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Episode details

Radio 4,17 Aug 2026,27 mins

Pauline Black of The Selecter on Poly Styrene of X-Ray Spex

Great Lives

Available for over a year

Poly Styrene was born Marie Joan Elliot-Said in 1957 and went on to become front woman of X-Ray Spex. When Pauline Black first saw her on Top of the Pops, Poly was wearing a red military jacket and cap. Her attitude, says the lead singer of ska band The Selecter, was captivating. Helping tell the story of Poly's tough upbringing, bright career and sadly early death are her daughter, Celeste Bell, plus the writer Zoe Howe. Together they wrote Dayglo - The Poly Styrene story. "She was an artist, a maverick, an individual, and an eccentric. She marched to the beat of her own drum with little care for societal norms and expectations." Celeste Bell Pauline Black first came to prominence in the late 1970s with The Selecter, since when she won a best actress award as Billie Holliday in All or Nothing At All, narrated Soul Britannia for BBC TV, and toured with Gorillaz. She still performs across Europe with The Selecter. The producer in Bristol is Miles Warde

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