Women Who Rock by Evelyn McDonnell

Author:Evelyn McDonnell
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Running Press
Published: 2018-10-08T16:00:00+00:00

Thanks to their link to Factory Records, ESG played the opening night of the Haçienda in Manchester. Mainly funded by Factory Records and New Order sales, the club was the thriving hub of the “Madchester” scene and the birthplace of acid house and rave.

“UFO,” in all of its cold, edgy brilliance, has become one of the most sampled songs of all time. Acts from Public Enemy to Nine Inch Nails have used the track to enhance their songs in one way or another. However, ESG was frustrated to discover their songs were being sampled without their permission, and they saw none of the profits. They were particularly disappointed that their music was used in songs that were derogatory toward women. Speaking to the Quietus in 2015, Renee explained: “I’m still saying to myself, don’t these guys realise that women wrote this music? And yet you’re calling every woman a bitch and a whore and treating them like garbage.”

While other bands were living the high life on ESG’s music, the band, though popular, hit a dead end in 1984 when 99 Records collapsed, and the Scroggins sisters had to take a break. They didn’t forget about the bands that made money off them, though, and in 1992 they came back with an EP aptly titled Sample Credits Don’t Pay Our Bills. The record still contained the essential elements of ESG, evolving slightly to include an early nineties club synth sound. The opener, “There Was a Time,” is heavily influenced by James Brown’s song of the same name, so much so that ESG affectionately include a note on the record’s label that says “inspired by Mr. ‘please please please’ (don’t sue us!) James Brown.” Renee now pays a private investigator to track down any uncredited samples.

Disheartened and worn out from battling against constant unauthorized sampling, a defunct label, and lack of appreciation for their own uncategorizable music, the band kept a low profile for most of the nineties and early aughts. Then they got a new breath of life and started a successful run of gigs touring the US and Europe. Now a new generation of post-punk New Wave lovers have found the sisters. Bands such as London’s Shopping and Glasgow’s Sacred Paws have made their admiration of ESG known in the groove of their bass and the pace of their drum beat. They are creating their own experimental noise in the hope that they become successors to ESG’s crown.

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