POISON GIRLS

VI Subversa

As far back as the 1950's Vi Subversa had her first fling with rock'n'roll when she was a New Musical Express office dogsbody. She also tasted the other end of the scale as an executive which she disregarded very quickly coz of its shallow ideology. Yeah this 44 year old (the age she formed POISON GIRLS) punkette fairy godmother has more street level rock evolution behind her than most of the punk rock dinosaurs still in control of their own bodily functions. Vi (Frances Sokolov) had a very slow start, even by Charlie Harpers standards, and didn't really make a serious dent till 1977. When she met up with future fellow POISON GIRLS Richard Famous and Lance D'Boyle at the Edinburgh Fringe festival. They forged ahead in the new punk climate gigging around the Brighton area by late 1977.They soon hooked up with like minded individuals called CRASS ACTION as they were then called. A love/hate relationship developed with CRASS. CRASS appreciated them more than most, being as they were of an older set of free thinking individuals. A bonding which was soon consecrated coz they shared the same beliefs, same mindset and shared the bill on more than one occasion. They actually played together between '77 and early 80's an unbelievable 97 times. Which is as many as any self respecting anarcho could take.
The POISON GIRLS went on their own during the early 80's looking for their own nieche as the CRASS machine became all consuming. They never did really shake off the Epping forest tag which consequently forever eluded them. Vi and the boys wasn't afraid to confront fellow anarchists or even BM activists. She even got felled by a beer can thrown at her by Nazi skins at the theatre Royal, Stratford, East London in September 1979 when they ripped into their atmospheric anti Nazi number 'Bremen Song' off the fantastic 'Hex' 12 inch. Vi by now had become anarcho punks very own 'old tart' anti mother rolled into one with her sometimes rustic, sometimes soothing vocal chords and short unassuming dumpy exterior.
Vi lived in a house shared by all four members of her band and two teenage kids who were also involved with bands (FATAL MICROBES/RUBELLA BALLET).
By 1982 the POISON GIRLS were second only to CRASS in the Anarcho punk scene they made a classic punk collaboration 45 together featuring 'Bloody Revolutions' and 'Persons Unknown' which is probably their biggest selling record to date. It was banned by HMV but managed to creep up BRMB charts at 66. Vi had a brilliant knack of expressing her songs with love, lust and fury and presented a thought provoking alternative to the fast thrashing younger bands who poured out the woodwork at the same time. They kept at it long and hard in their 12 years lifespan probably playing every community centre in England at some stage. They were the first Anarcho band to tour the US and play on BBC2's Old Grey Whistle Test in January 1984. They finally called it a day in late '89. Vi never stopped performing but went on to play less high profile projects right up until her 80th birthday. She sadly died aged 80 on 19th February 2016. Easily the best Fairy godmother punk has ever produced!

Photograph by Chris Mills.