When south London's finest riot grrrl influenced three piece, "Judy Fights Back" broke up in 2008, Queen of Uncool was born, a highly reluctant solo artist. Some introspection resulted in two dark, acoustic EPs; Two Sides of Summer and Winter.
The seasonal influenced EPs showcase stories from good and bad times, through songs like Sky - written about embracing sunlight and opening up to love and Tighter - written about being without any light, inside an intensive care unit.

The EP's feature Richard Sadler on double bass (Neil Cowley Trio), Dan See on drums and Dan Gulino on bass guitar (Jamie Woon/Jono McCleery/Marina and the Diamonds).












 

 

 

 

 

After a sell out EP launch for Winter, Queen of Uncool walked away from playing live for some time, “I didn't have a reason. I didn't feel the validation others felt. I didn't know what it meant to me."

But a trip to Seattle in 2009 changed that. "I felt like I’d found my people, my community. I felt more at home there than I ever did in London. London is always about what’s cool. Seattle has a massive DIY scene and a come-as-you-are attitude- it was the grunge capital for a reason. I made some new friends, I learnt things, I played again and I wanted to play again”.











 

 

 

 

 

 

A brief stint in a Seattle band failed to take off and Queen of Uncool was back in London, answering an ad for a math-rocky band who needed a singer.
The band, Joyride Neon, were a good fit, and played out in venues around London before breaking up due to creative differences, “The band were all bored of writing guitar based/rock songs and wanted to go electro. I really, really didn’t."

Bandless again it was a return to health and fitness that influenced the next move. “The gym is my sanctuary. But in the gym all they ever played was Kiss FM, it got on my nerves. Then I heard a couple of tunes I liked. I was sat at home, no band, no community and thought, 'fuck it'. Turning to the computer was a means to an end, but it ended up being the next chapter".

Queen of Uncool recorded and produced the Girl Outside EP, an electro project, making beats from scratch and working on it in her car or cafes due to severe housing issues. “I was taking on a huge learning curve in what I could do with just my computer. I got really bogged down in it, so many tweaks and things I wanted to do and just didn’t know how to do yet. I searched for a producer to help, but came up with nothing. No one could hear what I could hear, no one spoke my language, so I just got on with it.”
Influenced by some of her earliest musical inspirations such as - Madonna, Kate Bush, Shakespeare's Sister, the EP took shape. The song Girl Outside came to completion while Queen of Uncool was researching Autism "I was watching videos about this girl coming to terms with her Autism diagnosis and I could relate so much. She called herself, 'the girl outside the box' it was obvious I had to put her on the Girl Outside record."

Queen of Uncool recorded a cover of Madonna’s 'Over and Over' for some light relief. “Trying to write, record, produce, perform, make videos, promote and still live the rest of your life- which was absoultely killing me at that point- I can't say I was enjoying much of anything. I was just about holding on. So the Madonna cover was very much about cutting loose and having fun for a minute”.










 

 

 

 

 

 

The release of Girl Outside took four years to come to fruition.

"So much shit happened during that time, just waking up and getting through the days was torture, and then that just reinforced it, everything- what I had to do with my life, the only thing that ever made sense. I had to get this music out there and share it with others."
Thoughts on that survival and coping with that period are explored in particular, on the song 'Det'.
"In the darkest times you feel so incredibly alone, so far from everything and everyone, but music has been there for me in those times and the bands that got me through are my heros. Ultimately now it’s all about being heard, as the bands I grew up listening to have saved my life many times and I want to do the same for others, I may be a loner, but I know I’m not alone".

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In 2018 as Girl Outside neared completion, the restless urge to get music out had peaked, and the altrock EP Love & War was budding. “I’d had most of these songs kicking around for years never released. It was a now-or-never time to get them out into the world”.

A band was quickly recruited to play the songs both live and in the studio. Ross Gordon on drums & Dan Brown on bass. “These guys are super feminists. It was such a blessing to play with people who felt that way, who could see the every day struggles I faced just being female, and who would expose promoters etc when faced with every day sexism. This was a riot grrrl dream years in the making”.

When the band members moved on, Queen of Uncool found herself a new line up and the trio began to play all over London, releasing the Bruised single and video in 2022.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The drummer headed back home to Italy and the bass player left, leaving

Queen of Uncool with a choice- stop and recruit, or carry on as a firey duo.

Armed with drummer- Jimmy Lynch, the power-duo’s boombastic energy was infectious. In 2023, the band were finally booked further afield in the UK and abroad- the huge, live, stoner rock sounds being likened to Electric Wizard and the Melvins, and audiences impressed at the sheer weight of the sound from these two players.

When Jimmy decided against playing abroad it was a huge blow, but Queen of Uncool quickly found a replacement to play the remaining gigs in Europe.

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On return to the UK the steam ran thin. Faced with yet another recruitment process from scratch proved too much and a depression took hold. The release of a song previously recorded with Jimmy was scrapped and by mid 2024, Queen of Uncool went through yet another painful rebirth, finally claiming to be what she never wanted to be- a solo artist.

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In 2025 the first official solo release was made. Solo is a gothic r’n’b, electronica styled song about empowerment and autonomy. While it was a departure from the altrock sound, it was a reflection of the mixed bag that is Queen of Uncool’s musical taste.

Being solo, evidently provided more room to explore this.

Queen of Uncool has since then been awarded the Next Level Award by Help Musicians, to create a new EP.​

While new music has been awhile in the making, Autumn 2026 will see the release of the new EP, a mash up of all the musical styles and genres Queen of Uncool has been making throughout her time as an artist.

 

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