Poly Styrene: I am a Cliché
In 1976, Marion Elliott-Said – a Somali-English teenager from London – formed a band. That band, called X-Ray Spex, would quickly become one of the most distinct groups to emerge from the fledgling punk scene. Marion, in her front-woman persona as Poly Styrene, broke into an industry that was overwhelmingly white and overwhelmingly male, paving the way for other female musicians and women of colour. Many credit her with laying the foundations for what would,…