are working as artists and Gina Hartman works as an Art Technician

Links

• http://groups.myspace.com/marinegirlsfan

1980s music groupsEnglish musical groups

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