Farewell Poly Styrene: O Death, Up Yours

Today we bid a sad farewell to Poly Styrene who has died from cancer.

One of the first women who swept to prominence on the punk wave of the 1970s, Poly made a massive impact. She challenged the insipid standards of female beauty of the time with unconventional looks that included a mouthful of metal, puppy-fat that had yet to melt, and a spiky attitude that refused to capitulate to the usual mind-numbing requirements of a moribund music industry but carved out an identity of her own.

When she sang, 'Some people think little girls should be seen and not heard, but I think, O bondage, up yours,' you knew something had changed forever.

She had a troubled life following her heyday. Hit by a fire engine, misdiagnosed with schizophrenia, she was incarcerated in a mental hospital and only seemed to find peace when she joined a Hari Krishna sect.

Goodbye, Poly. A cultural pioneer who made the world a better place. O Death, up yours.