Originally called Double Cross,Β the Catholic GirlsΒ hailed from New Jersey and became the first all-female new wave group to be signed to a major label, recording a self-titled LP for MCA in 1982.
Donning traditional tartan school uniforms and utilising Catholicism-laced props on stage, the Catholic Girls were the first entertainers to perform in rosary beads and crosses (and even a St. Sebastian medallion), presenting a ‘good girls gone bad’ image long before Madonna appeared on the scene.
The Archdiocese in Rhode Island banned them from performing there because ofΒ God Made You for Me, a song suggesting that God might be a woman.
MCA signed the band and released their sole album but despite opening for high-profile artists likeΒ Tom Petty & The HeartbreakersΒ andΒ The Kinks,Β the Catholic GirlsΒ couldn’t find mainstream acceptance and eventually broke up.
Gail PetersenΒ became a novelist, writingΒ The Making of a MonsterΒ in 1993.
In 1999, the sole Catholic Girls album was reissued on CD and PetersenΒ andΒ Andersen revivedΒ the bandΒ with Jen Bond (drums) and Stephanie Koles (bass), releasingΒ Make Me BelieveΒ in 2002.
Gail Petersen
Vocals, guitar, synthesizer
Roxy Andersen
Guitar, vocals
Joanne Holland
Bass, guitar
Doreen Holmes
Drums