Mann, Edgar & Pleasance/Venue Stories, 7. Girls with Guitars

Punk inspires us as girls. ‘Keep Music Live’ was a big campaign by the Musicians Union in the 1970s. Growing up in a small town, however, there never seemed to be anything relevant to me and my mate. The only way to hear new music was through Radio 1 or on Top of the Pops. We were two girls growing up in separate places who didn’t know each other. But we both saw Eddie and the Hot Rods play the punky-pop ‘Do Anything You Wanna Do’ on Top of the Pops on 11th August 1977. It inspired us into action. We both became punks – not leather-jacketed, studded and pierced punks – but a more subtle thing. We took on the punk mindset and believed that we could learn to play the guitar, be in a band and play live gigs in our local venues. There were lots of role models. Siouxsie, The Slits, Poly Styrene, The Raincoats. They were all examples of women who started doing music because of punk, with little or no training in music.