PENNY BROADHURST & THE MAFFICKERS

"In fact you don't have to go far; first track 'Rhythm Rebel' by Penny Broadhurst is a fantastic, atmospheric slice of female fronted hip-hop, a bit like The Streets or Plan B but consistently and intelligently from a woman's point of view. And with a more powerful backing track. A definite highlight, a definite discovery."
Rosey for R*E*P*E*A*T - click here for the rest of the review.

"Penny Broadhurst's A Little More Sonic uses comic performance poetry and song to unify through themes of bad jobs and being unpopular at school."
Susan Darlington for the Morning Star - click here for the rest of the article.

"Penny Broadhurst is our prime minister in another life. The door to 10 Downing Street has been painted sparkly purple and she is doing rabbit ears behind the head of that smart-moron that’s threatening the future. Her spoken word sets always make me grin in empathetic delight at her sussed take on the surreality of reality. I like the way she baits the people having their loud conversations at the back of the room througout her set, but they are not witty enough to heckle back, let alone shut up. Their loss. I look forward to what she does next, and you should too."
Caffy St Luce for Artful festival.

"Jamie T meets a darker Mike Skinner."
Artrocker

"PENNY BROADHURST was as good as I'd hoped despite the bar chat threatening to drown her out. Poetry that is funny without trying too hard, somehow always works better with a Northern accent (see also John Cooper Clarke). A very credible rhythmic meter makes you nod your head in time as well as recognition."
Martin for Indie Dad - click here for the rest of the review.

"The night takes a detour from rambunctious-rabbit-dance-antics into the realm of spoken word performance with the arrival of Penny Broadhurst. Coming equipped with only a mic, setlist notes, barbed witticisms and zesty rhyming couplets, Penny regales us with some interesting poetic ruminations on (amongst other things) the banality of modern reality-pop shows, call-centre life and living with a socially-unrecognised disability. It's captivating stuff, and gives the evening a very interesting twist, just a pity some chuntering clods at the back seem to think their conversations take precedence in terms of volume."
Nick Kearns for Sandman magazine.

A young lady from Leeds called Penny Broadhurst, who braved the train from North to South, impressed one and all with her musketeer delivery. Seeing the PG Penny performance was unintentionally hilarious, due to little people in the room, she replaced her original lyrics to "a very, very rude word". I was sitting pleased, grinning, so grateful that talent gets a train in my direction.
Marge Gunderson for Sundown Multimedia

"Yes, we're back in the Poetry Tent: it seems we just can't keep away from long words and harassed middle-class people broadening their accents in an attempt to appear real. Oh hang on, Penny Broadhurst has just been very funny and very rude about exactly that. Ooh, it's rather good - we do like vitriol and there's plenty of it here, along with passion and some clever wordplay that makes you think without having to engage in beard stroking at the same time. Thank God."
Kat Brown for Aloud.com Festivals

"This Leeds lass comes across like your mum's fave Victoria Wood spitting out the rhymes of Mike Skinner - one much, much less annoying than that sounds. There's fire in Broadhurst's belly and bile in her brain, while her fiery spoken witticisms rock and roar. You can't mosh to poetry, but if you could, then you'd mosh to this
James Jam for NME

"Penny Broadhurst, a performance poet, is third to perform tonight, and although she tells us that there's music on her album, for tonight it's all spoken word. That's not a problem though, she's a good and confident performer, spitting Streets style raps with politics while also finding time to dis bad indie bands with tank-tops and most other poets."
Russell Dunphy for Sandman magazine

"PENNY BROADHURST gave two brief poetic and comedic interludes. She's witty and she's cutting and definitely grabs the attention."
Middlesbrough Evening Gazette

