In the same way their namesake planet spins in the opposite direction to most, Leeds-based witchy rock outfit VENUS GRRRLS are anything but normal. As they head out on their biggest tour to date, they tell us how beating cancer and being slowed by the pandemic have only made them ambitiously “stubborn”…
“We try to lean into the spook and the occult,” says VENUS GRRRLS bassist Hannah Barraclough. The goth-grunge band are essentially Scooby Doo’s Hex Girls in real life. They’re so good at tapping into their vampy Venus ways that fans can’t believe they’re actually that nice when meeting them after gigs.
“Not much thought has gone into anything contrived,” adds guitarist Eliza Lee. “We call our fans The Coven and talk about being witchy, but we’ve had a lot of interviews where people are like, ‘Do you actually read tarot cards?’ Oh yeah! This ain’t an act, babe.”
Hannah and Eliza are joined by vocalist Grace ‘GK’ Kelly and keyboardist Grace Stubbings, as we gather to chat on a sunny lunchtime. Just as Hannah says, they truly are a friendly bunch; their collective energy is fizzing with tenacity and ambition for their craft. Most people would need a few strong coffees to carry as much charisma as VENUS GRRRLS do.
Those who caught their Download and 2000trees debuts this year will have experienced their captivating live energy in all its glory. It’s a beautiful thing to see such joy and good fortune in a band that have been through a lot.
The grrrls started gigging in the late 2010s, with their first EP Wicked Things dropping in 2020. Since then, a second EP, Potions, and a collection of singles have been slowly drip-fed, and though partly at an intentional pace, life also had other ideas. Not only did the pandemic halt their career as it was just beginning, but shortly after in 2022, GK was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukaemia.
“We’ve not had a conventional journey,” says GK. “We put out our first single less than a year before the pandemic, and then six months after lockdown I got ill. We’ve had all this time together, but only in the past couple of years have we been able to do something.”
GK is now thankfully in remission, and things feel really fucking good for VENUS GRRRLS. In fact, it’s a squeeze to fit into their busy schedule. Making up for lost time, they’re continually hitting Numen Studios in Surrey to get cooking on new music that is more explorative than they’ve ever made before – think Buffy The Vampire Slayer meets Siouxsie Sioux.
A brand-new single, Ivy Tree, was released just a couple of weeks ago. It’s their first since March’s Eighteen Crows, and the band say it alludes to toxicity, especially within modern politics. It was written off the back of the overturn of Roe V. Wade in America, affecting access to abortion in multiple states: “It’s seeing the rights to our bodies being decided for us, something we were feeling particularly upset by,” GK explains. “It could also be put down to being trapped in a toxic situation or relationship, and the idea of feeling liberated to cut [yourself] free.”
As artists, VENUS GRRRLS want their music to stand for something. Their slogan – ‘grrrl as fuck’ – harks back to the riot grrrl movement of the ’90s. Fittingly, Venus is also the only planet named after a female god; it’s an entity that does things differently.
“It’s an attitude,” states GK. “It’s always a bit of a fine line we’ve wanted to walk with this, because ‘girls in alternative music’ is not a genre, and that’s a question we’ve come up against during our time as a band.
“That’s not the selling point of us,” she adds. “It’s more pointing to the lack of representation of other genders in the music industry. It is often still quite male-dominated. That’s what ‘grrrl as fuck’ is about; it’s very riot grrrl-oriented. That’s what we started as and that’s the attitude we carry as a band.”
The four of them nod in agreement. They’re incredibly proud of the way they work together; everyone chips in, everyone is heard, and no idea is a stupid one. Creatively, it’s liberating.
“After being in a band with men, I can say this is the best work environment I’ve ever had!” says Hannah.
“We’re unashamedly honest,” adds Eliza. “[That’s] so important when you’re in that environment, because you do sometimes have to be cut-throat. Was it Stephen King that said, ‘To be a great writer you have to be unafraid to kill your darlings’? Everyone needs to feel free to speak if they feel they’re not resonating with something.”
“There’s a lot of experimentation which is really important, especially when there’s five of you,” adds Grace. “Our background with riot grrrl and empowering women, I think that bleeds through how we work together. None of us are putting each other into a box.”
With drummer Alannagh Doherty of Derry pop-punk band Cherym now joining VENUS GRRRLS in the studio and onstage, they’re in a flow state. This democratic creative bubble has been nurtured by Max Helyer of You Me At Six, who is working with the band as a producer. They describe him as a “kind, warm ray of sunshine” with “pure golden retriever” energy. Not a bad endorsement.
