This just in from Nik at Housmans – sounds good, but I’m not too sure about the claim that Pauline was “the only woman in a movement dominated by men”. What about The Bodysnatchers, an all-girl band on the Two Tone label? The group included Rhoda Dakar, whose harrowing solo-single “The Boiler” I’ve written about here.
‘2-Tone London’
with Pauline Black
Wednesday 3 August, 7pm
£3, redeemable against any purchase
Launching her autobiography, Pauline Black, lead singer of The Selector, shares her recollections of the 2-Tone music scene, as well as her personal experiences of growing up in multi-racial London.
The only woman in a movement dominated by men, Pauline Black has plenty to share about the 2-Tone music scene of. As lead singer of The Selector Pauline was very much the Queen of British Ska.
But even as she found success in through music, Black struggled with her ethnic and cultural identity. Born to Anglo-Jewish/Nigerian parents, she was later adopted by a white working-class family in Romford. In her talk, Black recounts her struggles to find her way in a community that made her feel different at every turn, and shares her personal view of early multicultural London.
Combining her life at the top of the 2-Tone phenomenon with her search for her birth parents, Black will speak about her experience of London, as told in her new autobiography, Black by Design: A 2-Tone Memoir.
Housmans Bookshop, 5 Caledonian Road, King’s Cross, London N1 9DX
Tel: 020 7837 4473
Entry: £3 redeemable against any purchase
Nearest tube: King’s Cross
Forthcoming events include:
‘The Glorious Times of the Situationist International’
with McKenzie Wark
‘Thirty Years on from the Brixton Uprising’
with Alex Wheatle
‘Chavs: the Demonization of the Working Class’
with Owen Jones
“Support the shop that supports your campaigns!”