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Camilla Cancantata

‘I came to feminism quite late, towards the end of my twenties. Having been sacked as ‘the worst trombonist in the West End’  (I’d only been playing for six months and couldn’t reach the high notes) i joined the Sisterhood of Spit – the wonderful women’s big band that inspired so many other women to play brass and be raucous. Some time after that i went to Greenham, the start of a lengthy, formative, and unsettling process. I had spent two years after university listening to and recording folk music in Hungary and Romania, and the fireside singing at Greenham, with its direct relationship to daily life, had the same quality of intimacy, spontaneity and intrinsic meaning that i had missed and craved on return to the West.

I’d already had a career of sorts, as a musical director and composer of theatre music, and had been involved with free improvisation since i was a student. I valued experimentation, and rejected the Western Classical tradition with its divisions between audience/performer, player/played. But the Greenham experience was massive and disorientating. Even though i was only part-time, even though the only action i took part in failed before it had even started, even though it was not always harmonious and there were bitter disagreements sometimes – i felt that all the women there helped to create something quite extraordinary, unique, and uniquely important. That was why we were able to resist the endless evictions – it had its own irrepressible life and energy. It was very hard  after that to find anywhere to fit in or feel at home emotionally, culturally or politically. For ten years i could not write music – giving precise instructions seemed so hierarchical, so much part of a cultural tradition that perpetuated inequality – i could not bear to do it. Instead i travelled, searched for womens’ community and connection,  joined a women’s circus going to Mexico and Nicaragua, set up music and theatre workshops on an estate in Peckham where a friend of mine felt we were engaged in revolution … toured Italy as half of a feminist duo busking on tuba and ukulele … spent many solstices with dear friends from Greenham who had moved to the country in Ireland, to a place of peace and solitude.

When i finally settled into living in one place – a flat in London – for seventeen years (never thinking it would be for so long) i did begin to write music again. And i love the focus, the total concentration required – in fact, am probably at my happiest when truly absorbed in composing. But it’s not enough, i never wanted to restrict myself to that, but have always sought ways of sharing the act of making music with others, and different others – through group improvisation, teaching, singing together, improvising with musicians from different cultures (Indian, Arabic). i also rediscovered my voice,  the power of political/satirical songs and the potential of music theatre and opera.

Now i live in a place where there are regular ‘folk music’ sessions in pubs, and though the music, with its mainly bland harmonies and melodies, sometimes bores me (so many tunes sound the same…) i love the informality and inclusivity of a session, even though it’s sometimes dominated by men with guitars and needs some subversion. Meanwhile i can develop my own music and song, and work on bringing music to unexpected places, and unexpected music to other places … But the call of the buzzard, the rhythm of the gossiping jackdaws, the wind in the trees or the roar of the river in flood – these sounds are worth more to me than any human music. Nothing i or anyone else can produce will ever equal those sounds – and yet, i do believe that playing and  singing, being part of a musical process, even if mainly listening, brings us all together and closer to the wonder and possibility of life on Earth – if we can only open our hearts and minds. Two close friends, from different parts of my life, died this year, and both their dying and the celebrations of their lives were intertwined with music. It seemed so natural and so fitting, a way of re-affirming the continuity of life and death of which we are part, and our shared community, however brief, with all that exists.’ ~ December, 2010

‘Kneeling down, bishop’s prey, lives to starve another day. Higher purchase, lower pay, Blessed be the working day. Crusade, Crusadist, Crucify, Constitution of contrition keeps supplying ammunition. Holy wars and matrimony institute unjust hierarchy.’  ~ Blessed Be the Working Day, a round by Camilla written and sung at Greenham

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Canaille late 1980s ~ 1990s

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Carol Grimes and the Iguanas 1984 ~85

Angele Veltmeyer, sax; Ann Day, drums; Carol Grimes, vocals; Frances Knight, piano; Gail Ann Dorsey, bass

New Musical Express listings, 1984

Spare Rib 149, 1984

Carol Grimes’ prolific subsequent and current work continues apace (and, like that of other artists documented here, can be followed via her website), and includes:

“So here I am in the 21st Century. I have two children, Sam and Kasia Rose, much music still to make and listen to, and hopefully many more adventures around the corner. I wish for Peace on Earth, an end to the destruction and pollution of this Earth and an end to the mindless cruelty of Wars in the name of religion, greed and ignorant prejudice.” ~ Carol Grimes

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The Caroline Gilfillan Band 198?

