Since Yesterday: The Untold Story of Scotland's Girl Bands
Carla J. Easton and Blair Young team up to tell a vibrant but enraging story of the great girl bands from Scotland that should be on teenage bedroom walls across the country but aren't
Scotland is no stranger to a pop band – so where, then, are all the women? Since Yesterday: The Untold Story of Scotland's Girl Bands strides forth and answers that question: most have faded into obscurity, and it’s because the culture let them.
It’s obvious from the get-go that this documentary is a labour of love. It makes you feel like you’re back in your teen bedroom, flicking through mags, music on full blast, your mum banging the door down. A blend of collage, interviews, animation and more, it’s frenetic and a bit mad at times, just like the bands themselves. And what bands they were. From the stunning harmonies of the McKinley sisters in the 60s to the perfect 80s punk of The Ettes and Strawberry Switchblade to the 90s girl bands that were an antidote to lad-soaked Britpop, this doc is a history lesson but it’s also a warning: of how misogyny permeates the music scene; of how everyday sexism can stop girls from following their dreams, or even having those dreams in the first place; of how that which we do not nurture does not grow.
There’s been leaps of progress recently to amplify women in music in Scotland but we’ve all got a part to play. So let’s get down there and support our local girl bands, make that zine, pick up that guitar. Let’s not let the new crop fade away too. And listen… if you’re holding auditions, you know where to find me.
Released 18 Oct by Cosmic Cat; certificate 15