Penelope Houston

{{short description|American singer-songwriter (born 1958)}}

{{For|the critic|Penelope Houston (film critic)}}

{{BLP sources|date=January 2020}}

{{Infobox musical artist

| name = Penelope Houston

| image = Penelope_Houston.JPG

| caption = Chicago 10/28/2012

| background = solo_singer

| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1958|12|17}}

| birth_place = Los Angeles, California, United States

| genre = {{hlist|Punk rock|folk}}

| occupation = Singer

| instrument = Vocals

| years_active = 1977–present

| label = Subterranean

| associated_acts = Avengers

}}

Penelope Houston (born December 17, 1958) is an American singer-songwriter best known as the singer for the San Francisco-based punk rock band the Avengers. She was raised in Seattle. In the mid-1970s she attended Fairhaven College in Bellingham, Washington.{{Cite web |date=2024-03-18 |title=Penelope Houston Concert & Tour History {{!}} Concert Archives |url=https://www.concertarchives.org/bands/penelope-houston |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240318131522/https://www.concertarchives.org/bands/penelope-houston |archive-date=March 18, 2024 |access-date=March 18, 2024 |website=www.concertarchives.org}} In 1977, Houston moved to San Francisco, attended the San Francisco Art Institute, and shortly after became the lead singer and songwriter for the Avengers.{{Cite web |last=Vaziri |first=Aidin |date=May 17, 2019 |title=Penelope Houston reflects on life as a San Francisco punk icon |url=https://datebook.sfchronicle.com/music/penelope-houston-reflects-on-life-as-a-san-francisco-punk-icon |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230128192202/https://datebook.sfchronicle.com/music/penelope-houston-reflects-on-life-as-a-san-francisco-punk-icon |archive-date=January 28, 2023 |access-date=March 18, 2024 |website=Datebook {{!}} San Francisco Arts & Entertainment Guide |language=en-US}} That band released one album, their eponymous debut in 1983.

Following the group's demise in 1979, Houston moved first to Los Angeles to work in film and video with The Screamers and director Rene Daalder, then to England where she collaborated with Howard Devoto on his post-Magazine projects. In the mid-1980s, she returned to San Francisco and helped originate the West Coast neo-folk movement. In 1986, she was featured alongside Tomata du Plenty of The Screamers in the punk rock musical Population: 1.{{Cite web|url=https://www.population1movie.com/|title=Population: 1|website=Population1movie.com}} By 1996 she had toured Europe extensively, signed with WEA Germany (Warner Brothers) and earned numerous awards with the dozen albums, which blended influences of punk, folk, rock, blues and Americana into her dark unique acoustic sound.

Her first full-length album was Birdboys which came out in 1987. Her most recent album is 2012's On Market Street.

Shortly after the release of Pale Green Girl, Houston and original guitarist Greg Ingraham recreated the Avengers, adding bassist Joel Reader (formerly of The Mr. T Experience, and The Plus Ones) and drummer Luis Illades (of Pansy Division, formerly also of The Plus Ones) to round out the lineup. Since the spring of 2004 she has toured the U.S. and Europe with this lineup. She continues to play her solo material, mainly in the San Francisco Bay Area.

In August 2012, Houston conducted an audio interview with Music Life Radio.