June Miles-Kingston is a British singer and drummer, best known for her work with various successful bands and singers in the 1980s. She was a founding member of the

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 ...

group The Mo-dettes, which lasted from 1979 to 1982, and later became a session drummer and backing vocalist for a variety of British

, new wave, and pop artists.

Career

Miles-Kingston was an art student who studied at the National Film School. She helped

Julien Temple Julien Temple (born 26 November 1953) is a British film, documentary and music video director. He began his career with short films featuring the Sex Pistols, and has continued with various off-beat projects, including ''The Great Rock 'n' Roll ...

make the

Sex Pistols The Sex Pistols were an English punk rock band formed in London in 1975. Although their initial career lasted just two and a half years, they were one of the most groundbreaking acts in the history of popular music. They were responsible for ...

' film ''

The Great Rock 'n' Roll Swindle ''The Great Rock 'n' Roll Swindle'' is a 1980 British mockumentary film directed by Julien Temple and produced by Don Boyd and Jeremy Thomas. It centres on the British punk rock band Sex Pistols and, most prominently, their manager Malcolm Mc ...

''. In 1979 she then moved in to squat with Kate Korris of

the Slits The Slits were a punk and post-punk band based in London, formed there in 1976 by members of the groups the Flowers of Romance and the Castrators. The group's early line-up consisted of Ari Up (Ariane Forster) and Palmolive (a.k.a. Paloma R ...

and

Joe Strummer John Graham Mellor (21 August 1952 – 22 December 2002), known professionally as Joe Strummer, was a British singer, musician and songwriter. He was the co-founder, lyricist, rhythm guitarist and co-lead vocalist of punk rock band the Clash, ...

the Clash The Clash were an English rock band formed in London in 1976 who were key players in the original wave of British punk rock. Billed as "The Only Band That Matters", they also contributed to the and new wave movements that emerged in the wa ...

and bought a drum kit from

Paul Cook Paul Thomas Cook (born 20 July 1956) is an English drummer and member of the punk rock band the Sex Pistols. He was also called "Cookie" by his friends on the punk music scene. Early life and career Cook was raised in Hammersmith and atte ...

of the

for £40. Within a few months, Miles-Kingston and Korris had formed the

Mo-dettes Mo-dettes were an English all-female post-punk band, formed in 1979 by guitarist Kate Korris, an original member of The Slits and brief member of The Raincoats, and bassist Jane Crockford, former member of Bank of Dresden. Ramona Carlier (vocal ...

with two friends, Jane Crockford and Ramona Carlier. The

toured for four years, supporting two-tone ska bands such as Madness and

The Specials The Specials, also known as The Special AKA, are an English Two-tone (music genre), 2 tone and ska revival band formed in 1977 in Coventry. After some early changes, the first stable lineup of the group consisted of Terry Hall (singer), Terr ...

before breaking up in 1982. Miles-Kingston went on to play drums with

Everything but the Girl Everything but the Girl (occasionally referred to as EBTG) are an English musical duo formed in Kingston upon Hull in 1982, consisting of lead singer and occasional guitarist Tracey Thorn and guitarist, keyboardist, producer and singer Ben Watt ...

, the

Fun Boy Three Fun Boy Three were an English new wave pop Fun Boy Three Allmusic bio/ref> band, active from 1981 to 1983 and formed by singers Terry Hall, Neville Staple and Lynval Golding after they left the Specials. They released two albums and had seve ...

(her backing vocals being evident in "

Our Lips Are Sealed "Our Lips Are Sealed" is a song co-written by Jane Wiedlin, guitarist of the Go-Go's, and Terry Hall, singer of the Specials and Fun Boy Three. It was first recorded by the Go-Go's as the opening track on their album '' Beauty and the Beat'' ...

"), and

The Communards The Communards were a British synth-pop duo formed in London in 1985. The duo consisted of Jimmy Somerville and Richard Coles. They are most famous for their cover versions of "Don't Leave Me This Way", originally by Harold Melvin & the Blue N ...

. She also played drums for

Feargal Sharkey Seán Feargal Sharkey (born 13 August 1958) is a singer from Northern Ireland most widely known as the lead vocalist of punk band The Undertones in the 1970s and 1980s, and for solo works in the 1980s and 1990s. His 1985 solo single "A Good H ...

on his hits "

A Good Heart "A Good Heart" is a song by Northern Irish singer Feargal Sharkey, released as the first single from his self-titled debut album. It was released in 1985 on Virgin Records. Background Written by then-Lone Justice frontwoman Maria McKee about h ...

