Women Make Noise

Julia Downes is a Research Associate in the School of Applied Social Sciences at Durham University where she is currently working on a longitudinal study into the impact of community domestic violence perpetrator programmes on the safety and freedom of women and children. Julia's ESRC-funded PhD critically examined contemporary queer feminist activist music cultures in the UK including riot grrrl, Ladyfest and grassroots collectives. She has lectured on popular music and society, feminist cultural activism and queer girl cultures at the University of Leeds, University of Derby, University of Birmingham and Durham University. Julia has been active in DIY queer feminist cultural activism for over ten years within Manifesta, Ladyfest Leeds, Ladies Rock UK, Star and Shadow Cinema and even clean hands cause damage and as a drummer in the bands The Holy Terror, Fake Tan, Vile Vile Creatures and the Physicists.

"Tales of race riots, intimidation and abuse by male music fans and management, and inspiring moments of in-your-face activism provide fascinating background to some of your favourite bands (and many you've never heard of). The greatest strength of Women Make Noise is that many of the contributors were themselves part of the bands they are chronicling. These women offer up inspiring, funny and enraging stories of being radical activists and prolific musicians in a world that worked constantly to push them down." - Gender Focus; "Women Make Noise is a wonderful collection of essays, taking the reader from the days of Sassy country and Western women carving out a place in a horrendously sexist fledgeling music industry, all the way up to the Riot Grrrl movement of the 90s and beyond. Each chapter is written with such boundless enthusiasm for the subject matter that it'll keep you enthralled until you drift slowly out of your comfort zone without even realising it. Read the book cover to cover, have your eyes opened, discover your next favourite band and perhaps think about the role of Women in music a little differently from now on." - Intuition, review by Owen Chambers; "Fascinating, diverse and, most importantly, inspiring - the title alone is as much a rallying cry as a joyous statement of the truth." - Zoe Street Howe, author of Typical Girls? The Story of The Slits, and other music titles; "It's exhilarating to learn about different generations of female musicians from such diverse, strong voices." - Kathleen Hanna, American singer, musician, artist, feminist activist, pioneer of the feminist punk riot grrrl movement; "A very important and timely contribution to the debates about "women in rock". All-girl bands have too often been written off as novelties, and this exciting book sheds new light on an under-researched area." - Lucy O'Brien, author of She Bop: The Definitive History of Women in Rock, Pop and Soul.

• Introducing the All-girl Band: 7Finding Comfort in Contradiction Julia Downes 1. Female Pioneers in Old-time and Country Music 17Victoria Yeulet 2. Puppets on a String? Girl Groups of the 50s and 60s 37Elizabeth K. Keenan 3. Truth Gotta Stand: 60s Garage, Beat and 70s Rock 62Sini Timonen 4. Prog Rock: A Fortress They Call 'The Industry' 83Jackie Parsons5. Feminist Musical Resistance in the 70s and 80s 108Deborah Withers6. You Create, We Destroy:Punk Women 153Jane Bradley7. Post-Punk: Raw, Female Sound 187Rhian E. Jones 8. Subversive Pleasure: Feminism in DIY Hardcore 215Bryony Beynon 9. Queercore: Fearless Women 238Val Rauzier10. Riot Grrrl, Ladyfest and Rock Camps for Girls 259Elizabeth K. Keenan and Sarah Dougher Epilogue: Pussy Riot and the Future 292Julia DownesNotes 297Bibliography 315