Ann Day, drums; Barbara Stretch, vocals; Caroline Gilfillan, vocals; Dinah Jeffrey, vocals; Jude Winter, synth; Julia Doyle, bass (1); Rosemary Schonfeld, guitar; Vick Ryder, bass (2)

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Cast Iron Fairies

Hilda Ellis, Jackie Freeman, Jane Ralley,  Viv Acious, and various others at different times, including Babs Millington and Ruth Novaczek (also in Abandon Your Tutu) Yvette, Julz and Caroline.

Photos of Cast Iron Fairies in studio by Andy Minnion include Jane, Viv, Hilda, Yvette, Julz and Jackie

Cast Iron Fairies gigs (1981-2): Leeds Fringe Festival, Rock against Rock at the Pied Bull – Putney, London Musicians Collective – Camden, Fire Benefit at the Tunbridge Club, Star Club – Birmingham, Caxton House, Venture Centre, North Kensington (benefit for Golburne Children’s Festival), “Kitch ‘n Sync” at the I.C.A., “Women Live” at London University Union and the Starlight Club, Berlin – “Internationalen Frauen-Fest”, Palais am Funkturm, Women’s Centre benefit at Lambeth Town Hall.

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The Castrators 1976 ~ ?

Angela Risner, guitar; Budgie Carroll, bass; Louise ?, keyboard; Tessa Pollitt, guitar

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Cats Cradle 

Ann Day; Julia Doyle; Maggie Nicols; Nony Ardill; Ruth Marshall

The group formed in the early 90s, comprising musicians who had been in many bands during the 70s and 80s ~ their CD provides a chance to hear these women

One Move Ahead © Cats Cradle

Your Rules © Cats Cradle

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Chard Festival of Women in Music 1987 – 2003

‘Celebration’: a film of the 1990 Chard Festival of Women in Music, Somerset, produced and directed by Jayne Chard of Hummingbird Films. Newly-digitised in 2013, the film features song, dance and drumming from Shikisha, jazz from the Guest Stars, the first European women’s orchestra performing a specially commissioned piece composed by Eleanor Alberga and conducted by Odaline d la Martinez, housework shanties from the Ranting Sleazos, performances at older people’s residential homes, women’s and children’s music workshops, singer-songwriter Julie Felix, the Female Intuition band, Bristol band Meet Your Feet, a drum kit duet by Crissy Lee and Sue Hewitt, a Women in Rock talkback panel discussion … and more!

‘The Women in Music Festival is no ghetto. It aims to bring women into the mainstream’ ~ Naseem Khan, The Independent ~ read more on http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/sisters-who-dont-play-second-fiddle-1349541.html

Girls Rock On! For a report on the Chard Foundation for Women in Music’s groundbreaking young women’s band project click here: eprints.bournemouth.ac.uk/13158/1/girls-rock-on-report-re-order-sml.pdf

‘Chard Festival of Women In Music’ – a report by Ann Kearns published in the February 1995 ILWC Journal http://www.iawm.org/articles_html/Kearns_Chard_Festival.html

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The Chuffinelles 1980s

Developed from Sheffield Popular Theatre Group

Linda Smith, Margaret Barraclough, ?

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Clapperclaw – London

Rix Pyke, Caroline John and Rae Levy.

Clapperclaw was mainly a 3 woman show comprised of Rix Pyke, Caroline John and Rae Levy. Their first show was a collection of songs on a socialist/feminist theme written by themselves or taken from other sources. This was highly adaptable and light weight – not politically light weight – but they could commute by bus or tube to the venues and perform an acoustic set.

