Poly Styrene
Encyclopedia
Poly Styrene was the stage name
of Marianne Joan Elliott-Said (3 July 1957 – 25 April 2011), a British
musician, songwriter and singer, most notably in the pioneering punk rock
band X-Ray Spex
.
, Kent
, and raised in Brixton
, London. Her mother, who raised her alone, was a Scots-Irish legal secretary. Her father was a dispossessed Somali
aristocrat.
As a teenager, Marianne was a "barefoot hippie
". At age 15, she ran away from home with £3 in her pocket, and hitchhiked from one music festival to another, staying at hippie crash pad
s. She thought of this as a challenge to survive. The adventure ended when she stepped on a rusty nail while bathing in a stream and had to be treated for septicaemia.
After seeing the Sex Pistols
perform on her birthday in 1975, she was inspired to form the punk band X-Ray Spex
.
After watching a very early gig by the Sex Pistols
in an empty hall on Hastings Pier
, playing a set of cover songs, she was so inspired that she put an ad in the paper for ‘young punx who want to stick it together’ to form a band. So it was that, as Poly Styrene, the singer with X-Ray Spex
, she was described by Billboard
as the "archetype for the modern-day feminist punk"; because she wore dental braces, stood against the typical sex object female of 1970s rock star, sported a gaudy Dayglo wardrobe, and was of mixed race, she was "one of the least conventional front-persons in rock history, male or female".
In 1978, after a gig in Doncaster
, she had a vision of a pink light in the sky and felt objects crackling when she touched them. Thinking she was hallucinating, her mother took her to the hospital where Marianne was misdiagnosed with schizophrenia
, sectioned, and told she would never work again. Although she missed playing at the time, in hindsight, she felt that getting out of the public eye was good for her. She was diagnosed with bipolar disorder
in 1991.
After the original version of X-Ray Spex broke up, Poly Styrene recorded a solo
album
, Translucence, in 1980. The album abandoned X-Ray Spex's loud guitar work for a quieter and more jazzy sound that anticipated the 1990s dance band Everything But the Girl
. In 1986, she released the EP
God's & Godesses [sic] on the Awesome record label
. A New Age solo album, Flower Aeroplane, followed in 2004.
In 1983, she was initiated into the Hare Krishna
movement and recorded at their recording studio
s while living as a devotee at Bhaktivedanta Manor
. She lived as a Hare Krishna convert in Hertfordshire
and London
from 1983 to 1988.
In 2007, she was invited to the Concrete Jungle festival in Camber Sands
, where she and the gathering's organizer, Symond Lawes, agreed to initiate a 30-year celebration of X-Ray Spex's debut album, Germ Free Adolescents
. They decided to hold a live show at the Camden Roundhouse, which was a sell-out event on 6 September 2008. A live album/DVD of this event, Live @ The Roundhouse London 2008, was released in November 2009 on The Year Zero label by Future Noise Music.
She made a guest appearance at the 2008 30th anniversary concert of Rock Against Racism
in Victoria Park, London
, performing "Oh Bondage Up Yours" with guest musicians Drew McConnell
(of Babyshambles
and Helsinki) and 'Flash' David Wright
playing saxophone.
That same year, she dueted with Goldblade's
John Robb on a remix of Goldblade's "City Of Christmas Ghosts".
In March 2009, she joined other members of PRS for Music in criticizing Google
for allegedly not paying their a fair share of royalties
to musicians. This followed Google's removal of millions of videos from YouTube
because of a royalties dispute with the organization.
NME.com
announced on 29 October 2010 that Poly Styrene was to release a solo album titled Generation Indigo, produced by Martin Glover
(aka Youth from Killing Joke
), in March 2011. She released a free download of "Black Christmas" in November 2010. "Black Christmas" featured and was written in collaboration with her daughter, Celeste. It was inspired by the killing spree in Los Angeles
instigated by a man dressed as Santa Claus
.
Poly Styrene announced "Virtual Boyfriend" as the first single from her new album Generation Indigo via Spinner Music, as well as the launch of her brand new website. "Virtual Boyfriend" was released on 21 March 2011, and featured an animated promotional video directed by Ben Wheele. Generation Indigo was released on 28 March 2011, via Future Noise Music. The album received critical acclaim, including a perfect 10 out of 10 score in Artrocker
magazine, and 8 out of 10 in The Telegraph
newspaper. Generation Indigo was also chosen as Album of the Day on UK radio station BBC 6 Music
.
