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

Helen Reddington

Ashgate Publishing, Ltd., 2007 - Music - 220 pages

In Britain during the late 1970s and early 1980s, a new phenomenon emerged, with female guitarists, bass-players, keyboard-players and drummers 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 partly by the enabling ethic of punk rock ('anybody can do it!') and partly by the impact of the Equal Opportunities Act. But just as suddenly as the phenomenon arrived, the interest in these musicians evaporated and other priorities became important to music audiences.
Helen Reddington investigates the social and commercial reasons for how these women became lost from the rock music record, and rewrites this period in history in the context of other periods when female musicians have been visible in previously male environments. Reddington draws on her own experience as bass-player in a punk band, thereby contributing a fresh perspective on the socio-political context of the punk scene and its relationship with the media. The book also features a wealth of original interview material with key protagonists, including the late John Peel, Geoff Travis, The Raincoats and the Poison Girls.

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

User Review  - Lindsay - Goodreads

Terrific, deftly personal academic writing. It was a library book and I copied down like 3/4 of the bibliography. I probably should have just Xeroxed it, it occurred to me much later. "I just found it ...

Contents

• A ladder through the glass ceiling?: 15
• Media gatekeepers and cultural intermediaries: 43
• The Brighton scene: 67
• Noise violence and femininity: 99
• The aftermath: 123
• Academic writing on subcultures: 147
• Conclusion: 171
• Appendix: 197
• Index: 211

Bibliographic information

• Title: “The” Lost Women of Rock Music: Female Musicians of the Punk Era; Ashgate popular and folk music series
• Author: Helen Reddington
• Edition: illustrated, reprint
• Publisher: Ashgate Publishing, Ltd., 2007
• ISBN: 0754657736, 9780754657736
• Length: 220 pages
• Subjects: Music / Genres & Styles / Punk; Music / History & Criticism