Kenickie

Named after their favourite Grease character, Kenickie stormed stages in the early 90’s, knocking the Britpop boys off their pedestals in platform wedges and PVC miniskirts.  Sunderland schoolmates Lauren Laverne, Marie Nixon and Emma Jackson had enough of the charmless men topping the charts and released their first neon pink EP, Catsuit City. Lauren ordered young women everywhere to take what you can, eat of the man, wear high heels and get a record deal in what would become her celebrated north-east accent.

They strummed guitars in sequins and glitter on Top of the Pops and slid across the stage in their wellies at Glastonbury. They opened for The Ramones at Brixton Academy and drank beer with Courtney Love in New York. ‘I hope those raw-boned northern girls will be huge,’ Courtney said, ‘so there will be a planet run by women, the way I want it.’

The band broke up when they got tired of eating chips at service stations and sleeping on strangers’ floors. They were famous for their quick quips and sharp wits, and Lauren started a spangly career in TV and radio, covering gigs and festivals and later hosting her own show on the BBC. Marie became the Chief Executive of Sunderland University Student’s Union, fighting for social change through creativity and education. Emma works as an urban sociologist and ethnographer at Goldsmiths University, reading, teaching and exploring belonging, public space, class, inequality and ethnicity.

Kenickie were clever and wild. Don’t pretend you’re nice, they screamed in fur coats and slip dresses. They were a lip-glossed antidote to the male-dominated music scene of the 90’s and they refused to come pre-packaged or conform to expectations. They are still punks and radicals, believing in the power of art to create social change.

Listen to Kenickie