"Ghoulish" was the first posthumous single to be released from Generation Indigo, and was backed by a remix from Hercules and Love Affair
.
She lived in St Leonards
, East Sussex
.
Her daughter Celeste Bell-Dos Santos is the frontwoman for the music group Debutant Disco based in Madrid, Spain.
In March 2009, Poly Styrene took part in the inaugural Instigate Debate
night. The night's theme was modern day consumerism
. Other current issues were also discussed.
In February 2011, in an interview published in The Sunday Times
magazine, which largely focused on her past and present relationship with her daughter Celeste, she revealed that she had been treated for breast cancer
, and that it had spread
to her spine and lungs. She died on 25 April 2011 at the age of 53.
Stage name
A stage name, also called a showbiz name or screen name, is a pseudonym used by performers and entertainers such as actors, wrestlers, comedians, and musicians.-Motivation to use a stage name:...
of Marianne Joan Elliott-Said (3 July 1957 – 25 April 2011), a British
British people
The British are citizens of the United Kingdom, of the Isle of Man, any of the Channel Islands, or of any of the British overseas territories, and their descendants...
musician, songwriter and singer, most notably in the pioneering punk rock
Punk rock
Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...
band X-Ray Spex
X-Ray Spex
X-Ray Spex were an English punk band from London that formed in 1976.During their first incarnation , X-Ray Spex were “deliberate underachievers” and only managed to release five singles and one album...
.
Early life
Marianne Elliott-Said was born in 1957 in BromleyBromley
Bromley is a large suburban town in south east London, England and the administrative headquarters of the London Borough of Bromley. It was historically a market town, and prior to 1963 was in the county of Kent and formed the administrative centre of the Municipal Borough of Bromley...
, Kent
Kent
Kent is a county in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the Thames Estuary. The ceremonial county boundaries of Kent include the shire county of Kent and the unitary borough of...
, and raised in Brixton
Brixton
Brixton is a district in the London Borough of Lambeth in south London, England. It is south south-east of Charing Cross. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London....
, London. Her mother, who raised her alone, was a Scots-Irish legal secretary. Her father was a dispossessed Somali
Somali people
Somalis are an ethnic group located in the Horn of Africa, also known as the Somali Peninsula. The overwhelming majority of Somalis speak the Somali language, which is part of the Cushitic branch of the Afro-Asiatic language family...
aristocrat.
As a teenager, Marianne was a "barefoot hippie
Hippie
The hippie subculture was originally a youth movement that arose in the United States during the mid-1960s and spread to other countries around the world. The etymology of the term 'hippie' is from hipster, and was initially used to describe beatniks who had moved into San Francisco's...
". At age 15, she ran away from home with £3 in her pocket, and hitchhiked from one music festival to another, staying at hippie crash pad
Squatting
Squatting consists of occupying an abandoned or unoccupied space or building, usually residential, that the squatter does not own, rent or otherwise have permission to use....
s. She thought of this as a challenge to survive. The adventure ended when she stepped on a rusty nail while bathing in a stream and had to be treated for septicaemia.
After seeing the Sex Pistols
Sex Pistols
The Sex Pistols were an English punk rock band that formed in London in 1975. They were responsible for initiating the punk movement in the United Kingdom and inspiring many later punk and alternative rock musicians...
perform on her birthday in 1975, she was inspired to form the punk band X-Ray Spex
X-Ray Spex
X-Ray Spex were an English punk band from London that formed in 1976.During their first incarnation , X-Ray Spex were “deliberate underachievers” and only managed to release five singles and one album...
.
Music career
Poly recorded her first demo with producer Ted Bunting in 1975, when she was just 16 years old, and released her first, reggae, single, "Silly Billy"/"What A Way", as "Mari Elliott" in 1976.After watching a very early gig by the Sex Pistols
Sex Pistols
The Sex Pistols were an English punk rock band that formed in London in 1975. They were responsible for initiating the punk movement in the United Kingdom and inspiring many later punk and alternative rock musicians...
in an empty hall on Hastings Pier
Hastings Pier
Hastings Pier was a pleasure pier in Hastings, East Sussex, England. Built in 1872 and enjoying its prime in the 1930s, though becoming a popular music venue in the 1960s, it received major storm damage in 1990, closed to the public between 1999 and 2002, then closed again from 2006. Efforts...
, playing a set of cover songs, she was so inspired that she put an ad in the paper for ‘young punx who want to stick it together’ to form a band. So it was that, as Poly Styrene, the singer with X-Ray Spex
X-Ray Spex
X-Ray Spex were an English punk band from London that formed in 1976.During their first incarnation , X-Ray Spex were “deliberate underachievers” and only managed to release five singles and one album...