"Intelligent spoken word feist in a thick accent, Penny rants through topics such as text messaging, internet and crap poets. Are these people allowed to have the words in front of them? In a nice folder? Surely that's cheating, but we can forgive, as she is quite excellent. AND NOW PENNY BROADHURST IS BACK AND SHES F***ING SHOUTING! BOY, IS SHE P***ED OFF! AT ALLSORTS OF F***ING STUFF! AND THIS TIME SHE'S F***ING SWEARING! WHICH ALL THE MOSHERS THINK IS F***ING BRILL! AND SO DO I!"
Phil Saunders for BBC Tees

http://www.route-online.com/routev7/page.asp?idno=223

"On the recommendation of Mr Patrick Wolf we raced over to the theatre tent for a comedian named Penny Broadhurst– a modern day poet come stand up comedian in the same vein as Peter Kay for her tales we can all relate to, whether its friendships that are only kept alive via Myspace or Livejournal or a poem about being just that little bit different to the norm. Penny was a winner, keeping the crowd in hysterics with her identifiable tales."
Heathen Angel

"Tricky stuff, spoken word. Without music to hide behind, you've really got to ensure your art is spot on to engage and connect with the listener. Yorkshire poet Penny Broadhurst has managed it perfectly on a sharp debut album though. 'Blue Bank' comprises nothing but the recital of 15 of Penny's poems, with some occasional, and effective, instrumentation (inner city electronica on '8 Mile High', a scratchy, Barrett-esque guitar on 'Scabby Queen' and some chunky beats on 'Rhythm Rebel'). Meanwhile, 'Dirty Pop' - a genius acerbic commentary on Pop Idol wannabees and indie chancers - deserves deference alone for the line "I think I might duet with Kylie/You know, talk shite barefoot like Jo Whiley". Quintessentially Northern, 'Blue Bank' perfectly captures the frustrations of modern day life. Crushingly honest, this is a defiantly urban record, full of dislocation and claustrophobia, but at times poignant, funny and wise. A talent to watch."
Marc Samuels for CMU Music Daily

"Twenty-something Penny Broadhurst is no ordinary beat poet. On her debut spoken word/musical accompanied album, she ties dry working class satire to a collection of beats, biting witty statements and a fiercely independent set of rhymes, she almost justifies her claim to being 'Victoria Wood meets The Streets.'"
Bill Cummings for God Is In The TV

"Modern poets are facing perhaps their most difficult times since quills first met paper. Confronted with relatively new competition from well-promoted cinema, music and television, gaining an audience and a reputation has rarely been as difficult. Spoken word poetry in particular is by nature difficult to document, and it is against this backdrop that Penny Broadhurst is attempting to reach the masses, with her first album of poetry, 'Blue Bank'. That's right, album."
Mark Dishman for Concrete, click here for full review

"The crowd have barely regained normal conciousness before Penny Broadhurst takes her bespectacled figure onto the stage.

A gesticulating delight, she engages the crowd with an intense set of poetry, but not before disclaiming 'I do apologise, all poetry is s***', and immediately dashing any misconceptions that there will be any drab pretentious recital.

She gives down to earth and often amusing stories behind each of her poems before performing them, getting the crowd involved in her topics which include a touchingly funny account of suffering dyspraxia, a rhythmic attack on bad twee indie bands, and a stunning display of the post-gig adrenaline feeling.

Beating herself in an orgasmic frenzy of words and sounds she has everybody transfixed, stealing the entire show and leaving a tough act to follow."
Danni Jay for BBC Tees

"Penny Broadhurst was first published in Aesthetica in early 2004. Her work presents insight of a modern young woman understanding the congested world around her. Her themes, rhythm, style, grace, and elegance define a moment of today. She is feisty, charismatic, and inspiring to read but more so in the flesh. She has presence on the stage. In light of her performances, she has stopped the room. The murmur of a crowded pub has been drawn to silence by Penny's words and performance. She speaks truths about everyday life, draws on the unconscious and pulls it all together with definitive questions. She engages with the audience and brings a new dimension to our space. Penny enters our reality through her words, gestures, silences, and outbursts. She makes us realise that we are human. She is one of today’s best performance poets in the North."
Aesthetica Magazine