The NaNaz, a six-piece punk band formed by women in their 50s and 60s, are taking the music scene by storm. Their songs tackle everything from unaffordable care home fees to male attitudes towards older women and the frustrations of recycling. They have been featured on guitar.com and in a poster campaign for Age Cymru.
How It All Began
The band started from Nana Punk workshops at the Cab, a hardcore punk club in Newport. The workshops, brainchild of community outreach worker Jude Price, invited women over 50 to experiment with instruments and performing. Anne-Marie Bollen, 60, bassist and vocalist, saw an advert and decided to give it a go. She had been a community nurse and was inspired by early punk musicians like X-Ray Spex and Siouxsie Sioux.
The Band Members
Lead guitarist Ange Pearce, 62, grew up surrounded by music. Her father was a jazz drummer, and she bought her first acoustic guitar with her first wage packet. She later became a foster parent to 36 children. Deborah de Lloyd plays viola and has been playing since age eight. Marega Palser, 60, is a multi-instrumentalist and vocalist who found punk at age 11. Claire Symons, 52, plays rhythm guitar and wrote her first song about menopause anger. Jade Ball, 29, is the drummer who overcame essential tremor and a heart condition to play with the band.
Their Music and Message
The NaNaz's first single was 60 Lies, supporting the Waspi women's pension inequality campaign. They write and perform songs that tell the truth about issues they feel strongly about. Their music is described as angry anthems with beautiful harmonies.
Impact and Inspiration
The band has no manager, record label, or PR agent, yet they are booked solid at clubs and festivals every weekend. After gigs, many women approach them, inspired to pick up a guitar or start a band. As Claire Symons says, 'Our job is not to get everyone to follow the NaNaz around. It’s to get them to realise: oh, I could start a band too.'
The NaNaz's story is being filmed for a BBC Our Lives episode. Their debut album Nanafesto is available on Bandcamp.