, she was described by Billboard
Billboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
as the "archetype for the modern-day feminist punk"; because she wore dental braces, stood against the typical sex object female of 1970s rock star, sported a gaudy Dayglo wardrobe, and was of mixed race, she was "one of the least conventional front-persons in rock history, male or female".
In 1978, after a gig in Doncaster
Doncaster
Doncaster is a town in South Yorkshire, England, and the principal settlement of the Metropolitan Borough of Doncaster. The town is about from Sheffield and is popularly referred to as "Donny"...
, she had a vision of a pink light in the sky and felt objects crackling when she touched them. Thinking she was hallucinating, her mother took her to the hospital where Marianne was misdiagnosed with schizophrenia
Schizophrenia
Schizophrenia is a mental disorder characterized by a disintegration of thought processes and of emotional responsiveness. It most commonly manifests itself as auditory hallucinations, paranoid or bizarre delusions, or disorganized speech and thinking, and it is accompanied by significant social...
, sectioned, and told she would never work again. Although she missed playing at the time, in hindsight, she felt that getting out of the public eye was good for her. She was diagnosed with bipolar disorder
Bipolar disorder
Bipolar disorder or bipolar affective disorder, historically known as manic–depressive disorder, is a psychiatric diagnosis that describes a category of mood disorders defined by the presence of one or more episodes of abnormally elevated energy levels, cognition, and mood with or without one or...
in 1991.
After the original version of X-Ray Spex broke up, Poly Styrene recorded a solo
Solo (music)
In music, a solo is a piece or a section of a piece played or sung by a single performer...
album
Album
An album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...
, Translucence, in 1980. The album abandoned X-Ray Spex's loud guitar work for a quieter and more jazzy sound that anticipated the 1990s dance band Everything But the Girl
Everything but the Girl
Everything but the Girl was a two-person English band, formed in Hull during 1981, consisting of lead singer and occasional guitarist Tracey Thorn and guitarist, keyboardist, and singer Ben Watt . They are currently inactive although vocalist Tracey Thorn hinted that they may reform someday...
. In 1986, she released the EP
Extended play
An EP is a musical recording which contains more music than a single, but is too short to qualify as a full album or LP. The term EP originally referred only to specific types of vinyl records other than 78 rpm standard play records and LP records, but it is now applied to mid-length Compact...
God's & Godesses [sic] on the Awesome record label
Record label
In the music industry, a record label is a brand and a trademark associated with the marketing of music recordings and music videos. Most commonly, a record label is the company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the production, manufacture, distribution, marketing and promotion,...
. A New Age solo album, Flower Aeroplane, followed in 2004.
In 1983, she was initiated into the Hare Krishna
International Society for Krishna Consciousness
The International Society for Krishna Consciousness , known colloquially as the Hare Krishna movement, is a Gaudiya Vaishnava religious organization. It was founded in 1966 in New York City by A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada...
movement and recorded at their recording studio
Recording studio
A recording studio is a facility for sound recording and mixing. Ideally both the recording and monitoring spaces are specially designed by an acoustician to achieve optimum acoustic properties...
s while living as a devotee at Bhaktivedanta Manor
Bhaktivedanta Manor
Bhaktivedanta Manor is a Gaudiya Vaishnava temple set in the Hertfordshire countryside of England in the village of Aldenham near Watford. The Manor, as it is called by those familiar with it, is owned and run by the International Society for Krishna Consciousness, better known as ISKCON or the...
. She lived as a Hare Krishna convert in Hertfordshire
Hertfordshire
Hertfordshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England. The county town is Hertford.The county is one of the Home Counties and lies inland, bordered by Greater London , Buckinghamshire , Bedfordshire , Cambridgeshire and...
and London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
from 1983 to 1988.
In 2007, she was invited to the Concrete Jungle festival in Camber Sands
Camber Sands
For historical information on the area, see Camber articleCamber Sands is a beach at the village of Camber , East Sussex, England...
, where she and the gathering's organizer, Symond Lawes, agreed to initiate a 30-year celebration of X-Ray Spex's debut album, Germ Free Adolescents
Germ Free Adolescents
Germ Free Adolescents is the debut album of English punk rock band X-Ray Spex. It contained the UK hit singles: "The Day The World Turned Day-Glo" , "Identity" and "Germ Free Adolescents" which reached No. 18 in November 1978.The album received wide acclaim upon its release...
