The Making of...

Inspired by riot grrrl, a mixed-gender band fire up the UK’s mid-’90s indie scene. “It wasn’t anthemic by accident…”

by Huggy Bear

“THIS is happening without your permission”, sang Huggy Bear on their inspiring 1993 single, a call to arms that also summed up their approach to music, politics and popular culture. The assorted band members met haphazardly – at school, college and C86 shows – before forming a group based on their shared love of American indie and a desire to create an alternative culture rooted in new means of expression. They wanted to upset the old order – setting themselves a three-year time limit to achieve this. Setting out their stall early on, the band’s three women and two man lineup sang about the “boy-girl revolution”, refused interviews and photographs, recorded their music – a combination of punk and avant-garde – under pseudonyms.

“We were so drawn to and inspired by music from Olympia and riot grrrl – the music, the ideas, everything, it was so positive and beautiful,” says singer and bassist Niki Eliot. “It affected everything we did from that point on, aesthetically and thematically. We wanted to challenge official narratives, find our own excitement, our own version of feminism, of punk, of love. To create safe spaces for everyone and play the most fiery shows we could. The Beastie Boys referencing ‘Her Jazz’ in their song ‘The Scoop’ was more precious than a thousand good reviews.”

While their fierce dedication to DIY culture and feminist principles made them a target for some quarters of the music press, “Her Jazz” became a banner under which other motivated misfits could gather. After Huggy Bear performed a ferocious version of the song on The Word, chaos ensued when the band and their friends heckled host Terry Christian following an interview with a pair of Playboy models. The performance and its aftermath created a memorable TV moment that took the message of riot grrrl into the mainstream, although it led to a bruising UK tour with Bikini Kill. True to their word, Huggy Bear split after three years, their optimism and youthful energy drained by the reaction their message received. But musically and politically, Huggy Bear were ahead of their time: “Her Jazz” remains as urgent and exciting today as it was in 1993.