Poly Styrene, born Marianne Joan Elliot-Said, has died of cancer. The singer was 53.
Born in 1957 in England to a British mother and a Somali father, she is best known for fronting the punk band X-Ray Spex, formed in 1976.
Sporting braces and with a memorably defiant energy in her voice and movements, she was one one of punk's least likely stars, and her song "Oh Bondage, Up Yours!" was a dance-hall anthem when it came out in1977. The band released one CD in 1978.
The singer told a British newspaper in February that she was battling breast cancer.
In a message on Twitter, Boy George wrote: "I was a fan of Poly before I got to know her, she was a Krishna follower too, oh bless you Polly you will be missed! Legend!"
