This weekend I found the LP “Playing with a Different Sex” (1981) by the Au Pairs in a recycling store. It was their first of only two albums, a live album not counted.
Their first single ‘You / Domestic Departure’ already came out in 1979. The group from Birmingham played quite interesting female-fronted funky post-punk, with as absolute hit ‘It’s obvious’. Their sound and engaged lyrics about gender relations and conservative politics are related to contemporary acts like the Mekons, Delta 5, the Slits and the Gang of Four.
The cd version of this album with 8 extra tracks seems to be rarer than the original vinyl release on Human Records. The Au Pairs broke up in 1983, after which lesbian-feminist singer Lesley Woods formed The Darlings, without much success. Apparently she now works as a lawyer. More about them here.