It was Max who produced Eighteen Crows, and though the track was written during GK’s cancer treatment, it’s not about cancer itself. It’s actually rather universal.
“It’s about wanting change, wanting to be away from the situation you’re in, which I think anyone can relate to at some point in their life,” says GK. “And we’re all goths – we love a crow!
“Some of the very early lyrics were written whilst I was in hospital on chemo. It was literally two lines I had scribbled in my notes on my phone, and it was born of this fantasy that I would become something different to what I was in that current moment. I was quite unwell on a lot of medication. I would just be laying there looking out the window, and became obsessed with the idea of becoming a crow.
“I didn’t touch it for a long time. About a year ago, I sat down with a guitar and I put it into a really strange tuning and started playing with the chords. I found those lyrics and wrote [the rest] probably in about 15 minutes. It all just came out. To this day, it’s the only song that’s made me cry as I’ve written it.”
In times of difficulty, be it through a physical challenge or a mental one, we don’t want things to end, we want them to be different. Leaning into their fascination with all things occult, could it be said that VENUS GRRRLS also use the stage to shift into a different version of themselves as a form of escape?
“I felt like I was stepping into a persona before I had my cancer experience. I would see my stage persona and me as wildly different, but now not so much,” replies GK. “The music since [then] has been so vulnerable and raw that a lot of the time, I do feel like I’m being who I am, which [is] lovely.”
“The only time I’ve ever felt like I’m trying to shapeshift and put on a fake persona is when I had to go to a day job,” admits Eliza. “The stage is the real thing, but paying the rent is the persona!”
Having to put on your phony customer service voice when you’d rather chew glass is always a fun time. While Eliza was formerly a waitress, GK worked in a department store.
“I’m dyspraxic. My first job was in the china and glass department. I destroyed a lot of stuff…”
Though Leeds-based, together the band hail from different backgrounds including Newcastle, Hartlepool and Scotland. Their youths were collectively working class, and shaped by their parents’ listening habits. GK found her way to the alt.sphere as a teen thanks to the internet, but was raised on Irish music and her mother’s Elvis obsession. As for the others, they grew up surrounded by a multitude of rock influences, both classic and modern.
“My dad is the most normal Northern man, but for some reason he had a My Chemical Romance stage in his midlife crisis. We all call him Punk Alan!” Hannah laughs. “He used to burn CDs and give them to me. I always looked up to him. He was the first one who played an instrument in our family and I wanted to join him on that.”
“I’m the same,” nods Eliza. “I was raised on Alice Cooper and Led Zeppelin, and that’s still my bread and butter. I don’t remember a time when I didn’t listen to rock music. I have a vivid memory of being in nursery school, and we had to go around in a circle and say what our favourite song was. I said Since You Been Gone by Rainbow.”
Hannah cracks up. “I thought you were gonna say Kelly Clarkson!”
Outdoing even Punk Alan were Grace’s parents, who were “proper anarchist” punks back in the ’80s. Both of them were also in grassroots bands, and looking at this part of her heritage, she highlights how music plays a key part in the social lives of many working class people.
“Being from a working class town such as Hartlepool, a lot of the people I met who had similar interests were through music,” she explains. “Gigs for me were a safe space outside of school. I’d go up to Newcastle on the train and I’d see people who were like me. I hope that’s the same for our shows.”
VENUS GRRRLS have got their biggest headline tour to date coming up – in October, no less. With shows set for Dublin, London and Leeds, they’ll introduce a levelled-up iteration of the band. Expect a set facelift with lots of new material, and an overhaul of their live aesthetic.
“We’ve been experimenting with making it more immersive and theatrical with the stage and what we’re wearing,” teases Grace.
Hmmm… new singles, a headline tour, lots of studio time booked in. What are you up to, VENUS GRRRLS? Pray tell.
“We’re in the midst of writing what will become EPs and albums,” confirms GK, tight-lipped on the finer details with a knowing smile.
As we welcome in the colder months and the thinning of the veil, VENUS GRRRLS will be on top form. Through puzzling pieces of their musical identity together and their adverse beginnings, they’re essentially made of steel at this point. Most of all, they’re the loveliest bunch of space witches you’ll ever come across.
“We’re all just really proud to still be here doing this despite being from working class backgrounds, despite facing the pandemic, despite facing cancer,” says GK determinedly. “We’re here and we’re in the best position we’ve ever been.”
VENUS GRRRLS tour the UK from October 3. This interview originally appeared in the autumn 2025 issue of the magazine.
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