Girl Overboard were a pop rock band formed in 1985 as Separate Tables by Lisa Schouw (a contralto) on lead vocals, Robin Gist on guitar, and Brett McNaughton on keyboards; with an expanded line-up, they changed their name. Girl Overboard released two albums: Paint a Picture (March 1990) and Go in 1993. The group split up in late 1993.
History 1983-1988: Founding In 1983, future member of Girl Overboard, Lisa Schouw (born 5 March 1958 – 2 October 2020) joined as a vocalist for a Melbourne band, Pointz, where she worked alongside Robin Gist on guitar. Over two years they changed their name to Short Story, played around the town, and started negotiating a publishing and recording deal with Wheatley Records. However, the band fell apart before being signed. Schouw returned to New Zealand for six months, and returned to Australia to meet Gist and write songs. After auditioning various players they settled on keyboard player, Brett McNaughton, and together the three formed Separate Tables in 1985, initially using a drum machine.
Separate Tables' line-up was augmented by Lee Davidson on drums, Dean Hilson on saxophone and Jenny Milroy on backing vocals and percussion. They released an independent single, "Long Dark Night" backed with "Wrap Your Arms Around Me". After a year the band secured a recording deal with RCA/BMG and were a support act for John Farnham's Jack's Back Tour. They had a management contract with the Neil Clugston Organisation. Separate Tables promoted their single, "When the Word Came Down" (February 1988),https://australian-charts.com/showitem.asp?interpret=Separate+Tables&titel=When+The+Word+Came+Down&cat=s by playing entertainment centres, concert halls and pubs around Australia. Their next single "Change My Sex" (May 1988) was largely ignored by radio. John Favaro joined on bass guitar and another single, "Wrap Your Arms Around Me" (February 1989), was released. They performed music for the soundtrack to the 1988 film Hungry Heart in which Schouw also costarred.
1989-1992: Paint a Picture The band began recording their debut album, Paint a Picture, with producer Ross Fraser at Metropolis Studios in Melbourne. At the ARIA Music Awards of 1989 Fraser won Producer of the Year for his work on "When the Word Came Down" by Separate Tables, Farnham's Age of Reason and the State's "Real Love". At the same ceremony Doug Brady won Engineer of the Year for his work on "Change My Sex" and "When the Word Came Down" by Separate Tables and additional works for other artists.
The name changed to Girl Overboard with the release of the next single, "I Can't Believe" (October 1989). Schouw explained to The Canberra Times''' Kathryn Whitfield, why they changed, "We were playing pubs and were making a lot more noise and the name didn't describe the band, we are more emotional more energetic than that, so we became Girl Overboard." Whitfield observed, "Schouw, Gist and McNaughton have worked together on all the band's songs and though they all lean personally toward different musical styles they seem to reach perfect accord on the band's style." "I Can't Believe" was nominated for Breakthrough Artist – Single at ARIA Music Awards of 1990. A subsequent single, "The Love We Make" (January 1990), peaked at No. 23 on the ARIA Singles Chart. They toured Australia to promote Paint a Picture, which reached No. 18 on the ARIA Albums Chart. According to Australian musicologist, Ian McFarlane, "[their] sound was a safe mix of dance pop, light jazz and American-styled hard rock." They followed with a trip to United States and United Kingdom in 1991 to write new material, and "meet with song publishers and our record company." Fraser won another ARIA Award for his production work for Girl Overboard (and other artists) in 1991.
1993: Go and break up The band's second album, Go (1993), was recorded with producer, Charles Fisher, who provided an overall sense of cohesion while new drummer, Tony Day, had replaced Davidson. It provided the singles, "Chain of Fools", "Your Love", and "Jackie". Go and its singles were less successful on the charts and some band members became disillusioned. McFarlane felt, "[they] offered lushly textured pop with Schouw's rich contralto well to the fore." The band broke up late in 1993. Note: last name is incorrectly given as Shouw.
Death Lead vocalist Schouw died from cancer on 2 October 2020, aged 62 and was honoured at the ARIA awards
Members Lisa Schouw – vocals (d. 2020) Robin Gist – guitar Brett McNaughton – keyboards Lee Davidson – drums (album: Paint a Picture), Tony Day (Album Go) Jenny Milroy – backing vocals, percussion John Favaro – bass guitar Tony Day – drums John Farnham On Some Things Never Change''
Discography Studio albums + List of albums, with selected chart positions and certifications Title Album details Peak chartpositionsAUSAustralian chart peaks: Top 100 (Kent Music Report) peaks to 12 June 1988: N.B. The Kent Music Report chart was licensed by ARIA between mid-1983 and 12 June 1988. Top 50 (ARIA) peaks from 13 June 1988: Top 100 (ARIA) peaks from January 1990 to December 2010: "Wrap Your Arms Around Me" (ARIA) peak: "In the Evening" (ARIA) peak: "Chain of Fools" (ARIA) peak: "If You're Going to Leave Tonight" (ARIA) peak: Paint a Picture Released: 5 March 1990 Format: LP Label: RCA/BMG 18 Go Released: 8 March 1993 Format: LP Label: RCA/BMG 91
Singles Year Single Album Chartpositions AUS1987"Wrap Your Arms Around Me" / "Long Dark Night"(by Separate Tables) non-album single —"When the Word Came Down" (by Separate Tables)821988"Change My Sex" (by Separate Tables) —1989"Wrap Your Arms Around Me" (re-recording) (by Separate Tables)Paint a Picture71"I Can't Believe"431990"The Love We Make"23"Permanent Friend" / "Some Things Never Change"85"In the Evening"1301991"Who'll Stop the Rain"non-album single591992"Your Love"Go70"Chain of Fools"1381993"Jackie"72"If You're Going to Leave Tonight"218
Music Videos + List of music videos, showing year released and directors Year Title Album Director 1987 "Long Dark Night" (as Separate Tables) non-album video Luigi Acquisto "Blue Falls the Rain" (as Separate Tables) unreleased single and video Note: this version of the song is not the same as the version later released on the CD edition of the album "Paint A Picture" "When the Word Came Down" (as Separate Tables) non-album video 1989 "Wrap Your Arms Around Me"(as Separate Tables) Paint A Picture unknown "I Can't Believe" unknown "I Can't Believe" (alternate version) 1990 "The Love We Make" Maurice Todman "Permanent Friend" Kriv Stenders "Some Things Never Change" Jane Cole "In The Evening" Kriv Stenders "In The Evening" (alternate version) 1991 "I Can't Believe" (US version) This version of the song is different to the 1989 Australian single. non-album videos Grant Matthews "Who'll Stop The Rain" 1992 "Your Love" Go Paul Elliott and Sally Bongers "Chain Of Fools" 1993 "Jackie" Paul Elliott
Awards and nominations ARIA Music Awards The ARIA Music Awards is an annual awards ceremony that recognises excellence, innovation, and achievement across all genres of Australian music. They commenced in 1987.
! |- | rowspan="2"| 1990 | "I Can't Believe" | Breakthrough Artist - Single | | rowspan="2"| |- | Doug Brady for "I Can't Believe" by Girl Overboard | Engineer of the Year
| rowspan="2"| 1991 | "Permanent Friend" | Best Video | | rowspan="2"| |- | Ross Fraser for "The Love We Make" by Girl Overboard | Producer of the Year
References
External links
Entry for Lisa Schouw