Beth Blade has the soul of a rock and roll superstar. Backed by her band The Beautiful Disasters she commands the stage, enthrals the audience, brings the party and slays when she plays. Music is in her heart.
And courage is in her core.
At the hands of an ex-partner she was subjected to sickening and unspeakable physical and sexual crimes. But Beth Blade speaks about them. To help herself heal. To help others escape. To raise awareness and understanding, to give hope and to demand change.
On stage at Roxoff Festival, Norwich, Beth’s voice is soaked in good time anthems, gorgeous raw power and warm and relatable crowd interaction that resonates both with and throughout the room.
Speaking to Goth Girl Writing off stage, she uses her voice save lives.
Making music and performing is in Beth’s bones. ‘I do it because it’s who I am and not for any other reason,’ she smiles. ‘I would still be performing if there was only one person there! I do the washing-up and I make up a song about it! I wake up with songs in my head!’
She adds, ‘When I’m writing a song it comes from a place of personal experience, or the personal experience of someone close to me. The main thing for me when I’m writing is connection, and also being honest. A lot of the time you can fall into the trap of writing what people expect you to write. Sometimes I’ll write a song that’s jazz, or more pop, because it’s what I feel! With songwriting, it’s like it’s in the air waiting for you to almost pull it out of there. I’m not religious, but it’s really quite spiritual.’
Being Beth Blade and the Beautiful Disasters sounds magical! ‘It’s hard work!’ laughs Beth. ‘But when you get on stage with a crowd like we’ve had today, for us it feels like the world stops turning and we’re in the moment and it feels peaceful. So even though we play in-your-face rock and roll, it’s peace to me. Everybody has got stuff going on in their lives. Everybody is hurting and experiencing different things. The arts – music, acting, all that kind of stuff – that’s what makes life worth living for me.’
Beth adds, ‘Music is about what’s in your soul. At school I was what they called ‘gifted’ – I had a high IQ. I could’ve studied science at Oxford! But the creative arts stole my heart.’
Her day job may be in HR, but her heart is happiest holding a guitar and sharing her songs with a room full of fans. ‘As long as everybody is having a good time at our shows, then I’m happy. People spend their hard-earned money at a time when things are tight because they need this. But I need it just as much.’
And that is Beth speaking and sharing her absolute truth. Because seven years ago she nearly lost her life at the hands of an insidious human being, and music played a massive part in saving her.
Victims of sexual offences are entitled to automatic anonymity for life in the press or any other publication. It must take bravery beyond words to waive this, which is exactly what Beth has done. What happened to her is abhorrent. It’s not going to be nice to read and it could be triggering. I’ve popped some places you can find help at the end of this piece.
‘We are in an era where sexual crimes against women are pretty much decriminalised,’ says Beth.
In August 2018 she endured almost 24 hours of hell at the hands of an ex-partner. Beth was raped, beaten, strangled and threatened with a saw. Naked – wearing only her socks – she escaped when he fell asleep, and ran for help. He was sentenced to eight years in prison in December 2018.
Prior to this he had been controlling, coercive and violent.
Beth tells me, ‘When you’re lucky enough to get a conviction, like I was, when they get released you go through the Victim Contact Scheme, so you know what’s going on. Recently, they told me he’s up for parole. It’s interesting how that kind of makes you feel. But I’m in a really good place. I cannot recommend EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing therapy) enough, for people who have been through domestic violence. It’s a wonderful therapy and it really helps.'
Speaking about her ordeal, Beth says, 'There is this kind of silence. And when it comes to domestic violence, silence equals death. Two women a week are killed at the hands of people they know. When I get on a stage people think I’m this confident, outgoing person. People think domestic violence will only happen to a certain type of person. But it can happen to anybody.
‘I don’t want anyone else to go through what I did. And I want people who are going through it to know you can leave. There’s nothing to be embarrassed about. There’s nothing to be ashamed of. It’s not about you – it’s about them.
‘My therapist said he thought that because I had this strong connection to express myself through music, it helped me in a way other people don’t have. So something I would like to do is set-up a music therapy programme for domestic violence victims. Because music kept me alive.’
Beth adds, ‘When I think about it now, I realise I was mentally unwell. Domestic violence makes you mentally unwell. But it’s so important to remember it can happen to anybody. It’s really important to look for the signs and red flags. If anybody is trying to control you in any way, it’s not ok.’
We chat about the truly scary times we are currently living in – when groups who need the most support and safety are being torn into and left terrified. Unkindness and cruelty are being rained down by small-minded people who, quite frankly, need to shut the fuck up.
Unforgivably, the trans community are particularly being targeted at the minute. Beth: ‘Personally I have never been scared of a trans woman. I have been scared of men.’
‘Something music has taught me,’ she says, ‘is there are so many different communities of people in the world, and we all have our own truth and our own life. Everybody is welcome at the rock show. At the minute, there’s a lot of hate and derision for minorities in the country. We’ve got a song about it on our next album called ‘Colour of Our Bones’. The colour of our bones is the same. We all breath, and bleed, and believe in something.’
Work on album number four is well under way. The band have recently set up a Crowdfunding campaign and have the record scheduled for release on September 12 – with live dates to accompany its launch too. And as always with Beth Blade and the Beautiful Disasters, they’re giving it everything they’ve got – for themselves, for their fans, for the love of music – recorded and live, and for EVERYBODY.
‘It doesn’t matter who you love or where you come from,’ says Beth. ‘Whoever you are – you’re welcome to our shows. There’s no room for hatred in rock and roll.’
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Beth Blade and the Beautiful Disasters website
Beth Blade and the Beautiful Disasters Facebook
Beth Blade and the Beautiful Disasters Linktree
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For yourself or someone you believe is in danger:
For immediate help call 999
National Domestic Abuse Helpline (run by Refuge) 0808 2000 247
Samaritans 116 123
Victimsupport.org.uk 08 08 16 89 111
