SCOTLAND has produced an array of top female musicians and singers from Annie Lennox, Sharleen Spiteri of Texas and Lauren Mayberry of Chvrches to Amy Macdonald, Lulu and Liz Fraser of Cocteau Twins.

But now there are plans under way to better recognise the role of women in Scottish music - and highlight the obstacles they face including sexism through a new film.

Some £17,000 has already been raised to get archive footage for the Since Yesterday documentary that will feature 80s pop punks Strawberry Switchblade as well as Grammy award-winning KT Tunstall.

Since Yesterday: The Unsung Pioneers of Scottish Pop aims to celebrate the songs, stories and journey of Scotland's all-female bands from 1960 to 2010.

The feature-length documentary will explore the social impact of women making music collectively in a male-dominated industry and aims to "acknowledge their place within the history of popular music".

It also aims to feature the darker side of the industry from a woman's perspective.

They say that was a "world of sexual assault, getting fired for becoming a parent, being told you’re too old, too fat, too short, too tall or 'the problem with girl bands is that you all just get pregnant in the end...' "

The Herald:

Singer-songwriter Carla J Easton, whose album Impossible Stuff was shortlisted for the Scottish Album of the Year in 2019, documentary maker Blair Young and producer Miranda Stern have spent four years researching and documenting the untold stories of Scottish female bands from the 1960’s to present day.

Ms Easton, creator of the project, said: "We can’t continue to write women out of the history of music. There will be bands and stories like this in every city and country across the world.

"This is a story that needs to be told. Playing with The Stones, with Jimmy Page, the inspiration of punk, new wave, Peel sessions, riot grrrl, pop ... these remarkable women had some real highs, but they also had to face incredible challenge; sexual assault, discrimination, being told to look or dress a certain way, being told not to get pregnant ... and much more!"

In 2018 with PRS for Music, only 17% of its 140,000 registered members were female.

Similarly, 108 (17.5%) of the 616 songwriters nominated for Best Single Brit Award since 1999 have been women.

The documentary makers also say that 14.18% of the 12,040 writers represented by UK publishers are women, while female artists make up 19.69% of the rosters of acts signed to labels.

They say it is also an industry that’s been "slower to reckon with its abusers post-#MeToo than other art forms".

The Herald:

Sophisticated Boom Boom. Credit: Simon Clegg

And they say the the festival line ups recently announced for 2021 are "woefully under representative of all-female acts".

"In the sixty years since women demanded equal rights in every sphere, not all that much has changed for women with guitars," they said.

"Now it’s time to put us and our story front and centre. The game changers, the rule breakers, the iconoclasts, the ones who never compromised. Why? Because the system is broken and it’s high time, we changed the record."

The trio have set a new ambitious goal of £30,000 by June 16 through the Kickstarter crowdfunding platform to raise more money "to help make the best film they possibly can" and finally release it.

They hope, Covid 19 pandemic permitting, to have a rough cut for a private screening by December 2021 and want to launch at festivals like Glasgow Film Festival in March 2022.

“We only get one shot at this, meeting the stretch goal would allow us to bring in an animator, clear more music for the film and also get professional support with licenses, publishing and royalty fees," said Ms Easton.

"We started this documentary because we want to shine a light on the issues girl bands have faced and continue to face, but also, as hard as some of the story is to hear, we want to celebrate the determination, the individuality, the success, the history of these incredible women, their music and these brilliant bands."

Fifer KT Tunstall, one of Britain's best-known singer songwriters has previously said she believes that sexism in showbusiness is systemic and a "tsunami" of positive discrimination is required for women to be treated fairly.

The artist whose breakthrough album Eye to the Telescope sold 4.5 million copies, said that men in the recording industry pulled the strings and some were prepared to exploit young female stars.

Among those that are also due to be featured are 60s Scots pop duo, The McKinleys who performed with groups such as The Rolling Stones and The Hollies having released singles such as Sweet and Tender Romance.

The film which has received a development grant from Creative Scotland to develop, research and write it, will also feature The Twinsets, The Ettes, Lungleg, Sophisticated Boom Boom, His Latest Flame, The Hedrons and TeenCanteen.

The Herald:

Producer and film-maker Miranda Stern said: "Since starting the documentary we've seen the #metoo movement and women in the arts have been encouraged to speak out about sexual abuse. In Since Yesterday we hear some extraordinary stories - both heartbreaking and heartwarming. So much has changed in the last 60-years, yet in many cases for women in music, so much has still to change.

“We launched the kickstarter without knowing if we had an audience, so to see the enthusiasm and encouragement online has been incredible."