Poly Styrene

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A punk, a monkey, a maths genius … our pick of local heroes who deserve a blue plaque
With the London scheme poised to go national, Observer writers make their cases for a few of the many overlooked, snubbed or merely forgotten figures who richly deserve recognition

Tim Adams, Kitty Empire, John Naughton, Tim Lewis, Alice Fisher, Shaoni Bhattacharya, Eva Wiseman

10, Sep, 2023 @11:00 AM

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‘I’d wear a mac on stage because of all the spitting’: Lora Logic on punk, prayer and Poly Styrene
As Essential Logic release their second album 43 years after their first, their founder talks squats, scary gigs and her tempestuous relationship with her X-Ray Spex bandmate

Stevie Chick

28, Nov, 2022 @8:14 AM

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Disney’s Cruella stitches punk’s overlooked female designers into the fabric
Disney should be the antichrist to true punk aficionados, but Cruella tips the hat to the forgotten DIY fashionistas who made the movement so visible

Danny Leigh

27, May, 2021 @12:43 PM

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Poly Styrene's inspiring sensitivity should be the true legacy of punk
Mixed race, with braces on her teeth, Poly broke the mould of UK punk. A new documentary explores her struggle to find meaning in the Day-Glo chaos of modern life

Rachel Aggs

05, Mar, 2021 @1:00 PM

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Poly Styrene: I Am a Cliché review – riveting take on British punk heroine
The X-Ray Spex singer is revealed as a mystic, rebellious working-class woman of colour in this valuable film

Peter Bradshaw

05, Mar, 2021 @9:00 AM

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Revenge of the She-Punks by Vivien Goldman; Dayglo: The Poly Styrene Story by Celeste Bell and Zoë Howe - review
Two compelling stories of punk bring female voices to the fore

Laura Snapes

13, May, 2019 @6:00 AM

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My mum, the punk pioneer: Poly Styrene’s daughter remembers the X-Ray Spex leader
Six years since her death, the punk singer remains hugely influential. Her daughter reflects on learning ‘the family business’, how fame nearly broke her mother – and why she’s making a film of her life

Celeste Bell

28, Apr, 2017 @3:02 PM

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The Punk Singer – empowering and insightful

Former riot grrrl Kathleen Hanna comes across as a force still to be reckoned with in this impressive documentary, writes Mark Kermode

Mark Kermode

24, May, 2014 @11:04 PM

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Poly Styrene and punk's perfect Christmas single

Punk band Goldblade have re-released City of Christmas Ghosts this year, a duet featuring the late Poly Styrene. It now stands as a tribute to one of my dear friends, says the band's John Robb, a woman who was both a pal and an inspiration

John Robb

19, Dec, 2013 @5:08 PM

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NME: 60 years of rock history ... and four front covers that define their eras

On the eve of its 60th birthday next month, four NME editors pick their favourite covers. Interviews by Killian Fox

Interviews by Killian Fox

26, Feb, 2012 @12:06 AM

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There's nothing wrong in refusing to accept imminent death
Why, having had the illness, I don't cringe at reports that Poly Styrene 'lost her fight against cancer'

Deborah Orr

28, Apr, 2011 @8:00 AM

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Poly Styrene obituary
One of the punk era's original talents, she fronted the band X-Ray Spex

Adam Sweeting

26, Apr, 2011 @5:58 PM

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