‘History is no place for a lady’

Songs such as ‘Class Struggle Widow’ ‘Good Old Maggie Thatcher’ ‘The blackleg miner’ ‘Bread and Roses’ ‘The Diggers’ Song’ ‘Rosie the Riveter’ and ‘The Girl with the Spanner in the Pocket of her Pants’ would be performed.

‘Ammersmith Bridge’

Instruments ranged from guitar, banjo, accordion, clarinet and fiddle to washboard, teacup, hoover and electric keyboard and bass guitar in the later show ‘Ben Her’. Ben Her was a complete re-write of history from the beginning of time to the present day – but this time including women and ordinary people. It had such all time favourites as ‘History is no place for a Lady’ ‘Hammersmith Bridge’ and ‘Too many Useless Erections’ a song about architects.

‘Too Many Useless Erections’

Between 1977 and 1981 they performed up and down the country for benefits and conferences, in working men’s clubs and upstairs in pubs, festivals such as Hood fair in Devon and The Festival of Fools Tour 1978. They hardly ever earned more that £15 for a gig until they went to Sweden and Iceland in 1980 and came back rich. They dissolved in early 1981 and have become the solution and not the problem. – Rix Pyke, 2012.

‘Wanna be in my hoard?’

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Clea and McLeod 1985-1991

 London/Glasgow based band

Clea McIlraith (lead vocals) and Cinders McLeod (double bass and harmony) met at Dartington College of Arts, Devon, then moved to London where for 5 years in the late 80s and early 90s they played the London cabaret circuit, toured Britain & Europe, and cut a record, Beyond our Means, on Billy Bragg’s Utility Label. Armed with double bass and ‘expertly conterpointed voices that get under every skin in the room’ (Melody Maker), they started out playing in living rooms (which they still do because they see it as the equivalent of working man’s clubs for many women). Since then they have played pubs, clubs, theatres, nightclubs, streets, festivals, winebars, parks, shoppping centres, trains & backs of lorries, weddings, community centres, girls’ toilets, folk clubs, jazz clubs, cafés & beaches, from Glasgow to Penzance, from Cardiff to Crete. Although this is their first time on vinyl, they’ve been heard on Radio One’s Woman’s Hours, Irish women’s private radio, Cornish fishing boats, the hippy convoy, Breakfast TV and on Scottish and Canadian radio stations. Their songs are about heroines and heroin, the other side of the coin, calling on people, riots and women shoplifting, the price we pay for war, how we censor our desires, who’s in and who’s out, domestic brutality, making claims, the real thieves and murderers, what we don’t want to be when we grow up, music as a source of freedom … ‘And they do it all with style, charm and wit’ – Glasgow Herald.

‘…Clea & Mcleod came to a somewhat rowdier reception than they might have wished for. But armed only with string basses and voices…the two women held the attention of all but the most desensitised for a full 45 minutes with songs that confirmed the City Limits assessment – challenging and hard-hitting.’  – John Peel, The Observer

‘Clea and McLeod – currently one of the most original and challenging acts on the acoustic scene, they firmly believe in being as uncompromising as possible. Their music comes across as an emotional brew of jazz and gaelic folk, but it’s the positive message and delivery that really sets them apart from the coffee bar poets and bar room protesters of the troubadour renaissance’  – Len Brown, NME

Who Killed Clara?

Brother

‘Clea and McLeod are the perfect answer to anyone who still clings to the idea the acoustic music is a soft option. They’re heavier than metallica, and more cutting that a blowtorch. Save them for you most soul-searching moods’  – Dave Jennings, Melody Maker

Slap Me Shake Me

Shock Absorbers

How Long is the Train?

Waves

Carry The Banner

Watch Clea and McCleod in this Youtube performing “Slap me, Shake me” at The Roundhouse, London. The performance was filmed on Cinders McLeod’s super 8 camera, circa 1991. Written by Cinders, and recorded on their record, the song is about love, poverty, (women’s) poverty and domestic brutality – the gritty dancethon of marriage. It was inspired by Horace Mccoy’s danceathon-depression story ‘They shoot horses, don’t they?’   

