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If you inquire about the most punk act she's ever done, Cathy Loughead answers without pause: “I played a show with my neck broken in two places. Unable to bounce, so I decorated the brace instead. It was a fantastic gig.”

She is part of a expanding wave of women reinventing punk music. As a new television drama focusing on female punk airs this Sunday, it echoes a movement already flourishing well outside the TV.

Igniting the Flame in Leicester

This drive is most palpable in Leicester, where a local endeavor – now called the Riotous Collective – sparked the movement. She joined in from the start.

“At the launch, there were no all-women garage punk bands in the area. Within a year, there were seven. Today there are twenty – and counting,” she explained. “There are Riotous groups across the UK and globally, from Finland to Australia, laying down tracks, playing shows, featured in festival lineups.”

This surge extends beyond Leicester. Across the UK, women are reclaiming punk – and changing the environment of live music in the process.

Rejuvenating Performance Spaces

“Numerous music spots throughout Britain flourishing thanks to women punk bands,” she added. “The same goes for practice spaces, music education and guidance, production spaces. That's because women are filling these jobs now.”

Additionally, they are altering who shows up. “Bands led by women are performing weekly. They draw more diverse audiences – ones that see these spaces as protected, as for them,” she remarked.

A Rebellion-Driven Phenomenon

An industry expert, from a music youth organization, commented that the surge was predictable. “Ladies have been given a ideal of fairness. However, violence against women is at crisis proportions, the far right are manipulating women to peddle hate, and we're gaslit over topics such as menopause. Females are pushing back – via music.”

Another industry voice, from the Music Venue Trust, notes the phenomenon altering regional performance cultures. “We are observing varied punk movements and they're integrating with regional music systems, with local spots programming varied acts and establishing protected, friendlier places.”

Entering the Mainstream

In the coming weeks, Leicester will stage the inaugural Riot Fest, a multi-day celebration including 25 female-only groups from the UK and Europe. Recently, Decolonise Fest in London showcased BIPOC punk artists.

This movement is gaining mainstream traction. A leading pair are on their debut nationwide tour. Another rising group's debut album, their album title, hit No. 16 in the UK charts recently.

Panic Shack were shortlisted for the an upcoming music award. A Northern Irish group won the Northern Ireland Music Prize in recently. A band from Hull Wench performed at a notable festival at Reading Festival.

This is a wave born partly in protest. In an industry still dogged by sexism – where female-only bands remain underrepresented and live venues are facing widespread closures – female punk artists are forging a new path: opportunity.

Ageless Rebellion

At 79, a band member is proof that punk has no seniority barrier. The Oxford-based percussionist in horMones punk band picked up her instrument only twelve months back.

“At my age, all constraints are gone and I can follow my passions,” she declared. Her latest composition includes the chorus: “So yell, ‘Fuck it’/ It's my time!/ This platform is for me!/ At seventy-nine / And in my fucking prime.”

“I love this surge of older female punks,” she said. “I wasn't allowed to protest during my early years, so I'm doing it now. It's great.”

Another musician from her group also mentioned she was prevented to rebel as a teenager. “It has been significant to finally express myself at my current age.”

Another artist, who has toured globally with multiple groups, also views it as therapeutic. “It's about exorcising frustration: being invisible in motherhood, as a senior female.”

The Power of Release

Comparable emotions motivated Dina Gajjar to establish a group. “Standing on stage is a liberation you never realized you required. Females are instructed to be obedient. Punk defies this. It's noisy, it's flawed. As a result, when bad things happen, I think: ‘I'll write a song about that!’”

But Abi Masih, a percussionist, stated the female punk is every woman: “We are simply regular, professional, amazing ladies who enjoy subverting stereotypes,” she commented.

Maura Bite, of the Folkestone band She-Bite, agreed. “Ladies pioneered punk. We had to smash things up to gain attention. This persists today! That fierceness is in us – it seems timeless, primal. We're a bloody marvel!” she declared.

Challenging Expectations

Some acts fits the stereotype. Two musicians, involved in a band, strive to be unpredictable.

“We rarely mention the menopause or use profanity often,” noted Julie. The other interjected: “However, we feature a small rebellious part in all our music.” Ames laughed: “You're right. However, we prefer variety. Our most recent song was on the topic of underwear irritation.”