The Featherz (formerly The Feathers) are a Welsh and English band with glam and punk influences (self-styled as "Flock Rock") led by Danie Cox on lead vocals and guitar. Cox formed the band with two fellow former members of Poussez Posse (aka Georgie Girl And Her Poussez Posse), a band fronted by Georgina Baillie and mentored by Adam Ant. After leaving Baillie and Ant to form their own group, they released a number of singles from 2013, and an album, Five-Year-Itch, in 2017. The band have toured with Boy George and The Damned.
Since May 2014, Cox is the last remaining founder member. Since 2018 the only other permanent member has been longtime drummer Dazzle Monroe (formerly of Extreme Noise Terror). Together, Cox and Monroe continued to record and play live under the Featherz bandname either as a duo or else with guest lead guitarists/bassists until early 2019. Since then, the band has been mostly on hold while Cox focuses on her side project, all-female Slade tribute band Slady (styled SLADY).
History 2011–2014 - Formation Cox arrived in London in October 2010 to pursue a career as a professional musician. In January 2011, she was recruited to Georgie Girl And Her Poussez Posse as guitarist and backing vocalist. The band also included Baillie, Molly Spiers-MacLeod (the daughter of Spizz) on bass and backing vocals, drummer Rachael Smith and additional guitarist Fiona Bevan. This lineup supported Ant on four tour dates in Spring/Summer 2011 and recorded tracks for a planned single plus EP. Footage from early 2011 of a Poussez Posse band meeting at Ant's home is included in The Blueblack Hussar, a documentary about Ant directed by Jack Bond.The Blueblack Hussar DVD Sunrise 001 2014. Credits include: "... In order of appearance: ... Danie Cox, Fiona Bevan, Molly Spiers Macleod, Rachael Smith, ..." Unhappy with the general direction of the band and Ant's style of mentoring, Cox, Spiers-MacLeod and Smith all left the group. The trio formed their own band The Feathers, making their debut guerilla gig appearance at the Occupy London camp outside St Paul's Cathedral on 23 October 2011.
The band's track "Life Stranger" was released on the compilation Hipsters 3. Cox and Spiers-MacLeod also performed an acoustic set on Garry Bushell's Rancid Sounds radio show on TotalRock in April 2012.The Featherz session on Garry Bushell's Rancid Sounds edition 2012-04-28. Includes discussion of Occupy London gig (5:34 to 6:08), Smith's departure (6:07 to 6:16, 6:46 to 7:17) Gold joining(6:16 to 6:22)"Sat, 28 Apr 2012 ... Garry is joined in the studio by reggae legend Dave Barker, rising Ska stars Buster Shuffle and the feisty Feathers", Totalrock.com Two years later in April 2014, they performed a second acoustic set for Bushell's show - by now transferred to online literary community Litopia's podcast section.At around the time of the first session, Smith left the group to be replaced by Alex Gold, also of The Boys. Gold in turn would be replaced by Monroe by 2013.
In April 2013, Cox befriended Boy George after they met at the launch party of an exhibition of stage costumes of their mutual hero David Bowie at the Victoria and Albert Museum at which George was a guest speaker. Impressed with the appearance and demeanour of the glammed-up Cox, George invited her to show herself on stage. Subsequently, Cox appeared in three videos for singles by George: "I'm Coming Home" (also featuring a cameo by Monroe), "King of Everything" and "My God" directed by Dean Stockings. The band also supported George on his November 2013 solo UK tour to promote his album This Is What I Do.
In early 2013, the band undertook a photo session for fashion designer Mark Charles and his Charles of London fashion label. From then until mid 2016, all band members regularly wore Charles' designs as stagewear. Charles also released the band's debut single "RNR★" on his Charles Of London Records label. The A-side was later included on the compilation CD Teenage Rampage, cover-mounted on issue 16 of Vive Le Rock magazine. The magazine's track guide described Cox as a "rising star" and the band as "injected with glam rock attitude" which "will give you glitter-covered goose bumps and get your feet stomping." The single also received airplay on BBC Radio Wales and Radio Caroline.
The Ipswich Star gave a headline preview to the band's 25 January 2014 gig at the Steamboat Tavern in Monroe's native Ipswich, alongside a photo of the band, noting how "The London trio, fresh from Boy George on his recent UK tour, led by Danie Cox, are getting rave reviews for their brand of punk-pop."Featherz lead lineup at Steamboat, Ipswich Star 24 January 2014 page 4 Wales On Sunday extensively interviewed Cox in the 9 February 2014 edition about the band, their associations with Ant, Baillie, George and Charles, and her life in general. Commenting on Cox and her band, the newspaper noted "With her electrifying red hair, extravagant make-up and outrageous dress sense, 23-year-old Danie Cox and her band The Featherz look every inch pop stars."
