Androids of Mu


Androids of Mu was an English all-female anarcho-punk/post-punk band based in London, active from 1979 to 1983. They were part of a West London squatland scene, alongside bands such as the Poison Girls, Zounds, The Mob and The Astronauts.

History

Emerging from associations with the hippy-orientated Here & Now, Nik Turner, Gong's Daevid Allen and Gilli Smyth, the Androids of Mu formed out of the Frestonia squatter community in Notting Hill Gate, West London, notable in its time for producing non-conformist music.
The band's driving force was vocalist Suze da Blooze. She shared lead vocals with Corrina, and wrote much of the band's material. They released one album, Blood Robots, recorded by F*** Off Records label-head Keith Dobson in his Street Level studio.
The Androids were well received by the music press of the day. Robbi Millar in Sounds described the album as "Android genius" and likened the band to The Slits, praising their "simple songs, played with limited but adventurous ability, sung with voices that scream and holler with the mispitched intensity of early Raincoats".
From proto-punk and post-punk beginnings, the band soon became associated with the anarcho-punk scene. Crass invited the Androids to record for their label on condition that they recruited a "proper" drummer, but the band declined the invitation. Newcastle anarcho-punk band Blood Robots named themselves after Androids of Mu's only album.
In 2013, Blood Robots was reissued on vinyl by Water Wing Records.

Line-up

The band's line-up was: Suze da Blooze, Corrina, Cozmic and Bess. The second incarnation featured drummer Graham Cronin and guitarist Deborah Thomas.

Discography