QUEEN ZEE

“I don’t see myself as a musician, I’m more of a performer or entertainer. And I’ve got no time for music that doesn’t entertain” say Merseyside’s Queen Zee. “Apathy is in fashion. Minimalism has gotten so minimal that all meaning has disappeared completely. I’m not sure what I want to be, but I know I want to be the opposite of that.”

Fronted by the peculiar and direct Zena Davine (aka Queen Zee) the band is completed by co-founding member and multi-instrumentalist Jason Taylor-Brown, Frankie Wortho (Bass & Vocals), Ash Summers (Keys, Percussion & Vocals) and Dave Bloom (Drums & Percussion).

The often accredited “punk” tag seems a stretch for Queen Zee. Having been in and out of Liverpool’s anarchic DIY scene in their teenage years, founding members Davine & Taylor-Brown both acknowledge Queen Zee as a step away from the typical punk band format. “I wanted to create a persona, as if it was a drag queen or superhero, but that was rooted in punk. In a Leigh Bowery meets Debbie Harry type of way” states Davine. These home produced, online demos quickly reached the ear of Taylor-Brown and the duo started their assault on the art around them.

“I had been putting Queen Zee & The Sasstones on posters around the city for a couple of months, with no band making it to the show. I had chosen the name to include… & The Sasstones to make it feel as if it was more than one person.” Davine continues

With Taylor-Brown and original drummer George Micheal on board the band played their first show. Appearing with no announcement (or rehearsal) at the infamous Drop the Dumbulls, the ten minute whirl of noise and bloodied noses was so chaotic it was wrongly reported by the local paper as the band covering Firestarter by The Prodigy.

In-fact at no point in their career have Queen Zee taken themselves too seriously, having being shut down by the local Council after protesting their own gig and barred from venues across the city for their bizarre onstage antics, it makes sense their first radio play would come from a bedroom recorded demo of the tongue in cheek “I Hate Your New Boyfriend”. Appearing on Phil Taggart’s BBC Radio 1 show, who would later go on to called the band “The Rocky Horror Picture Show on steroids”. Following singles “Sissy Fists”, “Idle Crown” and “Victim Age” have gained similar applaud. With “Victim Age” hand picked by the legendary Iggy Pop for his Radio 6 show after calling the band “Strange, weird, dirty people from Liverpool”.

In 2018 the band appeared on Huw Stephen’s Radio 1 new music show with their Maida Vale live session. Having made BBC history with first all female crew. In the following interview the band announced that their debut album was on it’s way.

Consequent tours and festival appearances across Europe have shown off Queen Zee’s cult fanbase, and after winning the PRS flash funding at 2018’s The Great Escape the band continue to push the limits of how far they can take their absurdity.