Since Yesterday the Untold Story of Scottish Girl Bands, (2024/25) BBC Scotland, BBC iPlayer, Directors Blair Young and Carla J. Easton.
Posted by celticman on Sat, 22 Mar 2025
‘That’s terrible,’ a mother said of her daughter and her pal’s attempt at making music. ‘Would you not be better singing a nice wee Irish ballad?’ I’m not sure who or how to match mother and daughter in these girl groups—not a music lover or listener—I’m siding with the mother here. Making music is one part of it, misogyny and class bias others. The fixed idea that popped up again and again from record executives that band members had no real ideas in their pretty little heads and they’d flutter off and get pregnant. Best rip them off early, before that happened.
Girl power was and remains a toxic idea. John Niven’s satire Kill Your Friends, based on his experiences, is possible the best lens to guide naïve viewers.
The music industry (and it is an industry) celebrates bands like Deacon Blue that blaze the nostalgia trail or the up-and-coming young songwriter that has a celebrity friend and a massive following, but hasn’t played a gig yet.
Normalising the idea that there are no barriers to talent (a recurring meme in other creative industries dominated by middle-class men, including writing).
It takes a critical look at the barriers women have faced and still face. A reminder promotion is nine-tenths of success.
‘We knew we were getting dropped. It’s like getting chucked.’
Only 14% of songwriters represented by UK publishers are women.
Female artists make up just 20% of artists signed to major record labels.
0% of women and non-binary on YouTubes top-streamed tracks of 2022
43% of female festival goers under 40 say they have faced unwanted sexual behaviour as music festivals.
The misogyny in music enquiry 2024, endemic, where abuse and sexual harassment is common.
This is not doom and gloom. Written and narrated by award-nominated musician Carla J Easton, with the help of some kids—who act the part—women in music from different decades get to talk and laugh about their experiences. Blending personal anecdotes from a host of bands including Jeanette Gallacher from The McKinleys, backup band for the Beatles and whom Brian Epstein wanted to manage (the first Scottish girl band to break into the charts in 1964, and the first girl band to ever play Wembley Arena), The Ettes, Strawberry Switchblade, The Hedrons, Sophisticated Boom Boom, Sunset Gun, His Latest Flame, The Twinsets, Lung Leg and Hello Skinny all have their say. I didn’t enjoy the music but I did like the banter.
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