The hidden history of Zenana, a Bedford-based and pioneering all-female synth-pop trio operative during the early-to-mid 1980s, is being explored on a new EP – and it’s all down to a surprise message from a young DJ in Bristol.
In May 2022, Wootton resident and Zenana founder, songwriter Anita Gabrielle Tedder received an unexpected social media message from Bristol-based DJ, record dealer, mix-maker and vinyl archivist Kiernan Abbott, founder of the popular Fragments in Wax social media channels.
Having stumbled on a copy of the band’s sole seven-inch single, 1986’s ‘Witches’ in a second-hand store, Abbott was desperate to find out more about the track and the band behind it.
Unbeknown to Anita and her band mates, Penny Griffiths and Ruth Elder, ‘Witches’ had become a fan favourite during Abbott’s DJ sets. Strangely, they had reunited for a one-off rendition of the track at a party the night before.
12 months on from that encounter, Zenana’s first full EP is landing in stores and being launched in Bedford at Slide Records on September 23.
The lavishly packaged limited-edition 12” single vinyl version comes bundled with an extensive booklet documenting the previously untold story of Zenana through recollections and never-seen-before photos, including significant line-up changes and their unlikely connection to ‘80s stars Mel & Kim.
It’s a remarkable story, too. Initially formed by Anita as a way of presenting and performing her songs, Zenana’s electronic dance music influenced pop sound owed a lot to the input of her brother, Mike Tedder – an electronic music enthusiast who recorded his first synthesiser-driven experiments in the mid 1970s.
By the time Zenana was formed, Mike had acquired enough synths, drum machines and tape recorders to set-up a personal studio in the front room of his terraced home in Nanpean, an industrial village in Cornwall.
Countless Zenana tracks were recorded there between 1984 and ’86, with the resultant demo cassettes securing the band many live bookings, a video shoot and even a television appearance.
It all adds up to an ear-catching, eye-opening celebration of an unusual, forward thinking female band whose musical output was shaped not in expensive studios or record label offices, but in Bedford.
