The Ethical Debating Society (aka T.E.D.S.) are a three-piece

DIY "Do it yourself" ("DIY") is the method of building, modifying, or repairing things by oneself without the direct aid of professionals or certified experts. Academic research has described DIY as behaviors where "individuals use raw and sem ...

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 ...

, post-

riot grrrl Riot grrrl is an underground feminist punk movement that began during the early 1990s within the United States in Olympia, Washington and the greater Pacific Northwest and has expanded to at least 26 other countries. Riot grrrl is a subcultur ...

group from

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

. They have been described as "one of the most exciting DIY bands" in the UK.

History

Initially a solo project for vocalist/guitarist Tegan Christmas, The Ethical Debating Society formed as a band in 2009 with Lauren Darling (guitar) and Chris Morris (drums). They received an early name-check in

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

from

Everett True Everett True (born Jeremy Andrew Thackray on 21 April 1961) is an English music journalist and musician. He became interested in rock music after hearing The Residents, and formed a band with school friends. He has written and recorded as The ...

. Recordings made with producer Ant Chapman were initially unreleased, although two tracks were included on a later EP. By 2010 Darling and Morris had left and Tegan continued with a varying line up until the group settled as Tegan with Eli Tupa and Kris Martin in 2013. The band played a number of early gigs around the UK

queercore Queercore (or homocore) is a cultural/social movement that began in the mid-1980s as an offshoot of the punk subculture and a music genre that comes from punk rock. It is distinguished by its discontent with society in general, and specifical ...

scene, with Ste McCabe, The Younger Lovers and others; following an appearance on

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 ...

queercore label Tuff Enuff Records’s 2012 compilation ''Why Diet When You Could Riot?'' gigs with

Shrag Shrag were a British post-punk-influenced indie pop band, based in London and Brighton. The band released three albums on the Where It's at Is Where You Are label, the last a joint release on Fortuna Pop! Formation and early years Shrag's first ...

and Tunabunny led to a split

single Single may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Single (music), a song release Songs * "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004 * "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008 * "Single" (William Wei song), 2016 * "Single", by ...

with London’s

Skinny Girl Diet Skinny Girl Diet is a British political punk band, often described as riot grrrl, formed in London, England. The group consists of singer, songwriter and guitarist Delilah Holliday and drummer Ursula Holliday. Biography Sisters Delilah and ...

on US label

Happy Happy Birthday To Me Records Happy Happy Birthday To Me Records is an American independent record label based in Athens, Georgia. Its catalogue features indie rock, indie pop and hip-hop music, with several of its artists associated with or influenced by The Elephant 6 Reco ...

in 2013. A cassette/download EP on Tuff Enuff - "Hens Teeth" - followed in 2014. In 2015, The Ethical Debating Society's debut album ''New Sense'' was released on

Odd Box Records Odd Box Records was a British DIY indiepop record label started in London but was finally based in Cardiff, Wales, following relocation in 2016. It was hailed as a "big presence on the indiepop scene." History Odd Box was launched in 2009, aft ...

following audio and video previews, and received positive reviews from SoundsXP, Collapse Board, Louder Than War and others, with radio support including

BBC Radio 6 BBC Radio 6 Music is a British digital radio station owned and operated by the BBC, specialising primarily in alternative music. BBC 6 Music was the first national music radio station to be launched by the BBC in 32 years. It is available onl ...

Dandelion ''Taraxacum'' () is a large genus of flowering plants in the family Asteraceae, which consists of species commonly known as dandelions. The scientific and hobby study of the genus is known as taraxacology. The genus is native to Eurasia and Nor ...

and

Artrocker Artrocker is a UK-based collective involved in music promotion and publishing. It was started by Paul Cox and Tom Fawcett who had been co-promoters of a London night called The Sausage Machine. Having started life with an online newsletter and eve ...

Radio. The album was produced by Mark Jasper at Sound Savers studio. Album track "Razor Party" (written by former drummer Rob) was voted #32 in the 2015

John Peel John Robert Parker Ravenscroft (30 August 1939 – 25 October 2004), known professionally as John Peel, was an English disc jockey (DJ) and radio presenter. He was the longest-serving of the original BBC Radio 1 DJs, broadcasting regularly fr ...

memorial '

Festive 50 The Festive Fifty was originally an annual list of the year's 50 (though the exact figure varied above and below this number) best songs compiled at the end of the year and voted for by listeners to John Peel's BBC Radio 1 show. It was usually do ...

' compiled by

Dandelion Radio Dandelion Radio is an internet radio station founded in June 2006 with the aim of pursuing the musical legacy of the popular and influential BBC Radio 1 disc jockey John Peel. The station takes its name from the record label Dandelion Records found ...

. The band supported

Jack Off Jill Jack Off Jill was an American gothic rock band from Fort Lauderdale, Florida, founded in 1992 by vocalist Jessicka, drummer Tenni Ah-Cha-Cha, bassist/keyboardist Agent Moulder, and guitarist Michelle Inhell. Though these four women were the init ...

at their final show, at

Heaven Heaven or the heavens, is a common religious cosmological or transcendent supernatural place where beings such as deities, angels, souls, saints, or venerated ancestors are said to originate, be enthroned, or reside. According to the belie ...

in London, and played with

Shonen Knife Shonen Knife is a Japanese pop-punk band formed in Osaka in 1981. Influenced by 1960s girl groups, pop bands, the Beach Boys, and early punk rock bands such as the Ramones, the band crafts stripped-down songs with simple yet unconventional lyr ...

on the London date of that band's 2016 tour. They played at

Indietracks Indietracks was an annual indie pop music festival at the Midland Railway in Butterley, Derbyshire, UK. The main site was located at Swanwick Junction. Bands played in variety of locations, including a restored church, in a train shed, and on ...

