"At 19 years old, Debsey Wykes stood in front of a sold-out crowd at London's Hammersmith Odeon, her knees literally knocking with fear, as she puts it. It was the end of 1980 and Dolly Mixture were supporting the Jam for a second time, having piqued the interest of Paul Weller. Despite the shaky start, the teen trio made it through the set to appreciative applause."
"Dolly Mixture had arrived on the scene a few years ahead of the jangling indie wave, and right before bands such as Shop Assistants and the Pastels would bring precious pop back into vogue. In 1980, the band didn't quite fit in with the cynicism and aggression of post-punk. We had this pop mindset; we wanted to be on Top of the Pops, Wykes says. It was just an antidote to grey and punk, which was getting boring. We were trying to be unique'"
Debsey Wykes, Rachel Bor and Hester Smith formed Dolly Mixture in Cambridge in 1978, combining girl-group harmonies, 1960s pop and punk energy. The trio crafted intricate arrangements while adopting playful punk aesthetics and distinctive thrift-store fashion. The band supported the Jam, released the first single on Paul Weller's Respond label, and earned praise from acts like the Undertones and broadcaster John Peel. Despite musical skill and early visibility, the group struggled to find mainstream success because gender expectations and the era's post-punk cynicism made their pop-minded approach seem out of step.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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