The Lost Women of Rock Music: Female Musicians of the Punk Era

Helen Reddington [+–]

University of East London

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Helen Reddington is Senior Lecturer in Music Production at the University of East London, UK.

For background and an interview with the author click here

For a review and an interview with the author at kitmonsters.com click here

For an interview with the author at Boxx Music Magazine click here

In the late 1970s and early 1980s a new phenomenon emerged in UK popular music – female guitarists, bass-players, keyboard-players and drummers began playing in bands. Before this time, women’s presence in rock bands, with a few notable exceptions, had always been as vocalists. This sudden influx of female musicians into the male domain of rock music was brought about by the enabling ethic of punk rock (“anybody can do it!”) and by the impact of the Sex Discrimination Act. With the demise of the punk scene, interest in these musicians evaporated and other priorities became important to music audiences. This book investigates the social and commercial reasons why these women became lost from the rock music record, and rewrites this period of popular music history.

In addition to a wealth of original interview material with key protagonists, including the late John Peel, Geoff Travis, The Raincoats and Poison Girls, this new edition has been updated to include interviews with members of Birmingham-based band The Au Pairs, Leeds-based band Delta 5 and Viv Albertine of The Slits. Lucy Whitman (aka Lucy Toothpaste), who started the fanzine Jolt and later wrote for Spare Rib, also provides enlightening words on the relationship between female punk band members and feminism. The author also draws on her own experience as bass-player in a punk band.

Series: Studies in Popular Music

Prelims

Acknowledgments vii – vii

Helen Reddington

University of East London

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Helen Reddington is Senior Lecturer in Music Production at the University of East London, UK.

General Editor’s Preface viii – viii

Derek Scott

University of Leeds

Introduction [+–] 1 – 13

Helen Reddington

University of East London

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Helen Reddington is Senior Lecturer in Music Production at the University of East London, UK.

Introduction

A Ladder Through the Glass Ceiling? [+–] 14 – 47

Helen Reddington

University of East London

View Website

Helen Reddington is Senior Lecturer in Music Production at the University of East London, UK.

About women musicians

Media Gatekeepers and Cultural Intermediaries [+–] 48 – 75

Helen Reddington

University of East London

View Website

Helen Reddington is Senior Lecturer in Music Production at the University of East London, UK.

This chapter will examine the unusual engagement at this time of these gatekeepers and intermediaries, with the musicians, with reference to the weekly music press, small record labels and the John Peel Show.

The Brighton Scene [+–] 76 – 107

Helen Reddington

University of East London

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Helen Reddington is Senior Lecturer in Music Production at the University of East London, UK.

The aim in this chapter is to describe the music environment in a town that is not normally regarded as a “music city,” but which had, and still has, a thriving music scene.

Noise, Violence and Femininity [+–] 108 – 130

Helen Reddington

University of East London

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Helen Reddington is Senior Lecturer in Music Production at the University of East London, UK.

In this chapter, I will explore the ways in which this subcultural noise has manifested itself in rock music, and how this noise and music are identified with maleness to such an extent that women have difficulty in using the “enemy language” in a coherent way in order to externalize their inner noise.

The Aftermath [+–] 131 – 156

Helen Reddington

University of East London

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Helen Reddington is Senior Lecturer in Music Production at the University of East London, UK.

The aftermath

The Social Context: Academic Writing on Subcultures, the Rock Press and “Women in Music” [+–] 157 – 177

Helen Reddington

University of East London

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Helen Reddington is Senior Lecturer in Music Production at the University of East London, UK.

I will start this chapter with an exploration of attitudes expressed by writers in various relevant fields who explore youth subcultures, deviance and moral panics – the rules and actions of young people that differentiate them from their elders, and the attempts by their elders to define, control and assimilate these differences, generation upon generation; these studies focus almost completely on the activities of young men, probably because the writers, as men, can identify with the rites of passage they are documenting.

Conclusion [+–] 178 – 201

Helen Reddington

University of East London

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Helen Reddington is Senior Lecturer in Music Production at the University of East London, UK.

Conclusion

Notes

Notes [+–] 202 – 241

Helen Reddington

University of East London

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Helen Reddington is Senior Lecturer in Music Production at the University of East London, UK.

Notes

Appendix

Appendix: List of Interviewees [+–] 242 – 242

Helen Reddington

University of East London

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Helen Reddington is Senior Lecturer in Music Production at the University of East London, UK.

List of Interviewees

Bibliography

Bibliography [+–] 243 – 253

Helen Reddington

University of East London

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Helen Reddington is Senior Lecturer in Music Production at the University of East London, UK.

bibliography

Index

Index [+–] 254 – 263

Helen Reddington

University of East London

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Helen Reddington is Senior Lecturer in Music Production at the University of East London, UK.

Index

Reviews

This is a major work of sociocultural importance and tells a story that has been ignored for too long. Bands like The Raincoats and The Slits are too often relegated to footnotes in the better known stories of the Sex Pistols and The Clash, and as both bands, and many of their other female contemporaries stayed far more true to their idealism and cultural mores than did many of their male counterparts, this is just not fair. Well done Helen for such an important work.
Jon Downes, Gonzo Daily website

An important study of punk in its socio-political and commercial contexts
Mojo, August 2012

A fascinating social and cultural history.
Popular Music

Reddington’s text is an important contribution to the scholarship on the role of women in music, and the inclusion of a woman’s voice in popular social theory. Some of the best moments of this text are Reddington’s confrontation with big-time social theorists such as Dick Hebdige, Simon Frith, Theodor Adorno, and John Savage who excluded and discounted women’s contribution to music and social history.
PopMatters

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Books and Journals in Humanities, Social Science and Performing Arts

The Lost Women of Rock Music

Female Musicians of the Punk Era
(Second Edition)

Helen Reddington [+–]

University of East London

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Table of Contents

Reviews

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Subjects

The Lost Women of Rock Music

Female Musicians of the Punk Era(Second Edition)

Helen Reddington [+–]

University of East London

View Website

Table of Contents

Reviews

Related Journal

Related Interest

Search Equinox

Subjects

Female Musicians of the Punk Era
(Second Edition)