Backstage at the Ritz in lower Manhattan, Denise Dufort sits quietly in a corner of the tiny dressing room. Unassuming and perhaps a bit shy to boot, Dufort hardly gives off the impression that she’s the drummer in the all-female, heavy metal band, Girlschool. But a drummer she is, despite her sex and her diminutive size. Speaking with a strong English accent, her words move cautiously out of her mouth. “I don’t usually speak with journalists,” she says. “Kelly Johnson and Kim McAuliffe take care of those things, you see. I hope I give you the right answers to the questions you ask.” The questions stem primarily from a basic one, namely, what’s a girl like her doing behind a drumkit in a heavy metal band—one that’s not afraid to crank up the volume and more than anxious to let it rock. Dufort is one of a growing number of […]

November 1984 Issue