The Life & Legacy of Skin
Chanté Joseph celebrates the ground-breaking career of Skin and the influence the first Black British woman to headline Glastonbury has given alternative artists worldwide.
A Music Studio session Part 1 (2021) by Blaz ErzeticTRENCH
Deborah Anne Dyre, better known as Skin—lead singer of Skunk Anansie—is a shaping force in British music history and an inspiration to alternative Black artists worldwide.
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Born to strict Jamaican parents in Brixton during the late '60s, Dyre grew up at the centre of a quickly evolving Britain. She saw the Brixton riots first-hand and felt the wrath of the Thatcher years decimate her community.
Bob Marley backstage at the Lyceum Ballroom, London - Natty Dread Tour (1975-07-17)Bob Marley: Legend
Aged 6, she moved in with her grandfather, who hosted famous shubeens attended by the likes of Muhammed Ali, Bob Marley and Norman Manley, the President of Jamaica at the time.
Desperate to find a sound that spoke to her experience, she religiously watched Top Of The Pops, where she fell in love with artists like David Bowie and Boy George.
While developing her sound and political ideas, she fell in love with Rage Against The Machine's "Killing In The Name" and wanted to emulate that unapologetically political sound.
Anti-Apartheid Demo (1971-11-25) by Frank BarrattGetty Images
After participating in anti-apartheid protests at the age of 15, and living in a housing co-op with vocal political exiles, she gained enough knowledge to put her feelings out in the world.
In 1994, Skin formed the band Skunk Anansie: a defining sound of the Brit-rock era, with influences from ska and reggae to heavy metal and hip-hop, they released three platinum albums that made them a household name and group to be reckoned with in the music industry.
Skin made history by headlining the 1991 Glastonbury festival by being the first Black British headliner. Though celebrated now as an iconic moment in the festival’s history, it wasn’t without tension.
A image of a Club Night Party (2021) by Vishnu R NairTRENCH
Her Blackness made the band seem not ‘rock enough’, and she had so much to prove. Skunk Anansie disbanded in 2001, and Skin pursued a successful solo career touring Europe and supporting artists like Robbie Williams and Placebo on their world tours.
Reuniting in 2009, the band went on to release more music and is still releasing music today.
This digital work has been produced in collaboration with PRS Foundation and POWER UP. The article first featured in TRENCH x Union Black's Chapter One: Game Changers zine.
Words by Chanté Joseph
Videos by Culture Club Official, Skunk Anansie Official, MANDU16, Glastonbury, BBC Music.
Commissioned by TRENCH
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