Raincoats, X-Ray Spex, and Slits members form supergroup for London festival
Members of the The Raincoats, X-Ray Spex, and The Slits will perform together as a supergroup at God Save the Queens festival in London. Gina Birch, Hollie Cook, Lora Logic, and Paul Dean will play a one-off show at Electric Brixton on 16 October.
God Save the Queens is organised by the Up Yours! collective and marks the 50th anniversary of feminist punk, celebrating "the past, present, and future of female punk," per its website. It arrives ahead of the opening of a new exhibition on the movement at the Museum of Youth Culture in Camden.
The lineup of the unnamed supergroup is rounded out by Akiko Matsuura, Japanese drummer and member of the band PRE, and Estella Adeyeri of Big Joanie.
Gina Birch will also perform separately with her band The Unreasonables, as will Big Joanie, and HotWax.
Punk historian Vivien Goldman, author of Revenge of the She-Punks,
will also appear. She said the festival was a continuation of the themes explored in her book. "When I wrote Revenge of the She-Punks,
it was about mapping out the global lineage of women who used music to
dismantle stereotypes and claim their own space," her statement read. "This
festival, and the incredible night we are putting together at Electric
Brixton, is that book coming to life on stage."
Many of the performers on the bill have contributed archival material, artwork, and other items to the Museum of Youth Culture exhibition.
This first edition of GStQ is dedicated to the memory of the late Poly Styrene, taking place near where she grew up. The Up Yours! collective is of course named after her band X-Ray Spex's pioneering single, "Oh Bondage Up Yours!"
Tickets are on sale now and start at £35.
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