Helen McCookerybook
Encyclopedia
Helen McCookerybook was the bass guitar
player and lead singer with Brighton
-based punk rock
band The Chefs
during the late 1970s and early 1980s. She later formed Helen and The Horns (with Dave Jago on trombone, Paul Davey on sax and Chris Smith on trumpet), before continuing her career as a solo artist, writer and lecturer. Her most recent album is Take One, released on Barbaraville in October 2010. She plays live gigs as a solo act as well as (very) occasional revivals of Helen and the Horns.
Her first book (as Helen Reddington) The Lost Women of Rock Music: Female Musicians of the Punk Era was published in July 2007. The book featured interviews with The Slits
, Gina Birch
, The Mo-dettes
, Enid Williams (Girlschool
), Dolly Mixture, Gaye Black (Adverts), Vi Subversa
(Poison Girls
), Rhoda Dakar
, Lucy O'Brien
, Attila the Stockbroker
, Caroline Coon
, Geoff Travis
and the late John Peel
.
She holds a doctorate from the University of Westminster
and has been a lecturer at the University of East London
since 2006.
Bass guitar
The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
player and lead singer with Brighton
Brighton
Brighton is the major part of the city of Brighton and Hove in East Sussex, England on the south coast of Great Britain...
-based punk rock
Punk rock
Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...
band The Chefs
The Chefs
The Chefs were a Brighton-based indie pop group during the late 1970s and early 1980s. The band consisted of Helen McCookerybook , James McCallum , Russell Greenwood and Carl Evans .They were signed to Brighton's Attrix Records, which released a four-track EP "Sweetie" in September 1980 and "24...
during the late 1970s and early 1980s. She later formed Helen and The Horns (with Dave Jago on trombone, Paul Davey on sax and Chris Smith on trumpet), before continuing her career as a solo artist, writer and lecturer. Her most recent album is Take One, released on Barbaraville in October 2010. She plays live gigs as a solo act as well as (very) occasional revivals of Helen and the Horns.
Her first book (as Helen Reddington) The Lost Women of Rock Music: Female Musicians of the Punk Era was published in July 2007. The book featured interviews with The Slits
The Slits
The Slits were a British punk rock band. The quartet was formed in 1976 by members of the bands The Flowers of Romance and The Castrators. The members were Ari Up , who died of cancer in October 2010, and Palmolive , with Viv Albertine and Tessa Pollitt replacing founding members, Kate Korus and...
, Gina Birch
Gina Birch
Gina Birch is an English musician and film-maker, probably best known as a founding member of The Raincoats.Born in Nottingham where she attended Nottingham High School for Girls, Birch formed The Hangovers and released an album, Slow Dirty Tears, in 1998. In 2002 and 2007 she performed live at...
, The Mo-dettes
The Mo-dettes
The Mo-dettes were an all-female punk band, formed in 1979 by Kate Korris, an original member of The Slits and brief member of The Raincoats, and Jane Crockford, former member of The Bank of Dresden.-Biography:...
, Enid Williams (Girlschool
Girlschool
Girlschool are a British heavy metal band originating out of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal scene in 1978 and frequently associated with contemporaries Motörhead. They are the longest running all-female rock band, still active after more than 30 years...
), Dolly Mixture, Gaye Black (Adverts), Vi Subversa
Vi Subversa
-Early life:Vi Subversa real name Frances Sokolov Sansom was the singer and guitarist of UK anarcho-punk band Poison Girls....
(Poison Girls
Poison Girls
The Poison Girls were an English anarcho-punk band. The female singer/guitarist, Vi Subversa, was a middle-aged mother of two at the band's inception, and wrote songs that explored sexuality and gender roles, usually from an anarchist perspective...
), Rhoda Dakar
Rhoda Dakar
Rhoda Dakar is a British singer and musician, best known as the lead singer of The Bodysnatchers, who were signed to the 2 Tone record label.-Career:...
, Lucy O'Brien
Lucy O'Brien
Lucy O'Brien is an author and journalist whose work focuses on women in music.-Early musical and writing career:...
, Attila the Stockbroker
Attila the Stockbroker
Attila the Stockbroker is a punk poet, and a folk punk musician and songwriter. He performs solo and as the leader of the band Barnstormer...
, Caroline Coon
Caroline Coon
Caroline Coon is an English artist, journalist and political activist. Her artwork, which often explores sexual themes from a feminist standpoint , has been exhibited at many major London galleries, including the Saatchi Gallery and the Tate.Coon was born to a family of Kent landowners and had...
, Geoff Travis
Geoff Travis
Geoff Travis is the founder of both Rough Trade Records and the Rough Trade chain of record shops. A former drama teacher and owner of a punk record shop, Travis founded the Rough Trade label in 1978.-Biography:...
and the late John Peel
John Peel
John Robert Parker Ravenscroft, OBE , known professionally as John Peel, was an English disc jockey, radio presenter, record producer and journalist. He was the longest-serving of the original BBC Radio 1 DJs, broadcasting regularly from 1967 until his death in 2004...
.
She holds a doctorate from the University of Westminster
University of Westminster
The University of Westminster is a public research university located in London, United Kingdom. Its origins go back to the foundation of the Royal Polytechnic Institution in 1838, and it was awarded university status in 1992.The university's headquarters and original campus are based on Regent...
and has been a lecturer at the University of East London
University of East London
The University of East London is a university located in the London Borough of Newham, East London, England, based at two campuses in Stratford and Docklands areas...
since 2006.