Founded in 1976, English punk band X-ray Spex had a brief run, with the original incarnation going strong till 1979. Despite the short time in the spotlight, their lead singer, Poly Styrene, continues making music on and off as a solo entity. Now, though, on the verge of the upcoming release of her new LP, Generation Indigo, the singer has revealed she’s battling breast cancer.
Styrene, whose real name is Marian Elliot-Said, revealed her illness in a February 20th piece in the Sunday Times and on her official site, writing, “It’s been a bit of a battle fighting this cancer but hey ho I’m still alive, Luv Poly x.” She later wrote on her Twitter, “Hoping & praying I can fight this cancer. Thank u all 4 ur positive vibes, I’m overwhelmed, ur keeping me in the land of living. Luv Poly X.”
Scheduled for release on April 26th, Generation Indigo stemmed from Styrene’s release of a free track entitled “Black Christmas” at the end of 2010. The LP finds Styrene, who inspired much of the Riot Grrrl and Britpop scenes, back to making music that ranges from the purely power-pop to experimenting with reggae and dubstep. You can check out the song and video for “Virtual Boyfriend” below.
Generation Indigo hits stores April 26th via Future Noise Music.
