Joolz Denby
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Joolz Denby (born Julianne Mumford 9 April 1955, previously known simply as Joolz) is a poet, novelist, artist and tattooist based in
Bradford Bradford is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Bradford district in West Yorkshire, England. The city is in the Pennines' eastern foothills on the banks of the Bradford Beck. Bradford had a population of 349,561 at the 2011 ...
,
West Yorkshire West Yorkshire is a metropolitan and ceremonial county in the Yorkshire and Humber Region of England. It is an inland and upland county having eastward-draining valleys while taking in the moors of the Pennines. West Yorkshire came into exi ...
, England.


Early life

Born to an Army family at Colchester Barracks in Essex, England, Julianne Mumford moved with her parents to
Harrogate Harrogate ( ) is a spa town and the administrative centre of the Borough of Harrogate in North Yorkshire, England. Historic counties of England, Historically in the West Riding of Yorkshire, the town is a tourist destination and its visitor at ...
,
North Yorkshire North Yorkshire is the largest ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county (lieutenancy area) in England, covering an area of . Around 40% of the county is covered by National parks of the United Kingdom, national parks, including most of ...
at age 11. While a pupil at Harrogate Ladies' College, she started to hang around with local bikers at age 15, although she was more interested in the mechanical side of motorcycles than becoming a biker-chick. In 1975, at age 19, she married Kenneth Denby, who wanted to be a " prospect" or probationary member of the
Bradford Bradford is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Bradford district in West Yorkshire, England. The city is in the Pennines' eastern foothills on the banks of the Bradford Beck. Bradford had a population of 349,561 at the 2011 ...
chapter of the Satans Slaves Motorcycle Club. In an interview with the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
in 2005, she described her time as a Satans Slave associate as: "It was very difficult. We didn't have a very good relationship with the police. If anything happened you knew you would immediately get the blame. There were only certain places you could go. We had a lot of power on the streets so I was Little Queen — I just went where I liked and did what I liked because I had a lot of protection. We had a lot of power but you were definitely marked out. Bike culture is very hierarchic and patriarchal so obviously I wasn't in the Satan Slaves. My husband was in the Satan Slaves. I was married to him and that's quite a distinction. As a woman you can't be in those gangs."The Devil's Own writer!
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
(8 June 2005) Disillusioned with the strict regimentation and controls associated with membership of a biker group and particularly rebellious against those exercised over
WAGs WAGs (or Wags) is an acronym used to refer to wives and girlfriends of high-profile sportsmen. The term may also be used in the singular form, WAG, to refer to a specific female partner or life partner who is in a relationship with an athlete. Th ...
of the male bikers and the expected-conformity which she encountered during four years' association with the Slaves, she dyed her hair pink, broke her ties to the Slaves and later started working as a
bouncer A bouncer (also known as a doorman or door supervisor) is a type of security guard, employed at venues such as bars, nightclubs, cabaret clubs, stripclubs, casinos, hotels, billiard halls, restaurants, sporting events, schools, concerts, or ...
during the embryonic punk scene of the late 1970s at the Queen's Hall, Bradford. She then started attending a local poetry-reading group and organised public events for a local group ''Poetry in Motion''. Stepping in for an absent member, she gained her first experience of public speaking.''
Motorcycle News ''MCN'' or ''Motor Cycle News'' is a UK weekly motorcycling newspaper published by Bauer Consumer Media, based in Peterborough, United Kingdom. It claims to be "the world’s biggest weekly motorcycle newspaper". The title was founded in la ...
'', 17 April 1991, p.9 ''Emotional Terrorist'', by Mick Phillips. Retrieved 5 November 2014


