The various causes of fun, dancing and waggling two fingers in the face of dull, pasty, male indie are about to get a little stronger, with the launch of Chick Habit in Cardiff. Growing out of the equally ace Bristol-based Lipstick On Your Collar nights, Chick Habit will throw great femme-fronted music at you, whether indie, pop, Motown or more, until you dance like a fool, and secretly (or blatantly) enjoy it. These things fill us with joy, and we spoke to CH dude Gareth Jones to find out more.
Who are the team behind Chick Habit and how did the idea come about?
Chick Habit’s core DJs are Gareth Jones and Julia Lax from Bristol and Beth and Jamie Woods from Swansea, with guest DJs from Cardiff and surrounding areas joining in. The idea came over 4 years ago actually in Bristol when we realised most clubs were playing about 98% male artists.
Have you run similar nights elsewhere? What have the responses been like?
We ran a very similar night in Bristol called Lipstick On Your Collar for about 3 and a half years (see http://www.myspace.com/lipstickonyourcollarclub). When the night started during the first year we were packed to capacity with one in, one out. Unfortunately we had issues with the venue and had trouble finding another suitable place in Bristol so we ended it last year. We also DJed at the Indietracks festival last year which some people said was their dancing highlight of the whole weekend.
What can Cardiff expect from your night?
The idea is very simple. We only play records sung by girls. Beyond that, there is very little music snobbery. We believe pop can sit alongside indie, punk, Motown, etc. So we’re not afraid to play Girls Aloud or Lady Gaga amongst classics like the Supremes or Ronettes, riot grrrls like the Gossip or Le Tigre, and all-time indie and new wave faves like Elastica or Blondie. The only artists we won’t play are Celine Dion, Shania Twain and Atomic Kitten!
Who would be your dream Chick Habit DJs? Any guest DJs you’ve got lined up?
Probably Kim Wilde, because she created one of the greatest pop songs of the 80s and she’d be good at doing the gardening too! With Lipstick On Your Collar in Bristol we booked guest DJs for our birthdays. We had Manda Rin from Bis on our 1st birthday and also Sarah Blackwood from 90’s band Dubstar (nowadays fronting electro group Client) on our 2nd birthday. If Chick Habit is a success in Cardiff then I’m sure we’ll book some guest DJs in the future.
What are the tunes you can’t leave out of your record bag?
I guess ‘Chick Habit’ by April March! Plus either ‘Deceptacon’ or ‘I’m So Excited’ by Le Tigre and Dolly Parton’s ‘9-5’ is usually a must!
Chick Habit is the name of a new club night coming to Cardiff’s Undertone @10 Feet Tall on Friday 18th June.
Chick Habit only play indie, pop and Motown records sung by girls. From Blondie to the Breeders, the Gossip to Girls Aloud, Kate Bush to Kate Nash, Le Tigre to Lily Allen, Shampoo to the Supremes and many many more. Yes, here come the girls!
CHICK HABIT Friday 18 June
@Undertone (10 Feet Tall Basement)
Church Street
CARDIFF CF10 1BG
9pm-2am £3
We’ll be playing….
Altered Images, April March, Aretha Franklin, The Bangles, Beyonce, Bikini Kill, Bjork, Blondie, The Breeders, Britney, Camera Obscura, The Cardigans, Catatonia, Cyndi Lauper, The Chiffons, CSS, The Divinyls, Dolly Parton, The Donnas, Dusty Springfield, Echobelly, Elastica, Eurythmics, Feist, Florence & The Machine, Fuzzbox, Garbage, Girls Aloud, Goldfrapp, The Go-Gos, The Gossip, Heavenly, Helen Love, Hole, Joan Jett, Kate Bush, Kate Nash, Katy Perry, Kelis, Kelly Clarkson, Kenickie, Kim Wilde, Kylie, Lady Gaga, Ladytron, Le Tigre, Lily Allen, Long Blondes, Lulu, Lush, Madonna, Marina & The Diamonds, Martha & The Muffins, Martha Reeves & The Vandellas, M.I.A., Nancy Sinatra, No Doubt, Noisettes, Nouvelle Vague, Pink, The Pipettes, PJ Harvey, The Pretenders, The Primitives, The Ronettes, Salt-N-Pepa, Shampoo, The Shangri-Las, Sandie Shaw, Siouxsie & The Banshees, Sleater-Kinney, Sleeper, The Slits, Sugababes, The Supremes, tATu, Ting Tings, The Velvelettes, Veruca Salt, X-Ray Spex, Yeah Yeah Yeahs….
Please join us on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/chickhabitcardiff
