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Burton
                      Cummings & Neil Young 1987


THE  FEMININE  TOUCH


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The Feminine Touch

Sharon Temple (bass), Dalannah-Gail Bowen (vocals), Penny Stark (drums), Sharon McMullin (guitar)


Winnipeg’s first all-female rock band, the Feminine Touch — Sharon Hellum (née Temple) on bass, guitarist Sharon McMullin, Penny Stark on drums and Gail Bowen on organ — formed in late 1965, when 17-year-old Hellum answered an ad in the paper for female musicians to form an all-girl band.  The quartet rehearsed for six months before making their debut.

“I had led a sheltered life until I joined the band,” says Hellum.  “I had never travelled out of the city.  I had to grow up fast.”

Besides playing the Hungry I club on Portage Avenue and various community clubs, the band was on the road a lot.  For young women, that could sometimes be scary.

“We had to be on our guard all the time,” recalls Hellum.  “We did get harassed a few times.  That’s why we always stuck together.  In hindsight, (booking agent) Frank Weiner should have sent a bodyguard along with us.  We had a guy who came to see us every night in Hull, Que., and followed us to the next gigs for two weeks.  That was unsettling.”

Young women playing in rock bands had another concern to deal with.

“There was a perception that because we played in a band, we were loose women,” she adds.  “That was certainly not the case for us.”

Nonetheless, Hellum cherishes her memories of her rock-band experience.

“It was one of the best times in my life.  I don’t think any of us grew up dreaming of being in a band, so when the opportunity came up, I just jumped at it.  An all-girl band?  Who would have thought of that back then?

“It was a novelty for sure, but most male musicians were really supportive and respected us because we were good players,” she said.

Bowen later joined mixed-gender group Expedition to Earth.

The Feminine Touch played a very memorable gig on April 1, 1967, when they were an opening act for teen sensation the Monkees.  By then, Penny Stark had quit, so Patti Ireland was quickly drafted to fulfil a week’s bookings, including the Monkees show.

“I played on a higher drum riser,” Ireland recalls of the sold-out Winnipeg Arena concert, “and I couldn’t hear a thing.  There was so much screaming and no monitors.  I was so nervous I dropped a stick during a song and had to lean over and grab it fast before it fell off the riser.  Afterwards I got to meet two of the Monkees.  Back at school the next week, I was a celebrity.”

John Einarson
As published in the Winnipeg Free Press Girl Rockers Were Groundbreaking  November 21, 2015


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