Professional career

Known simply as Joolz, Denby is a poet, novelist, artist, illustrator, and professional tattooist. She first came to prominence as a touring
punk Punk or punks may refer to: Genres, subculture, and related aspects * Punk rock, a music genre originating in the 1970s associated with various subgenres * Punk subculture, a subculture associated with punk rock, or aspects of the subculture s ...
performance poet Performance poetry is a broad term, encompassing a variety of styles and genres. In brief, it is poetry that is specifically composed for or during a performance before an audience. During the 1980s, the term came into popular usage to describe ...
. She does not consider herself a 'performance poet'; instead, she designates herself a "spoken-word artist" as she considers that title more accurate. Denby often co-performs at musical venues and has been a regular at music festivals such as
Roskilde Roskilde ( , ) is a city west of Copenhagen on the Danish island of Zealand. With a population of 51,916 (), the city is a business and educational centre for the region and the 10th largest city in Denmark. It is governed by the administrative ...
,
Reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of Letter (alphabet), letters, symbols, etc., especially by Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifaceted process invo ...
and at
Glastonbury Festival Glastonbury Festival (formally Glastonbury Festival of Contemporary Performing Arts and known colloquially as Glasto) is a five-day festival of contemporary performing arts that takes place in Pilton, Somerset, England. In addition to contemp ...
(where she historically performed in the Theatre and Cabaret Marquees) as well as art and literature festivals in other countries. She began recording music singles and
spoken word Spoken word refers to an oral poetic performance art that is based mainly on the poem as well as the performer's aesthetic qualities. It is a late 20th century continuation of an ancient oral artistic tradition that focuses on the aesthetics of ...
recordings -in 1983 sometimes solo, but usually in collaboration with musicians
Jah Wobble John Joseph Wardle (born 11 August 1958), known by the stage name Jah Wobble, is an English bass guitarist and singer. He became known to a wider audience as the original bass player in Public Image Ltd (PiL) in the late 1970s and early 1980s; ...
, the underground
cult band A cult following refers to a group of fans who are highly dedicated to some person, idea, object, movement, or work, often an artist, in particular a performing artist, or an artwork in some medium. The lattermost is often called a cult classic. A ...
New Model Army The New Model Army was a standing army formed in 1645 by the Parliamentarians during the First English Civil War, then disbanded after the Stuart Restoration in 1660. It differed from other armies employed in the 1639 to 1653 Wars of the Th ...
, New Model Army's singer/songwriter
Justin Sullivan Justin Edward Sullivan (born 8 April 1956) is an English singer, songwriter and musician. He is also the lead vocalist, guitarist and principal songwriter of English rock band New Model Army, which he formed in 1980 together with drummer Robert ...
, and singer/songwriter Mik Davis. Denby is also a visual artist, a professional tattoo artist with her own studio in
Bradford Bradford is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Bradford district in West Yorkshire, England. The city is in the Pennines' eastern foothills on the banks of the Bradford Beck. Bradford had a population of 349,561 at the 2011 ...
and her photographs have been exhibited. She designed merchandise for New Model Army, New York Alcoholic Anxiety Attack, Monster Jaw and Utopian Love Revival, and created sleeve art. Her exhibition on the theme of elective body modification, 'The Body Carnival', ran from 30 October until 30 November 2008 at Cartwright Hall, Bradford and is held in the gallery's store as a touring exhibition. Denby has published poetry collections and novels. She continues to perform regularly at live venues and appears on television and radio. She has also recorded a number of unabridged
audiobook An audiobook (or a talking book) is a recording of a book or other work being read out loud. A reading of the complete text is described as "unabridged", while readings of shorter versions are abridgements. Spoken audio has been available in sc ...
