The Wimmins' Institute was a four-piece all-female

indie rock Indie rock is a Music subgenre, subgenre of rock music that originated in the United Kingdom, United States and New Zealand in the early to mid-1980s. Although the term was originally used to describe rock music released through independent reco ...

band from

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, England, formed in 2015. The band was formed by Jennifer Denitto on

drum The drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel–Sachs classification system, it is a membranophone. Drums consist of at least one membrane, called a drumhead or drum skin, that is stretched over a ...

s/guitar, Cassie Fox on

bass guitar The bass guitar (), also known as the electric bass guitar, electric bass, or simply the bass, is the lowest-pitched member of the guitar family. It is similar in appearance and construction to an Electric guitar, electric but with a longer nec ...

, Melissa Reardon on

trumpet The trumpet is a brass instrument commonly used in classical and jazz musical ensemble, ensembles. The trumpet group ranges from the piccolo trumpet—with the highest Register (music), register in the brass family—to the bass trumpet, pitche ...

/drums, and Deborah van der Geugten on

guitar The guitar is a stringed musical instrument that is usually fretted (with Fretless guitar, some exceptions) and typically has six or Twelve-string guitar, twelve strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming ...

. All four members provided vocals. Fox and Reardon also played together in Socialist R&B band

Thee Faction Thee Faction are a British garage rock/ garage punk band from Surrey, England, noted for their explicit socialist agenda. They refer to their music, which incorporates elements of garage rock, pop and rhythm and blues as "Socialist RnB". Thei ...

; Denitto and van der Geugten had both been members of

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. A subcultural movement ...

band Linus. Reardon and Denitto also play in Keith Top of the Pops & His Minor UK Indie Celebrity All-Star Backing Band. The group played their first gig in 2015 and subsequently played with

Grace Petrie Grace Petrie (, born 24 July 1987) is an English folk singer-songwriter and guitarist from Leicester, England. She was hailed in ''The Guardian'' as "a powerful new songwriting voice" in 2011. Biography Grace Petrie began performing in 2006 as ...

the Ethical Debating Society The Ethical Debating Society (aka T.E.D.S.) are a three-piece DIY punk, post-riot grrrl group from London. They have been described as "one of the most exciting DIY bands" in the UK. History Initially a solo project for vocalist/guitarist Teg ...

Vice Squad Vice Squad are an English punk rock band formed in 1979 in Bristol. The band was formed from two other local punk bands, The Contingent and TV Brakes. The songwriter and vocalist Beki Bondage (born Rebecca Bond) was a founding member of the b ...

the Monochrome Set The Monochrome Set are an English post-punk/ new wave band, originally formed in London in January 1978. The most recent line-up consists of Bid, Andy Warren, Athen Ayren and Stephen Gilchrist. History Original band: 1978–1985 The Mono ...

and Bis. Their debut album, ''Badass Lady Power Picnic'', produced by

Charley Stone Charley Stone is an English multi-instrumentalist musician based in London, UK. Active in the indie scene since the early 1990s, in 2024 Stone released her debut solo album, "Here Comes The Actual Band", to positive reviews from Louder Than War ...

, was self-released in October 2015. It was rated 4/5 by R2, who described it as "just wonderfully, tunefully, angrily unprofessional". The

Morning Star Morning Star, morning star, or Morningstar may refer to: Astronomy * Morning star, most commonly used as a name for the planet Venus when it appears in the east before sunrise ** See also Venus in culture * Morning star, a name for the star Siri ...

described it as a "brilliant debut". Tracks from the album, including lead single "Mansplaining", have been played by

Steve Lamacq Stephen Paul Lamacq (born 16 October 1964), sometimes known by his nickname Lammo (given to him by John Peel), is an English disc jockey, currently working with BBC Radio 6 Music. Lamacq was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire ( ...

BBC Radio 6 The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current state ...

. In 2016 the band released the new song "Nando's" as a single, with accompanying video. In 2017, the group split, with Fox continuing with new band Guttfull, and Reardon continuing with Foxcunt. Denitto and van der Geugten later joined Argonaut. Denitto, Reardon and WI 'fifth member' Charley Stone also play in The Fallen Women.

Discography

*"Mansplaining", DL single (2015) *"

Let It Go "Let It Go" is a song from Disney's 2013 computer-animated feature film '' Frozen'', whose music and lyrics were composed by husband-and-wife songwriting team Robert Lopez and Kristen Anderson-Lopez. The song was performed in its original show ...

On Another Planet", DL single (2015) *''Badass Lady Power Picnic'', CD album (2015) *"Nando's", DL single (2016)

References

External links

The Wimmins' Institute Facebook pageThe Wimmins' Institute blogThe Wimmins' Institute YouTube Channel
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wimmin's Institute, The All-female punk bands Indie rock groups from London Riot grrrl bands 2015 establishments in England Feminist musicians Underground punk scene in the United Kingdom