Slap Me Shake Me

you slap me shake me say you love me

slap me shake me we need the money

don’t fall asleep don’t slip away

cuz i work the night shift we both work the day

this house where you sleep is my factory

where i wait for you to come home to me

i measure your footsteps i stare at your feet

as we drag through the dirt to the beat to the beat to the beat

beat i’m beat

we’ll lean on each other, dance for our lives

lean on each other we’ll try we’ll try

romanticize being buried alive

the weight of your body the weight weight weight of our lives

they say we live they say we love together

they say we live they say we love together

but how long how long can this go on

slap me shake me leave me alone

they say we live  they say we love together

so we try to be friends, two lives one wage (your wage)

we share the housework (love me) or do we share the cage

we’re undersold a penny a pound

you say it’s better than nothing but still i’m bound

and you’re uptown

there is a diary hidden away

that tells how i murder you night and day

there must be more than working for you

there must be more than us pulling us through

they say we live they say we love together

they say we lived they say we love together

but how long how long can this go on

slap me shake me leave me alone

they say we lived they say we love together

and the keeper of the keys

walls you off from me

and charts the sounds of cries

off white dishes in heaven’s black skies

they say we live they say we love together …

and a thousand diaries hidden away

says how there must be another way

we break the dishes we scream and we shout

at a history pointing to some way out

they say we lived they say we love together

(love me love me say you love me)

they say we live they say we love together

(love me love me say you love me)

but how long how long can this go on (how long)

love me love me say you love (how long)

love me love me say you love (how long)

slap me shake me

slap me shake me

slap me shake me we need the money

we need the money yeah yeah

we need the money yeah yeah

we need the money yeah yeah

we need the money yeah yeah yeah

Lyrics to Slap Me Shake Me copyright Cinders Mcleod

All tracks from Clea and McLeod’s album Beyond Our Means, on the Utility label, copyright Clea and McLeod. Photos of Clea and McLeod, courtesy of Cinders McLeod, mostly taken by Julian Yewdall, ‘who definitely took the walking away from the camera shot, the being moved on by police shot, the photo on the Glastonbury festival page, and possibly the Ladbroke Grove station shot.’ The shot of being moved on by the police was taken on Remembrance Day. ‘Clea and I were busking across from the Institute of Contemporary Arts on Pall Mall. The Queen was just down the street giving a ceremony. Girls like us were not welcome in the hood, despite the fact we were singing Clea’s song about women working in the munitions factories during WWII. The policeman told us to move on. He thought we were a security risk.’

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Conferences

Women and Music Conference, Liverpool, 23-25th 1976

Weekend conference which included workshops and performances in the evening.

Workshop topics included: the problem of playing collectively, electric guitars, drums, rock singing, country and western, writing music, basic song structure for songs, composing songs, handling electric equipment, sound workshop, flute, fiddle and banjo, early and eastern/ oriental sounds.

Contraband ~ York 1984-5

Members of the York Street Band remember setting up Contraband to empower women to play music.

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Contradictions 1980 – to present day

A participatory improvisational women’s workshop which grew from the Feminist Improvising Group, which included Annalisa Columbara, Camilla Cancantata, Corinne Liensol, Debi Walsh, Donna Cunningham, Helena Blaker, Irene Schweitzer, Jackie Lansley, Jax, Jilly Jarman, Joelle Leandre, Libby Gallagher, Maggie Nicols, Pam, Penny Wightwick/Pennicello, Sylvia Hallett, Sally Beautista, Shirli Hall, Val Moon, Vanessa, Zouina Benhalla

For the full programme of Contradictions’ Oval House performances click on Contradictions Oval House programme

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The Crimplenes 1980

Sue Borrow, Vicky Scrivener

Musical/comedy duo, appearing in 60s wigs and dressed as their name suggests

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