Scottish girl bands then and now: The Marches on Since Yesterday
By Lucy Gilbert
This year’s Edinburgh International Film Festival brought the long-awaited premier of Carla J Easton and Blair Young’s Since Yesterday: The Untold Story of Scotland’s Girl Bands. Premiering on the closing night, 20 August.
Since Yesterday covers all-female bands across genres and decades. From Strawberry Switchblade, the chart breaking pop duo of the 1980s, to LungLeg and Sally Skull, bands influenced by the all-female post punk movement Riot Grrrl.
Strawberry Switchblade in 1985 Credit: Gettyimages
Despite the obvious tale of industry sexism and erasure, these bands prevailed and the goal with Since Yesterday is to show possibility and hope for the future as well as make sure the past isn’t forgotten.
Inspired by these bands from the past, The Marches formed in 2023. They’re an all-girl pop-rock group with members from Paisley and Ayrshire bringing timeless power to the music industry.
This summer, a month before Edinburgh International Film Festival, their first single was released followed by an impressive headline set at King Tuts.
Speaking of the Scottish music scene in the past, The Marches said: “After talking to some people who were in the music scene at the time it seems all-female acts were pretty much non-existent. Female musicians were backing vocalists or lead vocalists with an all-male backing.”
The band released their latest single, Talking Too Much on 13 September. Despite being written five years earlier, the song’s message is a reference to a comment made after a performance at The Keg in Paisley, when a man at the venue had said The Marches were “not bad for a girl band” which the band took in their stride.
Being inspired by LungLeg, Glasgow girl-band of the 1990s, through Since Yesterday, it’s to see a similar band in Glasgow’s current music scene. Especially with growing concerns that the Glasgow DIY scene is filled with cocky young men.
However, times have changed. The Marches said: “In the current music scene there is quite a wide range of all-female acts. We have had the pleasure of playing alongside a few.”
They also mention the importance of bands like The Last Dinner Party, an all-female band conquering the mainstream at the moment.
The band said: “They have shown us the possibilities for us as an all-female band in the current music scene.”
The end of Since Yesterday focusses on what’s happening right now in Scotland for female and LGBT musicians.
The documentary specifically mentions collectives PopGirlz Scotland and Hen Hoose as creating a platform and support for female musicians in Scotland.
While change is happening, it starts small with things like looking at your own record collections or playlists. PopGirlz specifically have posted statistics to Instagram related to playlist diversity. In 2022, only 8% of artists on Spotify’s Made in Scotland playlist were female.
If you look at your own playlists and notice a lack of women, give LungLeg and The Marches a listen.