Tuffragettes is a DIY music project from London, putting radical queer politics on the forefront of their genre-defying music—self-described as “punk metal & chill for dykes, fags, trans people, butches, fems, andros, weirdos, outsiders and oppression fighters.”
Back in 2020, we’ve reviewed Tuffragettes amazing album 4. Now, Tuffragettes are back with another beautiful 10-track LP called 3, with all songs once again written, performed, and produced by the punk poet, multi-instrumentalist and performer Frankie Tuffragette.
In this interview, we’ve catched up with Frankie about Tufra’s music, politics and empowering the queer communities through music and solidarity.
Let’s start with an introduction to yourself! Were you involved with any other musical projects prior to Tuffragettes? Is it just you writing all the music and lyrics, plus a different cast of musicians on your live shows? What’s the process of writing, recording and playing your music?
Hi friends, thank you for talking with me ♥
I’ve been making music under various names and with various people since I was a tiny one! When I started Tuffragettes it was after many years of inactivity, so it was for all intents and purposes a clean slate and a fresh start.
Tuffragettes is ultimately a bedroom project that a collective of friends help me to play live. I usually write the songs as I record them, and every song comes together differently—sometimes it starts with a beat or a melody that I just riff off, sometimes it’s lyrics first, sometimes songs come to me kinda all at once and it’s a process of picking them apart and working out how each instrument should fit best to make the whole. It’s a very organic and joyfully chaotic process, which I hope shows in the tracks.
Your first album was called 5, followed by 4, and you just released 3 some months ago. Are you going to call it quits after releasing 1? Is there an underlying story or an idea behind all your releases?
I love that you asked this! When I started Tuffragettes I had a very strong idea for the concept—I’d antithesis biting no-bullshit queer punk songs with hazy escapist imagery. I wanted to do that cause that was really a mirror for how my life felt at the time: ready to fight the moment I left my door til the moment I got home, when I’d escape back to a kind of simulated innocence, usually involving drugs and old animations.
As a child I was really drawn to a lot of children’s shows and cartoons that my Dad liked when he was young. I particularly loved the neat vibrant orderliness of Gerry Anderson’s worlds—everyone had a colour or a number that identified their role in the larger whole. I wanted this sense of structure to bring together the chaos of the musical process.
That said, time changes everything and, for better or worse, I’m no completionist. The next collection of songs might be called 2 or it might be some other thing entirely. One thing’s for certain: songwriting is part of the life of me, so calling it quits isn’t an option 𝘅𝘅𝘅
Your lyrics are very straight-forward, so I don’t want to ask you about the meaning behind the songs on your latest album. It’s all pretty obvious. Which are your favorite songs on the record and how do you interact with the people at your shows when singing these lyrics?
I’m glad you think the lyrics are straightforward, perhaps you could explain them to me sometime. ツ Seriously though, accessibility and clarity is key to me, so it makes me happy to know my songs are being clearly understood. (I’m just a soul whose intentions are good!)
I think my favorite track on 3—right now at least—is “Another”. “Another” is the last track on the record, and to me it creates a really satisfying loop back to the beginning. It’s about how everything changes all the time but nothing really does, the illusion of linear time and all that. Time is really the big overarching theme on 3.
Do you think that a label like “Identity politics” applies to many of your songs, it’s often used as a dismissive term by people on the Left?
If by ‘identity politics’ one means that we all have a sense of self and each sense of self is political, and that my sense of self is present in my music, then absolutely: all the songs are political because, first and foremost, all the songs are personal. If by ‘identity politics’ one means that they’re all political songs around the theme of identity, some are and some aren’t, much like any songwriter’s body of work.
Those of us who make music who also happen to have a marginalised identity or experience that we wear proudly are quickly defined by those identities, and the music we make becomes almost secondary. This can feel reductionist, tokenistic, and as if the music itself is being overlooked. I may be unashamedly Queer and Trans and Woman, and I always make music through those lenses (hence aligning with genres like Queercore and Riot grrrl) but that doesn’t mean all the songs are about identity y’know?
Funnily enough, there’s only one song on 3 that centers on the experience of being Queer and Trans in society, and it’s the shortest on the record!
Some of the songs on your latest album, like “Gone”, remind me of Chumbawamba. Are there any older punk bands that have influenced your sound? Is this album more pop-influenced than your previous works?
I love Chumba!!! They’re one of my all-time favorites, and if I’m channeling them in any way then I definitely feel on the right track ♥
This is an interesting question because as a songwriter I’m influenced by music across decades, maybe centuries, but sound is different. I honestly don’t feel like I have the luxury of being influenced by a certain sound because I’ve never had the money to work with a producer who could meaningfully create or replicate a certain sound—I just record everything in my bedroom with really limited equipment, and whatever comes out comes out!! If this record feels more pop influenced, it might be because I actually used decent mixing speakers this time! In an ideal world I wouldn’t be my own producer—if you think yr the right person to record the Tuffra tracks and take them higher, and/or you wanna give me £ to do that, I wanna hear from you!!!!
