As the world throws its friendship bracelets at the feet of Taylor Swift and finds super-superlatives for each subsequent Beyoncé release, it’s easy to forget the battles of females in the music business are far from over.
Scotland has had its share of successful female musicians in the rock and pop arena. Annie Lennox, Sharleen Spiteri, Shirley Manson and more have fronted wildly successful bands but where are the actual bands – those bands of sisters with instruments and noise and attitude?
A new documentary, which closes this year’s Edinburgh International Film Festival, shows us there have been many and their experiences are equally inspiring and, in some cases, cautionary.
The film Since Yesterday: The Untold Story Of Scotland’s Girl Bands is co-directed by musician Carla J. Easton and Blair Young. Carla was part of a girl band TeenCanteen, which had a successful run in the 2010s.
The film spans 60 years, beginning with Edinburgh sisters The McKinleys. Sheila and Jeanette found themselves in Swinging London, on tour with The Beatles and sharing a stage with the Rolling Stones at Wembley Arena. Through the punk and post-punk of the 70s and 80s, were The Ettes, Sophisticated Boom Boom, which became His Latest Flame on the departure of Libby McArthur (yes, that one), Sunset Gun, and the Twinsets.
The most recognisable faces for a wider audience are those of Strawberry Switchblade. Their single Since Yesterday, which gives the film its name, reached number five in the UK charts in 1984, making it the only single to break the UK top 30 by a Scottish female group. They had huge success in Japan but the way it ended is a sad and all-too-familiar story in music.
“It was really important not to victimise anyone,” says Carla. “They have all had successful careers in their own way. Many musicians today would have been more than glad for their careers, particularly in the age of streaming. Bands had Peel Sessions and were featured in the NME – definitely success by today’s standards.
“But more so, it was great for me to meet them all and hearing the attitude of: ‘**** it let’s do it!’. I hadn’t realised just how much I had wanted to hear people like me say that and the hope is today’s musicians are inspired by it. There have been so many great documentaries about Scottish music but I hadn’t seen my own experience up there.”
In the 90s bands such as Lungleg, Hello Skinny, Sally Skull, Pink Kross and others were brought under the Riot Girl banner, reclaiming that word “girl”, which, Carla admits, is a problem for some.
“Some bands embrace it but others don’t. Using girl rather than woman – there is an element of infantilisation. Some of the bands set out to form a female band but for others it was just a case of getting together with mates and realising there were instruments kicking around and they just fancied having a go.”
But these were women rather than girls and that led to the realisation that, by dint of sheer biology, there could never be a level playing field. Bands did lose members when children came along, but it’s still shocking a band like The Hedrons could find a label would be reluctant to sign them, on the off-chance they might have children.
“I didn’t want the documentary to be a nostalgia fest. There has to be a point looking back all these bands and sharing their experiences. The fights that they had are still the fights that we have today.”
With that in mind, it’s important today’s organisations and the activists around music and music events are given their place.
“You will see that most of these bands came up through the DIY scene, and today it’s still that DIY scene that is providing the support and safe spaces.”
There is strength and inspiration in these stories from women, many of whom are still working in creative and adventurous careers.
“There are teachers, professors, visual artists, women who travel the world – still inspirational. It’s not only my responsibility to tell these stories, but hopefully the film will be a starting point for these and other stories to be told.”
Since Yesterday – The Untold Story of Scotland's Girl Bands has its world premiere at the Cameo Cinema on Wednesday, August 21. edfilmfest.org
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