s, including two recordings of her own novels (one of which, ''Stone Baby'', won the US Audio Industry 'Earphone Award'). Denby also managed the band 'New York Alcoholic Anxiety Attack' and latterly works with 'Utopian Love Revival' with whom she also has a side-project, 'Death By Rock 'N' Roll' featuring live performances of her poetry set to rock music written for her by the band. Denby worked on the screenplay project "Exilée" and "Secret Angles" with film maker
Nemo Sandman Nemo Sandman is a French composer, film director and illustrator. He is best known for his controversial musical videos on MTV for New Model Army, Lustral, Ten Mother Tongues, M.I.E.L, Gabriela Arnon, End of Orgy, Rise and Fall of a Decade ...
and produced poetry for Bradford Council as part of the city's bid for 2008 Capital of Culture. She wrote poems 'Northlands', commissioned by
Yorkshire Forward Yorkshire Forward was the regional development agency (RDA) for the Yorkshire and the Humber region of the United Kingdom. It supported the development of business in the region by encouraging public and private investment in education, skills, ...
for their Regional Economic Strategy Document, and for the
Royal Armouries The Royal Armouries is the United Kingdom's national collection of arms and armour. Originally an important part of England's military organization, it became the United Kingdom's oldest museum, originally housed in the Tower of London from ...
, the Captain Cook Museum in Whitby and Alchemy Asian Arts. In 2006 Denby was designated a Cultural Revolutionary by the Northern arts festival 'Illuminate' for her contribution to the region's arts and the cultural life of her home city of Bradford, and received an honorary doctorate from the
University of Bradford The University of Bradford is a Public university, public research university located in the city of Bradford, West Yorkshire, England. A plate glass university, it received its royal charter in 1966, making it the 40th university to be creat ...
in recognition of her role as a cultural ambassador. Denby won the
Crime Writers' Association The Crime Writers' Association (CWA) is a specialist authors’ organisation in the United Kingdom, most notable for its Dagger awards for the best crime writing of the year, and the Diamond Dagger awarded to an author for lifetime achievement. T ...
Debut Dagger award for her first novel, ''Stone Baby''. The CWA also nominated the novel for a
John Creasey John Creasey (17 September 1908 – 9 June 1973) was an English crime writer, also writing science fiction, romance and western novels, who wrote more than six hundred novels using twenty-eight different pseudonyms. He created several charac ...
Memorial Dagger prize for best first crime novel. Her third novel, ''Billie Morgan'', based on some of her experiences in the
biker Biker or bikie may refer to: * A cyclist, a bicycle rider or participant in cycling sports * A motorcyclist, any motorcycle rider or passenger, or participant in motorcycle sports ** A motorcycle club member, defined more narrowly than all motor ...
subculture A subculture is a group of people within a culture that differentiates itself from the parent culture to which it belongs, often maintaining some of its founding principles. Subcultures develop their own norms and values regarding cultural, poli ...
of the 1970s, made the shortlist for the 2005
Orange Prize The Women's Prize for Fiction (previously with sponsor names Orange Prize for Fiction (1996–2006 and 2009–12), Orange Broadband Prize for Fiction (2007–08) and Baileys Women's Prize for Fiction (2014–2017)) is one of the United Kingdom's m ...
. Denby's fifth collection of poetry ''Pray for Us Sinners'' (Comma Press) was published in 2006 and her fourth novel, ''Borrowed Light'' () was published in February 2006 by
Serpent's Tail Serpent's Tail is London-based independent publishing firm founded in 1986 by Pete Ayrton. It specialises in publishing work in translation, particularly European crime fiction. In January 2007, it was bought by a British publisher Profile Books ...
). In 2010 she set up an independent publishing house 'Ignite Books' alongside poet Steve Pottinger which published her novels ''A True Account of the Curious Mystery of Miss Lydia Larkin & The Widow Marvell'' (2011) and ''Wild Thing'' (2012).


