Lipstick

"Lipstick" by Suzi Quatro

Picture the turn of the 1980s, when one of rock's pioneering women was continuing a career that had helped clear the path for countless female artists. Suzi Quatro had broken ground in the 1970s as a leather-clad, bass-playing rock and roll force, a genuine trailblazer in a male-dominated genre. This punchy single found her carrying that tough, energetic rock spirit into a new decade, a spirited track from an artist who had always done things her own way.

A Rock and Roll Trailblazer

Suzi Quatro emerged in the early 1970s as a rarity, a woman fronting a hard-driving rock band and playing bass with genuine attitude. She was a pioneering figure who inspired later generations of female rock musicians, proving that a woman could command a rock stage on her own terms. Her tough, glam-rock-influenced sound and fearless image made her an icon, particularly in Britain and Europe. This single came as she carried that pioneering spirit into the 1980s.

An Energetic Rock Single

The track delivers the punchy, attitude-filled rock and roll that Quatro had made her signature, built on driving rhythm and her confident, gritty vocal. The arrangement keeps things lean and energetic, in the tradition of the no-nonsense rock she had always championed. It reflected her enduring commitment to straightforward, hard-hitting rock even as musical fashions shifted around her. The result is a spirited example of her trademark style.

A Run on the Hot 100

On the American chart, the single made a respectable showing. It debuted on the Billboard Hot 100 at number 90 on January 24, 1981, then climbed steadily over the following weeks. It reached its peak of number 51 on February 28, 1981. The song spent nine weeks on the Hot 100, a solid run that reflected her continued appeal, even though her commercial success in America never quite matched the heights she reached across the Atlantic.

Breaking Down Barriers

It is difficult to overstate how unusual Suzi Quatro was when she first emerged. In the early 1970s, women in rock were overwhelmingly positioned as singers fronting bands written and played by men, rarely as instrumentalists and almost never as the tough, leather-clad leaders of hard-driving rock and roll. Quatro shattered that mold. She played bass, she commanded the stage with genuine swagger, and she presented an image of female rock power that simply had not existed in the mainstream before. That trailblazing example proved enormously influential, inspiring a generation of women who would go on to pick up instruments and front their own bands. This single, arriving as she carried that pioneering spirit into the 1980s, is a reminder of the path she helped clear. The toughness in the music was inseparable from the barriers she was breaking, a sound that embodied her insistence on belonging in a world that had not expected her to arrive at all.

An Enduring Influence

This single is one chapter in a long and influential career. Suzi Quatro's trailblazing example opened doors for women in rock, and her influence has been acknowledged by many artists who followed. She continued performing and recording for decades, a beloved figure whose pioneering role earned lasting respect. Recordings like this one show the tough, energetic spirit that made her such an important figure in rock history.

Give it a listen for a blast of no-nonsense rock and roll from a genuine trailblazer. It is the sound of a true pioneer who never once stopped doing exactly what she wanted, precisely how and exactly when she alone wanted to do it, and never once on anyone else's terms. That fearless independence was the heart of everything she ever did, and it rings out through every single note of this spirited, attitude-filled rock and roll track.

"Lipstick" — Suzi Quatro's singular moment on the 1980s charts.