A Black Christmas with the Nordpolen Musikklubb and Poly Styrene

Poly Styrene: Black Christmas
(Nordpolen Musikklubb, Norway, Julepakke05, 2018, 45 rpm, small hole, limited to 300 copies)

Every Christmas season since 2014, the Norwegian Nordpolen Musikklub releases a Christmas 7”. Packed in a stylish festive sleeve, each record pressed on old school black vinyl with labels inspired by the traditional labels of releases from the 1960s and 1970s (including a printed push out piece for jukebox use), the series are a valuable addition to every Christmas music collection. The people behind the Nordpolen Musikklub, Jan Thomas Hasselberg and Geir Henning Hopland, who both lived in the Nordpolen area of Oslo when they strted the label (hence the name) have a wide taste in music, and that shows in the records they have put out over the years: vintage pop, jazz, indie pop and this year, even reggae. All the previous releases were by Norwegian artists, or artists with at least a connection to Norway, this year’s release is the first for which this is not the case. The fifth Nordpolen Musikklubb release is by an English artist, to be precisely by Poly Styrene, best known as singer of punk band X Ray Spex, and together with The Slits and Adverts bassist Gaye Advert one of the few female ‘stars’ of the first wave of British punk.

Poly was born as Marianne Joan Elliott-Said to an Scottish-Irish mother and a Somali aristocrat father, and was raised by her mother. At 15 she ran away from home, hitchhiking from musical festival to music festival. After she saw the Sex Pistols in July 1976, Poly and her 15 year old school friend and saxophonist Lora Logic (Susan Whitby) decided to start their own punk band: X-Ray Spex. Poly (she took her artist name Poly Styrene from the Yellow Pages, searching for ‘a name of the time, something plastic’) had her own original look (including wearing dental braces and dayglo clothing) and take on punk, with many lyrics taking a stance against consumerism. The band debuted with the single ‘Oh Bondage Up Yours’, a genuine punk classic, and the album ‘Germ Free Adolescents’, that is seen as one of the most original and influential records of the punk era. The band, and especially Poly has been an inspiration for many female (punk) artists over the years. X-Ray Spex broke up shortly after Poly had left the band in mid 1979, after suffering a nervous breakdown. She recorded one jazz influenced solo album, before becoming involved in the Hare Krishna movement, and disappearing from the music scene – but only for a while. As a solo artist, she strayed far from her punk roots, and recorded music influenced by jazz and later also new age. X Ray Spex did several reunion shows through the years, some with and some without Poly. In 2008, Poly contributed vocals to Goldblade’s Christmas single. ‘City Of Christmas Ghosts’, released on Damaged Good Records. In 2010 Poly recorded her third solo album with producer (and Killing Joke member) Youth, ‘Generation Indigo’, that was scheduled for release in March 2011. To promote the album, she released the digital only single ‘Black Christmas’.

Poly wrote the song together with her daughter Celeste Bell, and both women shared the vocals. Musically, ’Black Christmas’ was dominated by a reggae dub groove. The title was, of course, a take on the biggest Christmas hit of all time. The lyrics were said to have been inspired by the story of a serial killer who, dressed up as Santa Claus, shot people in the streets of Los Angeles. But you wouldn’t guess so if you read the lyrics, that seemed to be written from the perspective of a depressed, lonely and cynical person living in an industry town. A person who was not ‘dreaming of a white Christmas’, like Bing Crosby, but who was ‘dreaming of a black black Christmas / Black smoke glows against a midnight sky’: ‘All alone drowning in my sorrows / Christmas time always brings my sadness home / A child is born on Christmas Day / But they crucified him anyway’. And, as if it was still necessary to point out: ‘Oh no, I’m not merry, no’. The only place in the lyrics that seems to point to the serial killer is where Poly and Celeste sing ‘I never knew a very Merry Christmas / Santa Claus was a real bad guy’. Indeed, this Santa Claus was. Pessimistic lyrics that, according to Poly, reflected the dark things happening in the world at the moment of release of the song, and the social unrest that she was expecting, giving the state of the world, Christmas or not. Profetic words, looking on how the world has developed since the single came out.

‘Black Christmas’ was originally only released as a free download on Poly Styrene’s website, and burned on a promotional CDr by Poly’s label Future Noise, featuring a radio edit, a remix done by Khan. The song also came with a video full of environmental destruction, riots, violence, greed and references the Santa killer, with Poly and Celeste (who really look like eachother) out on the streets singing the song. In a way. ‘Black Christmas’ and also the album ‘Generation Indigo’, that blended reggae with electronics, were in a way also a return to her roots for Polly, because before starting X-Ray Spex, Poly released a solo reggae single as Mari Elliot, ‘Silly Billy’ for GTO. What should have been the start of the comeback of Poly turned out to be her farewell. Poly was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2010, that spread to her spine and lungs, and only a few months after the release of the Christmas single and only 1,5 month after the UK release of the album, Poly died. In a way it was symbolic that Poly did one of her last singles together with her daughter – as if she was passing on her musical heritage to her daughter – and it is in good hands, as Celeste, who lives in Spain, is indeed as musical talented as her mother, and fronts the Madrid band Celeste Dos Santos and the Tabloid Queens.. Just as the other Nordpolen Musikklub singles, ‘Black Christmas’ is released in a limited edition of 300 copies, with a track of Poly’s final album, ‘White Gold’ on the B-side. It is a well deserved tribute to an inspiring artist.

You can order the single by sending a message to Nordpolen Musikklubb through their Facebook page.

And you can watch the video on Youtube.