The band released their debut album in 1978 titled Germfree Adolescents which covers issues relating to capitalism, public image and identity. Billboard described Styrene as the “archetype for the modern-day feminist punk” and “one of the least conventional front persons in rock history, male or female”. She unashamedly wore dental braces, rebelled against the archetypal female sex object of the 1970s, sported a gaudy Dayglo wardrobe, and was of mixed race. She has also been described as a “thrillingly idiosyncratic singer” and “one of the most authentic” and influenced the people, especially young women who thought they were ignored outsiders. As she shrieks on one of X-Ray Spex’s feminist anthems: “Some people think little girls should be seen and not heard, but I think ‘oh bondage, up yours!’”
The band broke up just one year later. From then on, Poly Styrene began her solo career. She lived alone and had a daughter, Celeste Bell-Dos Santos who said about her: “The most remarkable thing about my mum is that she never did anything based on the approval of others.” In February 2011, in an interview published in The Sunday Times magazine, Styrene 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.
In 2021, she was the subject of a documentary co-directed by Bell, who said on its launch: “This film will be a celebration of the life and work of my mother, an artist who deserves to be recognised as one of the greatest frontwomen of all time; a little girl with a big voice whose words are more relevant than ever.”
Buy the acclaimed book about her life story here.
