Director: Carla J Easton
Can you name any Scottish girl bands? Thought not. But as Carla J Easton’s interesting new documentary demonstrates, from the 1960s to the present day, girl groups are not only a forgotten element of the history of music (yes, all music, not just men’s music), but the fact they have been written out of it and the experiences they provide in the various talking heads, represents the position of women in the industry and the attitudes that prevented them from getting record deals, tour opportunities and, crucially, from making money from their work.
Narrated by Easton from the band Teen Canteen, the film is on a mission to understand why Scottish girl bands fail including her own, discovering inherent misogyny, sexism and active disregard by male music industry professionals refusing record contracts to girl bands in case they get pregnant and break up – an incident recorded as recently as 2010 but a common occurrence among contributors performing in every decade since the 1960s.
And the absence of girl bands from Scottish music history is not for any want of success or popularity, however short lived, with early groups like The McKinlay Sisters reporting interest from Brian Epstein, supporting The Beatles and The Hollies and becoming the first ever girl band to play Wembley Arena when they opened for The Rolling Stones. In the 1980s Strawberry Switchblade became (and remain) the only Scottish all-female band to break the Top 30 in the UK chart with their Top 10 hit Since Yesterday, the name of this film, and became an international sensation.
When the end comes, there are many reasons recorded as there are for male groups including acrimonious splits, frustration with the way bands are treated, disillusion with the industry and even agoraphobia. And, yes, there are some babies but band members equally recall being replaced when they started a family so it wasn’t always the death knell of the group.
What is fascinating is the range of music genres represented by Scottish bands over time, from doo whop and soul influenced groups in the 1960s, through folk and punk to pop and indie more recently, a history of music that reflects, and sometimes anticipates, the work of the male bands. Restoring girl bands is not just about revealing marginalised histories but to understand the intrinsic story of Scottish music, of not only soloists and female-fronted bands but all-women groups that have inspired on another along the way.
Filled with talking head interviews from members of The McKinlay Sisters, The Ettes, Lung Leg and The Hedrons among others alongside archive recordings, Fanzine and newspaper covers, audio recordings and filmed footage, even if you’ve never heard of any of these bands (and given the argument of the film, there is no shame in that), this is an opportunity to discover decades of music that you will immediately go looking for on your music platform of choice. And if that is the case, then those Scottish girl bands are back where they belong, on your playlist!
Since Yesterday is released in UK cinemas from 18 October.
