New Review: Making a noise about women’s musical history

Hayley Foster da Silva thought she knew a lot about women musicians, but when she read Women Make Noise, a new book edited by Julia Downes, she was pleased to discover that there was still a lot to learn and plenty of all-female musical talent to uncover

As a radio presenter of a female fronted music radio show and an all round enthusiast of female fronted music, I’ve read quite a few books on the subject over the years. Everything from Madonna biographies as a young girl, via books about the history of women in music, to books specifically about the riot grrrl genre. So when I got the opportunity to read Women Make Noise, a book about female music which begins in the 1920s and concludes in 2012, it was an offer I just couldn’t refuse.

What I didn’t first realise and what got me even more excited about this book was the fact that it would be only about all-female bands, not female fronted bands. Despite all the books I’ve read about female music, I can’t recall one that only mentioned all-female bands. This would be an interesting read. There are plenty of all-female bands that have been and gone, and plenty that are making fantastic, inspiring music today, but where musical history and legacy is concerned, just how many of these all-female bands are talked about in the mainstream media? This book opened me up to music that I hadn’t even heard about (ever) – despite my extensive reading and research on the subject.

Click here to read the rest of the review, and to comment

Women Make Noise book launch information

Supernova Books, the publishers of Women Make Noise, will be holding a “girl band extravaganza” to celebrate the publication of the book.

The event will be held on November 29 at Power Lunches, 446 Kingsland Road, Dalston, London E8 4AE.

Those performing include Trash Kit, Good Throb, Crap Suzette, Cover Girl, Woolf and The Plan. Entry is free, but donations to the bands would be welcome apparently. Doors open at 7pm, bands start at 8pm. Books will be available at a special discount rate on the night.

Image of a white woman looking through vinyl records by Seth Doyle on Unsplash