1970s London music
A01=Celeste Bell
A01=Zoe Howe
Author_Celeste Bell
Author_Zoe Howe
books about punk
British punk scene
Category=AVLP
Category=AVP
Category=DNBF
counterculture icons
DIY culture
eq_art-fashion-photography
eq_bestseller
eq_biography-true-stories
eq_isMigrated=1
eq_isMigrated=2
eq_music
eq_nobargain
eq_non-fiction
feminist punk
forthcoming
Germ Free Adolescents
legacy of Poly Styrene
music activism
Poly Styrene
post-punk influence
punk fashion and identity
punk rock history
unconventional artists
women in punk
X-Ray Spex
Product details
- ISBN 9781917274364
- Dimensions: 210 x 285mm
- Publication Date: 08 Oct 2026
- Publisher: Omnibus Press
- Publication City/Country: GB
- Product Form: Paperback
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POLY STYRENE was a singer-songwriter, an artist, a free-thinker, a style pioneer and a life-long spiritual seeker: a true punk icon. This rebel queen was also a wickedly perceptive pop artist with a gift for satirising the world around her – utilising brightly coloured, playful aesthetics to be in contrast with the monochrome style and nihilism of punk.
In Dayglo, the vibrant jigsaw of Poly’s story has been lovingly pieced together by her daughter, singer-songwriter Celeste Bell, and writer Zoë Howe. It recounts her experiences growing up mixed-race in Brixton in the 1960s and how she came to be at the forefront of the punk scene with X-Ray Spex in the 1970s. Balancing being a single mother with a solo music career and often debilitating mental health issues, Dayglo is a moving exploration of Poly’s exceptional life, up until her untimely passing in 2011.
Based on interviews with those who knew and loved Poly both personally and professionally, this book is enriched with testimonies from Vivienne Westwood, Don Letts, Neneh Cherry, Tessa Pollitt and Thurston Moore.
Heavily illustrated throughout, Dayglo features personal photographs, hand-drawn artwork, lyrics, X-Ray Spex ephemera and more. The book beautifully captures Poly Styrene’s legacy, standing as a poignant tribute to a woman who truly turned the world dayglo.
Celeste Bell is is a writer, filmmaker, and the director of the Poly Styrene Archive. She co-directed the award-winning documentary Poly Styrene: I Am a Cliché. As the primary curator of her mother’s creative estate, Celeste manages a vast archive of artwork, diaries and music, overseeing high-profile global licensing and international exhibitions. Alongside Vivien Goldman and Lauren Jones, she is the co-founder of the Up Yours! Collective, an organisation dedicated to preserving and celebrating the legacy of women in punk and alternative music.
Zoe Howe is an author, broadcaster and artist whose writing spans the worlds of music, culture and folklore. Her music books have covered artists including The Slits, Stevie Nicks, The Jesus & Mary Chain, Poly Styrene, The Jam and Dr Feelgood, and she was part of the team behind the award-winning documentary Poly Styrene: I Am A Cliche. Other work includes Witchful Thinking: The Wise Woman's Handbook for Creating A Charmed Life and Scorpio Witch (Llewellyn Worldwide). Zoe is a Royal Literary Fund Writing Fellow, and her popular radio show 'Rock 'n' Roll Witch', which brings together her two great loves of music and magic, airs monthly on Soho Radio.
