Moving on - The Nico Ditch

Time for a new blog for 2014. I may post here occasionally, but the Manchester District Music Archive gives me a place to share musical memories. So take a look at The Nico Ditch. http://thenicoditch.blogspot.co.uk/ The title will be explained if you do!

Woman

It's been a good week for music and women singers, starting with my interview with Stella Grundy on Saturday morning, a fascinating performer and writer. Then I went to our Archives+ Christmas event in the fabulous Rates Hall in the Town Hall. The lovely Manchester Community Choir performed some seasonal songs and also led the audience in a tribute to Nelson Mandela.A special shared experience. It was great to sing his praises. On Tuesday night I went to see Neko Case and her fantastic band at the Royal Northern College of Music. It was a spur of the moment, last minute, buy the ticket on the way home from work arrangement. Not only was she a treat, but she was supported by Lucy Wainwright Roche, who shared some great insights into a Wainwright family Christmas - everyone gives copies of their latest CDs , and then tries to guess who the songs are referring to! And last night I went to see the Picturehouse choir do their Christmas performance. They meet weekly at Band on the Wall and I have been curious about them for a while, not least because I miss my singing class in Bakewell now I am working in Manchester. They had invited a guest choir, WAST. That stands for Women Asylum Seekers Together. What a joyous group they were, sharing their stories through song. Nelson Mandela's praises were sung by both choirs last night too. It's been a week to experience the power of music. It's also been a reminder of how far we have come, and how far we still have to go.

Girl

This morning I have been preparing for an interview I am going to do next weekend for Mudkiss. It's with Stella Grundy. I saw her most recent show, Rise and Fall of a Northern Star, at the Louder Than Words conference a couple of weeks ago. She was also part of a panel, discussing the role of women in the music business. I am intrigued by how hard she works - from her early days with Intastella, through a drama degree, her acclaimed play about Nico a couple of years ago - there's so much I want to ask her about. And of course, there are questions I will be asking her because she is a woman in what still seems to be a man's world. Young talented women seem to get eaten up and spat out, so dependent on their looks, challenging the boundaries of sexual behaviour in public, defined by their relationships with men and occasionally women. Some are convinced it's empowering, even feminist, to pursue their careers along those lines. I'm not convinced, but I am aware that I come from a different generation. We had our mavericks, our wild women, and some of them fell along the way, falling prey to drink, drugs and lifestyle. Some were expected to present a gentle and feminine image when in reality they were far from passive. Many were defined by relationships, but who was really the inspiration, who provided the push forward, in those music biz couples. It's made me think back to the women artists who intrigued and inspired me. Siouxsie and Debby Harry seemed to play the game, but in a self aware way. Kate Bush was given time and financial support to grow her talents, had huge success and then stepped back from it. Bjork is still a wild card. Patti Smith stepped away when it suited her and used other aspects of her creativity. Chrissie Hynde and Alison Moyet seem to have worked in an authentic way. Annie Lennox certainly has. Amy Winehouse had such promise and fell by the wayside. Nowadays some seem to be groomed as parodies of what's expected of a woman artist. One of the panellists at LTW talked about talented women getting derailed in their careers, so they never reach their potential. It's a cruel and fickle business, and I am sure you could identify men who have had similar experiences. I listened to the Beatles song Girl on the radio as I was writing up some notes for the interview. What an amazing insight into relationships. Is she muse or destroyer of confidence? Apparently John Lennon said he was looking for that kind of relationship and found it with Yoko Ono. It's another kind of role for women in the world of music, with more than a hint of cruelty and cutting down to size. I'm looking forward to sharing some of these thoughts with Stella.