Au Pairs

See all 57 pictures

Play Radio

Listen to Au Pairs Radio, featuring artists like Delta 5, Bush Tetras, Liliput, Essential Logic and more…

• 
  Search on Spotify

  Yes, it scrobbles! Learn more

579,342 plays (53,669 listeners)
In your library (0 plays)

Shop now at Amazon | Send Au Pairs Ringtones to Cell

More options

• Download
• Amazon
• Send Ringtones to Cell
• Tonefuse Search

Add to my Library

Birmingham, United Kingdom (1979 – 1983)

The Au Pairs were a post-punk band who formed in Birmingham, UK in 1979. Musically they were very similar to bands such as Ludus, Gang of Four and Delta 5. That is, the rhythm section was tight and funky (obvious influences were James Brown and Funkadelic), but the guitars were light and “scratchy” (like Subway Sect). All these bands shared a strongly left wing social outlook, but the Au Pairs stood out due to their frontwoman, Lesley Woods, being an outspoken feminist and lesbian: the band were greatly influential in this respect on the riot grrrl movement a decade later. Music historian Gillian G. Gaar noted in her history of women in rock that the band mingled male and female musicians in a revolutionary collaborative way as part of its outspoken explorations of sexual politics.

Their first album Playing With a Different Sex is considered a post-punk classic with strong, sarcastic songs like “It’s Obvious” and “We’re So Cool” taking a dry look at gender relations. Other songs, such as “Armagh” with its refrain,”we don’t torture” took a pro-republican look at the then ongoing “Troubles” in Northern Ireland, which caused some controversy at the time.

The band’s second album, Sense And Sensuality, showed an even greater influence of jazz, soul, funk and disco on the band’s sound, but was less well received. The band broke up in 1983 just before they were about to go into the studio to record an album with producer Steve Lillywhite. Woods formed an all woman band called the Darlings in the late ’80s, but then left the music industry.

Read more… Edit

Popular tags: post-punk, new wave, female vocalists, post punk, punk  See more

Shouts: 73 shouts

Share this artist:

• Send
• Tweet

Top Albums

• Playing With a Different Sex
  Au Pairs

  Buy

  • Download Album
  • Amazon MP3 Search
  • 7digital Search
  • iTunes Search
  • Buy Album
  • Amazon Search
  • eBay Search
• Stepping Out Of Line - The Anthology
  Au Pairs

  Buy

  • Download Album
  • Amazon MP3 $16.25
  • 7digital $17.99
  • iTunes $17.99
  • Buy Album
  • Amazon $33.25
  • eBay Search
• Sense And Sensuality
  Au Pairs

  Buy

  • Download Album
  • Amazon MP3 $7.99
  • 7digital $9.99
  • iTunes $8.99
  • Buy Album
  • Amazon $21.51
  • eBay Search
• Equal But Different - BBC Sessions 1979-1981
  Au Pairs

  Buy

  • Download Album
  • Amazon MP3 Search
  • 7digital Search
  • iTunes Search
  • Buy Album
  • Amazon Search
  • eBay Search

Top Tracks

• Last Week
• Last 6 months

1		It's Obvious			189
2		We're So Cool			97
3		Come Again			77
4		Headache For Michelle			74
5		Love Song			71
6		Armagh			60
7		You			59
8		Dear John			56
9		Repetition			47
10		Unfinished Business			44
11		Set-Up			43
12		Kerb Crawler			26
12		Diet			26
14		Sex Without Stress			25
15		America			24

Buy all tracks at Amazon MP3

See more