Gina Birch is an English musician and filmmaker, best known as a founding member of

post-punk Post-punk (originally called new musick) is a broad genre of punk music that emerged in the late 1970s as musicians departed from punk's traditional elements and raw simplicity, instead adopting a variety of avant-garde sensibilities and non-roc ...

rock band,

the Raincoats The Raincoats are a British experimental post-punk band. Ana da Silva (vocals, guitar) and Gina Birch (vocals, bass) formed the group in 1977 while they were students at Hornsey College of Art in London. Signed to the label Rough Trade, the ...

. Born in

Nottingham Nottingham ( , East Midlands English, locally ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located north-west of London, south-east ...

, Birch attended Nottingham High School for Girls, and later the

Hornsey School of Art Hornsey College of Art (a.k.a. Hornsey School of Art) was a college in Crouch End in the London Borough of Haringey, England. The HCA was "an iconic British art institution, renowned for its experimental and progressive approach to art and design ...

, where she formed The Raincoats with

Ana da Silva Ana da Silva is a musician, best known as a founding member of post-punk rock band the Raincoats. Career Born in Madeira island of Portugal, she grew up without television and little access to popular culture. She had exposure to music throu ...

in 1977. Following the first breakup of The Raincoats in 1984, Birch worked with experimental musician

Mayo Thompson Mayo Thompson (born February 26, 1944 in Houston, Texas, United States) is an American musician and visual artist best known as the leader of the experimental rock band Red Krayola. Background His formal education includes Garden of Arts Kind ...

and his ensemble,

Red Crayola The Red Krayola (originally Red Crayola) is an American avant rock band from Houston, Texas formed in 1966 by the trio of singer/guitarist Mayo Thompson, drummer Frederick Barthelme, and bassist Steve Cunningham. The group were part of the 196 ...

, for a period in Germany. After this time, Birch formed the band Dorothy, with fellow ex-Raincoat

Vicky Aspinall Victoria "Vicky" Aspinall is a British musician. She was the violinist in the English post-punk band The Raincoats from 1978 to 1984. In 1992 she and Dave Morgan founded the independent dance label Fresh Records (not the post-punk label of the sam ...

. The band was subsequently signed by Geoff Travis to Chrysalis Records. Following Dorothy's breakup, Birch matriculated at the

Royal College of Art The Royal College of Art (RCA) is a public research university in London, United Kingdom, with campuses in South Kensington, Battersea and White City. It is the only entirely postgraduate art and design university in the United Kingdom. It offe ...

, where she studied film direction, and produced several dramas. In the early 1990s, The Raincoats were asked to perform on tour with

grunge Grunge (sometimes referred to as the Seattle sound) is an alternative rock genre and subculture that emerged during the in the American Pacific Northwest state of Washington, particularly in Seattle and nearby towns. Grunge fuses elements of p ...

band

Nirvana ( , , ; sa, निर्वाण} ''nirvāṇa'' ; Pali: ''nibbāna''; Prakrit: ''ṇivvāṇa''; literally, "blown out", as in an oil lampRichard Gombrich, ''Theravada Buddhism: A Social History from Ancient Benāres to Modern Colombo.' ...

, and were consequently invited to make an album by

DGC Records DGC Records (an initialism for the David Geffen Company) was an American record label that operated as a division of Interscope Geffen A&M Records, which is owned by the Universal Music Group. History DGC Records was launched in 1990 as a subsi ...

. This temporarily interrupted Birch's filmmaking endeavors. However, Birch did produce several music videos in this period, including the DVD video for The Libertines, released with their album. Gina has directed videos for Daisy Chainsaw, (2) The Libertines (3), Palma Violets, The Raincoats, Dorothy, and many others. She directed New Order's

Crystal A crystal or crystalline solid is a solid material whose constituents (such as atoms, molecules, or ions) are arranged in a highly ordered microscopic structure, forming a crystal lattice that extends in all directions. In addition, macros ...

with artist Simon Tyszko, as well as multiple

video installations Video installation is a contemporary art form that combines video technology with installation art, making use of all aspects of the surrounding environment to affect the audience. Tracing its origins to the birth of video art in the 1970s, it has ...

. Birch's musical career continued through the 1990s, with the 1998 release of album " Slow Dirty Tears", with

The Hangovers The Hangovers are a men's collegiate a cappella ensemble based at Cornell University. Founded in 1968, they are the oldest active ''a cappella'' group on campus and are the official ''a cappella'' subset of the Cornell University Glee Club, it ...

, a band she had formed in 1996. In 2000 and 2007 Birch performed live at

Ladyfest Ladyfest is a Community organization, community-based, not-for-profit global music and arts festival for feminist and women artists. Individual Ladyfests differ, but usually feature a combination of band (music), bands, musical groups, performa ...

, and continues to perform regularly in London. In September 2007, she performed at the

Modern Art Oxford Modern Art Oxford is an art gallery established in 1965 in Oxford, England. From 1965 to 2002, it was called The Museum of Modern Art, Oxford. The gallery presents exhibitions of modern and contemporary art. It has a national and internationa ...

to commemorate the end of the museum's

Stella Vine Stella Vine (born Melissa Jane Robson, 1969) is an English artist, who lives and works in London. Her work is figurative painting, with subjects drawn from personal life, as well as from rock stars, royalty, and other celebrities. In 2001, she ...

exhibition."An evening of Britpunk and Britart"
, Oxford Contemporary Music, 21 September 2007. Retrieved 13 December 2008. Additionally, Birch has performed with Hayley Newman and Kaffe Matthews, as The Gluts, playing in several art museums and festivals. Currently, Birch pursues painting, and continues to produce music for subsequent albums. Birch is married to Mike Holdsworth, with whom she has two daughters, Honey and Lei-Lei. On 1 October 2021, Birch released her debut solo single, "Feminist Song".

Discography

Singles

Notes and references

External links

Gina Birch official web site

Gina Birch myspace site

The Raincoats official web site

The Raincoats myspace site

2009 interview
1955 births Living people People from Nottingham English women singers English rock bass guitarists British post-punk musicians Women bass guitarists People educated at Nottingham Girls' High School The Raincoats members {{UK-singer-stub