X-Ray Spex’s Poly Styrene remembered

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Poly Styrene, real name Marianne Joan Elliott-Said, formed X-Ray Spex in London in 1976. The band released only one studio album (‘Germ Free Adolescents’) in 1978, then she began a solo career. Her latest solo album, ‘Generation Indigo’, was released on March 28 of this year.

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At the age of 15, Poly Styrene ran away from her south London home, with only £3 to her name. She walked and hitch-hiked to various free festivals, until she stepped on a rusty nail while bathing in the river. She then had to be treated for septicaemia.

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Poly once said of punk: “So many friends believed 1984 and the apocalypse were coming. I used to read the Book of Revelation. But now I think change is slow. Music changes people’s perceptions. And when they grow up, they might be the president of the United States.” (The Independent, 2008)

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John Robb, the journalist/musician who sang backing vocals on ‘Generation Indigo’ said: “She was a wonderful, warm eccentric woman in all the best possible ways and an all too rare positive spirit in a cynical world.”

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Last year, Poly Styrene told BBC 6 Music: “I know I’ll probably be remembered for ‘Oh Bondage, Up Yours!’. I’d like to remembered for something a bit more spiritual.”

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