The appeal of music documentaries is largely the joy of music: even if artists or groups profiled are not known to the viewer, it is hard not to be swept away in the joy of making music and the infectious passion uniting bandmates with each other and their audiences.
However, not all bands find the path to fame and acclaim equal. SINCE YESTERDAY, which premiered as the closing film at the Edinburgh International Film Festival before opening wide across the UK this week, chronicles the rise and fall of many Scottish girl bands from the 1960s to the early 2000s. Co-directors Carla J. Easton (who also wrote and narrated the film) and Blair Young let the band members tell their own stories, giving them a voice that was largely ignored by their contemporary presses in an all-too-familiar tale of chauvinism and underestimation.
“SINCE YESTERDAY paints a vibrant picture of their artistry but also a damning picture of sexism, classism, and London-centrism that still plagues the UK’s arts scene today.”
The McKinleys opened for the Beatles and played Wembley – the first girl band to do so – but the Edinburgh-based sisters do not have the same recognition as their male counterparts from the era. The Hedrons crossed paths with Mick Jagger – with riotously funny results – but similarly do not have a place in the same rock annals. Other bands featured include The Ettes, Hello Skinny, Lung Leg, Sally Skull, Strawberry Switchblade, Sunset Gun, The Twinset, His Latest Flame, and This Mortal Coil. SINCE YESTERDAY paints a vibrant picture of their artistry but also a damning picture of sexism, classism, and London-centrism that still plagues the UK’s arts scene today.
Worries about marriage and motherhood causing concert cancellations and derailing tours are the promoters’, not the musicians’ own. While perhaps some of these prejudices would not be as straightforwardly and blatantly stated by employers in the 2020s, it is hard not to feel that this pressure to prove one’s profitability – and to plan one’s career around family life – is a burden experienced more often by women than by men (case in point: the gender wage gap is most extreme when a woman returns to the workplace after maternity leave).
“SINCE YESTERDAY joyously celebrates the work of groups that, by all rights, should be better known today.”
The archival footage is interspersed with talking heads from many of the band members today, who eloquently and evocatively recount their stories and comment on their experiences with the clarity of hindsight. Recreations are minimal, but an aspect of the film that does not wholly work is the inclusion of new choreographed footage of young girls dressing up as rock stars in their homes. The effect seems to evoke a parallel between the past and present dreams, and the greater possibilities opened up for those who came after these bands, but the result feels contrived. However, SINCE YESTERDAY’s virtues lie in its documentary approach, these are only minor complaints in what is otherwise a well-told tale.
SINCE YESTERDAY joyously celebrates the work of groups that, by all rights, should be better known today. While not transcending the narrative and stylistic conventions of the documentary biopic, it helps these under-recognised groups get a fraction of the acclaim they are due.