Record find sparks resurgence for 1980s girl band Zenana

Anita said in its day the group "challenged stereotypes"

The chance discovery of a 1980s female band's single in a second-hand shop has inspired the re-release of their songs.

Zenana, made up of Anita Gabrielle Tedder, Penny Griffiths and Ruth Elder, formed in Milton Keynes in 1983 and disbanded in 1987.

A DJ contacted them to say he had bought their 1986 single Witches - and it sparked a wave of new interest.

Tedder, 69, said: "People are now hearing our music more than they ever did in our heyday."

As well as downloads, vinyl copies of the Witches With The Spell Of Love EP have been sent all over the world, she said.

The band (left to right - Ruth Elder, Penny Griffiths and Anita Gabrielle Tedder) got together again in September to launch their new EP

Tedder said the group used to perform to a backing track, and she wrote and produced the music with her brother, Michael Tedder.

Zenana played local pubs and clubs such as The Point in Milton Keynes and The Angel in Bedford, while in London they appeared at the Hippodrome, Dingwalls and Le Beat Route.

They recorded one single, Witches, in 1986 for the PRM label, but it never charted.

"We took a dive into obscurity", Tedder, a retired psychotherapist, said. "It didn't happen for us, we just ran out of steam."

The band wearing similar scarves in 1985

The group was "zany and very accepting of me as a lesbian", said Tedder.

"Some of the lyrics were political and touched on the Aids crisis, and Section 28 which was the Tory government's anti-gay legislation," she added.

Last summer, the trio, who all still live in the Milton Keynes and Bedford area, sang Witches "for a laugh" at a garden party.

By pure coincidence the next day, Anita was messaged on Facebook by Kiernan Abbott, a 24-year-old Bristol-based DJ, who told her he had stumbled across their single in a second-hand shop in Cornwall, and thought it was brilliant.

He then played it in clubs in Los Angeles, Paris and places that specialised in 80s music.

It led to Tedder working with her brother again to digitalise, remix and remaster four tracks that they had originally recorded nearly 40 years ago.

The process included having to bake the original master tapes at low heat in an oven to make them playable.

The songs are available to download as an EP of five tracks or as a four-track 12" vinyl single.

DJ Matt Anniss has also remixed the song Witches and called it Bedmo Disco's Witches '85, but this is unavailable at the moment.

"Witches is a genuinely slept-on gem - an infectious, club-ready treat that's finally getting the love it deserves," he said.

"Zenana's new EP adds up to an ear-catching, eye-opening celebration of an unusual, forward-thinking female band."

Mike Tedder working on the groups music with his synthesisers in his front room

"It's been amazing, I can't believe it, it's most unexpected," Tedder said.

"We've sent records to Australia, Italy, Sweden, Holland, France, Iceland, USA and Canada - people are hearing our music all over the world."

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Elder, 63, who works as a beautician in Leighton Buzzard and still sings in a couple of bands, said: "If it took off in a big, big, way, it would be fantastic, and fantastic for older women.

"The music speaks for itself; at the time we were ahead of our time, and it's stood the test of time."

The band took on different characters - Anita was Boudica, Penny was female pirate Grace O'Malley and Ruth was her own version of Cruella de Ville

Griffiths, 56, who has since worked as a Coventry University lecturer in event management and as a house/pet sitter, said: "I've just had one of the worst and best years of my life with the deaths of my mum and aunt, and splitting with my husband.

"I also had a hysterectomy five years ago, but I've remained clear of cancer since then.

"The rekindling of Zenana this summer and the warmth from our friendships has been a tremendous boost.

"I'm feeling optimistic and happy again.

"I've just got to work out a way to get us all together to do a final gig."

The band sang live to a recorded backing tracks in the 1980s