2015, and have also played with

The Wolfhounds The Wolfhounds are an English noise pop band formed in Romford, Essex, in 1985 by Dave Callahan, Paul Clark, Andy Golding, Andy Bolton and Frank Stebbing, and originally active until 1990. The band reformed in 2005 and continues to write, recor ...

The Nightingales Nightingales (a.k.a. The Nightingales) are a British post-punk/alternative rock band, formed in 1979 in Birmingham, England, by four members of Birmingham's punk group The Prefects. They had been part of The Clash's 'White Riot Tour', record ...

The Homosexuals The Homosexuals are an English punk rock, punk/post-punk band. The band have been described as "punk visionaries". History The Rejects (1976–1977) The Rejects were formed in the bar of Goldsmiths College in South London in 1976, when ex-Su ...

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Prolapse In medicine, prolapse is a condition in which organs fall down or slip out of place. It is used for organs protruding through the vagina, rectum, or for the misalignment of the valves of the heart. A spinal disc herniation is also sometimes call ...

, Bis,

Lung Leg Lung Leg (born Elisabeth Carr; July 8, 1963, in Minneapolis, Minnesota) is an American pin-up girl and actress perhaps best known for appearing on the cover of the Sonic Youth album ''EVOL''. During the 1980s, she gained fame as a model and s ...

and Darren Hayman. In 2013, T.E.D.S. were named as a 'band to watch' by

Londonist Gothamist LLC is the operator, or in some cases franchisor, of eight city-centric websites that focused on news, events, food, culture, and other local coverage. It was founded in 2003 by Jake Dobkin and Jen Chung. In March 2017, Joe Ricketts, ...

. In 2017, they were included in

Clash magazine ''Clash'' is a music and fashion magazine and website based in the United Kingdom. It is published four times a year by Music Republic Ltd, whose predecessor Clash Music Ltd went into liquidation. The magazine won the Best New Magazine award in ...

's list of "favourite new groups" alongside

Shopping Shopping is an activity in which a customer browses the available goods or services presented by one or more retailers with the potential intent to purchase a suitable selection of them. A Retail#Shopper profiles, typology of shopper types ha ...

and others. In 2019

Contactmusic Contactmusic.com is an online magazine of cultural criticism based in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It publishes reviews, interviews, and detailed essays on most cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, films, and ...

called them "one of the best" London DIY bands.

Discography

Albums

*''New Sense'' –

(UK) 12-inch LP/MP3 (2015)

EPs/Singles

*''Live'' EP, self-released, CDr (2011) *Split EP, HHBTM Records, 7-inch (2013) ith Skinny Girl Dietref name=girlsare_2013_split/> *''Hens Teeth'' EP, Tuff Enuff Records, MC/DL (2014) *"London Particular", self-released, DD (2017) *''Mutual Indecision'' EP, Radical Possibilities, MC/DL (2023)

Compilation appearances

*"Kill You Last" on ''Why Diet When You Can Diet'', Tuff Enuff Records, LP/DD (2012) *"Kill You Last" on ''MC12'', HHBTM Records, MC (2012) *"Future Imperfect" on ''Keroleen Mixtape #1'', Keroleen Records, MC/DD (2015) *"Cover Up" on ''Indietracks Compilation 2015'',

, DD (2015) *"Riderrr" on ''Odd Box Weekender V'', Odd Box, DD (2015) *"

Run Rudolph Run "Run Rudolph Run" is a Christmas song written by Chuck Berry but credited to Johnny Marks and M. Brodie due to Marks' trademark on the character of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. It was published by St. Nicholas Music (ASCAP) and was first record ...

" on ''Riot Grrrl Christmas'',

Cleopatra Records Cleopatra Records is an American independent record label based in Los Angeles, California. It was founded in 1992 by Brian Perera. The record label has since grown into a family of labels, including Hypnotic Records, Purple Pyramid Records, Dea ...

, CD/DD (2015) *"List of Requirements" on ''Odd Box 2015'', Odd Box, DD (2015) *"Creosote Ideas" on ''Don't Be Left Without Us'', 2CD (2016) *"Poor Liam" on ''Loud Women - Volume One'', Loud Women Records, CD (2017) *"Paywall" on ''Kobayashi I: Intergalactic Champions'', Kobayashi Nights Records, CD/DD (2017) *"Yes" on ''Salvage: A DIY Pop Compilation'', Move Under Your Own Power, MC/DD (2018) *"Emoticon" on ''#SolidarityNotSilence Compilation (Pt1)'' (2019)

Line up

Current

*Tegan Christmas (vocals, guitar) *Lu (drums) *Kris Martin (guitar, vocals)

*Eli Tupa (drums, 2013-2019) *Rob Macabre (drums, 2010-2012) *Dave Burbidge (drums, 2013) *Su (percussion/bvs, 2010-2013) *Lauren Darling (guitar/vocals, 2009) *Chris Morris (drums, 2009)

References

External links

Stereosanctity album review2015 interview2015 interview2015 album review2016 interview
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ethical Debating Society, The Underground punk scene in the United Kingdom Riot grrrl bands Feminist musicians English punk rock groups English indie rock groups British indie pop groups