Shit & Chanel

Shit & Chanel were the first successful all-female rock band from Denmark. The name Shit & Chanel resembles the Danish fixed expression "skidt og kanel", which describes a matter that has both positive and negative aspects. The word shit is also slang for something negative or marijuana. The female line-up was formed in the winter of 1973 during the time of the Danish Redstocking Movement, together with the other Danish all-female groups Hos Anna, Søsterrock, Lilith (39), Sonja's Søstre, Kvinder I Danmark, Kvindeballadegruppen and Super Karla. Some sources suggest that Shit & Chanel were the first all-female rock band from Denmark, but the first documented one is Les Filles, who existed from 1964 to 1965. Butterflies (4), who were formed in 1965, is the only one from the sixties that released records. There was also one named the Ladybirds from 1968, that performed topless and didn't write songs. Anne Linnet wanted to make a band, and her husband Holger Laumann was a music teacher who suggested some talented pupils. Lis Sørensen was called in 1972 by Anne Linnet. The band played with some members of Tears in the beginning, and Anne Linnet called it a "female beat group" in an interview in 1973. They had their debut performance on April 19, 1974 in Vestergade 58, Aarhus. The group received a little skepticism and some prejudices in the beginning as an all-female band was uncommon, but quickly became very popular in Denmark and also inspired a lot of women. Even though the band members didn't personally represent the women's liberation movement, some of its adherents used the songs for their own cause. The band played at a women's festival on August 23, 1975 in Fælledparken, Copenhagen for about 40,000 spectators, and in Nørrebrohallen, Copenhagen in the evening. During these two concerts, male musicians of the band Nana Banana helped them with handling music equipment and also jammed on the stage, which caused protest by some adherents of the women's movement, who felt that men would disturb their community activism. The band felt that it was a common cause, and subsequently stated in the press that all were welcome at their concerts. Holger Laumann was friends with the producer Peter Abrahamsen who owned Abra Cadabra Production. The debut album was released in the spring of 1976 and was well received by the people, who noted the Danish lyrics that described the life of women, and the romantic and passionate music that was called "beat-rock with a touch of jazz" in the press. The group played a lot of concerts until the last album was released in 1979. They gave a live performance in Saltlageret in December 1980, but the album was not followed by a tour. A lawsuit by Chanel S.A. derived from their second album Shit & Chanel Nº 5 led to a Danish court decision on August 13, 1981, and they had to take a new name – Shit & Chalou. In fact, the group had lost its commitment at this time, and the new name only had effect for reissues and compilations. The final concert was on August 27, 1982 at the opening of Musikhuset Aarhus. A recording from the final performance is included on 1974-1982.