Who is Gerry Laffy?

Gerry Laffy (born 4 January 1960) is a British singer and guitarist who has played in the bands Girl, The London Cowboys, Sheer Greed, John Taylor, and Ultravox among others. Girl are still cited as an influence by many major artists twenty years later, even though they disbanded after only three years, allegedly due to their record company and mismanagement. In total Gerry has performed on 30+ albums; he has played in hundreds of clubs in UK and Europe and venues as diverse as OVO Arena Wembley, Taipei Hard Rock Cafe, Reading Festival, all up and down the Sunset Strip, all over the Far East and across the USA.

Musical career
In 1978, Laffy was a founding member of the band Girl (along with Philip Lewis). Girl were first discovered by promoter Jon Lindsay, a partner of the former manager of The Who, Kit Lambert. Lambert and Lindsay were seeking out bands to sign to Lambert's new record company during the fledgling Nu Romantics era. The band were first introduced to music publisher Simon Napier-Bell of Nomis but eventually signed a recording deal with Jet Records. The band became famous after their now infamous three-night residency at the former Marquee Club in Wardour St. and recorded three albums and put out two (Sheer Greed and Wasted Youth) between 1980 and 1983. Killing Time was finally released in 1998, and two live albums and an anthology were released later.

After Girl disintegrated, Laffy joined The London Cowboys, (with former members of The Idols, Sex Pistols and New York Dolls), which released two albums in 1985 and then again (this time in LA) in 1989.

He played guitar on demos of Duran Duran's 1986 ‘Notorious’ album and later on John Taylor's Feeling are Good solo album in 1997. Taylor also played on the GL Money & The Magic album in 1990.

In 1990, Laffy founded GL Records and released the solo album Money & the Magic. The song "Shoot 'Em Down" from this album was included on the European soundtrack to the film Highlander II: The Quickening. Laffy formed Sheer Greed with some of Girl's alumni, which put out two albums in 1992 and 1993. He followed up with a joint Gerry Laffy/Simon Laffy album called Lying with Angels, then a guest (lead guitarist and co writer) appearance on the 1994 album Revelation from Ultravox.

From mid-1997 to mid-2000, Laffy was lead guitarist in Terroristen, John Taylor's band while on hiatus from Duran Duran. Terroristen recorded constantly and gigged all over the United States and Japan, also travelling to Taiwan and Germany. In 2001, he released a second solo album All Day Long.

In 2005, Gerry was a guest vocalist with ex-Freddie Mercury guitarist Chris Chesney on his album Diabolical Liberties. In 2007, a third solo album – The Icebox Studio Sessions was released. Self-performed, written and produced.

In July 2009 Girl were approached to reform for a 30th Anniversary tour of Japan & UK in 2010. It never happened 'and it never will' says Laffy.

2013 saw Gerry Laffy solo albums No.4. Entitled 'Just A Little Blurred' and soon after No.5 'Wrecked But Not Crushed' BOTH self-performed, written and produced in his home studio.

In 2025 Gerry played on his brother Simon Laffy's album along with ALL the Girl members, A song 'No Prisoners' is the first time all Girl members (Philip Lewis, Gerry Laffy, Simon Laffy, Phil Collen and Pete Barnacle) have played together since 1982.

Other ventures

Music videos, Films and Artist Management
For fifteen years, from 1982 to 1997, Laffy worked as personal manager for film director Russell Mulcahy. They formed the company LeBad Films together. Laffy also served as Mulcahy's personal assistant on his first three features Razorback, Highlander, and Duran Duran's Arena. He managed Mulcahy through the pinnacle of his career, including ten feature films and dozens of award-winning music videos (including Duran Duran, Queen, The Rolling Stones, Billy Joel, Elton John and Fleetwood Mac) and commercials (including the Ford Motor Company, Smirnoff, Opel, British Petroleum, Universal Studios, and Miller Brewing).

Gerry also managed 2 actors, a writer and another director in the early 1990's but later said 'it was way too much hassle for not enough money so I dropped them all but continued working with Russell until my contract expired in 1997'.

In 1995, he established his own film production company in Los Angeles called Laffy Michaels Filmworks, which set up John Carpenter's $20 million film Vampires, starring James Woods.

Special Educational Needs work
From 2002 until 2023 Gerry worked in various capacities with kids and adults with a learning difficulty. He was an art teacher at Mencap Islington (Centre 404) and other venues, a classroom LSA and Hour Paid Lecturer at a North London College where he stayed for 13 years.

Art
Before his first band, Laffy started his career as a graphic artist at London Weekend Television. Since 2001, he has come full circle and is now a London-based artist with an international celebrity clientele for his quirky, funky pop art/mixed media canvases.

