Former X-Ray Spex singer Poly Styrene has died at the age of 53 after suffering from cancer.
The singer, real name Marianne Elliot-Said, broke the news of her illness last February in an interview with The Times magazine, saying: “I’ve been diagnosed with cancer, which has been a huge shock for both of us. I’m trying to fight it and I’m determined to stay positive. Celeste has done lots of research and she feels I can get better. And I need to get better for her, because I’m all the family she’s got.”
Now, a statement on her official Twitter feed has broken the sad news of her death, stating: “We can confirm that the beautiful Poly Styrene, who has been a true fighter, won her battle on Monday evening to go to higher places.”
Poly Styrene formed X-Ray Spex after being inspired by the Sex Pistols, and displayed an attitude and presence on stage which made her one of the earliest true punk stars. The band’s debut single ‘Oh Bondage Up Yours!‘, released in September 1977, has since become one of the classic anthems of the late-Seventies punk movement.