Helen McCookeryBook (Dr Helen Reddington) was the bassist and lead singer with Brighton-based punk band The Chefs during the late 1970s and early 1980s. She later formed Helen And The Horns before continuing her career as a solo artist, writer and lecturer.
Operating from Westfield (as you might expect) just south of Bristol, The Westfield Mining Disaster were put together in 2006 by songwriter Paul Towler whose previous band The Haywains were veterans of the 'indie-pop' scene in the late 80's to early 90's and produced a lengthy back catalogue of records for labels such as Vinyl Japan, Elefant Records and Waaaaah! The Westfield Mining Disaster aim to bring a fresh twist to the traditional indie-pop blueprint by adding influences such as alt-country and dark, brooding lyrics.