In the post Quatro world, Gaye along with US doppelgänger Joan Jett, provided the bridge between glam and the brave new future promised by Punk. One in which girls were now in bands and that in itself, was no big deal.
Gaye, with her distinctive black hair, black leather jacket, heavily kohled eyes and a black bass became a reluctant Britpunk “It Girl”, but to us and other tweenie-punks, it was the fact that she was in a band and playing a bass guitar at all, that was the highlight.
There weren’t many girls in bands, and although Punk delivered some of the most memorable front women popular music has ever seen like Poly, Debbie, and Siouxsie, actual guitar wielding girls were few and far between, so Gaye quickly became a focus of attention.
“I hated being singled out because I was female, I just wanted to get on with playing. The more positive side, these days, is when I meet musicians who say they were inspired to play because of me”.
“I loved the sound of basses at live gigs, the sound would go right through you. I have never been a fan of wibbly guitar solos, so I had more of an urge to play bass”.
Gaye Advert was the first punk girl we ever saw on Top Of The Pops when The Adverts arrived in the charts in August 1977 with “Gary Gilmore’s Eyes”. The episode which aired on 25th August 1977, was hosted by Noel Edmunds, and featured fellow punk rockers the Boomtown Rats and Eddie and the Hot Rods along with Legs and Co who were Way Down-ing along to the swan song by the recently deceased Elvis. TV Smith performed a live vocal, an Gaye stared at the fretboard as the TV cameras zoomed around.
A self-confessed teenage Metal fan, Gaye has name-checked Black Sabbath’s “Black Sabbath” as one of her most influential albums, and more recently has become a regular contributor and reviewer with Louderthanwar – specialist subject Black Metal.
Now an artist, writer, she curated the acclaimed Beyond Punk exhibition in London in 2010. The show included her own work alongside pieces by former punks turned artists, including Adam Ant, Poly Styrene and Charlie Harper. She described her own exhibition pieces to arrestedmotion.com thus,
Still getting on with the job in hand, still playing by her own rules. Happy Birthday Gaye Advert.
You can browse or buy more of Gaye Black’s art HERE