Poly Styrene Read by Celeste Bell

Rebel Girls

Kids & Family, Education For Kids, Stories For Kids

4.5 • 7.2K Ratings

🗓️ 23 December 2025

⏱️ 20 minutes

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Summary

Poly Styrene, otherwise known as Marianne Joan Elliott-Said was a British musician, a poet, singer-songwriter, and a pioneer in punk music. She is the first multiracial woman to lead a punk band, and continually dared herself to evolve as a musician and human being. About the Narrator Celeste Bell spent her earliest years living on a Hare Krishna commune in the Hertfordshire countryside with her mother, Poly Styrene. After completing her degree from Queen Mary University of London, Celeste settled in Madrid where she worked as a teacher and formed the ska-punk band, Debutant Disco. After finishing a Master’s degree in Barcelona, Celeste returned to London to work alongside Zoë Howe on Day Glo! The Poly Styrene Story, published by Omnibus Press in 2019. They then joined forces with Paul Sng to make Poly Styrene: I Am a Cliché, a film to accompany the book. Celeste currently manages her mother’s artistic estate, co-curating an exhibition alongside Mattie Loyce at the 198 Contemporary Arts and Learning Centre in Brixton. She plans to tour the exhibition internationally after the pandemic and is currently developing a new film project, with the working title of Mr. Gorbachev and the Krishna Kids. Credits This podcast is a production of Rebel Girls and is based on the book series Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls. This episode was produced by Camille Stennis. Original theme music and sound design by Elettra Bargiacchi and final mix by Mattia Marcelli. This episode was written by Abby Sher and fact checked by Joe Rhatigan. Executive Producer is Katie Sprenger. Haley Dapkus is our Production Manager. A big thanks to the whole Rebel Girls team who make this show possible! Until next time, stay REBEL! [This episode previously aired in 2021.]

Transcript

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0:00.0	Once upon a time there was a girl who wanted more than anything to be seen and heard.
0:08.3	She loved to dress up in bright, mismatched clothes and sing loudly about her feelings.
0:15.3	Her name was Marianne.
0:19.7	Marianne was born in 1957, in Kent, England.
0:24.6	She was half Somali and half British, with warm brown skin and a huge smile that lit up her
0:32.6	entire face.
0:34.6	When Marianne was little, her mum raised her and her siblings by herself.
0:40.3	Marianne was always happiest when she was creating things,
0:45.3	putting scraps of cloth together to design pocketbooks or sewing costumes
0:50.3	so she and her sister could perform little shows for the neighbourhood kids.
0:57.0	At school though, Marianne had a hard time.
1:03.0	She got teased a lot by the white kids for not being white enough and by the black kids for not being black enough.
1:13.7	Because there weren't a lot of mixed race people in the area, people didn't understand
1:19.1	Marianne's family and she was called terrible names. But she wouldn't let those bullies scare her.
1:26.8	In fact, they only made her want to be louder.
1:35.5	I'm Celeste Bell and this is Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls, a fairy tale podcast about the rebel women who inspire us. On this episode, Marianne Elliott,
1:47.9	also known as Polystyrene, musical pioneer and the first multiracial woman to lead a punk band.
1:58.5	When Marianne was 15, she ran away to London to see if she could make it on her own.
2:06.6	She had so many creative ideas that she needed to share with the world.
2:12.6	She made her own jewellery, dresses and accessories and started selling them at a boutique.
2:19.8	She also wrote down her thoughts about the world and her place in it and started piecing
2:25.8	them together as poetry and songs.
	...

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