Margaret Britt was born and raised in Orange, having attended Santa Maria College.

It was here that she - along with her brother and cousin - formed her first band

While she enjoyed playing Orange's hotels, it was during a tour of New Zealand where Ms Britt had a lightbulb moment that would change her life forever.

That decision was to form an all-girl rock group.

She moved to Sydney in 1965 and put an ad in the paper seeking female musicians.

"I got quite a few out of it," Ms Britt recalled.

"Although they weren't very experienced."

A guitarist herself, Ms Britt was joined by Kaye Gazzard, Judy Owen and Wendy Walton to form The Vamps and later added Janice Glading.

The group quickly encountered a problem of where to rehearse as the unit Ms Britt and Ms Gazzard shared was too small.

Along came Julian Mielnik of ZJM Musical Instruments who owned a music shop in Sydney's eastern suburbs.

"He took a real interest and let us play in there after he'd closed up," Ms Britt said.

"We were playing in the shop and people going by could hear us and they were stopping. We were on show."

Not long after, they began looking for gigs.

And in a full-circle moment for Ms Britt, the first ever paid show put on by The Vamps was at Orange's Stomp City, AMOCO Centre where a record crowd gathered to see the trailblazers perform.

The band gained more traction from there and for the next few years played shows all across the east coast.

But as their popularity grew, so did the nay-sayers.

"The attitude was 'girls, what could they play, what could they do'," Ms Britt recalled.

"Then after a show they'd go 'they can really play'."

In 1969 the band left Australia for America where there were "hundreds of girl groups" just like theirs trying to make a career out of music.

Ms Britt only intended on staying for six months, but the quick trip turned into six years.

Although The Vamps had many name and member changes during their time, Ms Britt was a stabilising force.

She also learned a few "life lessons", including not to tell anyone about her marriage to fellow musician and soon-to-be band member Jon Kirk.

"We were told it would spoil our image," Ms Britt said.

"That's because the girls liked him and the guys liked us in our mini skirts and fishnet stockings. You had to be saleable. Everybody that was married or had boyfriends, that was a no-no.

"As a musician you're taught that you belong to the public. From the time you walk into the venue until the time you walk out. After that you do what you like. That's been my motto."

After returning to Australia, the band underwent its final name change to 'Peaches' and enjoyed a hit single with their cover song of the Righteous Brothers' "Substitute" in 1978.

In 1980, the group disbanded, but Ms Britt's love of music never wavered and she has continued to perform ever since.

"I'm a dinosaur," she added with a chuckle.

For more than a decade she has performed with Skyz the Limit and had a homecoming performance at the Orange Ex-Services' Club in March 2012.

As for what the future of the music industry holds, Ms Britt fears it will "never" return to its pre-Covid days.

"We worked on the Friday night before Covid shut things down and I already had 35 gigs in the book by March," she said.

"Within three weeks after the lockdown, all those gigs were cancelled. Some of the RSLs that we played at have now closed down.

"We were doing four nights a week. Now, I could count how many jobs we've happened since March 2020. Four gigs so far in 2024."

Despite this downturn, Ms Britt will continuing playing music and performing for as long as she is able.

"I like to give 110 per cent every place I go to work."