2014–2016 - Alice Atkinson era
By 2015 the band consisted of Cox, Monroe and Alice Atkinson, occasionally joined by various guest guitarists, including David Donley, and Vera Wild. In late 2014, they recorded fresh material at Broadoak Studios, Sussex with producer/guitarist Kevin Armstrong. Their 14 February 2015 headline gig at the Irish Centre in Basingstoke received praise from the Basingstoke Gazette "The headline band were The Featherz ... who continued the general theme of girls showing just how well they can rock it up ... Not quite as heavy as (second on the bill act) Petrol Girls, they still had a real fast punky set. They had also picked up a posse of new followers who were now ready to worship every bead and every bit of glitter - as well as dance along to their songs."Neil Duncan reports on the Valentine's night gig which snatched victory from the jaws of defeat Basingstoke Gazette18 February 2015
The band also played the Pavilion Stage of the 2015 Rebellion Festival. Their set received an enthusiastic review from Martin Haslam of Louder Than War: "Bringing their brand of self-styled ‘Flock Rock’ to the masses, I'm pleased that the venue is filling up. Glam anthems (Glamthems?) get the crowd onside, ‘When Was The Last Time You Had Sex?’ and other ear worms. I’ve seen them before, but this line up has added Alice Atkinson, which is a very good thing; the three-piece with Danie Cox and Dazzle Monroe are now tighter and born to entertain. Championed by Boy George and dressed by Charles Of London, they deserve your attention. Now!" The band appeared again at the 2017 and 2018 festivals, both times on the Opera House stage. Cox returned to the festival in 2023 on the Empress Ballroom main stage with SladyRebellion 2023 line up. Includes Slady.Rebellion Festival, Web.archive.org, Retrieved 31 August 2023 who also played 2024 on the Almost Acoustic stage as a duo. The full band played the Club Casbah stage in 2025.
A second single for Charles Of London Records, "You" was released from the sessions with Armstrong on download in early September 2015 followed by a CD release two months later. A video was filmed back in April 2015 in Brighton, directed by Stockings. Interviewed by Haslam at Rebellion for Louder Than War, Cox announced that the band's next release would be their debut album. Cox also commented on her philosophy as a performer and bandleader: "I'd always had a dream, to write my own songs, to express myself through my clothes and how I present myself. Luckily, I found that in The Featherz, in London ... We are The Featherz, there is nothing else for me. I'd rather die than give up. Our songs are statements. It really is all I can do"
The band played three high profile support slots in Sheffield, Liverpool and London, for The Damned. Following the death of her hero David Bowie in January 2016, Cox was filmed by Italian television show Studio Aperto performing Bowie's songs at his shrine at the Heddon Street telephone box while the Featherz performed at a Bowie memorial concert at the Union Chapel, Islington with Mick Ronson's sister Maggi guesting with the band on vocals for "Ziggy Stardust" Cox and Mike Garson's biographer Clifford Slapper also performed a vocal/piano version of "We Are the Dead".
Also in early 2016 the band, plus Donley again on additional guitar, recorded new material at Quadra Studios in Walthamstow with producer John Lucifer. In June a video, featuring the new lineup including Chris Shepherd, was filmed in Southend for Atkinson composition "Forget All You Know". In early September, the video was posted to YouTube and this track and a cover of "Moonage Daydream" (featuring Slapper on piano), both from the Quadra session, were uploaded to the group's Bandcamp account and iTunes store. Prior to this, a trailer video featuring a clip from a third track from Quadra, a cover of "The Ballroom Blitz" had been posted to YouTube. Cox and Slapper recorded another version of Moonage Daydream for the latter's planned album Bowiesongs 2, while Cox also collaborated with The Lurkers on their track High Velocity, which was released as a single 24 November 2017. Louder Than War'''s Ged Babey praised Cox's contribution: "Dani (sic) has a likeable Honey Bane meets Beki Bondage singing style and is perfect on the song." The track received airplay on Steve Lamacq's show on BBC Radio 6music and Cox recorded further material with the Lurkers in December 2017, February 2018 and May 2018.
2016–2018 - Five-Year-Itch, Ordinary Girl? EP By February 2017 Atkinson and Shepherd had left and bassist Lucy Lawbreaker and additional guitarist Aryanne Maudit had joined. In the meantime, the band produced new music videos of the tracks Chelsea, Takes One To Know One and Moonage Daydream and recorded further material in Quadra Studios with Lucifer and Faebhean Kwest.
Appearing on internet radio station K2K Radio's show Flipside London Radio hosted by Aidan McManus, on 28 March 2017, Cox confirmed that the band's imminent debut album was entitled Five-Year-Itch and would be 17 tracks long. Episode 8 with Danie Cox from Flock Rockers The Featherz, transmitted 28 March 2017 K2K Radio. Event occurs at 01:50:14 The album was released on 13 April 2017 and was compiled by Lucifer (who also funded the release) from content from various sessions since 2012 (hence the album title) including material from his own sessions with the band at Quadra Studios as well as the Broadoak Studios sessions with Armstrong, both sides of the "RNR★" single recorded in 2013 and the band's earliest attempt at making an album at Perry Vale Studios in 2012, as well as Lucifer's own live recordings of the band. Vive Le Rocks Alison Bateman rated the album 7/10. Although lukewarm about the choices of covers included, she nevertheless enthused, "(The band) have already built a buzz with their energetic live shows, centred on flame-haired attitude-oozing young frontwoman Danie Cox. Their cheeky punked-up glitter rock risks being a tough act to translate to the studio, but Five-Year-Itch mostly manages with charismatic flair... They're neither short on musical chops, nor shy of buckling down to serious business of writing infuriatingly immovable hooks."Five-Year-Itch review by Alison Bateman, Vive Le Rock issue 46 (July 2017) page 87
The band's next single, "Ordinary Girl?", recorded late 2016 at Quadra with Atkinson and Shepherd (shortly before their departures) and produced by Lucifer, was released on Bandcamp on 1 May 2017. The single cover featured Cox's friend, the late Imogen Goldie. In September, the band announced their intention to recruit a keyboard player. The band supported Penetration (whose song Don't Dictate previously appeared on Five-Year-Itch) on 26 October at the O2 Islington.