Poly Styrene | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Marianne Joan Elliott-Said |
| Born | 3 July 1957 Bromley, Kent, England |
| Died | 25 April 2011 (aged 53) Sussex, England |
| Genres | Punk, rock, New Wave, dub |
| Occupation(s) | Vocalist, songwriter |
| Years active | 1976–2011 |
| Labels | Universal, EMI/Virgin, Future Noise Music |
Poly Styrene (3 July 1957 – 25 April 2011), was a British musician. She was best known as the singer in the early punk rock band X-Ray Spex.
She was born in 1957 in Bromley, Kent, and raised in Brixton, London. Her mother raised her alone. Her father was a Somali aristocrat. She ran away from home as a teenager and lived in empty houses. She saw the Sex Pistols perform on her birthday in 1975. That gave her the idea to start her own punk band X-Ray Spex. She was an unusual music start because she wore braces, was mixed race, and dressed differently.
Poly Styrene's real name was Marianne Joan Elliott-Said. She lived in St Leonards, East Sussex. She joined the Hare Krishna movement in 1983.
In 1991, Poly Styrene was diagnosed with bipolar disorder. She had breast cancer which metastasised to her spine. She died of breast cancer on 25 April 2011 at the age of 53.