An early riot grrl influence and a punk rock icon, Poly Styrene was the front woman for the awesome first-wave British punk band X-Ray Spex. Her powerful voice paired well with the sax of Lora Logic on classics like "Oh Bondage, Up Yours!".
Born to a Somali father and Scottish-Irish mother, Marian Joan Elliott-Said was trained in opera but seeing the Sex Pistols on her 19th birthday inspired her to take the punk name "Poly Styrene" and start her band X-Ray Spex. She was also a ska fan from the time. X-Ray Spex may have been short-lived and underdocumented but they were a vital part of the British punk scene of the late '70s and stand as one the countries great bands of the era.
After X-Ray Spex broke up in '79, and perhaps influenced by Hare Krishnas, she recorded some less hard-edged material before returning with X Ray Spex in the early '90s. She also collaborated with Goldblade in 2007 & 2008 before making more solo records, including her final one, Generation Indigo, released one month before her death from cancer.