- 1980s girl group Zenana released their little-known single ‘The Witches’ in 1986
- It has now become a surprise club hit after a DJ bought it in a second-hand store
A 1980s girl group has enjoyed an unexpected revival in clubs across the world after a DJ’s chance discovery of their album in a second-hand record store in Cornwall.
Zenana was founded in Milton Keynes in 1983 by trio Anita Gabrielle Tedder, Penny Griffiths and Ruth Elder – whose synth-pop licks and punk warrior outfits earned them a cult following until their breakup in 1987.
For 37 years, their best-known single ‘The Witches’ was left to fade into obscurity as a little-known collector’s gem.
But a chance reunion between the three women at a party in May last year saw them sing together for the first time in years – and the next day Ms Tedder received a message out of the blue.
Bristol-based DJ Kiernan Abbott, 24, contacted Ms Tedder on Facebook and revealed how he had bought their single in an old record shop while on holiday in the West Country. After sharing the track with other DJs, the anthem has been played at club nights in Los Angeles, Vienna and Paris – where it has gone down a storm.
‘It was so spooky,’ said Anita, 69. ‘We hadn’t sung that song in 37 years and then the next day, this young DJ Kiernan Abbott gets in touch about it.
‘We’ve had wonderful comments, especially from young listeners who seem much more ready for our music!
‘We wanted to do something that was powerful for women at the time, we experimented with all kinds of looks. Penny was really influential in creating our image.
‘We’re all still singing and I’ve never stopped singing and writing music.
‘It’s just fantastic for this to happen at this time in our lives, all these years later. It’s so unexpected.
‘We’ve got people wanting to interview us, we were talking yesterday and saying maybe we should do a few gigs.’
Encouraged by their new audience, Ms Tedder and her brother Mike last year set to work digitally remastering four tracks they recorded nearly 40 years ago.
Now, in addition to being available for download, the tracks have been preserved on a 300-copy limited edition vinyl album which has sold all over the world.
Elsewhere, another DJ named Matt Anniss has also remixed the band’s hit under the name Witches ’85 (Bedmo Disco’s Spell of Love), while three other musicians have requested to sample the track.
DJ Mr Abbott, 24, said it had been an ‘honour’ to help revive Zenana’s memory.
He said: ‘It’s quite strange, almost a bit spiritual, the way it came about!
‘My parents had left west Wales and moved to Dorset, so I was visiting them there. For the past ten years I’ve been involved in an underground scene collecting 80s music from synth bands. People are always looking for new music from groups that have been overlooked.
‘So I was in a record shop doing my thing and I saw this single “Witches”. I bought it without any idea how it would sound and then listened to it when I got home.
‘Once I heard it, the drum beat and the synth kicked in, and I thought, “This is something I can really play to people!”‘
Mr Abbott shared the music with other DJs on Discogs, who were delighted with the sound and he sourced another copy of the album for a DJ in Austria.
He played the track for the first time himself while DJing at The Marquis N16 in north London last year and immediately saw a reaction from the crowd.
He said: ‘For a lot people at these gigs, it’s all very intellectual and they stand around listening to music, deciding what they think of it.
‘But with “Witches”, people started to relax and dance. Girls in particular really started coming up to me asking about it. It was quite refreshing to see the song take off.’
As other DJs began playing the track in clubs around the world, Mr Abbott reached out to Ms Tedder on Facebook who was thrilled to learn about her song’s unexpected revival.
He added: ‘Anita is a brilliant woman, she is totally committed to her music and passionate about it but lovely as well!
‘For me, one of my favourite things is Mike’s drumming. I was so impressed when Anita showed me photos of the audio equipment he had assembled in his living room.’
During their heydey, Zenana gigged across London and the south east, playing the Hippodrome, Dingwalls and La Beate Route in London, as well as smaller clubs around Bedford and Milton Keynes.
Ms Tedder, a retired psychotherapist, said: ‘I’ve always written music and sang. I was in a punk rock band in the 1980s and I had been writing lyrics about issues that were important to me.’
Determined to create a new band that would be easier to take on the road, Ms Tedder co-wrote music for Zenana with her brother Mike played as a backing track on stage.
Along the way, she recruited fellow performers Ruth Elder and Penny Griffiths who both in clubs in the Bedford area.
Zenana’s songs tackled several of the burgeoning issues of the day, such as the AIDS crisis and the Conservative Government’s Section 28 law – which banned ‘the promotion of homosexuality’ by local authorities .
Ms Tedder, who recently celebrated her 44th anniversary with her partner Steph, said: ‘Certainly for me, I was drawn to writing about things that touched upon my life.
‘Ruth and Penny weren’t gay but they were really supportive of me, my sexuality and those messages we were putting out. That meant a lot to me.’
By the time Zenana was formed, Ms Tedder’s brother Mike had acquired enough synths, drum machines and tape recorders to set-up a personal studio in the front room of his terraced home in Nanpean, Cornwall, to create a home recording studio.
Ms Tedder revealed that Zenana’s image owed a great deal to the imagination and flair of Penny and, combined with Anita’s ideas of challenging stereotypes and Ruth’s drive for a new image, they came up with the idea of taking three strong female figures – Boudicca, Grace O’Malley and Cruella de Ville – as characters for the cover of their first single ‘Witches’.
At their peak, Zenana rubbed shoulders with up-and-coming stars who went on to secure a recording contract with Stock, Aitken and Waterman.
Ms Tedder said: ‘We were actually quite friendly with Mel & Kim, who used to come and watched us play when they were still unsigned.’
The sudden wave of interest has taken the trio entirely by surprise.
Elder, 63, who lives in Leighton Buzzard, Bedfordshire, and still sings in local bands, told the BBC: ‘If it took off in a big, big, way, it would be fantastic, and fantastic for older women.
‘The music speaks for itself; at the time we were ahead of our time, and it’s stood the test of time.’
Griffiths, 56, a former lecturer in event management at Coventry University, has remained cancer-free after undergoing a hysterectomy five years ago.
She said the group’s reunion has been a tonic after losing her mother and aunt and splitting with her husband in a single year.
She said: ‘The rekindling of Zenana this summer and the warmth from our friendships has been a tremendous boost.
‘I’m feeling optimistic and happy again. I’ve just got to work out a way to get us all together to do a final gig.’
The band are now considering their next move, with the chance of taking to the stage again after a hiatus of 36 years
James Parker is a UK-based entertainment aficionado who delves into the glitz and glamour of the entertainment industry. From Hollywood to the West End, he offers readers an insider’s perspective on the world of movies, music, and pop culture.
