Catch up TV

Episode 05 May 2023

The untold story of a California garage band, co-founded in the 1960s by Filipina American and queer teenagers, which morphed into the ferocious rock group Fanny, the first all-female band to release an LP with a major record label (Warner/Reprise, 1970). \n\nDespite releasing Top 40 hits and five critically acclaimed albums between 1970 to 1974, counting David Bowie as one of their most vocal fans and touring extensively with bands like Chicago, Steely Dan, Slade and other major groups, Fanny's groundbreaking impact in music has been lost in the mists of time… until bandmates reunite 50 years later with a new rock record deal and a chance to right the wrongs of history. \n\nFanny's brave present-day journey and fascinating backstory is illuminated by rare performance archival footage, photography and celebrity interviews with music legends including Bonnie Raitt, Todd Rundgren, The Go Go's Kathy Valentine, The Runaways’ Cherie Currie, The B52's Kate Pierson, Lovin' Spoonful's John Sebastien, Def Leppard's Joe Elliott, David Bowie's guitarist Earl Slick and bassist Gail Ann Dorsey, Charles Neville and Steely Dan's Jeff 'Skunk' Baxter. \n\nFanny blasted glass ceilings of racism and sexism back in the 1960s and 70s, with the lesbian bandmates told to either hide their LBGTQ identity or leave the band, and with their new album, these feisty women, now in their 70s, challenge the stigma of ageism as well. \n\nThrough the captivating lens of rock 'n' roll, this film raises critical questions about identity, perseverance, love, family and the elusive alchemy of pursuing the American Dream.

Source: BBC 4