The Poison Girls were an English

anarcho-punk Anarcho-punk (also known as anarchist punk or peace punk) is ideological subgenre of punk rock that promotes anarchism. Some use the term broadly to refer to any punk music with anarchist lyrical content, which may figure in crust punk, hardcor ...

band from

Brighton Brighton () is a seaside resort and one of the two main areas of the City of Brighton and Hove in the county of East Sussex, England. It is located south of London. Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze A ...

. The singer/guitarist,

Vi Subversa Frances Sokolov (20 June 1935 – 19 February 2016), better known by her stage name Vi Subversa, was the lead singer, lyricist and rhythm guitarist of British anarcho-punk band Poison Girls. Subversa was born of Ashkenazi Jewish parents. She spe ...

, was a middle-aged mother of two at the band's inception, and wrote songs that explored sexuality and gender roles, often from an

anarchist Anarchism is a political philosophy and movement that is skeptical of all justifications for authority and seeks to abolish the institutions it claims maintain unnecessary coercion and hierarchy, typically including, though not necessar ...

perspective. The original Poison Girls line-up also included: Lance D'Boyle (drums); Richard Famous (guitar/vocals); Nil (tapes/bass/electric violin); and Bernhardt Rebours (bass/synthesiser/piano).

History

Poison Girls formed in

in 1976, before moving to Burleigh House in Essex, near to Dial House, the home of fellow

band

Crass Crass were an English art collective and punk rock band formed in Epping, Essex in 1977, who promoted anarchism as a political ideology, a lifestylism, way of life, and a resistance movement. Crass popularised the anarcho-punk movement of the ...

, with whom they worked closely for a number of years, playing over 100 gigs with the band. In 1979 they contributed to the revival of the peace movement by playing a number of benefit gigs with Crass and paying for the production of the first CND badges since CND's heyday. Again in 1979, and again with Crass, they proved influential to the establishment of the short lived

Wapping Autonomy Centre Wapping Autonomy Centre (also known as The Anarchist Centre) was a self-managed social centre in the London Docklands from late 1981 to 1982. The project was initially funded by money raised by the benefit single ''Persons Unknown''/''Bloody Rev ...

by contributing the track "Persons Unknown" to a split single with Crass (who contributed "Bloody Revolutions") and raising over £10,000. Their song "Bully Boys", an attack on violent

machismo Machismo (; ; ; ) is the sense of being " manly" and self-reliant, a concept associated with "a strong sense of masculine pride: an exaggerated masculinity". Machismo is a term originating in the early 1930s and 1940s best defined as hav ...

led to the band being attacked by members of the National Front. The band also set up the label X-N-Trix alongside a publishing arm for the ''Impossible Dream'' magazine and recording studios for other artists. Though their last studio recording to date was in 1985, a number of Poison Girls compilations have since been released, and their songs frequently appear on punk anthologies. Poison Girls were involved with the production of ''Aids — The Musical'', through a company called The Lenya Hobnoobs Theatre Company. They did another show called ''Mother Russia was a Lesbian'' in 1992, and reunited for a show at the London Astoria II in 1995, celebrating the 60th birthday of Vi Subversa. Currently, Richard Famous works as a painter and decorator. The pair have performed as That Famous Subversa, until Subversa's death in February 2016.

Members

- vocals/guitar *Richard Famous - guitar/vocals *Lance d’Boyle (Gary Lance Robins) - drums/backing vocals (1976–84) *Bella Donna - bass (1976–77) *Pete Fender - bass (1978, 1984) *Scott Barker - bass (1978) *Bernhardt Rebours - bass/synth/piano/backing vocals (1979–81) *Nil - tapes.(1979–1981), electric violin and Bass (1980–1995) *Chris Grace - bass (1982–83) *Mark Dunn - bass (1983–84) *Cynth Ethics (Sian Daniels) - synth/vocals (1983–85) *Martin Heath - bass (1984) *Max Vol - bass (1984–87) *Agent Orange - drums (1984–87) *Andy Demetriou - bass (1989-89)

Discography

Albums

*(1979) '' Hex'' (EP - X-N-Trix Records, re-released in 1980 on

Crass Records Crass Records was an independent record label that was set up by the anarchist punk band Crass. Overview and history Prior to the formation of Crass, Penny Rimbaud and Gee Vaucher had published their creative works via their own Dial Ho ...

) * (1980) '' Chappaquiddick Bridge'' (plus "A Statement" flexi disc - Crass Records) * (1982) ''

Where's the Pleasure? ''Where's the Pleasure?'' is the second studio album by UK band Poison Girls. It was released by Xntrix Records in 1982. The album mostly moved away from the political topics of previous releases, focusing more on sexual matters. Critical rec ...

'' (X-N-Trix Records) * (1985) ''

Songs of Praise ''Songs of Praise'' is a BBC Television religious programme that presents Christian hymns sung in churches of varying denominations from around the UK. The series was first broadcast in October 1961. On that occasion, the venue was the Ta ...

'' (features cover artwork by

Clifford Harper Clifford Harper (born 13 July 1949 in Chiswick, West London) is a worker, illustrator, and militant anarchist. He wrote ''Anarchy: A Graphic Guide'' in 1987. He is a long-term contributor to ''The Guardian'' newspaper and many other publications. ...

- X-N-Trix Records)

Live

* (1981) ''Total Exposure'' (X-N-Trix Records)

Singles

*(1979) "Closed Shop" / "Piano Lessons" (split 12" single with

Fatal Microbes Fatal Microbes were an English punk rock band formed in 1978. The main line-up of the band consisted of Honey Bane on vocals, Gem Stone on drums, Pete Fender on guitar and Scotty Barker on bass. The band's name is regarded as a reference to ...

- X-N-Trix Records / Small Wonder Records) *(1980) "Persons Unknown" (joint single with Crass as a benefit to raise funds to start an Anarchist Centre - Crass Records) *(1980) "Bully Boys" / "Pretty Polly" (flexi disc free with fanzine ''In The City'' #15) *(1980) "All Systems Go!" (7" - Crass Records) *(1983) "Are You Happy Now?" / "White Cream Dream" (12" - Illuminated Records) *(1983) "One Good Reason" (7" - Illuminated Records) *(1984) "I'm Not A Real Woman" (12" - X-N-Trix Records) *(1985) "The Price of Grain and the Price of Blood" (12" - Upright Records)

Compilations

*(1984) ''7 Year Scratch'' (double compilation from previous releases plus live material - X-N-Trix Records) *(1984) ''Who? What? Why? When? Where?'' (song "The Offending Article" included on compilation by Conflict, Mortarhate Records). The album had little circulation on its initial release, but gained greater currency when re-released in 2003. *(1995) ''Statement - The Complete Recordings'' (4 CD boxed set with accompanying lyric and history booklets -

Cooking Vinyl Cooking Vinyl is a British independent record label, based in Acton, London, England, founded in 1986 by former manager and booking agent Martin Goldschmidt and business partner Pete Lawrence. Goldschmidt remains the current owner and chairman ...

) *(1995) ''Real Woman'' (Cooking Vinyl Records) *(1997) ''Their Finest Moments'' (Nectar Masters Records) *(1998) ''Poisonous'' (Recall 2 cd Records)

References

External links

Official Poison Girls Website

{{Authority control Anarcho-punk groups English rock music groups Musical groups from Brighton and Hove Musical groups established in 1976 Musical groups disestablished in 1987