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X-Ray Spex
From HitStory, the pop encyclopedia of School of Rock · Artist
X-Ray Spex was an English punk band, formed in London in 1976 by the singer Poly Styrene, after she had seen the Sex Pistols live. Styrene, born Marion Elliott-Said, stood out for her singing and her distinctive look and brought in influences from reggae. The band also included Jak Airport on guitar, Paul Dean on bass, B.P. Hurding on drums and Lora Logic on saxophone, an instrument rarely found in punk bands.
Music and breakthrough
The group played twice at The Roxy, and a recording of Oh Bondage Up Yours! appeared on the album Live at the Roxy WC2. In September 1977 the studio version appeared as a single, still their best-known song. It opens with the shouted line that some people think little girls should be seen and not heard. Styrene saw the song as an anti-consumerist number, but it is also seen as a forerunner of riot grrrl. In 1978 came the album Germfree Adolescents, full of criticism of plastic consumer culture, with singles such as Identity and The Day the World Turned Day-Glo. The Guardian praised the album for its anti-consumerist anthems.
Influence
In 1979 Styrene left the group, exhausted by touring, and the band broke up. The band later briefly reunited, including with the album Conscious Consumer in 1995. Poly Styrene died in 2011. In a short time the band released five singles and one album and showed that punk could have a voice that was not smoothed over, with a saxophone above the guitars.