Ivy Benson: Original Girl Power. A talk by Clair Wordsworth
The Club for Acts and Actors, London, WC2E 9HP
Tuesday 22nd September 2026
A talk about Ivy Benson, Britain's forgotten wartime bandleader, who broke new ground for female musicians in the 20th century. In this long-awaited session, Clair Wordsworth draws from her acclaimed BBC radio documentaries. Born in Leeds in 1913, Ivy Benson first rose to fame during the Second World War, yet still continued to run her ground-breaking all girl dance band until the 1980s. She ended up giving countless generations of women a real start in the music industry, when no one else would.
About Clair Wordsworth
Clair's credits include the BBC Radio 4 documentary ‘Ivy Benson: Original Girl Power’ presented by Melanie C of The Spice Girls, six series of ‘Forgotten Musical Masterpieces’ (2016-2022) for BBC Radio 2 presented by Barry Humphries and 'The Sheila Tracy Tapes' for BBC Radio 2. Prior to going freelance in 2012, Clair Wordsworth was a member of the staff at the BBC, working behind the scenes on a range of radio programmes and events.
For access information please call The CAA on 020 7836 3172.
A booking fee will be added to your ticket price when you check out. This helps us to manage the running costs of our events and administer the box office.
Images: BMHS Archive
About Clair Wordsworth
Clair's credits include the BBC Radio 4 documentary ‘Ivy Benson: Original Girl Power’ presented by Melanie C of The Spice Girls, six series of ‘Forgotten Musical Masterpieces’ (2016-2022) for BBC Radio 2 presented by Barry Humphries and 'The Sheila Tracy Tapes' for BBC Radio 2. Prior to going freelance in 2012, Clair Wordsworth was a member of the staff at the BBC, working behind the scenes on a range of radio programmes and events.
For access information please call The CAA on 020 7836 3172.
A booking fee will be added to your ticket price when you check out. This helps us to manage the running costs of our events and administer the box office.
Images: BMHS Archive
