“There were no female musicians in the city to make a band with, or at least none that I could find. The lack of women only made the desire to be in an all-girl-group stronger, a sort of ‘I’ll show you’. It paid off, though, the searching. Intro Anna then Lois then Lara, then Lara left then Sophie joined, then skip a few years and enter Kyoko. Anyway, we bonded over music, feminism and red wine in Manchester six years ago. We were students, all studying something in the arts, but that isn’t how we met.
“The Manchester music scene was and is male heavy – MONEY, Great Waves, Wu Lyf, etc. – we crashed their scene. Rehearsing day and night in our Northern Quarter rehearsal room and then playing every sticky floored club that would have us, we made ourselves known. It’s love/hate with Manchester; it was our battleground. Despite our tiffs, it has some great spots to have fun.”
Temple Bar (bar)
Everyone’s favourite former public toilet. This tiny underground bar on Oxford Road is the perfect place to let your night descend into debauchery, go their last, not first; then you won’t notice the smell. The staff are really cool; they let us use the bar to film our ‘Bad Thing’ video.
V Revolution (restaurant)
This totally vegan, dog welcoming eatery serves the ideal hangover food, it’s all burgers, grilled cheese and fries but 100% meat/dairy free. I would recommend ‘Buffalo The Vampire Slayer’.
The Underground Youth (band)
The only band from Manchester never to claim the ‘Manchester band’ tag. Now relocated in Berlin the band are due to drop their latest record ‘What Kind Of Dystopian Hellhole Is This?’ I had the honour of singing on one of the tracks.
Piccadilly Records (record shop)
The last record I picked up from there was ‘Post Pop Depression’ by Iggy Pop, I bought it for my husband for Christmas. They stock all the best vinyl and have been supporters of our band from the start.
Now Wave (promoters)
Pretty much every Manchester show we have played has been promoted by Jon and Wes. They’re responsible for bringing some really big bands to town, like Wu-Tang Clan for God’s sake, but they always support local talent too. We’re playing for them again at The White Hotel on 22nd April.
PINS’ EP ‘Bad Thing’ is out now.