The band's name came from a line in their song "Warm Girls", which first appeared on a 1980 single coupled with "Getting Nowhere Fast" on Record Records (catalogue number RR1). The song reached number 9 in the UK indie charts, and their second single, "Politics" c/w "It's Fashion!" (Record Records RR2) reached number 12 later that year. . After a third single, 1981's "Go for Gold" c/w "I'm Beautiful Now" on Happy Birthday Records (UR4), the group released an album, Pleasure, that year which came complete with a "Pleasure Bag" comprising of stickers and postcards. It was also the first album to be released on the Happy Birthday label (catalogue number RULP1) and reached number 2 on the Indie chart. Their fourth and final single "Fast Boyfriends" c/w "This Train" (Happy Birthday Records UR6) was released that same year.
In 1987, their 1981 John Peel Sessions' 12" was released (Strange Fruit Records SFPS029) featuring "China Blue" and "This Train" on the A-side and a medley of other tracks entitled "Getting Beautiful Warm Gold Fast From Nowhere" on the B-side.
Pleasure
Girls At Our Best! Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
3 4 Head for Fun-land for a treasure tour.
1 2 go to Pleasure-City Avenue.
3 4 Head for Fun-land for a treasure tour.
Decorate the walls and doors
It makes them all look nice.
Take the cat out for a walk
And help it kill the mice.
We are good as gold,
We won't grow old
When we're told.
Burn and throw and walking slow
And sitting in the street.
Swim and splash and eating trash
And chewing on some treat.
This is heaven.
We will die of pleasure,
No measure
Of leisure.
Selfish and lazy,
Your rooms full of toys.
Stupid or idle, you're back with the boys.
Oh Daddy can't you see
You're as bad as me.
Take a free ride through the town,
We do it for a lark.
Holding hands with my best friend,
Don't have to wait till dark.
This is heaven.
We are good as gold,
We won't grow old
When we're told.
The lyrics to Girls At Our Best!'s song "Pleasure" present a vision of hedonism and carefree abandon, with the repeated refrain of "this is heaven" emphasizing the sense of escape and transcendence from everyday life. The first two lines of the song invite the listener to join in the pleasure-seeking, with the repetition of "1 2 go to Pleasure-City Avenue / 3 4 Head for Fun-land for a treasure tour" creating a chant-like rhythm that encourages participation. This is followed by images of decorating and taking the cat for a walk, which are presented as equally pleasurable activities. The lines "We are good as gold, We won't grow old / When we're told" suggest a rebellion against the social norms of aging and conformity, with pleasure as the antidote to mortality.
The second verse of the song introduces a note of criticism, with the lines "Selfish and lazy, Your rooms full of toys. / Stupid or idle, you're back with the boys" offering a scathing commentary on the indulgent lifestyle being celebrated in the song. The chorus of "this is heaven" takes on a more ironic tone in this context, as the pleasures of the idle rich are contrasted with the struggles of working-class life. The third verse introduces a note of nostalgia and sentimentality, with the image of "Holding hands with my best friend" evoking a sense of innocent joy that transcends age and time.
Overall, the lyrics to "Pleasure" offer a complex and multifaceted vision of pleasure and escape, combining images of hedonism, rebellion, criticism, and nostalgia in a single song.
Line by Line Meaning
1 2 go to Pleasure-city Avenue.
Let's go to a place where we can experience extreme pleasure.
3 4 Head for Fun-land for a treasure tour.
Let's go to a place where we can have fun and discover new things.
1 2 go to Pleasure-City Avenue.
Let's reiterate our desire to go to a pleasure-filled location.
3 4 Head for Fun-land for a treasure tour.
Let's reiterate our desire to have fun and discover new things.
Decorate the walls and doors
It makes them all look nice.
We can create a pleasing environment by decorating our surroundings.
Take the cat out for a walk
And help it kill the mice.
We can find pleasure in helping others, even if it involves taking out a pet to hunt.
This is heaven.
We are good as gold,
We won't grow old
When we're told.
Being in a pleasurable state of mind and youthfulness is heaven and we refuse to grow old and lose that feeling.
Burn and throw and walking slow
And sitting in the street.
We find pleasure in doing simple, carefree activities like burning things, throwing things, and relaxing outside.
Swim and splash and eating trash
And chewing on some treat.
We find pleasure in activities like swimming, playing in water, and indulging in simple snacks.
This is heaven.
We will die of pleasure,
No measure
Of leisure.
We will never tire of pleasure and we are willing to die from it. There is no limit to how much leisure we can have.
Selfish and lazy,
Your rooms full of toys.
Stupid or idle, you're back with the boys.
People may judge us for being self-centered, lazy, and surrounded by toys or hanging out with males, but we find pleasure in these things.
Oh Daddy can't you see
You're as bad as me.
We are unapologetic about our pursuit of pleasure and we think that our father shares these habits with us.
Take a free ride through the town,
We do it for a lark.
Holding hands with my best friend,
Don't have to wait till dark.
We find pleasure in taking a free ride and holding hands with our best friends publicly without any inhibitions.
This is heaven.
We are good as gold,
We won't grow old
When we're told.
We repeat that heaven is being in a pleasurable state of mind and youthfulness, and we won't listen to anyone that tells us otherwise.
Contributed by Xavier M. Suggest a correction in the comments below.