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Upon being questioned about the most punk thing she's ever pulled off, Cathy Loughead responds instantly: “I took the stage with my neck broken in two places. Unable to bounce, so I embellished the brace instead. That show was incredible.”

She is part of a growing wave of women reinventing punk music. While a new television drama spotlighting female punk premieres this Sunday, it reflects a scene already thriving well outside the screen.

The Leicester Catalyst

This drive is felt most strongly in Leicester, where a 2022 project – presently named the Riotous Collective – sparked the movement. Cathy participated from the beginning.

“At the launch, there existed zero all-women garage punk bands in the area. By the following year, there seven emerged. Currently, twenty exist – and growing,” she remarked. “Collective branches operate across the UK and internationally, from Finland to Australia, laying down tracks, performing live, taking part in festivals.”

This boom extends beyond Leicester. Around the United Kingdom, women are taking back punk – and altering the environment of live music in the process.

Revitalizing Music Venues

“There are music venues around the United Kingdom thriving because of women punk bands,” noted Cathy. “Rehearsal rooms are also benefiting, music instruction and mentoring, studio environments. That's because women are filling these jobs now.”

They are also transforming the audience composition. “Bands led by women are gigging regularly. They're bringing in more diverse audiences – attendees who consider these spaces as secure, as for them,” she remarked.

A Rebellion-Driven Phenomenon

Carol Reid, programme director at Youth Music, said the rise is no surprise. “Women have been sold a ideal of fairness. However, violence against women is at crisis proportions, extremist groups are exploiting females to spread intolerance, and we're manipulated over topics such as menopause. Women are fighting back – by means of songs.”

Toni Coe-Brooker, from the Music Venue Trust, sees the movement reshaping regional performance cultures. “There is a noticeable increase in broader punk communities and they're feeding into regional music systems, with grassroots venues programming varied acts and establishing protected, more welcoming spaces.”

Entering the Mainstream

Later this month, Leicester will present the debut Riot Fest, a weekend festival showcasing 25 all-women bands from the UK and Europe. Earlier this fall, Decolonise Fest in London showcased ethnic minority punk musicians.

And the scene is edging into the mainstream. One prominent duo are on their first headline UK tour. Another rising group's first record, their record name, hit No. 16 in the UK charts this year.

A Welsh band were in the running for the 2025 Welsh Music Prize. Another act secured a regional music award in 2024. Hull-based newcomers Wench appeared at a major event at Reading Festival.

It's a movement originating from defiance. Across a field still plagued by sexism – where female-only bands remain less visible and live venues are facing widespread closures – female punk bands are establishing something bold: a platform.

Ageless Rebellion

Now 79 years old, Viv Peto is testament that punk has no seniority barrier. Based in Oxford musician in horMones punk band started playing just a year ago.

“At my age, all constraints are gone and I can pursue my interests,” she declared. A track she recently wrote features the refrain: “So yell, ‘Who cares’/ This is my moment!/ The stage is mine!/ I'm 79 / And at my absolute best.”

“I love this surge of senior women punks,” she remarked. “I didn't get to rebel in my youth, so I'm making up for it now. It's wonderful.”

Another musician from the band also said she hadn't been allowed to rebel as a teenager. “It's been really major to finally express myself at this point in life.”

Another artist, who has toured globally with different acts, also sees it as catharsis. “It's a way to vent irritation: feeling unseen in motherhood, as a senior female.”

The Power of Release

That same frustration led Dina Gajjar to form Burnt Sugar. “Being on stage is a liberation you didn't know you needed. Females are instructed to be compliant. Punk isn't. It's raucous, it's imperfect. As a result, during difficult times, I say to myself: ‘I'll write a song about that!’”

Yet, Abi Masih, a percussionist, remarked the punk lady is every woman: “We are simply regular, career-oriented, brilliant women who love breaking molds,” she said.

A band member, of the act She-Bite, concurred. “Females were the first rebels. We needed to break barriers to be heard. We continue to! That rebellious spirit is in us – it appears primal, primal. We're a bloody marvel!” she declared.

Challenging Expectations

Not all groups conform to expectations. Two musicians, from a particular group, strive to be unpredictable.

“We don't shout about the menopause or swear much,” commented one. The other interjected: “Well, we do have a small rebellious part in all our music.” Julie chuckled: “You're right. Yet, we aim for diversity. The latest piece was on the topic of underwear irritation.”