The Band

Six women from South Wales who met at the Nana Punk workshops and started making a racket.

Anne-Marie Bollen playing a red bass on stage

Anne-Marie Bollen

Bass and vocals

A nurse and a miner’s daughter from South Wales, Anne-Marie grew up inspired by the first wave of female punk musicians, including X-Ray Spex. She spotted a social media ad for the Nana Punk workshops at The Cab in Newport and decided to give it a go.

Her bass came through the punk grapevine about a decade ago: a tip from Richie of Dub War, and £100. She also writes songs and organises for the band, and wrote and sings Care Home Robbery, about the huge sums older people are charged for care.

Deb de Lloyd playing an electric viola on stage

Deb de Lloyd

Viola

Deb brings the viola to a punk band, and also makes the band’s creative merch and handles admin. The Nana Punk workshops ended with a gig in the middle of Wales Millennium Centre with no rehearsal time, and she was still working out the chords ten minutes before it started.

Claire Symons playing a teal guitar on stage

Claire Symons

Rhythm guitar and vocals

Claire had never played guitar before the workshops. She went along because her husband saw the flyer, then learned when the new band needed a second guitarist. She has since written songs too, which came as a very big surprise to her.

She is also the band’s treasurer and merch lead. Her bandmates are still trying to coax her out from behind the pillar on stage.

Ange Pearce playing a white guitar on stage

Ange “Animal” Pearce

Lead guitar and vocals

Ange played acoustic before switching to electric in the last few years, and didn’t think the workshops would ever turn into a real band. They did. Her dad, an old rock and roll drummer who always wanted her to be in a band, now comes to the shows.

She also writes songs, including the lyrics to Idiots Everywhere with Jude Price.

Marega Palser playing a teal guitar on stage

Marega Palser

Multi-instrumentalist and vocals

A performance artist living in Newport, Marega trained at London Contemporary Dance School and later studied Fine Art in Cardiff. She was a founder member of the dance theatre group Paradox Shuffle and has worked with Gareth Clark as the performance duo Mr & Mrs Clark since 2001.

In the NaNaz she writes songs, sings and makes creative merch, and wrote the lyrics and sings on The Isles. She has no shame about getting things wrong on stage, because getting up there at all sends a signal to women her age.

Jade Ball

Drums and backing vocals

The youngest and newest member of the band, Jade says they gelled very quickly, and jokes that she has almost become the adopted granddaughter. She also runs the band’s social media.