God Save the Queens!

God Save the Queens! is a panel discussion at the Pigott Theatre, British Library on Monday 19 October, from 19:00 to 20:30, with doors opening at 18:00. Vivien Goldman hosts the conversation, joined by Caroline Coon, Celeste Bell, Gina Birch and Lora Logic. Together they'll be talking about the women who helped shape punk's music, art and identity.

The session sits within UP YOURS! GOD SAVE THE QUEENS, a multi-venue London festival marking fifty years since Poly Styrene and a generation of pioneering women left their mark on the scene. The festival celebrates female autonomy, rebellion and creative expression across punk and alternative music, past, present and future. It brings together a few different things: a one-off live performance by a newly formed supergroup of pioneers from X-Ray Spex, The Raincoats and The Slits; a landmark exhibition; a programme of talks; and the release of previously unheard Poly Styrene recordings. This panel is one part of that wider programme.

On the night, the conversation focuses on the women who were there from the start, the ones who helped define the sound and the attitude of the era. With Goldman hosting and Coon, Bell, Birch and Logic on the panel, it's a chance to hear first-hand accounts of how that scene came together and the roles these women played in it.

Tickets are £13, with concessions available for British Library Members, young people aged 16-25, and visitors on Universal or Pension Credit; carers get in free. The session is for ages 16 and over, and the venue offers step-free access, accessible seating and an induction loop in the auditorium.