Fans Concerned as Video Shows Girlschool’s Kim McAuliffe Struggling to Stand During a Concert

The NWOBHM heroines Girlschool are still in the midst of the European portion of their farewell tour where they’re touring with fellow NWOBHM legends Saxon. But, as great and vital as Girlschool has always been, fans are becoming concerned considering that a troubling video has surfaced of guitarist and lead vocalist Kim McAuliffe struggling to stay on her feet at a recent concert in Örebro, Sweden.

The video that surfaced on YouTube from someone named Johan Jansson shows McAuliffe playing and clearly struggling to stay on her feet, often using the microphone stand for support and stumbling when she can’t use the stand to keep her upright. In the end, she heads to the back of the stage and sits down on an amp while a tech swaps out her guitar. Strangely, her bandmates seem to either not notice or are completely unsurprised at their colleague’s struggles.

The YouTube video comments are full of people speculating about what was causing McAuliffe to struggle so much to stay on her feet, and a lot of people speculated that it could be drugs or alcohol. I don’t understand why people see a person struggling and rush to find explanations that they can use to blame the person for their own struggles. Not only do we not know if it’s due to drugs or alcohol, I don’t understand what gives anyone the right to be that judgemental even if it is. But, even still, it could just as easily be a health problem.

Regardless of whether it’s intoxication or injury or illness of some sort, if this is an ongoing problem, it’s probably for the best that Girlschool is calling it quits. They’re music legends who deserve respect, but if their frontwoman has a hard time staying on her feet for whatever reason, then maybe it’s the right time for McAuliffe to have at least a break from live performing. We’d like to wish McAuliffe the best of health and hope that she can overcome whatever difficulty she’s facing right now.