. They decided to hold a live show at the Camden Roundhouse, which was a sell-out event on 6 September 2008. A live album/DVD of this event, Live @ The Roundhouse London 2008, was released in November 2009 on The Year Zero label by Future Noise Music.
She made a guest appearance at the 2008 30th anniversary concert of Rock Against Racism
Rock Against Racism
Rock Against Racism was a campaign set up in the United Kingdom in 1976 as a response to an increase in racial conflict and the growth of white nationalist groups such as the National Front. The campaign involved pop, rock and reggae musicians staging concerts with an anti-racist theme, in order...
in Victoria Park, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, performing "Oh Bondage Up Yours" with guest musicians Drew McConnell
Drew McConnell
Drew McConnell is the bass guitarist and backing vocalist with Babyshambles, the band formed and fronted by frontman of The Libertines, Pete Doherty. He lived in Tenerife, Spain, for much of his childhood, and he speaks Spanish fluently...
(of Babyshambles
Babyshambles
Babyshambles are an English indie rock band established in London. The band was formed by Pete Doherty during a hiatus from his former band The Libertines, but Babyshambles has since become his main project . Babyshambles has released two albums, three EPs and a number of singles...
and Helsinki) and 'Flash' David Wright
David Wright
David Wright may refer to:*David Wright , British artist and illustrator*David Wright , American Major League Baseball player*David Wright , composer and producer, co-founder of AD Music...
playing saxophone.
That same year, she dueted with Goldblade's
Goldblade
Goldblade are an English punk rock band from Manchester, England. The band formed in early 1995 when ex Membranes frontman, John Robb, put the band together with Wayne Simmons and former A Witness vocalist Keith Curtis on bass, Rob Haynes on drums and Jay Taylor on guitar.The band signed to...
John Robb on a remix of Goldblade's "City Of Christmas Ghosts".
In March 2009, she joined other members of PRS for Music in criticizing Google
Google
Google Inc. is an American multinational public corporation invested in Internet search, cloud computing, and advertising technologies. Google hosts and develops a number of Internet-based services and products, and generates profit primarily from advertising through its AdWords program...
for allegedly not paying their a fair share of royalties
Royalties
Royalties are usage-based payments made by one party to another for the right to ongoing use of an asset, sometimes an intellectual property...
to musicians. This followed Google's removal of millions of videos from YouTube
YouTube
YouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....
because of a royalties dispute with the organization.
NME.com
NME
The New Musical Express is a popular music publication in the United Kingdom, published weekly since March 1952. It started as a music newspaper, and gradually moved toward a magazine format during the 1980s, changing from newsprint in 1998. It was the first British paper to include a singles...
announced on 29 October 2010 that Poly Styrene was to release a solo album titled Generation Indigo, produced by Martin Glover
Martin Glover
Martin Glover, also known as Youth, is a record producer and a founding member and bassist of the UK band Killing Joke. He is a member of The Fireman along with Paul McCartney. Glover was born in Africa.-Early career:...
(aka Youth from Killing Joke
Killing Joke
Killing Joke are an English post-punk band formed in October 1978 in Notting Hill, London, England; other sources report the band formed in early 1979.Related news articles: Founding members Jaz Coleman and Geordie Walker have been the only constant members.A key influence on industrial rock,...
), in March 2011. She released a free download of "Black Christmas" in November 2010. "Black Christmas" featured and was written in collaboration with her daughter, Celeste. It was inspired by the killing spree in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
instigated by a man dressed as Santa Claus
Santa Claus
Santa Claus is a folklore figure in various cultures who distributes gifts to children, normally on Christmas Eve. Each name is a variation of Saint Nicholas, but refers to Santa Claus...
.
Poly Styrene announced "Virtual Boyfriend" as the first single from her new album Generation Indigo via Spinner Music, as well as the launch of her brand new website. "Virtual Boyfriend" was released on 21 March 2011, and featured an animated promotional video directed by Ben Wheele. Generation Indigo was released on 28 March 2011, via Future Noise Music. The album received critical acclaim, including a perfect 10 out of 10 score in Artrocker
ArtRocker
Artrocker is a UK-based collective involved in music promotion and publishing. It was started by Paul Cox and Tom Fawcett who had been co-promoters of a London night called The Sausage Factory...
magazine, and 8 out of 10 in The Telegraph
The Daily Telegraph
The Daily Telegraph is a daily morning broadsheet newspaper distributed throughout the United Kingdom and internationally. The newspaper was founded by Arthur B...
newspaper. Generation Indigo was also chosen as Album of the Day on UK radio station BBC 6 Music
BBC 6 Music
BBC 6 Music is one of the BBC's digital radio stations, was launched on 11 March 2002 and originally codenamed Network Y. It was the first national music radio station to be launched by the BBC in 32 years....