GLAC
Gerry for The Gerry Laffy Art Collective along with artists: Mason Storm, Caroline Reed, Woz, Phil Parkinson, Jonathan Dickson, Tosh Marshall, Steve Green, Tessa Gaynn, Conor Carroll, Suzanne Phillips, Cmor, Rob Parkes, Nick Stroud, Raffaella Bertolini, Louise Bird. The concept is to give a platform to artists with a disability and to offer them a collective home for artists many oh whom have already established a positive creative reputation. We let the talent speak for itself.

Their motto is: 'SOME OF US ARE PROFESSIONAL, SOME ARE SEMI PRO, SOME ARE STUDENTS AND SOME HAVE A LEARNING DIFFICULTY OR A DISABILITY. THE COLLECTIVE DOES NOT IDENTIFY WHICH IS WHICH'.

Galleries & Venues that Gerry has shown his art in
• Rising Gallery, Englewood, Colorado USA
• Asylum Gallery, St Pancras - NW1 London
• Underdog Gallery - SE1 London
• Punk Rock n Roll Art Show (annually 2018-2022)
• Monsters of Art Gallery - NW6 London
• Atom Gallery - N4 London
• The Wellington Club - SW1 London
• Madari Galleries - NW3 London
• The Artistic Gallery - NW3 London
• Pop UK - SW6 London
• The Hollywood Road Gallery - SW10 London
• LINLEY Belgravia - SW1 London
• The Hard Rock Cafe Vaults - W1 London
• Arlev Contemporary Gallery - New York, US
• Arlev Contemporary Gallery – Paris, France
• Chelsea Art Gallery - SW10 London
• Gallery on Old Bailey - Hong Kong
• The Jelly Legg'd Chicken Gallery - Reading
• The Cat Club - Hollywood, CA
• The Nehru Centre - W1 London
• Mayors Parlour - Camden Town Hall
• The Engine Room - NW1 London
• Zebra Two Gallery - NW3 London
• The Gardens Club - NW6 London
• The Hampstead VIP Bar - NW3 London
• 65(A)rt New Kings Road - SW6 London
• The Casbah - S1 Sheffield
• Zebra One Gallery - NW3 London

GLAC
Dover SmART
Lauderdale House Summer and Winter shows

Discography

• 1980 – Girl: Sheer Greed
• 1982 – Girl: Wasted Youth
• 1998 – Girl: Killing Time (* finally released)
• 1999 – Girl: Live at the Marquee
• 1999 – Girl: Live at the Exposition Hall, Osaka, Japan
• 2002 – Girl: My Number: The Anthology
• 1985 – The London Cowboys: Dance Crazy
• 1985 – The London Cowboys: Live at the Milkweg Amsterdam
• 1990 – Gerry Laffy: Money & the Magic
• 1990 – Highlander II European Soundtrack: song: Gerry Laffy "Shoot 'Em Down" from Money & The Magic
• 1992 – Sheer Greed: Sublime to the Ridiculous
• 1993 – Sheer Greed: Live in London (re-released 2012)
• 1994 – Gerry & Simon Laffy: Lying with Angels
• 1994 – Ultravox: Revelation (CD)
• 1997 – John Taylor, Feelings Are Good (CD)
• 1998 – John Taylor Terroristen, 5.30.98 (EP)
• 1998 – Roxy Music Tribute album: Dream Home Heartaches (CD)
• 1999 – John Taylor, Meltdown (recorded in 1992)
• 1999 – John Taylor, Juicy Jeans Promo Sampler (EP)
• 1999 – John Taylor, The Japan Album (CD)
• 2000 – John Taylor, Japanese (EP)
• 2000 – John Taylor, Live Cuts (CD)
• 2001 – John Taylor, Techno for Two (CD)
• 2001 – Gerry Laffy: All Day Long
• 2005 – Chris Chesney & Gerry Laffy – Diabolical Liberties
• 2006 – Girl – Live Bootlegs – Tokyo 1980
• 2006 – Girl – The Rare DVD Collection
• 2007 – Gerry Laffy – The Icebox Studio Sessions
• 2013 – Gerry Laffy – Just a Little Blurred + Girl – Live at The Greyhound 1982
• 2013 – Wrecked But Not Crushed + Girl Live in London 1980
• 2016 – Girl: Sheer Greed – Rock Candy re-release
• 2016 – Girl: Wasted Youth – Rock Candy re-release
• 2019 – Girl Sheer Greed – Live in Osaka – Cherry Red Records box set
• 2019 – Wasted Youth – 6 CD's including Wasted Youth, Killing Time and live releases – Cherry Red Records
  
  PHOTOS BY ROSS HALFIN AT HAMMERSMITH ODEON IN 1980