X-Ray Spex:

During their first incarnation (1976 – 79), X-Ray Spex were “deliberate underachievers”^[1] and only managed to release five singles plus one album.^[2] Nevertheless, their first 45, Oh Bondage, Up Yours!, is now acknowledged as a classic punk rock single^[3] ^[4] ^[5] ^[6] and the album, Germ Free Adolescents, is widely acclaimed as one of the greatest albums of all-time.^[7] ^[8] ^[9] ^[10] ^[11]

Career

Initially, the band featured singer Poly Styrene (born Marian Joan Elliott) on vocals, Jak Airport (Jack Stafford) on guitars, Paul Dean on bass, Paul 'B. P.' Hurding on drums, and Lora Logic (born Susan Whitby) on saxophone. This latter instrument was an atypical addition to the standard punk instrumental line-up, and became one of the group's most distinctive features.

X-Ray Spex's other distinctive musical element was Poly Styrene's voice, which has been variously described as "effervescently discordant"^[13] and "powerful enough to drill holes through sheet metal".^[14] As Mari Elliot, Poly had released a reggae single for GTO Records in 1976, "Silly Billy", which had not charted. Born in 1957 in Brixton, of Somali-English parentage, Poly Styrene became the group's public face, and remains one of the most memorable front-women to emerge from the punk movement.^[15] Not conventionally attractive, she wore thick braces on her teeth and once stated that "I said that I wasn't a sex symbol and that if anybody tried to make me one I'd shave my head tomorrow".^[16] She later actually did at Johnny Rotten's flat prior to a concert at Victoria Park. Mark Paytress recounts in the liner notes for the 2002 compilation, The Anthology, that Jah Wobble, Rotten's longtime friend and bassist for his post-punk venture PiL, once described Styrene as a "strange girl who often talked of hallucinating. She freaked John out."^[17] Rotten, known more for his outspoken dislike of things than actual praise and admiration, recently said of X-Ray Spex in a retrospective punk documentary, "Them, they came out with a sound and attitude and a whole energy - it was just not relating to anything around it - superb."^[18]

Styrene was inspired to form a band by seeing the Sex Pistols in Hastings and, through their live performances, she and X-Ray Spex became one of the most talked about acts on the infant punk scene.^[19] The band played twice at the now-legendary punk club The Roxy during its first 100 days. In March, the band played with The Drones and Chelsea. In April, they shared the bill with the Buzzcocks, Wire, and Johnny Moped.^[20] Their first Roxy gig was only their second live appearance. It was recorded and their anthem Oh Bondage Up Yours was included on the influential Live at the Roxy WC2 album.^[21] The publicity from this gig led to a “near residency”, particularly on Sunday nights, at ‘The Man On The Moon’ pub, Kings Road, Chelsea, and record label interest.^[22]

In October 1977, Oh Bondage Up Yours was finally released as a single. Today, the 45 is regarded as their most enduring artifact, both as a piece of music and as a sort of proto-grrrl catch-phrase.^[23]^[24] Opening with the line, "Some people think little girls should be seen and not heard - well I think, oh bondage, up yours!", the song could be interpreted as a premonition of the riot grrrl movement a good 15 years later, although Styrene herself insists it was more intended as an anti-consumerist/anti-capitalist jingle, and wasn't exclusively feminist in nature.

X-Ray Spex played at ‘Front Row Festival’, a three-week event at the Hope and Anchor, Islington in late November and early December 1977.^[25] This resulted in the band's inclusion, alongside the likes of Wilko Johnson, 999, The Only Ones, the Saints, The Stranglers, and XTC, on a hit double-LP of recordings from the festival. Then, in February 1978, before the release of their second single, X-Ray Spex recorded the first of two sessions for John Peel at BBC Radio 1.^[26] Their profile was further enhanced by playing a fortnight's residency at New York's CBGB's, even though the album Germ Free Adolescents was not released in America until 1992.

On 30 April, the band appeared at the huge Rock Against Racism gig at Victoria Park, Hackney. Later in the year, to promote the album, X-Ray Spex embarked on their first, and only, full UK tour. Exhausted by touring, Poly Styrene left the band in mid 1979. She released a solo album, Translucence, before joining the Hare Krishna movement (as did Logic, who left the band aged 16 in 1977 to form a new group called Essential Logic).

Without Styrene, the group lost its momentum and split up. Hurding and London went on to form Classix Nouveaux, while Paul Dean and Rudi Thompson went on to form Agent Orange with Anthony (Tex) Doughty, who later become a founding member of Transvision Vamp.

The first incarnation of X-Ray Spex existed from mid-1976 to 1979, during which time they released five singles - "Oh Bondage, Up Yours", "Identity", "The Day the World Turned Day-Glo", "Germ Free Adolescents", and "Highly Inflammable" - and one album, Germ Free Adolescents.^[27]^[14] One retrospective review described the singles as “not only riveting examples of high-energy punk, but contained provocative, thoughtful lyrics berating the urban synthetic fashions of the 70s and urging individual expression”.^[28]

The same reviewer in The Virgin Encyclopedia of Popular Music sums up the band’s 1970s contribution as “one of the most inventive, original and genuinely exciting groups to emerge during the punk era”.

Reformation

In 1991 re-grouped X-Ray Spex played a surprise sell-out gig at the Brixton Academy. Uniquely, this version of the group did not include Poly Styrene, and according to an interview with Lora Logic^[14]: "... that was a mistake. They put that together with another singer and I played with them for a tour but you can't really have it without Poly."

The group reformed more successfully in 1995 with a line-up of Styrene, Dean and Logic to release a new album Conscious Consumer. Although heralded as the first in a trilogy, the album was not a commercial success. Styrene later explained^[29] that touring and promotional work suffered an abrupt end when she was run over by a fire engine in central London. The group disbanded, but subsequent releases include a compilation of the group's early records, a live album, and an anthology of all the aforementioned.

Jak Airport later worked for the BBC's Corporate and Public Relations department under his real name, Jack Stafford; he died on 13 August 2004 of cancer.^[14]

The band played what was described as a raucous comeback gig in front of an audience of 3000 at The Roundhouse in London on 6 September 2008. They performed the entire Germ Free Adolescents album, except "Plastic Bag".^[30]

Discography

Albums

Appearances on various artist compilations (Selective)

Listing of those various artist compilation albums mentioned in the text of the main article:

Singles

X-Ray Spex

Contents

Career

Reformation

Discography

Albums

Appearances on various artist compilations (Selective)

Singles

See also

References

External links