The Reynolds Girls were a British dance-pop duo composed of sisters Linda (born in 1970) and Aisling Reynolds (born in 1972). They are best known for their hit single "I'd Rather Jack", produced by Stock Aitken Waterman, which achieved success across Europe in 1989.
Early life
The sisters grew up in Litherland, a suburb of Sefton, Liverpool, and were of Irish descent. The duo's younger sister, Debbie, played the original Katie Rogers, in Brookside, from 1987 to 1989.
1989: the single produced by SAW
Background and lyrics
The sisters signed to the PWL record label after giving Pete Waterman a demo tape,
The song started out as a response to music critics who ignored the younger pop acts in the UK at the time, and to radio DJs who continued to play older bands on their playlists rather than Stock Aitken Waterman songs. number 6 in Ireland, number 6 in Finland, number 8 in the Netherlands, number 7 in the Flanders region of Belgium, and number 43 in Australia. The single also reached a peak of number 24 on the Eurochart Hot 100.
Impact and legacy
In a public poll conducted by Channel 4 in 2003, "I'd Rather Jack" was voted number 91 in a list of the 100 Worst Pop Records of All Time, and has been called "the beginning of the end for Stock Aitken Waterman." In 2021, British magazine Classic Pop ranked the song number 38 in their list of 'Top 40 Stock Aitken Waterman songs', presented the song a "pure-pop apes Chicago house in a track squarely aimed at the teen market. [...] A bubbling, squelchy momentum carries the tune skywards as the two jettison music's old guard". In 2023, Alexis Petridis of The Guardian listed the song" at number 20 in his "Stock Aitken Waterman's 20 greatest songs – ranked!", adding: "Not a great record, but as a mad act of provocation designed to upset as many people as possible in three minutes, "I'd Rather Jack"... is unbeatable."
After the success
After their brief success in 1989 with "I'd Rather Jack", The Reynolds Girls had a public falling out with Pete Waterman, who accused them of being difficult. It is unknown what happened to them after that and they could not be traced for a 2012 PWL reunion concert.
In the 1990's, Linda Reynolds sang in the band "Hype", which made recordings and videos. The song "What you wanna do to me?" was played in the UK clubs.
In 2013, ITV started a search for the sisters, so they could appear in a commemorative documentary about Stock, Aitken and Waterman. As of 2026, their whereabouts remain unknown.
Discography
Singles
{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center;"
|+ List of singles, with selected chart positions
! scope="col" rowspan="2"| Title
! scope="col" rowspan="2"| Year
! scope="col" colspan="7"| Peak chart positions
|-
! scope="col" style="width:3em;font-size:90%;"| UK<br />
|-
! scope="row"| "I'd Rather Jack"
| rowspan="2"| 1989
| 8 || 43 || 7 || 6 || 6 || 8 || 6
|-
! scope="row"| "Get Real"