The Mo-dettes were a multinational, all-female post-punk band formed in London in 1979 by American-born guitarist Kate Korris (sometimes spelled Korus) and bassist Jane Crockford. Both had punk pedigree: Korris was an original member of the Slits and briefly played with the Raincoats, while Crockford came from Bank of Dresden. Swiss-born singer Ramona Carlier and drummer June Miles-Kingston completed the line-up.
‘White Mice’, written by Crockford, was their debut single, self-released on their own Mode Records in mid-1979, produced by David Cunningham and distributed by Rough Trade. It became an indie chart hit and remains their best-known song. Its spiky take on sexual autonomy fitted the era, though the band were openly sceptical of partisan feminist politics and preferred to let the songs speak for themselves. They recorded several sessions for John Peel, the first of which, in January 1980, included ‘Dark Park Creeping’ and ‘Kray Twins’.
Signed to Decca’s Deram imprint, they released The Story So Far in 1980, a set of pop-punk originals alongside covers of the Rolling Stones’ ‘Paint It Black’, which became a minor hit, and Édith Piaf’s ‘Milord’. Pressure from the label to adopt a more saccharine girl-pop sound caused friction, and in 1981 guitarist Melissa Ritter was added, playing her first show just four days after joining. Carlier left in early 1982, and after a spell with Sue Slack on vocals the band split for good on 11 November 1982.
The members’ later careers are a small tour of British pop history. Crockford married Madness drummer Daniel Woodgate; Miles-Kingston drummed and sang on Fun Boy Three’s ‘Our Lips Are Sealed’ before joining the Communards; and the band, under the name the Bomberettes, sang backing vocals on ‘Fighter Pilot’ from John Cale’s Honi Soit. The Mo-dettes left only one album, but they remain a vivid example of how quickly post-punk opened doors for women to make music on their own terms.
