Dayglo

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.