🔗 Share this article

If you inquire about the most punk thing she's ever pulled off, Cathy Loughead answers without pause: “I took the stage with my neck injured in two locations. I couldn't jump around, so I bedazzled the brace instead. That show was incredible.”

Cathy is a member of a growing wave of women redefining punk culture. Although a recent television drama focusing on female punk premieres this Sunday, it reflects a scene already thriving well past the screen.

The Spark in Leicester

This drive is most intense in Leicester, where a 2022 project – now called the Riotous Collective – lit the fuse. Cathy participated from the start.

“When we started, there existed zero all-women garage punk bands locally. In just twelve months, there were seven. Now there are 20 – and growing,” she remarked. “Riotous chapters exist across the UK and worldwide, from Finland to Australia, recording, playing shows, taking part in festivals.”

This explosion isn't limited to Leicester. Throughout Britain, women are taking back punk – and transforming the scene of live music along the way.

Breathing Life into Venues

“There are music venues around the United Kingdom thriving because of women punk bands,” she added. “The same goes for practice spaces, music instruction and mentoring, recording facilities. That's because women are filling these jobs now.”

Additionally, they are altering who shows up. “Bands led by women are gigging regularly. They draw wider audience variety – ones that see these spaces as secure, as for them,” she continued.

A Movement Born of Protest

Carol Reid, from a music youth organization, said the rise is no surprise. “Females have been promised a ideal of fairness. But gender-based violence is at crisis proportions, radical factions are exploiting females to promote bigotry, and we're manipulated over subjects including hormonal changes. Females are pushing back – by means of songs.”

Another industry voice, from the Music Venue Trust, notes the phenomenon altering community music environments. “We're seeing varied punk movements and they're integrating with regional music systems, with independent spaces programming varied acts and building safer, friendlier places.”

Mainstream Breakthroughs

Later this month, Leicester will present the first Riot Fest, a multi-day celebration featuring 25 all-women bands from the UK and Europe. Recently, a London festival in London honored punks of colour.

And the scene is gaining mainstream traction. One prominent duo are on their debut nationwide tour. Another rising group's first record, Who Let the Dogs Out, hit No. 16 in the UK charts this year.

A Welsh band were nominated for the a prestigious Welsh honor. Another act secured a regional music award in last year. Recent artists Wench performed at a notable festival at Reading Festival.

This represents a trend rooted in resistance. Across a field still plagued by sexism – where women-led groups remain lacking presence and performance spaces are shutting down rapidly – women-led punk groups are creating something radical: space.

Ageless Rebellion

In her late seventies, Viv Peto is testament that punk has no age limit. Based in Oxford musician in her band picked up her instrument only twelve months back.

“Now I'm old, all constraints are gone and I can do what I like,” she stated. Her latest composition includes the chorus: “So yell, ‘Forget it’/ It's my time!/ I own the stage!/ I am seventy-nine / And at my absolute best.”

“I appreciate this influx of senior women punks,” she remarked. “I wasn't allowed to protest when I was younger, so I'm rebelling currently. It's great.”

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 my current age.”

A performer, who has toured globally with multiple groups, also views it as therapeutic. “It's about exorcising frustration: feeling unseen as a parent, at an advanced age.”

The Freedom of Expression

Comparable emotions led Dina Gajjar to create her band. “Being on stage is a release you didn't know you needed. Girls are taught to be compliant. Punk defies this. It's raucous, it's imperfect. It means, when bad things happen, I say to myself: ‘I'll write a song about that!’”

Yet, Abi Masih, drummer for the Flea Bagz, remarked the punk lady is every woman: “We are simply regular, career-oriented, amazing ladies who enjoy subverting stereotypes,” she explained.

Another voice, of her group the band, shared the sentiment. “Women were the original punks. We were forced to disrupt to be heard. This persists today! That fierceness is in us – it seems timeless, elemental. We are incredible!” she declared.

Challenging Expectations

Not every band match the typical image. Julie Ames and Jackie O'Malley, involved in a band, aim to surprise audiences.

“We don't shout about the menopause or swear much,” said Ames. Her partner added: “Well, we do have a brief explosive section in every song.” Ames laughed: “Correct. But we like to keep it interesting. The latest piece was regarding bra discomfort.”