Gypsy Queen - Gypsy Queen (1987)

When I first laid eyes on a heavy metal mag I was quite surprised at the lack of hot women within the scene - Lita Ford certainly turned a few heads, The Great Kat was too scary, and Wendy O Williams....get outta here, but I also recall a rather Page Three looking Lisa Dominique and of course Gypsy Queen, being the sisters Paula and Pamela Mattioli, and they were genuinely hot. Sadly, most metalheads weren't interested in the music of Gypsy Queen, in fact a lot of metalheads weren't interested in many female metal bands, probably because most of the women dabbled in rather light rock. I avoided Gypsy Queen's music yet rather hypocritically had a poster of them on my wall - I guess every teenage boys fantasy was to see these two sisters get it on even though that would have been bloody incest - oh how the naive mind used to work! Anyway, I finally got hold of this record and was pleasantly surprised by it - but of course it does actually help that the girls are attractive, because let's face it, the guys backing them aren't, but musically they are more than adequate and a dark, pop streak runs through opener 'Love Is Strange' with its instantly catchy chorus, and this theme exists throughout the album. The band barely loiter in the metal zone but do manage a steamy, late night soft rock, a bold mix of Bonnie Tyler, Heart, Cher, Pat Benatar, et al. The album has some dramatic keyboard hooks courtesy of Tim Divine, and the bubblegum pop streak of 'She Can't Help Herself' and feathery stomper 'Radio', make this album a rather charming listen even if it's riddled with tales of love...love and looking for love but the sisters, particularly, Paula, know how to write a catchy tune. Throw the Devil horns up at this one and the world will laugh at you!! I wonder what Gypsy Queen look like now ?!

6.5/10