Works


Collections of poetry and short stories

* ''Mad, Bad, & Dangerous to Know'' (
Virgin Books Virgin Books is a British book publisher 90% owned by the publishing group Random House, and 10% owned by Virgin Group, the company originally set up by Richard Branson as a record company. History Virgin established its book publishing arm ...
, 1986) * ''Emotional Terrorism'' (
Bloodaxe Books Bloodaxe Books is a British publishing house specializing in poetry. History Bloodaxe Books was founded in 1978 in Newcastle upon Tyne by Neil Astley, who is still editor and managing director. Bloodaxe moved its editorial office to Northumbe ...
, 1990) * ''The Pride of Lions'' (Bloodaxe Books, (1994) * ''Errors of the Spirit'' (Flambard Press 2000) * ''Pray for Us Sinners'' (Comma Press, 2005)


Novels

* ''Stone Baby'', (
HarperCollins HarperCollins Publishers LLC is one of the Big Five English-language publishing companies, alongside Penguin Random House, Simon & Schuster, Hachette, and Macmillan. The company is headquartered in New York City and is a subsidiary of News Cor ...
, 2000) * ''Corazon'', (HarperCollins, 2001) * '' Billie Morgan'', (
Serpent's Tail Serpent's Tail is London-based independent publishing firm founded in 1986 by Pete Ayrton. It specialises in publishing work in translation, particularly European crime fiction. In January 2007, it was bought by a British publisher Profile Books ...
, 2004) * ''Borrowed Light'', (Serpent's Tail, 2006) * ''A True Account of the Curious Mystery of Miss Lydia Larkin & The Widow Marvell'' ( Ignite Books 2011) * ''Wild Thing'' (Ignite Books 2012)


Discography

* ''Love Is (Sweet Romance)'' ( EP with music by New Model Army)
EMI EMI Group Limited (originally an initialism for Electric and Musical Industries, also referred to as EMI Records Ltd. or simply EMI) was a British transnational conglomerate founded in March 1931 in London. At the time of its break-up in 201 ...
, 1985 * ''Mad, Bad and Dangerous to Know'' (EP with music by New Model Army) EMI, 1986 * ''Hex'' (music by New Model Army) EMI, 1990 * ''Weird Sister'' (music by Justin Sullivan) Intercord Records, 1991 * ''Joolz 1983–1985'' (compilation of Abstract Records material with music by
Jah Wobble John Joseph Wardle (born 11 August 1958), known by the stage name Jah Wobble, is an English bass guitarist and singer. He became known to a wider audience as the original bass player in Public Image Ltd (PiL) in the late 1970s and early 1980s; ...
, Justin Sullivan and other musicians, collecting her first audio recordings) Abstract Records, 1993 * Red Sky Coven, ''Volumes 1&2'' (live collective recording of Red Sky Coven, with Joolz on some of the tracks) Attack Attack Records: 1995 * ''True North'' (music by Justin Sullivan) Wooltown Records, 1995 or 1997 * Red Sky Coven, ''Volume 3'' Attack Attack Records: 1999 * ''Spirit Stories'' (poetry set to music by Justin Sullivan) Attack Attack Records: 2008 * Red Sky Coven ''5'' Attack Attack Records: 2009 * ''The Black Dahlia'' (poetry set to music by Mik Davis) Attack Attack Records: 2012 * ''Crow'' (poetry set to music by Henning Nugel) Attack Attack Records: 2016


Audio books

* ''Stone Baby'' (2000) * ''Billie Morgan'' (2005) * ''The Accidental'' (written by Ali Smith; audio recording by Joolz Denby)


See also

*
Punk literature Punk literature (also called punk lit and, rarely, punklit) is literature related to the punk subculture. The attitude and ideologies of punk rock gave rise to distinctive characteristics in the writing it manifested. It has influenced the trans ...
*
New Model Army The New Model Army was a standing army formed in 1645 by the Parliamentarians during the First English Civil War, then disbanded after the Stuart Restoration in 1660. It differed from other armies employed in the 1639 to 1653 Wars of the Th ...


References


External links

*
Part of a New Model Army discography site, an illustrated list of spoken word recordings and the first two Red Sky Coven volumes; it excludes Denby's audio book work
{{DEFAULTSORT:Denby, Joolz Living people 1955 births English women poets Writers from Bradford English women novelists Spoken word poets People educated at Harrogate Ladies' College 20th-century English women 20th-century English people 21st-century English women 21st-century English people