Celeste Bell and Zoë Howe: Dayglo, The Poly Styrene Story

Launch event for Celeste Bell and Zoë Howe’s new book, Dayglo: The Poly Styrene Story.

The authors will be in conversation with John Robb (Louder Than War) and there will be a DJ set by Tessa Pollitt of The Slits.

“Poly Styrene was a singer-songwriter, an artist, a free-thinker, a post-modern style pioneer and a lifelong spiritual seeker: a true punk icon. But this rebel queen with the cheeky grin was also a latter-day pop artist with a wickedly perceptive gift for satirising the world around her – her brightly coloured, playful aesthetic sharply at odds with the stark monochrome style and nihilism of punk. Here, for the first time, the vibrant jigsaw of Poly’s inspiring and often moving story has been lovingly pieced together by her daughter, singer-songwriter Celeste Bell, and writer/artist Zoë Howe (author of the acclaimed Typical Girls? The Story Of The Slits, amongst many others).

“Heavily illustrated throughout including personal photographs, flyers from the punk scene and hand-drawn artwork and lyrics for X-Ray Spex and beyond the book beautifully captures Poly Styrene’s creative and personal legacy, reminding us that if anyone had the power to turn our worlds dayglo, it was her.”

Celeste Bell spent much of her childhood living on a Hare Krishna commune in the Hertfordshire countryside with her mother who converted to the religion in the 1980s. Celeste made the decision to leave the movement at a young age and went to live with her grandmother in Brixton, South London. After completing her degree in English and History from Queen Mary College, Celeste settled in Madrid where she formed her own skapunk band, Debutant Disco/The Tabloid Queens. After finishing a master’s degree in Political Philosophy from Pompeu Fabra University in Barcelona, Celeste returned to London to work alongside writer Zoë Howe on Dayglo: The Poly Styrene Story. Celeste and Zoë then went on to join forces with director Paul Sng, making a documentary film to accompany the book, Poly Styrene: I Am a Cliché. Apart from managing her mother’s artistic estate, Celeste also works as a part-time further education lecturer. Celeste is currently developing a documentary film about her experiences in the Hare Krishna movement, with the working title of Mr Gorbachev and The Krishna Kids.

Writer, artist and musician Zoë Howe is the author of acclaimed music biographies Typical Girls? The Story Of The Slits, Barbed Wire Kisses: The Jesus & Mary Chain Story, Wilko Johnson: Looking Back At Me, Lee Brilleaux: Rock ’n’ Roll Gentleman and Stevie Nicks: Visions, Dreams & Rumours to name a few, and her debut novel Shine On, Marquee Moon was shortlisted for the Virginia Prize for Fiction in 2016. Zoë also worked with Celeste Bell and director Paul Sng on the Poly Styrene documentary Poly Styrene: I Am A Cliché (release TBC). Musically, Zoë has worked with Viv Albertine, Mick Jones, Steve Beresford, Charli XCX, Kelly Osbourne, Anne Pigalle, Helen McCookerybook, The Plan and others.