🔗 Share this article

Upon being questioned about the most punk thing she's ever done, Cathy Loughead doesn't hesitate: “I took the stage with my neck broken in two places. Not able to move freely, so I decorated the brace instead. That was an amazing performance.”

Cathy is a member of a expanding wave of women transforming punk expression. Although a recent television drama highlighting female punk broadcasts this Sunday, it echoes a phenomenon already flourishing well outside the television.

Igniting the Flame in Leicester

This energy is felt most strongly in Leicester, where a recent initiative – currently known as the Riotous Collective – sparked the movement. Loughead was there from the start.

“When we started, there existed zero all-women garage punk bands in the area. Within a year, there seven emerged. Today there are twenty – and growing,” she explained. “Collective branches operate around the United Kingdom and worldwide, from Finland to Australia, laying down tracks, gigging, taking part in festivals.”

This explosion isn't limited to Leicester. Around the United Kingdom, women are reclaiming punk – and changing the scene of live music simultaneously.

Revitalizing Music Venues

“Numerous music spots throughout Britain doing well because of women punk bands,” noted Cathy. “So are rehearsal studios, music education and guidance, studio environments. This is because women are occupying these positions now.”

They are also transforming the crowd demographics. “Female-fronted groups are gigging regularly. They attract wider audience variety – ones that see these spaces as secure, as intended for them,” she remarked.

An Uprising-Inspired Wave

Carol Reid, programme director at Youth Music, said the rise is no surprise. “Ladies have been given a ideal of fairness. Yet, misogynistic aggression is at epidemic levels, radical factions are manipulating women to promote bigotry, and we're manipulated over topics such as menopause. Females are pushing back – through music.”

A music venue advocate, from the Music Venue Trust, sees the movement reshaping local music scenes. “We're seeing varied punk movements and they're integrating with community music networks, with grassroots venues scheduling diverse lineups and building safer, more inviting environments.”

Mainstream Breakthroughs

Later this month, Leicester will stage the inaugural Riot Fest, a multi-day celebration showcasing 25 female-only groups from the UK and Europe. Recently, a London festival in London celebrated BIPOC punk artists.

The phenomenon is entering popular culture. A leading pair are on their first headline UK tour. The Lambrini Girls's debut album, their record name, reached number sixteen in the UK charts recently.

Panic Shack were shortlisted for the an upcoming music award. Problem Patterns won the Northern Ireland Music Prize in recently. Recent artists Wench performed at a notable festival at Reading Festival.

This represents a trend originating from defiance. Within a sector still dogged by gender discrimination – where women-led groups remain underrepresented and live venues are shutting down rapidly – female punk artists are creating something radical: opportunity.

Ageless Rebellion

In her late seventies, a band member is testament that punk has no seniority barrier. The Oxford-based washboard player in a punk group began performing only twelve months back.

“As an older person, restrictions have vanished and I can do what I like,” she declared. A track she recently wrote features the refrain: “So shout out, ‘Fuck it’/ It's my time!/ I own the stage!/ I am seventy-nine / And in my top form.”

“I adore this wave of senior women punks,” she said. “I didn't get to rebel in my youth, so I'm making up for it now. It's wonderful.”

Another musician from the Marlinas also mentioned she was prevented to rebel as a teenager. “It has been significant to release these feelings at this point in life.”

Chrissie Riedhofer, who has toured globally with various bands, also sees it as catharsis. “It's about exorcising frustration: feeling unseen as a parent, as an older woman.”

The Power of Release

That same frustration led Dina Gajjar to create her band. “Standing on stage is a liberation you didn't know you needed. Girls are taught to be compliant. Punk defies this. It's noisy, it's imperfect. It means, when bad things happen, I think: ‘I should create music from that!’”

But Abi Masih, a band member, said the punk woman is any woman: “We're just ordinary, career-oriented, brilliant women who love breaking molds,” she explained.

Another voice, of the Folkestone band the band, concurred. “Females were the first rebels. We had to smash things up to get noticed. We still do! That rebellious spirit is within us – it appears primal, primal. We're a bloody marvel!” she declared.

Breaking Molds

Some acts fits the stereotype. Julie Ames and Jackie O'Malley, from a particular group, try to keep things unexpected.

“We don't shout about age-related topics or use profanity often,” said Ames. O'Malley cut in: “Actually, we include a small rebellious part in every song.” Ames laughed: “You're right. But we like to keep it interesting. The latest piece was about how uncomfortable bras are.”