Rockbitch: Pussy Riot's English Cousins

Rockbitch: Pussy Riot's English Cousins

By Ekaterina Mironova

Pussy Riot has caused a right ruckus in the political and music industries, inciting all sorts of devilish accusations and cries of inappropriate behaviour. These self-proclaimed punk feminists performed radical “concerts” in Russia but despite their suggestive band name, they’ve done them all fully-clothed. In fact, they’ve even added colourful balaclavas to the mix. Imagine how surprised the Russian authorities would be if Pussy Riot had in fact been Rockbitch: the punk/metal/goth band from Ye Olde England who performed their songs nude, incorporating live sex acts and pagan rituals on stage. These are my kind of girls.

Intrigued?

The band started back in the 90s when a group of sexy “stage sluts” got together and decided to make some music. Amanda, the bassist, formed the group and started the lazy, jazzy female sounds of Red Abyss. When the male band members were swapped out for females, Red Abyss ditched the pagan name and acquired Rockbitch: a tribute to Kali, the Hindu goddess of Death and Erzulie, the Voodoo goddess of love.

So what’s so controversial about Rockbitch anyway?

Not only did they have live sex on stage with other band members and stage performers – they also had sex with the audience. They became famous for their tradition of the “Golden Condom” which involved flinging the sacred golden condom into the audience for one lucky spectator to retrieve. His or her special reward was a full band orgy back stage after the show.

Rockbitch performed with one vision in mind: to create “a pagan, pro-sex, feminine utopia” that wasn’t afraid to display its sexuality. Best of all, they shared this vision all over Europe from 1998 until 2002 until British Interpol thought they were getting too hot and heavy for the general public. The band reformed in 2005 for a musical extravaganza sans-sex, and toured UK and the USA extensively.

Rockbitch doesn’t perform anymore, but they leave behind a legacy of frenetic sexual frenzy and more than a few happy faces. Take Andy from Southampton, for example, who lost his virginity to a private Rockbitch orgy. Now that’s a story we’d like to hear!