Reformed 1980s group Zenana dedicate single to LGBT+ community
A trailblazing band that reformed after a chance discovery of their 1980s record in a second-hand shop have released a new single to celebrate the LGBT+ community.Zenana, made up of Anita Gabrielle Tedder, Penny Griffiths and Ruth Elder, formed in Milton Keynes in 1983 and first disbanded in 1987.Ms Tedder said that when she originally penned Touch of a Woman in 1985 it was a "scary and secretive" time to be openly gay, but it proved how "ahead of our time" the group was.Zenana said they felt inspired to release the track on Valentine's Day as it included the lyrics: "Give me some love of a different kind."
Ms Tedder said when she was being interviewed for a heritage project in Milton Keynes on queer history, "a young woman said to me '40 years before Chappell Roan there was Zenana' and I thought that was wonderful."
Ms Tedder has been with her partner Steph Daniels, the band's manager, for 44 years. They live in Wootton, Bedfordshire. The former teachers, who never came out at work, "campaigned politically and in London, where we felt safe", she said."Old fans are now coming out of the woodwork to tell us we were very important in providing a positive image for gay people back in the day, we were ahead of our time."
Ms Tedder said Touch of a Woman would be released on all streaming platforms on 14 February and was "courageously sung by Penny, and at the time, as a straight woman it was a revelation to me". "It was a big deal at the time," she added. "I've always said how grateful I am for their support - as Ruth has always said, love is love, it still touches me now."The band is hoping the track is as successful as their single, Witches - that has built up 31,000 streams on Spotify after its re-release in 2023.Six hundred copies of the vinyl remix of Witches, that was released by Rush Hour Records in September 2024 sold out, so a second print is being made, she said. Ms Tedder said of the 1980s: "When the lyrics 'give me some love of a different kind' were played, people would launch into the air in gay clubs, it was a bit of an anthem. "The world is a completely different place now, we did have double lives back then, it's humbling how far we've come."
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