🔗 Share this article

If you inquire about the most punk gesture she's ever pulled off, Cathy Loughead doesn't hesitate: “I performed with my neck fractured in two spots. Not able to move freely, so I decorated the brace instead. It was a fantastic gig.”

Cathy is a member of a rising wave of women reinventing punk expression. While a upcoming television drama spotlighting female punk broadcasts this Sunday, it echoes a phenomenon already thriving well outside the screen.

Igniting the Flame in Leicester

This drive is felt most strongly in Leicester, where a 2022 project – currently known as the Riotous Collective – set things off. Loughead was there from the outset.

“In the early days, there weren't any all-women garage punk bands locally. In just twelve months, there seven emerged. Currently, twenty exist – and growing,” she explained. “Riotous chapters exist across the UK and globally, from Finland to Australia, laying down tracks, gigging, taking part in festivals.”

This explosion doesn't stop at Leicester. Throughout Britain, women are taking back punk – and altering the environment of live music in the process.

Revitalizing Music Venues

“Numerous music spots across the UK doing well thanks to women punk bands,” noted Cathy. “Rehearsal rooms are also benefiting, music instruction and mentoring, recording facilities. This is because women are occupying these positions now.”

Additionally, they are altering the crowd demographics. “Women-led bands are gigging regularly. They attract wider audience variety – attendees who consider these spaces as secure, as for them,” she added.

A Rebellion-Driven Phenomenon

A program director, programme director at Youth Music, commented that the surge was predictable. “Women have been sold a dream of equality. But gender-based violence is at epidemic levels, the far right are manipulating women to promote bigotry, and we're gaslit over subjects including hormonal changes. Ladies are resisting – via music.”

Another industry voice, from the Music Venue Trust, sees the movement reshaping regional performance cultures. “We're seeing broader punk communities and they're integrating with community music networks, with independent spaces scheduling diverse lineups and creating more secure, more welcoming spaces.”

Mainstream Breakthroughs

In the coming weeks, Leicester will stage the first Riot Fest, a weekend festival including 25 women-led acts from the UK and Europe. Earlier this fall, Decolonise Fest in London celebrated punks of colour.

And the scene is gaining mainstream traction. A leading pair are on their maiden headline tour. The Lambrini Girls's initial release, Who Let the Dogs Out, reached number sixteen in the UK charts this year.

A Welsh band were nominated for the a prestigious Welsh honor. A Northern Irish group earned a local honor in last year. A band from Hull Wench appeared at a major event at Reading Festival.

This represents a trend originating from defiance. In an industry still dogged by sexism – where all-women acts remain underrepresented and performance spaces are facing widespread closures – women-led punk groups are creating something radical: a platform.

Timeless Punk

At 79, Viv Peto is testament that punk has no age limit. The Oxford-based percussionist in horMones punk band picked up her instrument only recently.

“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, ‘Who cares’/ Now is my chance!/ The stage is mine!/ At seventy-nine / And in my fucking prime.”

“I appreciate this influx of elder punk ladies,” she said. “I didn't get to rebel when I was younger, so I'm making up for it now. It's wonderful.”

Kala Subbuswamy from the Marlinas also said she hadn't been allowed to rebel as a teenager. “It's been important to be able to let it all out at this point in life.”

Another artist, who has traveled internationally with various bands, also views it as therapeutic. “It's a way to vent irritation: feeling unseen in motherhood, at an advanced age.”

The Liberation of Performance

Similar feelings motivated Dina Gajjar to establish a group. “Standing on stage is a release you didn't know you needed. Females are instructed to be obedient. Punk rejects that. It's loud, it's flawed. This implies, when bad things happen, I say to myself: ‘I should create music from that!’”

Yet, Abi Masih, a percussionist, remarked the punk lady is every woman: “We are typical, career-oriented, brilliant women who like challenging norms,” she explained.

Another voice, of the act the band, agreed. “Females were the first rebels. We needed to break barriers to be heard. We continue to! That fierceness is part of us – it appears primal, primal. We are incredible!” she exclaimed.

Defying Stereotypes

Not every band fits the stereotype. Band members, part of The Misfit Sisters, aim to surprise audiences.

“We rarely mention age-related topics or curse frequently,” commented one. Her partner added: “Well, we do have a bit of a 'raah' moment in each track.” Ames laughed: “Correct. But we like to keep it interesting. Our last track was regarding bra discomfort.”