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If you inquire about the most punk gesture she's ever accomplished, Cathy Loughead doesn't hesitate: “I took the stage with my neck broken in two places. Not able to move freely, so I decorated the brace instead. That show was incredible.”

She is part of a expanding wave of women redefining punk expression. While a new television drama highlighting female punk premieres this Sunday, it echoes a phenomenon already flourishing well outside the television.

The Spark in Leicester

This momentum is most palpable in Leicester, where a recent initiative – presently named the Riotous Collective – lit the fuse. Loughead was there from the beginning.

“When we started, there weren't any all-women garage punk bands locally. By the following year, there were seven. Today there are twenty – and growing,” she explained. “Riotous chapters exist throughout Britain and internationally, from Finland to Australia, laying down tracks, gigging, featured in festival lineups.”

This explosion doesn't stop at Leicester. Around the United Kingdom, women are repossessing punk – and altering the environment of live music in the process.

Rejuvenating Performance Spaces

“Various performance spaces across the UK flourishing thanks to women punk bands,” noted Cathy. “Rehearsal rooms are also benefiting, music teaching and coaching, production spaces. This is because women are occupying these positions now.”

Additionally, they are altering who shows up. “Women-led bands are performing weekly. They attract wider audience variety – people who view these spaces as protected, as intended for them,” she continued.

A Movement Born of Protest

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 epidemic levels, radical factions are manipulating women to spread intolerance, and we're manipulated over issues like the menopause. Women are fighting back – through music.”

A music venue advocate, from the Music Venue Trust, observes the trend transforming community music environments. “We're seeing broader punk communities and they're contributing to regional music systems, with grassroots venues booking more inclusive bills and establishing protected, more inviting environments.”

Gaining Wider Recognition

Soon, Leicester will stage the inaugural Riot Fest, a multi-day celebration showcasing 25 all-women bands from the UK and Europe. In September, a London festival in London honored ethnic minority punk musicians.

The phenomenon is edging into the mainstream. The Nova Twins are on their debut nationwide tour. A fresh act's initial release, their album title, hit No. 16 in the UK charts recently.

One group were in the running for the an upcoming music award. Another act won the Northern Ireland Music Prize in last year. A band from Hull Wench appeared at a major event at Reading Festival.

It's a movement born partly in protest. Across a field still affected by sexism – where women-led groups remain lacking presence and music spots are shutting down rapidly – women-led punk groups are creating something radical: space.

Timeless Punk

In her late seventies, a band member is testament that punk has no seniority barrier. The Oxford-based percussionist in her band started playing just a year ago.

“As an older person, restrictions have vanished and I can follow my passions,” she stated. One of her recent songs contains the lines: “So yell, ‘Who cares’/ Now is my chance!/ This platform is for me!/ I'm 79 / And in my fucking prime.”

“I love this surge of older female punks,” she said. “I couldn't resist in my youth, so I'm making up for it now. It's wonderful.”

A band member from her group also mentioned she was prevented to rebel as a teenager. “It's been really major to be able to let it all out at this point in life.”

Chrissie Riedhofer, who has toured globally with various bands, also views it as therapeutic. “It's about exorcising frustration: feeling unseen as a parent, as an older woman.”

The Freedom of Expression

That same frustration led Dina Gajjar to create her band. “Being on stage is a liberation you didn't know you needed. Women are trained to be compliant. Punk rejects that. It's loud, it's flawed. It means, during difficult times, I think: ‘I should create music from that!’”

However, Abi Masih, drummer for the Flea Bagz, remarked the punk lady is every woman: “We're just ordinary, working, talented females who love breaking molds,” she explained.

Maura Bite, of the Folkestone band She-Bite, concurred. “Women were the original punks. We had to smash things up to get noticed. We continue to! That badassery is part of us – it seems timeless, elemental. We are incredible!” she stated.

Breaking Molds

Not all groups fits the stereotype. Julie Ames and Jackie O'Malley, involved in a band, try to keep things unexpected.

“We don't shout about age-related topics or curse frequently,” commented one. O'Malley cut in: “Well, we do have a brief explosive section in each track.” Julie chuckled: “That's true. However, we prefer variety. The latest piece was about how uncomfortable bras are.”