" and "

You Little Thief "You Little Thief" is a song by Irish singer Feargal Sharkey, released in December 1985 as the second single from his self-titled debut album. It was written by Benmont Tench and produced by David A. Stewart. The song reached 5 in the United Ki ...

". In 1984 she released a solo single, "Say You", and sang the theme to the Channel 4 six-part comedy series ''

They Came from Somewhere Else ''They Came From Somewhere Else'' is a British sitcom produced by Television South, TVS and broadcast on Channel 4 in the United Kingdom in 1984. It pastiches numerous horror films including ''Dawn of the Dead (1978 film), Dawn of the Dead'', '' ...

''. In 1986 she contributed backing vocals to two tracks ("Eiledon" and "Remembrance Day") on the

Big Country Big Country are a Scottish rock band formed in Dunfermline, Fife, in 1981. The height of the band's popularity was in the early to mid 1980s, although it has retained a cult following for many years since. The band's music incorporated Scot ...

album ''

The Seer The Seer may refer to: Film and television * ''The Seer'' (film), a 2007 Italian thriller and horror film * "The Seer" (''Sliders''), an episode of the TV series * "The Seer" (''Stargate Atlantis''), an episode of the TV series * "The Seer" ...

''. She also contributed backing vocals to songs on

Microdisney Microdisney were an Irish rock band formed in Cork in 1980. They were founded and led by songwriters Cathal Coughlan (keyboards, vocals) and Sean O'Hagan (guitar). Originally typeset as Micro Disney, the band had become Microdisney by the tim ...

's ''The Clock Comes Down the Stairs'' (1985), as well as their ''39 Minutes'' (1987) and also prominently on

The Lover Speaks The Lover Speaks were an English new wave duo consisting of David Freeman (vocals) and Joseph Hughes (arranger, composer). They wrote and sang the original version of the song " No More "I Love You's"", covered by Annie Lennox in 1995 on her ...

' self-titled debut album, which included "

No More I Love You's No (and variant writings) may refer to one of these articles: English language * ''Yes'' and ''no'' (responses) * A determiner in noun phrases Alphanumeric symbols * No (kana), a letter/syllable in Japanese script * No symbol, displayed � ...

" (1986), later covered by

Annie Lennox Ann Lennox (born 25 December 1954) is a Scottish singer-songwriter, political activist and philanthropist. After achieving moderate success in the late 1970s as part of the New wave music, new wave band the Tourists, she and fellow musician D ...

on her 1995 album ''

Medusa In Greek mythology, Medusa (; Ancient Greek: Μέδουσα "guardian, protectress"), also called Gorgo, was one of the three monstrous Gorgons, generally described as winged human females with living venomous snakes in place of hair. Those ...

''. In 1989 she covered " Comment te dire adieu?" with

Jimmy Somerville James William Somerville (born 22 June 1961) is a Scottish pop singer and songwriter. He sang in the 1980s with the pop groups Bronski Beat and The Communards, and has also had a solo career. He is known in particular for his powerful and sou ...

, and the song reached number 14 in the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

. Miles-Kingston went on to study

fine art In European academic traditions, fine art is developed primarily for aesthetics or creative expression, distinguishing it from decorative art or applied art, which also has to serve some practical function, such as pottery or most metalwork ...

at St. Martin's and

filmmaking Filmmaking (film production) is the process by which a motion picture is produced. Filmmaking involves a number of complex and discrete stages, starting with an initial story, idea, or commission. It then continues through screenwriting, casti ...

at the

University of Sussex , mottoeng = Be Still and Know , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £14.4 million (2020) , budget = £319.6 million (2019–20) , chancellor = Sanjeev Bhaskar , vice_chancellor = Sasha Roseneil , ...

. Her film ''Dear Miss Bassey'' was awarded a prize at the London 'Shorts' Film Festival. She continues to make music and films, and is currently writing about her musical experiences.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Miles-Kingston, June Year of birth missing (living people) Living people British women singers British women drummers Women punk rock singers Women new wave singers Alumni of Central Saint Martins Alumni of the University of Sussex Women in punk