Punk Veterans Honor Poly Styrene at London's Electric Brixton

By Elena Vasquez

Members of the Raincoats, X-Ray Spex and the Slits performed a tribute to Poly Styrene at London's Up Yours! God Save the Queens! festival on Friday evening. The one-night-only event at Electric Brixton marked 50 years of She-Punk history.

Gina Birch of the Raincoats, Hollie Cook of the Slits, Paul Dean of X-Ray Spex, Lora Logic of X-Ray Spex and Essential Logic, and Akiko Matsuura of Comanechi and Pre led the tribute. The performers had announced their appearance last month.

Who else took the stage?

The supergroup did not stand alone. The lineup also included:

• Estella Adeyeri, bassist of Big Joanie
• John Robb, frontman of The Membranes
• Skin, frontwoman of Skunk Anansie
• Rhoda Dakar, lead singer of The Bodysnatchers
• Bishi, British-Bengali multi-instrumentalist

What did the supergroup play?

The set drew on three decades of punk repertoire. The ensemble performed X-Ray Spex anthems "Oh Bondage Up Yours!" and "The Day The World Turned Dayglo," plus the Slits' cover of Marvin Gaye's "I Heard It Through the Grapevine."

The festival paired live performances with artwork and archival materials. Celeste Bell, Styrene's daughter, curated the event alongside Vivien Goldman, author of Revenge of the She-Punks.

Why Poly Styrene?

The numbers frame her legacy. Styrene fronted X-Ray Spex after seeing the Sex Pistols perform in the Seventies. The band released its debut album, Germfree Adolescents, in 1978. Its second and final album, Conscious Consumer, arrived in 1995 during a second reunion — a 17-year gap between records.

Styrene died in 2011 from breast cancer at age 53.

In plain terms: the tribute gathered women from three foundational British punk bands to honor a singer whose catalog spans just two studio albums.

What comes next?

The punk programming continues across London. On Oct. 23, the Museum of Youth Culture opens "God Save the Queens," an exhibition celebrating feminist punk history. It closes on Nov. 22 — a 30-day run that extends the festival's half-century survey into gallery form.