A star-studded tribute to Poly Styrene at Electric Brixton and a new exhibition at the Museum of Youth Culture celebrate 50 years of women challenging conventions and shaping punk history.
On October 16th, punk legends descended upon Electric Brixton to form a one-night-only supergroup, celebrating 50 years of Poly Styrene’s music and the opening of a new exhibition at the Museum of Youth Culture. The evening boasted a lineup featuring powerhouse names like Lora Logic (X-Ray Spex/Essential Logic) and Gina Birch (The Raincoats), with the new generation of punk sound being held up by London giants Big Joanie and the Hastings-based rock trio HotWax.
Emceed by the ‘Punk Professor’ herself, Vivien Goldman, the night was organised by the Up Yours! Collective as a part of a multimedia festival dedicated to the influence of Poly Styrene and the fifty-year anniversary of the X-Ray Spex frontwoman's debut in music. The Collective is run by Poly Styrene’s daughter and filmmaker Celeste Bell, rock archivist Lauren Estelle Jones, and Goldman, a celebrated punk historian and first-hand chronicler of the movement.
Punks of all ages flooded the venue parading gravity-defying mohawks, frayed band patches, and enough black eyeliner to make Siouxsie Sioux proud. While the individual bands formed an impressive lineup not likely to be seen again, the main event was the ‘supergroup’ teased all evening long. The climactic slot saw the stage occupied by no fewer than six women at a time, led by Celeste Bell and Hollie Cook (The Slits) on vocals, Estella Adeyeri (Big Joanie) on bass, Akiko Matsuura (Keex) on drums, Paul Dean (X-Ray Spex) and Gina Birch on guitar, and Lora Logic on the saxophone. The group grew in size throughout the seventy-five-minute set, which reimagined Poly Styrene and X-Ray Spex’s discography, of which Lora Logic and Paul Dean were original members.
One of the evening’s highlights included a cover of ‘Germfree Adolescents’ by Bishi, a British-Bengali composer who commanded the stage with her effervescent voice and mastery of the electric sitar. While big names like John Robb and Rhoda Dakar also took to the stage to pay homage to Poly’s work, it was a lullaby-like tribute from Lora Logic that stood out among the riotous evening. She started the song holding back tears as she reminisced on time spent by her and Poly with the Hare Krishnas, citing their time there as an inspiration for the melodic track which harkened on peace and the power of non-conformity. Poly Styrene, born Marianne Joan Elliott-Said, passed away in 2011, but her legacy and influence on punk culture stand the test of time with her enduringly relevant lyrics and singular voice.
The night ended with over a dozen artists and musicians joining on the stage for a reprise of ‘Oh Bondage Up Yours!’, a punk anthem which rang through the theatre and had the crowd eager to show off their dedication to each word of pure rebellion. Of course, the celebration wasn’t over as the evening kicked off a month-long programme of feminist punk talks and screenings, all held at the newly opened Museum of Youth Culture exhibition.
God Save the Queens opened October 23rd in the recently founded Camden space. Its run has now been extended until December 20th due to popular demand. The Museum of Youth Culture coins itself as the ‘world's first museum dedicated to the lives of teenagers and young people’, that being clear with its walls clad in photos of youth through the generations, goths and hipsters alike. The corridor leading to the main exhibition is lined with cornerstones of British history: the BBC’s first radio broadcast (1922), the first Glastonbury (then Pilton Festival, 1970), the first London Pride (1972), Rock Against Racism (1976), all influential on youth culture then and now. The UK’s punk movement in particular is highlighted by the God Save the Queens exhibition, but what is often a history told through the male lens has been masterfully reimagined by the Up Yours! Collective, which instead puts the spotlight on the inherent defiance and lasting influence of female-led punk. The room itself is modest in size, but every square centimetre is plastered with technicolour chronicles of music history, demanding your attention. High on the walls are album covers, gig posters, and newspaper clippings with bold headlines touting ‘Here come the punkesses’. Reliquaries housing diary entries, concept art, and even birth control pills create a striking image of girlhood and anarchy.
The exhibition continues with archival collections, one-of-a-kind garments, audiovisual testaments, and contemporary works which ground the often intangible potency of these women’s musical legacy. Film photography lines one wall, capturing moments of play, defiance, and performance from legendary artists like Patti Smith, the Slits, the Raincoats, Palmolive, Neneh Cherry, Ari Up, Soo Catwoman, Blondie, Poly Styrene, and the Bodysnatchers. Their music can be found everywhere, but from a genre and demographic which is so often overlooked, the exhibition creates a tangible space of reflection and, dare I say, worship for a group of women who defied all expectations, all boundaries, and all limits, to create a freer world for all of us.