Dr Helen Reddington
Senior Lecturer
Department of Music, Writing & Performance , School of Arts and Creative Industries
Since 2006 Helen Reddington has been a lecturer in songwriting, production, and professional music industry practice at the University of East London.
OVERVIEW
Helen played bass in punk bands in Brighton in the 1970s, before forming the bands The Chefs and later, Helen and the Horns, both of whom recorded a number of sessions for Radio 1's John Peel. After seven years touring and recording in the independent sector and a deal with RCA, she left the pop music industry and completed a PhD which became the book The Lost Women of Rock Music: Female Musicians of the Punk Era (Equinox, 2012).
In 2016 this became the film documentary Stories from the She-Punks: music with a different agenda, produced and directed with Gina Birch of The Raincoats. She continues to collaborate on musical projects as a songwriter with other contemporary artists, and works on these projects alongside her academic career.
CURRENT RESEARCH
- Women and music technology
- Active songwriter and musician, using the name 'Helen McCookerybook'.
PUBLICATIONS
- Monograph: She's at the Controls: sound engineering, production and gender ventriloquism in the 21st Century, 2021.
- Danger, Anger, and Noise: the Women Punks of the late 1970s and their Music. The Oxford Handbook of Punk. Reddington, H, Mackay, G and Arnold, G. 2020. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
- Film documentary: Stories from the She-Punks: music with a different agenda (co-directed with Gina Birch). 2019.
- Space to Play: the sound of British female punk music and its engagement with reggae in the 1970s. 2019. Popular Music History.
- Gender 'Ventriloquism' in Studio Production IASPM Gender issue. Reddington, H, Raine, S and Strong, C. 2019.
- Détournement and Female Punk Bands of the 1970s in Rethinking Difference in Gender, Sexuality, and Popular Music: Theory and Politics of Ambiguity. Reddington, H and Lee, G. 2017. London and New York: Routledge.
- Entrepreneurship and Music Technology Practitioners in Music Entrepreneurship. Reddington, H, Dumbreck, A and McPherson, G . 2016. London: Bloomsbury/Methuen.
- The Political Pioneers of Punk (just don't Mention the F-Word!) in The Aesthetics of our Anger: anarcho-punk, politics and music. Reddington, H, Dines, M and Worley, M . 2016. New York: Autonomedia.
- Monograph: The Lost Women of Rock Music: female musicians of the Punk Era, with additional interviews and with photographs,paperback. 2012. Sheffield: Equinox.
PORTFOLIO
Practice Based Activities
Conference Papers
- 2018 Keynote, KISMIF conference, Porto, Portugal
- MU Working in Music conference, University of Lausanne
- 2017 Punk in the Provinces presenter
- 2016 Art of Record Production Conference, University of Aalborg
- MU Working in Music conference, Glasgow
- 2015 30 Years of One Chord Wonders, Brighton
- KISMIF, Porto, Portugal
- 2014 Keynote: Studying Music Conference, Edinburgh University
External Examining, Course Development and Peer Reviewing
- 2015-2017 - External Examiner, BA Journalism, University of the Arts, London
- 2016 - Development and validation of the MA in Creative Entrepreneurship for the London College of Creative Media (Open University Validated)
- 2009-2014 - External Examiner, BA Commercial Music and MA Music Entrepreneurship, University of the West of Scotland
2010-18
- Peer reviewer: AHRC, Bloomsbury/Methuen, Oxford University Press, Ashgate Press
- The Journal on the Art of Record Production (JARP)
- Art of Record Production conference abstracts
- International Association for the Study of Popular Music (IASPM) Journal
Membership of Organisations
The Performing Rights Society, Phonographic Performance Ltd, International Association for the Study of Popular Music, Art of Record Production, Musician's Union, University and College Union, Punk Scholars' Network.
FUNDING
Touring and recording artist; collaborations with Gina Birch, Vic Goddard, Lester Square, Martin Stephenson, Robert Rotifer.
Research into punk, subcultures and music scenes; research into women and studio technology in pop; development of songwriting courses in unusual contexts.
TEACHING
BA (Hons) Music Performance and Production
We've designed the ideal course for any performer, songwriter or composer who wants to work in music.
Read more.
BA (Hons) Music Technology and Production
Study music technology and production, develop your practice portfolio and initiate and present innovative ideas in modern and engaging ways.
Read moreMODULES
- Level 5 BA Music Performance and Production: Craft 1: Integrate (songwriting)
- Level 5 BA Music Performance and Production: Mental Wealth Professional Engagement (songwriting)
- Level 6 BA Music Performance and Production and BA Music Technology and Production: Professional Practice in the Music Industry
Scholarly activities
- Fellow of the Higher Education Academy
- Performing Arts Society
- Mechanical Copyright Society
- Musician's Union
- ASCAP