Book description
Nigerian parents, Pauline Black was subsequently adopted by a white,
working class family in Romford. Never quite at home there, she escaped
her small town background and discovered a different way of life -
making music. Lead singer for platinum-selling band The Selecter,
Pauline Black was the Queen of British Ska. The only woman in a movement
dominated by men, she toured with The Specials, Madness, Dexy's Midnight
Runners when they were at the top of the charts - and, sometimes, on
their worst behaviour. From childhood to fame, from singing to acting
and broadcasting, from adoption to her recent search for her birth
parents, Black By Design is a funny and enlightening story of music,
race, family and roots. Born in 1953 to Anglo-Jewish "'Gritty,
witty and compelling' (Elle) 'Black paints a vivid portrait of simmering
racial tension in Britain after the Second World War... Intelligent and
affecting' (Independent) 'Stories aplenty... fascinating' (Metro) 'The
story of a brave, intelligent woman's struggle to make sense of the
world around her' (Mojo)" Nigerian parents, Pauline Black was
subsequently adopted by a white, working class family in Romford. Never
quite at home there, she escaped her small town background and
discovered a different way of life - making music. Lead singer for
platinum-selling band The Selecter, Pauline Black was the Queen of
British Ska. The only woman in a movement dominated by men, she toured
with The Specials, Madness, Dexy's Midnight Runners when they were at
the top of the charts - and, sometimes, on their worst behaviour. From
childhood to fame, from singing to acting and broadcasting, from
adoption to her recent search for her birth parents, Black By Design is
a funny and enlightening story of music, race, family and roots. Born in
1953 to Anglo-Jewish
