Paulie Styrin

Early years

Marian Elliot was born in 1957 in Bromley , Kent , but raised in Brixton . Her father was an emigrant from Somalia and came from an aristocratic family, and her mother, who had Scottish-Irish roots, worked as a secretary in a law office. ^{[1] [3]} Parents divorced when Marian was still a child, and the mother raised and raised her daughter alone. Since childhood, Marian was very independent, which is why she often had problems at school and at home.

At the age of 15, bored with the monotonous life, Marian left her parental home and began a hippie life, hitchhiking from one music festival to another. Her adventures ended after she contracted a blood poisoning by stepping on a rusty nail while swimming in the river. ^[one]

At different times, Marian dreamed of becoming either a clothing designer, a flight attendant , or an actress. She tried to enter the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art , but did not pass an interview. To earn a living, Marian got a job as a typist. It was during this period that she began to write her first lines. Then she opened her clothing store, in which she sold kitsch clothes of bright, flashy colors, including dresses tailored from plastic. The store was called Poly Styrene (Russian - Paul Styrene ) and its name subsequently became the stage name of the singer.

The beginning of a musical career. Base X-Ray Spex.

In the summer of 1975, on the day of her eighteenth birthday, Marian attended the Sex Pistols concert. After the concert, Marian decided that "she is also capable of this." In 1976, she recorded and released a single in the reggae style - “Silly Billy”. The single, however, did not have commercial success and was not seen by critics either. In the same year, Marian founded the group X-Ray Spex . ^[1] Other members of the group ^[4] came in response to an ad that Marian had posted in two major British music magazines: New Musical Express and Melody Maker . The group manager felt that it would be nice to have another woman in her composition, and the beginning saxophonist Laura Logic was accepted into the team.

At the time of the creation of the group, its members were very young: Marian was not yet 20, and Laura Logic was only 15 years old. Laura's parents insisted that the girl graduate from school. As a result, Laura had to leave the ensemble before the release of her debut album. The place of Laura in the group was taken by Rudy Thompson (real name - Steve Thompson).

Germ Free Adolescents and the Decay of X-Ray Spex

X-Ray Spex 's debut single, “ Oh Bondage, Up Yours ”, became one of the symbols of punk protest and anticipated the appearance of the 1990s feminist movement Riot Grrrl . The band released their debut album Germ Free Adolescents in 1977 . It was a commercial success and received positive reviews from critics on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean.

In 1978, after a concert in Dorchester , Marian had hallucinations in which she saw pink light in the sky, and felt like the objects she touched were beginning to crack. Her mother took her to the hospital, where she was diagnosed with schizophrenia . Doctors hospitalized Marian, announcing that she would never be able to work again. For this and other reasons, the X-Ray Spex band split up, lasting only two years and releasing five singles and one album.

It soon became clear that Marian had not schizophrenia, but bipolar affective disorder . As a result, over the next few years, she was supposed to spend part of her time in hospitals. During this period, Marian, on the one hand, missed the music, but on the other, she felt that it was good for her to be out of the public eye for some time. ^[one]

The beginning of a solo career. Conversion to Hinduism and Life in the Hare Krishna Community

In 1980, Paulie Styrene recorded her first solo album, Translucence . A distinctive feature of the album was the jazz sound that anticipated the music of the 1990s band Everything But the Girl . ^[5] In the same year, Pauli Steirin adopted Gaudiya Vaishnavism and joined the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON).

In 1983, shortly after the birth of her daughter, she settled in the Hare Krishna community of Bhaktivedanta-manor , ^[6] where Laura Logic, who had also become a Hare Krishna, already lived at that time. ^[7] Paulie Stairin and Laura opened their own studio, in which Hindu music was recorded with the participation of other Hare Krishnas. Together with other Hare Krishnas, Paulie and Laura also founded the Juggernaut reggae group, performing at the 1983 Glastonbury Festival . ^[7] The group, however, soon split up without recording a single album. ^[7]

In her time at Bhaktivedanta Manor, Paul Steirin engaged to one of the Hare Krishnas in the community, but the engagement never ended in marriage. ^[6] Pauli Stayrin, until her death, continued to follow the Hare Krishna faith. ^[6]

Late period. Social work.

Paulie Stearin's second solo album, God's & Godesses , was released in 1986 via Awesome Record Label . The Hindu faith of the singer was reflected in it. The third solo album of the singer, Flower Aeroplane , was recorded in the style of new age and was released in 2004 . ^[one]

On September 6, 2006, Paulie Styrin performed with X-Ray Spex at The Roundhouse in London. In the same year, she sang a duet with John Robb of the Goldblade band to remix the song “City of Christmas Ghosts”. ^[8] In 2008 , Paulie Styrene performed at a concert at Victoria Park in London to mark the 30th anniversary of the founding of the Rock Against Racism movement.

In March 2009, Paulie Styrene took part in the debate of British pop stars with London Mayor Ken Livingstone . The debates discussed topical political issues, social inequality, war and materialism , as well as the problem of consumerism in modern society. ^[9] Then, along with other musicians, Paulie Styrene took part in the campaign against Google , accusing the corporation of not paying royalties for videos posted on YouTube . As a result, Google was forced to remove several million video clips from YouTube. ^[ten]

The fourth and final album by Paul Stein, Generation Indigo , was released March 28, 2011 - just a month before the singer’s death. The album received positive reviews from critics.

Death

In recent years, Paulie Styrene spent in her home in the town of St. Leonards , East Sussex . ^[3] In February 2011, she announced to the press that she was undergoing treatment for breast cancer. In one of the interviews, Pauline Styrin said that during her illness she found spiritual comfort in her Krishna faith . ^[eleven]

Paulie Styrin died on the evening of April 25, 2011. At the time of death, her mother and daughter Celest were next to her. The following message was published on the singer’s official website: “We regret to inform you that the magnificent Pauli Steirin, who courageously fought the disease, lost her last battle. It happened on Monday night. ” A month before her death, Paulie Styrene said in an interview with The Quietus magazine:

One of the first artists to comment on the death of Paulie Styrene was the English singer Boy George , who wrote on his Twitter page :

• Paulie Styrin on the Internet Movie Database
• Paulie Styrin on Twitter
• Poly's Punky Party
• Paulie Styrin Biography