FEATURE:
International Women’s Day 2025
Queens That Opened My Eyes to the Power of Music
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IN the second feature…
IN THIS PHOTO: Björk in 1995/PHOTO CREDIT: Corbis
ahead of International Women’s Day on 8th March, I wanted to talk about the queens of music that expanded my horizons. I grew up in the 1990s when the music industry was hugely dominated by men. There was a definite bias towards them. A toxicity in the press and a misogyny that must have been incredibly hard. This rolled into the 2000s. The way so many young women were projected in the media. Over-sexualised. I was probably too young to realise how bad it was for women. Although a lot of my music tastes were male artists and bands, it was women in music that truly opened my eyes to its power and possibility. I have said before how Madonna was one of the first artists I really fell for and admired. I heard her music all through my childhood and loved her albums of the 1980s. However, when Ray of Light arrived in 1998, it awoke something in me. I had not really bonded with Electronic or Dance music. Ray of Light not only confirmed the fact Madonna was peerless. It also compelled me to delve into genres I had not really investigated before The fact Madonna kept reinventing herself. Ray of Light scored some of my best moments at high school. Some really happy times. It is obvious how much of an impression Kate Bush made on me. If Madonna and artists like Björk arrest my senses because of their music diversity and how incredibly strong individual and original they were, Kate Bush opened the senses. Albums like The Kick Inside and Hounds of Love revealed this artist with a singular voice. Even as a teenager I knew how rare it was for a female artist to produce her own album. Something not encouraged in the 1990s perhaps. Or not common. Bush’s incredible work in the 1980s no doubt inspired so many women coming through a decade later. Although I was very into Britpop, I found that a lot of incredible women releasing amazing work were perhaps not giving the same amount of oxygen and respect. Jagged Little Pill by Alanis Morissette was an album that was so different to anything from the Britpop crowd.
Artists like Alanis Morissette and bands like Republica, Sleeper and Elastica definitely provided something fresh and exciting. One of the biggest music loves of my teenage years was R&B and girl groups. I was never a huge fan of the Pop mainstream and found a lot of commercial Pop uninspiring. Groups such as TLC, En Vogue, Spice Girls and All Saints were fond loves of mine. The chemistry in the groups and their incredible dynamics. The fact they could have this Pop core but there was grit, swagger, passion and elements of R&B and so many other genres in the mix. Because of this, I explored R&B an Soul. Going off in different directions. Phenomenal artists like Lauryn Hill. Making me not only more connected with music and the emotions expressed. Compelled by wider and important issues. Not to say male artists were insignificant or not discussing important things. However, a lot of the Hip-Hop and Rap queens of the 1990s and 2000s made me a lot more conscientious and politically-minded. I am not sure exactly when it happened. I had been into groups like Public Enemy and N.W.A. However, there was something amazing and empowering women in the genes that spoke to me more. Whitney Houston, Amy Winehouse, Gwen Stefani and so many other women whose music and phenomenal talent changed me in different ways. The Pop music of Kylie Minogue in my childhood was addictive. Albums like Light Years (2000) and Fever (2001) helped me through some tough times when I started out at university. I think back at my musical education through the 1980s, 1990s and 2000s. So much admiration to incredible women. Releasing music in an industry that didn’t always have their best interests at heart. The sort of barriers and obstacles in front of them.
Looking around the music scene of the past decade or so, things have changed but not improved enough. Year in and year out, women are producing the finest music. There are too many names to mention, but this domination hopefully will see bigger strides towards equality. Less discrimination. You only have to look around and see Pop icons like Charli xcx and Billie Elish. Taylor Swift setting recordings and inspiring so many other women. Maybe I cannot articulate it as well as I should. Women changed how I looked at music. Their music still with me now. As I look at the new wave of artists coming through, there is so much to be excited about. I think about the future and how it is different to when I grew up. There are more platforms and opportunities for women. Even though festivals and radio playlists are not equal and need to shift, media attitudes have changed. Not as toxic and sexist as past decades, I want to show my love and respect to queens past and present who have impacted me. On International Women’s Day, I will be listening to playlists of songs from women who were instrumental and important in my childhood. Those who followed me through adulthood and are slaying today. From the artists who led me to new genres, scored wonderful memories, got me through tough times and showed me a whole world of possibilities, it is only right I salute the women who…
CHANGED my life.