.
"Ghoulish" was the first posthumous single to be released from Generation Indigo, and was backed by a remix from Hercules and Love Affair
Hercules and Love Affair
Hercules and Love Affair is a musical project from New York based DJ Andy Butler. Members include Andrew Butler, Kim Ann Foxman, Mark Pistel,Aerea Negrot, and Shaun Wright...
.
Personal life
Poly Styrene described herself as "an observer, not a suffering artist writing from tortured experiences. I was playing with words and ideas. Having a laugh about everything, sending it up."She lived in St Leonards
St Leonards-on-Sea
St Leonards-on-Sea is part of Hastings, East Sussex, England, lying immediately to the west of the centre. The original part of the settlement was laid out in the early 19th century as a new town: a place of elegant houses designed for the well-off; it also included a central public garden, a...
, East Sussex
East Sussex
East Sussex is a county in South East England. It is bordered by the counties of Kent, Surrey and West Sussex, and to the south by the English Channel.-History:...
.
Her daughter Celeste Bell-Dos Santos is the frontwoman for the music group Debutant Disco based in Madrid, Spain.
In March 2009, Poly Styrene took part in the inaugural Instigate Debate
Instigate debate
Instigate Debate is a cultural and political UK project set up by a collective that includes musicians Jon McClure, Carl Barat, Kieran Leonard and writer and political activist Mark Donne in August 2008....
night. The night's theme was modern day consumerism
Consumerism
Consumerism is a social and economic order that is based on the systematic creation and fostering of a desire to purchase goods and services in ever greater amounts. The term is often associated with criticisms of consumption starting with Thorstein Veblen...
. Other current issues were also discussed.
In February 2011, in an interview published in The Sunday Times
The Sunday Times
The Sunday Times is a British Sunday newspaper.The Sunday Times may also refer to:*The Sunday Times *The Sunday Times *The Sunday Times *The Sunday Times...
magazine, which largely focused on her past and present relationship with her daughter Celeste, she revealed that she had been treated for breast cancer
Breast cancer
Breast cancer is cancer originating from breast tissue, most commonly from the inner lining of milk ducts or the lobules that supply the ducts with milk. Cancers originating from ducts are known as ductal carcinomas; those originating from lobules are known as lobular carcinomas...
, and that it had spread
Metastasis
Metastasis, or metastatic disease , is the spread of a disease from one organ or part to another non-adjacent organ or part. It was previously thought that only malignant tumor cells and infections have the capacity to metastasize; however, this is being reconsidered due to new research...
to her spine and lungs. She died on 25 April 2011 at the age of 53.
Albums
- Translucence (United ArtistsUnited ArtistsUnited Artists Corporation is an American film studio. The original studio of that name was founded in 1919 by D. W. Griffith, Charles Chaplin, Mary Pickford and Douglas Fairbanks....
, 1980) - Flower Aeroplane (2004)
- Generation Indigo (Future Noise Music, 2011)
Singles
- "Silly Billy"/"What A Way"—as Mari Elliot (GTOGTO RecordsGTO Records is a British Record label which released many hits during the 1970s. It ran from 1974 to 1981 and mainly concentrated on pop music and disco.-Background:...
, 1976) - "Talk In Toytown"/"Sub Tropical" (United Artists, 1980)
- "City Of Christmas Ghosts"—GoldbladeGoldbladeGoldblade are an English punk rock band from Manchester, England. The band formed in early 1995 when ex Membranes frontman, John Robb, put the band together with Wayne Simmons and former A Witness vocalist Keith Curtis on bass, Rob Haynes on drums and Jay Taylor on guitar.The band signed to...
featuring Poly Styrene (Damaged GoodsDamaged Goods (record label)Damaged Goods is a British independent record label and online shop.- History :Damaged Goods started in 1988 from a living room in east London.Ian Damaged called it DamagedGoods. The first release was a re-issue of the 1977 single by Slaughter and the Dogs, "Where Have All the Bootboys Gone?"...
, 2008) - "Black Christmas" (2010)
- "Virtual Boyfriend" (2011)
- "Ghoulish" (2011)
External links
- Poly Styrene's official website, Poly Styrene's official web site
- Poly's Punky Party, personal site