🔗 Share this article

When asked about the most punk thing she's ever pulled off, Cathy Loughead responds instantly: “I took the stage with my neck fractured in two spots. I couldn't jump around, so I embellished the brace instead. That was an amazing performance.”

Cathy is a member of a rising wave of women transforming punk music. As a upcoming television drama highlighting female punk broadcasts this Sunday, it mirrors a phenomenon already thriving well past the television.

Igniting the Flame in Leicester

This energy is most intense in Leicester, where a local endeavor – currently known as the Riotous Collective – set things off. Cathy participated from the outset.

“At the launch, there were no all-women garage punk bands locally. In just twelve months, there were seven. Now there are 20 – and growing,” she stated. “Collective branches operate around the United Kingdom and worldwide, from Finland to Australia, recording, playing shows, featured in festival lineups.”

This explosion extends beyond Leicester. Around the United Kingdom, women are reclaiming punk – and transforming the environment of live music simultaneously.

Revitalizing Music Venues

“Various performance spaces throughout Britain doing well due to women punk bands,” said Loughead. “So are rehearsal studios, music education and guidance, studio environments. This is because women are occupying these positions now.”

They're also changing who shows up. “Women-led bands are performing weekly. They're bringing in wider audience variety – attendees who consider these spaces as safe, as belonging to them,” she continued.

A Rebellion-Driven Phenomenon

Carol Reid, involved in music education, said the rise is no surprise. “Women have been sold a dream of equality. But gender-based violence is at alarming rates, radical factions are using women to spread intolerance, and we're manipulated over topics such as menopause. Ladies are resisting – through music.”

Toni Coe-Brooker, from the Music Venue Trust, notes the phenomenon altering regional performance cultures. “There is a noticeable increase in broader punk communities and they're integrating with local music ecosystems, with grassroots venues booking more inclusive bills and establishing protected, more welcoming spaces.”

Gaining Wider Recognition

Later this month, Leicester will present the first Riot Fest, a weekend festival showcasing 25 female-only groups from the UK and Europe. Recently, Decolonise Fest in London honored BIPOC punk artists.

And the scene is entering popular culture. A leading pair are on their maiden headline tour. The Lambrini Girls's initial release, their album title, reached number sixteen in the UK charts lately.

Panic Shack were shortlisted for the a prestigious Welsh honor. A Northern Irish group earned a local honor in recently. Recent artists Wench appeared at a major event at Reading Festival.

This represents a trend originating from defiance. Within a sector still plagued by sexism – where all-women acts remain less visible and music spots are facing widespread closures – female punk bands are creating something radical: space.

No Age Limit

At 79, Viv Peto is proof that punk has no age limit. From Oxford washboard player in horMones punk band picked up her instrument only twelve months back.

“Now I'm old, restrictions have vanished and I can do what I like,” she declared. One of her recent songs contains the lines: “So shout out, ‘Fuck it’/ This is my moment!/ This platform is for me!/ I am seventy-nine / And in my fucking prime.”

“I appreciate this influx of senior women punks,” she commented. “I didn't get to rebel during my early years, so I'm making up for it now. It's fantastic.”

Another musician from her group also noted she couldn't to rebel as a teenager. “It's been really major to be able to let it all out at my current age.”

Another artist, who has traveled internationally with different acts, also views it as therapeutic. “It's a way to vent irritation: being invisible as a parent, as an older woman.”

The Liberation of Performance

That same frustration inspired Dina Gajjar to form Burnt Sugar. “Performing live is a release you never realized you required. Women are trained to be obedient. Punk isn't. It's raucous, it's raw. It means, when bad things happen, I think: ‘I'll write a song about that!’”

But Abi Masih, drummer for the Flea Bagz, stated the female punk is every woman: “We are typical, career-oriented, talented females who enjoy subverting stereotypes,” she explained.

Another voice, of the Folkestone band She-Bite, agreed. “Ladies pioneered punk. We were forced to disrupt to get noticed. We continue to! That rebellious spirit is within us – it feels ancient, elemental. We are incredible!” she exclaimed.

Challenging Expectations

Not all groups conform to expectations. Julie Ames and Jackie O'Malley, involved in a band, try to keep things unexpected.

“We rarely mention age-related topics or swear much,” said Ames. Her partner added: “However, we feature a small rebellious part in each track.” She smiled: “Correct. Yet, we aim for diversity. The latest piece was on the topic of underwear irritation.”