I feel like 3 is way more of a down-the-line punk rock record than previous Tuffragettes stuff actually. As far as older punk bands go, I can often hear the influence of X-Ray Spex, Jayne County, The Runaways, and The Ramones in Tuffragettes songs, and ‘90s bands like Limp Wrist, Pansy Division, early Green Day, Team Dresch, Tribe 8, Bikini Kill, Bratmobile, Snap-Her, The Devotchkas, Rancid, loads of that shit ♥
Punk is more than music, so do you think that promoters should book more bands and artists from marginalised communities, even if they don’t like their music or it doesn’t fit much with the other bands on the bill? Same for media coverage in the hardcore punk scene?
YES!!!!!!!!!! If you’re not lifting up, supporting and amplifying the voices of marginalised people, you ain’t no punk and you ain’t my friend!!!
Today’s punk scene in the UK has produced such diverse artists as Bob Vylan, Big Joanie, Menstrual Cramps, Dream Nails, Screaming Toenails, Byenary, and many more. There’s also Decolonise Fest, giving voice to punx of colour. Tell us more about the UK queer punk scene and the other projects members of the Tuffragettes are involved in?
Vylan are MONUMENTALLY IMPORTANT for UK punk, the most vital band we have right now in my opinion. I also love Big Joanie and Screaming Toenail hugely, and we’re blessed to have played with the latter a couple of times too ♥ Big Joanie supported Bikini Kill in London a few years ago, and seeing them on this huge stage was so brilliant and extraordinary that I cried—I remember being at some of their first shows and being so excited by them, and there they were supporting one of the greatest punk rock bands of all time!? FUCK YES!!!
I wish I could say more about the UK queer punk scene but I honestly don’t really know where it is! If you find it, let me know! I knew where it was once, but now it seems reduced to the odd gig here and there. We lost a lot of our venues and thus a lot of contact with each other when COVID hit, and it’s taking a while to slowly find each other again. But queers are so resilient it’s actually unbelievable, we’re not going ａ ｎ ｙ ｗ ｈ ｅ ｒ ｅ
Are there any specific topics that you want to address to the DIY punk scene in this interview as a queer artist?
Queer artists make art about everything, just like straight artists do! That said, if an artist is too Queer for you, you don’t deserve them and they’re waaaay better off without your support 𝘅𝘅𝘅
Also if you can’t relate to a Queer love song, it’s because you can’t relate to a love song, which is heartbreaking for you.
How does the DIY scene help you as a queer person to express yourself creatively? Are there any ways or practical tips for cis punks to help make a better and more inclusive scene?
Did you know Queer and Trans people are disproportionately more likely to be physically and neurologically Disabled than straight and cis people? And that we’re more likely to be homeless or unsafely housed, unemployed or unstably employed, and more susceptible to workplace, medical and social discrimination?
Have sliding scale entry fees at shows, openly show that you support LGBTQIA+ people via flags and shoutouts and fundraisers and benefits and having zero tolerance for transphobes and homophobes at yr shows, make sure yr venues and their toilets are wheelchair accessible and make a space for wheelchair users at shows, have chairs out at shows for those less able to stand, have quiet rooms/spaces and make sure they’re respected, put as many accessibility aids in place at yr shows as possible.
Honestly it’s standard but also just offering a smile can be enough to make someone feel more seen and looked out for ♥
Let’s talk about the nu-metal influences in your music. Did you grow up with the genre and what do you think about its recent revival, even within the hardcore scene? Do you like bands like Deli Girls?
YES!!! I was a teenager in the 2000s, and the explosion of nu-metal and pop punk in alternative music at that time really swept me up in a huge way. I’ve always been a pop punk kid at heart, but I had more than a passing interest in nu-metal, particularly the bands that were fusing dance breaks into heavy music—I can’t get enough of that shit!!!
Tuffragettes had more of a metal side in the early days, which you can hear mainly on 5 and a couple of b-sides. On 3 there’s a little nu-metal influence in the opener, “3, 2, 1…”, which definitely draws on my love of Enter Shikari and RATM ♥
And yeah I love the musical diversification of the hardcore scene, and it’s fucking about time!! Hardcore is plagued by genre purists, who always kill scenes and stall progress!! Knock out yr local hardcore dudebro!!
Deli Girls are amazing, I love how fucking brutal their sound is ♥
Do you wanna talk about some activist work or good causes, collectives or projects to support besides all the music-related things we mentioned in this interview?
Show up on the streets to protest against institutional racism and colonialism, police brutality, deportation, ableism, queer- and transphobia, sex work criminalisation, and austerity.
Stand up on the streets for the rights of marginalized people and workers everywhere, as we all know our rights can never be taken for granted. This includes defending our right to protest.
Advocate for better disability support and multi-faceted accessibility everywhere.
Donate to bail funds that prioritize securing the release of People of Colour.
Thank you so much, anything else to add?
Ｌ Ｅ Ｚ Ｆ Ｕ Ｃ Ｋ Ｉ Ｎ Ａ Ｖ Ｅ Ｉ Ｔ ♥
Thank you so much! I’ve really enjoyed this 𝘅𝘅𝘅
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