S10 E8: Lesley Woods

I Wanna Jump Like Dee Dee

I interviewed Andrew Butler from Hercules and Love Affair last year and he made a really great point about how the most exciting music is produced when one “scene” starts to fade but the next “big thing” hasn’t yet arrived – l think of it like when a new star is being born from all this gas and dust coming together - before the “rules” of that genre are established (cos that’s what happens, right?) so it’s much more volatile, experimental and liberated.
So, just delving into the past a little bit….in the late 70’s, it was time for a change…bands like Bush Tetras, The Pop Group, The Raincoats, Gang of Four, Pigbag, The Mekons and the band that Lesley fronted for a brief but hugely influential time were creating a fork in the road. The Au Pairs took their music in a direction that was as exciting as it was inventive, through a mighty rhythm section that made your hips shake (well, they made mine rattle even then) and the taut, jagged guitar and Lesley's distinctive vocals and lyrics. They looked great, they sounded great, they were singing about stuff that mattered - misogyny, racism, conformism, relationships - and were, to my mind at least, leaders in creating a wave of bands whose impact is being felt more than ever. Pioneers isn’t too strong a word in my opinion.
Anyway, after the Au Pairs disbanded, Lesley went on a long hiatus doing something completely different - she became an immigration lawyer, but she has picked up her guitar again and there is a lot of stuff going on which I think is hugely exciting.
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