By shelz.

Poly Styrene, born Marianne Joan Elliott-Said, former lead singer of punk group X-Ray Spex sadly lost a hard fought battle with breast cancer on yesterday 04/25/11, mere hours before the release of her solo album, Generation Indigo. You may not recognize her name, but Styrene was a punk legend.

X-Ray Spex stormed into the punk scene long before its rigid mores were established. They weren’t dark and morose. It was all day glo and hyper. The themes were intact; feminist and anti-establishment rants filled the verses and lead singer Poly Styrene’s lyrics punched through the musical foundation like her voice was spring loaded.

It made perfect sense; painting outside the lines musically while exalting the concept of erasing societal boundaries. In the process, X-Ray Spex produced one of punk’s most classic albums, Germ Free Adolescents.

The crew disbanded shortly after. They attempted a reunion, but it was short lived. All embarked on new projects, including Poly, who had minimal success as a solo artist after joining and leaving the Hare Krishnas. But it wasn’t until last year that Styrene began to release music that captured the magic she exuded back in the late 70’s. Her solo career picked up steam and she started laying the foundation for Generation Indigo. Months later, she notified fans she was suffering from the breast cancer that would eventually cut her life short. She was only 53 years old.

Poly was open and generous with herself. Her dialogue with fans from near and far carried not a hint of narcissism or pretention. She spoke with them as if she was with friends, and I guess she felt as if she was. As the complete antithesis of celebrity, she wasn’t one of those folks who garnered self-esteem by contriving a reputation for being unavailable. Her fans were family and her loss will be all the more difficult because of that. RIP Marianne. We will miss you.

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