Indie band Beaker on returning after 25 years

An all-female indie band that reformed after 25 years away say time has not dulled their edge.

Beaker, who make "melodic garage punk with a message", was formed by students at Oxford Polytechnic in the 1990s and built a loyal following in a music scene that produced bands like Radiohead and Supergrass.

Now, Oxford-based musicians Emma Hunter and Hayley Wright have joined Clare Howard-Saunders, Sam Battle and TJ Ward for the band's return.

With original members in their mid-50s, the group, juggling careers, motherhood and other grown-up responsibilities, has released a bold new single and says it has big plans for the future.

The original members of the group, which disbanded in 1999, reconnected following the death of bassist Kim Parsons in 2023.

What was meant to be a one-off performance at Charlbury Riverside Festival turned into a full-blown comeback.

Hunter said time had only refined the group's approach.

"Once you get into your 40s and 50s, you stop caring about how you're perceived in the same way," she said.

"We've talked about how we take the music more seriously now. We're more mindful of the content of the songs and our standards are probably higher too."

Like the band, the Oxford music scene they emerged from has evolved over the years.

In the time since Beaker went their separate ways, acts including Foals, Glass Animals and Stornoway have found success out of the city.

But Hunter said the local scene remains incredibly supportive.

"We all go and see each other's shows. We're each other's champions," she said.

"There's a huge range of music coming out of Oxford, with lots of different artists doing different things. There's a real sense of community."

These days, that community is balanced with the realities of adult life.

"A lot of us have caring responsibilities. We have to be mindful of that," said Hunter.

"But the music gives us emotional well-being. It puts us in a better place to support other people if we're in a good place ourselves.

"There is definitely a juggle, but it's about prioritising what's important."

Beaker's reunion is not just about revisiting old material.

The band have released a new single inspired by the case Gisèle Pelicot, who became a feminist icon after waiving her anonymity in a rape case that shocked the world.

All-female rock acts have been in the spotlight in recent years, thanks in part to the success of BBC drama Riot Women, which follows a group of middle-aged women forming a punk band.

"It was a bit of a running joke when that came out. We were like, 'hang on, we are the real Riot Women'," said Hunter.

"Sally Wainwright should have come and talked to us."

The band's story features in a BBC Radio 4 documentary, Band of Mothers, and they hope to release an EP and land bigger festival slots as their comeback gathers pace.

"We do it for the love and we do it for the community," Hunter said, before adding: "Also, I'd quite like to be really famous, thanks. So if Michael Eavis could put us on at Glastonbury next year, that would be great."

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