Sister George: Difference between revisions

 

'''Sister George''' were an English band from [[London]], recognised as being significant in the 1990s [[queercore]] scene, who formed in 1993.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |title=Linus History |url=https://www.linusland.co.uk/history.html |access-date=2023-01-27 |website=www.linusland.co.uk}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Rauzier |first=Val |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/756581003 |title=Women make noise : girl bands from Motown to the modern |date=2012 |publisher=Supernova Books |isbn=978-0-9566329-1-3 |editor-last=Downes |editor-first=Julia |location=Twickenham |pages=238–258 |chapter=Queercore: Fearless Women |oclc=756581003}}</ref>

The group's name was inspired by the 1968 film ''[[The Killing of Sister George (film)|The Killing of Sister George]]'', which was an adaptation of the [[The Killing of Sister George|play of the same name]]. Although singer Ellyot called the film "stereotypical and obviously written by a man" she loved Beryl Reid calling her a "dyke heroine".<ref name=":3">{{Cite book |last=Ainley |first=Rosa |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/957700669 |title=What is she like : lesbian identities from the 1950s to the 1990s |date=2016 |publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing |isbn=978-1-4742-9248-1 |location=London |pages=192 |oclc=957700669}}</ref>

Although queer punk bands had existed in the [[UK]] in the 1980s, such as [[The Apostles (band)|The Apostles]]/Academy 23,No Brain Cells and Tongue Man (early 1990s), Sister George were one of the first queercore identified UK bands.

The members were Lisa Cook on [[bass guitar|bass]], Daryl Stanislaw on [[Drum kit|drums]], Lyndon Holmes on [[guitar]] and vocals, and Ellyott on lead vocals and guitar.

Sister George's first gig was at the Girlygig club night organised by Jen from Linus in 1993.<ref name=":1" />

 

 

Also featured on ''Drag King'' was a hardcore style [[cover version|cover]] of the [[Tom Robinson]] song "[[Glad to Be Gay]]", but renamed "100 X No!".<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/1250360126 |title=Queercore : how to punk a revolution : an oral history |date=2020 |others=Liam Warfield, Walter Crasshole, Yony Leyser |isbn=978-1-62963-820-1 |location=Oakland |pages=169 |chapter=Queercore Essential Records |oclc=1250360126}}</ref> The Sister George version featured the voice of [[serial killer]] [[Aileen Wuornos]], and the band chanting, "We kill in self defence".<ref>{{Cite web |title=A Brief and Incomplete Guide to Queercore {{!}} The Skinny |url=https://www.theskinny.co.uk/sexuality/gender/a-brief-and-incomplete-guide-to-queercore |access-date=2023-01-27 |website=www.theskinny.co.uk |language=en}}</ref> Tom Robinson at a gig in London's Club V (an alternative queer club, in the mid '90s) introduced his song by saying, "I'm now going to sing a Sister George cover".{{Citation needed|date=January 2023}}

The band found themselves heralded in the pages of British music magazines such as the [[NME]]. In one interview with the NME, Sister George were asked about other UK queercore bands they gave a fake list.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Aston |first=Martin |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/961458978 |title=Breaking down the walls of heartache : how music came out |date=2016 |isbn=978-1-4721-2244-5 |location=London |oclc=961458978}}</ref> Caroline Sullivan also wrote about Sister George a number of times in [[The Guardian]] newspaper, which encouraged criticism from mainstream gay culture.<ref name=":5">{{Cite journal |last=Gebauer |first=Dianne |title=Queercore: Subcultural Tensions, Resistance, and Identity Politics in 1990s London |url=https://www.academia.edu/24902799 |journal= |url-access=subscription |via=Academia.edu}}</ref>

 

Sister George toured with acts like [[Huggy Bear (band)|Huggy Bear]] and Hissyfit at first, but soon they were joined by other queer bands such as [[Mouthfull]], Six Inch Killaz and Children's Hour, and it was these groups that did pioneer a queercore scene in the UK.<ref name=":5" />

Label owner Naylor said of the band's relation to mainstream [[gay culture]], "To me, the gay lifestyle is getting to be like just another alternative lifestyle. You go down [[Old Compton Street]] in Soho and see them sitting there in nice coffee bars with their [[pink pound]]s - and these (Sister George) are 20-year-old kids who are angry and on [[the dole]]."<ref name=":4">{{Cite newspaper |last=Sullivan |first=Caroline |date=17 December 1993 |title=Queer to the core - The pop establishment has always had a handful of gay stars colourful, eccentric, lovable. But now there's 'queercore', a radical gay music movement with attitude. |pages=9 |work=[[The Guardian]]}}</ref> The band believed that queercore was a necessity for queer people who were too poor to participate in what had become a commercial scene in places such as Old Compton Street in the 1990s.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |last=Smith |first=Richard |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/958124833 |title=Seduced and abandoned : essays on gay men and popular music |date=2016 |isbn=978-1-4742-8697-8 |location=London |pages=176 |oclc=958124833}}</ref>

 

Lisa Cook passed away in 2008.{{Citation needed|date=January 2023}} Ellyott moved back to Israel where she is now a radio DJ.<ref>{{Cite web |title=NIF's Essential Art Winner: אליוט |url=https://www.essentialart-nif.com/winners/ellyott-ben-ezer |access-date=2023-01-27 |website=אמנות חיונית |language=en}}</ref>

 

* Ellyott (vocals/guitar)

* Lisa Cook (bass)

* Daryl Stanislaw (drums)

 

{{Reflist}}

 

 

* {{Facebook page|link=https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100041629267413}}

* [https://vimeo.com/12084539 She's Real Worse than Queer] on Vimeo