🔗 Share this article

If you inquire about the most punk act she's ever pulled off, Cathy Loughead responds instantly: “I played a show with my neck fractured in two spots. Unable to bounce, so I decorated the brace instead. It was a fantastic gig.”

Loughead belongs to a growing wave of women reinventing punk music. Although a new television drama focusing on female punk premieres this Sunday, it echoes a movement already thriving well past the television.

Igniting the Flame in Leicester

This energy is most palpable in Leicester, where a recent initiative – now called the Riotous Collective – sparked the movement. Loughead was there from the start.

“In the early days, there weren't any all-women garage punk bands locally. In just twelve months, there we had seven. Currently, twenty exist – and growing,” she explained. “Collective branches operate around the United Kingdom and worldwide, from Finland to Australia, recording, gigging, appearing at festivals.”

This boom isn't limited to Leicester. Throughout Britain, women are reclaiming punk – and changing the landscape of live music along the way.

Breathing Life into Venues

“Numerous music spots throughout Britain thriving due to women punk bands,” said Loughead. “So are rehearsal studios, music teaching and coaching, recording facilities. This is because women are occupying these positions now.”

They are also transforming who shows up. “Bands led by women are performing weekly. They attract broader crowd mixes – people who view these spaces as secure, as for them,” she added.

A Rebellion-Driven Phenomenon

An industry expert, involved in music education, commented that the surge was predictable. “Females have been promised a vision of parity. But gender-based violence is at crisis proportions, radical factions are manipulating women to peddle hate, and we're manipulated over issues like the menopause. Females are pushing back – by means of songs.”

Toni Coe-Brooker, from the Music Venue Trust, observes the trend transforming local music scenes. “There is a noticeable increase in more diverse punk scenes and they're feeding into community music networks, with local spots programming varied acts and building safer, more inviting environments.”

Entering the Mainstream

In the coming weeks, Leicester will stage the debut Riot Fest, a three-day event showcasing 25 female-only groups from the UK and Europe. Earlier this fall, a London festival in London showcased punks of colour.

And the scene is edging into the mainstream. The Nova Twins are on their maiden headline tour. A fresh act's initial release, their record name, hit No. 16 in the UK charts lately.

A Welsh band were in the running for the 2025 Welsh Music Prize. Problem Patterns earned a local honor in recently. Recent artists Wench played the BBC Introducing stage at Reading Festival.

This represents a trend born partly in protest. Within a sector still dogged by sexism – where female-only bands remain underrepresented and live venues are closing at crisis levels – female punk bands are establishing something bold: space.

Ageless Rebellion

In her late seventies, a band member is testament that punk has no expiration date. The Oxford-based washboard player in a punk group picked up her instrument only recently.

“Now I'm old, there are no limits and I can pursue my interests,” she said. One of her recent songs contains the lines: “So yell, ‘Forget it’/ It's my time!/ I own the stage!/ I'm 79 / And in my top form.”

“I adore this wave of older female punks,” she said. “I couldn't resist in my youth, so I'm doing it now. It's wonderful.”

Kala Subbuswamy from the Marlinas also noted she couldn't to rebel as a teenager. “It's been really major to release these feelings at my current age.”

Another artist, who has traveled internationally with multiple groups, also sees it as catharsis. “It involves expelling anger: feeling unseen as a parent, at an advanced age.”

The Liberation of Performance

Similar feelings inspired Dina Gajjar to establish a group. “Performing live is a liberation you were unaware you lacked. Women are trained to be obedient. Punk defies this. It's loud, it's raw. It means, when bad things happen, I consider: ‘I'll write a song about that!’”

However, Abi Masih, a band member, stated the female punk is any woman: “We are typical, working, brilliant women who love breaking molds,” she commented.

Another voice, of her group the band, concurred. “Women were the original punks. We needed to break barriers to get noticed. We still do! That rebellious spirit is in us – it feels ancient, elemental. We are amazing!” she stated.

Defying Stereotypes

Not all groups fits the stereotype. Two musicians, from a particular group, strive to be unpredictable.

“We don't shout about certain subjects or swear much,” commented one. O'Malley cut in: “However, we feature a small rebellious part in every song.” She smiled: “You're right. But we like to keep it interesting. Our most recent song was regarding bra discomfort.”