I first came across the music of The Selecter when I was researching Ska and Bluebeat for my Music Technology studies and liked it. I was intrigued by their lead singer Pauline Black and wanted to learn more. This talented singer, songwriter, actress, author and TV presenter is the daughter of a Nigerian Prince and a young English girl who was adopted by a white family in the racially intolerant England of the 50’s and 60’s. She certainly has a story to tell and I am so pleased she agreed to share some of it with Punk Globe.

Hi Pauline, thank you for agreeing to talk to our readers.

My pleasure Will.

Although you had piano lessons as a child you didn’t get involved in music until you were in your early 20’s. How did that happen?

I studied science & became a radiographer instead. It took me a long time to discover the music that I wanted to play and sing. When I did there was no holding me back;-)

Good career change for all of us. Then came The Selecter. How did you guys get together?

We got together in May 1979. Neol Davies had written an instrumental called ‘The Selecter’ in 1977. It eventually turned up on the b side of The Specials first hit single with the 2-Tone label, ‘Gangsters’ in 1979. At that time, there was no band, so Jerry Dammers suggested to Neol that he formed a band around that song. I was the last to be recruited and within 6 months of forming The Selecter was on the 2-tone Tour in Oct 1979 with The Specials and Madness & had a Top 10 single with ‘On My Radio’ on the 2-Tone label.

You were hailed as the “Queen of Ska”. I have to ask you about that iconic photo of you with Poly Styrene, Debbie Harry, Chrissie Hynde and other female punk/new wave stars. Where was that? How well did you know the others and did you have a sense at the time of how influential you were?

That photo is by photographer Michael Putland & is worth quite a bit of money these days. It was taken in a London Hotel, somewhere in Knightsbridge, I think. The Selecter had supported Blondie a few times at London shows, so I had already met Debbie Harry and I had met Chrissie Hynde before @ a kid’s Saturday morning TV show - I think it was ‘Multicoloured Swapshop’. I admired Poly Styrene at that time & I had seen The Slits when they played Queen’s Theatre in my hometown Coventry. The only person I didn’t know from that photo shoot was Siouxsie Sioux. The photo appeared on the cover of New Musical News, a new, short-lived publication that replaced NME for a couple of issues & then disappeared. I don’t think any of us realized that the photo would become such a reference point for female musicians of the early eighties. It was an honor to be included.

As you said, The Selecter really exploded onto the scene but it didn't last long the first time. When you re-formed you stayed together much longer though. Tell us about that.

The Selecter has always been a volatile band, lots of energy both on and off stage. In 2013 we are having a lot of fun playing and touring internationally & recording new material. We have no wish to become a ‘heritage’ band and just trot out the same old show every time we play.

What's the current line-up?

We are an 8 piece band with 2 horns, bass, drums, lead guitar, keyboards & two vocalists. The male/female vocal duo of myself and Gaps Hendrickson is unique in the ska/ 2-Tone world & therefore gives us much more scope in writing and choosing new material.

Recently you toured Australia for the first time I think. The Specials have also toured the US this year so it seems 2-Tone is still alive and well. What do you put this down to?

Commitment, energy and the legacy of 2-tone.

I think that anybody who writes an honest autobiography is pretty brave anyway but yours deals with some traumatic childhood experiences. As if finding out you were adopted and being a black child in a white family was not enough you also suffered sexual abuse by a neighbor. Was writing about these things healing for you or just painful?

Neither, it was just the truth of what happened. You only get one shot at writing an autobiography, so you might as well tell it like it was.

True, there’s nothing worse than reading one and thinking “but I want to know more”. How do you think these experiences influenced your music?

Probably gave my songwriting more scope.

To See Some Selecter Video's Click Here
http://www.theselecter.net/videos.htm

What bands/artists do you like listening to?

Any band or artist that has something to say and has a reason for being. That’s a relatively short list ;-)

It certainly is, The Selecter would be on it though. Cheesy question this, but I like it. Describe yourself in three words.

‘Black By Design’

You have very strong views on many subjects. Is there a particular cause that is closest to your heart.

I don’t do causes or charity.

You won an award for your portrayal of Billie Holiday on the stage (which I wish I could have seen) and have done a lot of Television work. How did you get into acting?

By accident. Trevor Laird (the Rudeboy in the movie Quadrophenia) asked me to write some music for a play that he was about to direct @ Riverside Theatre in London in 1981. For some reason or another I ended up singing and acting in the play. An agent saw me and found me work. I spent 10 years acting in theatre and on TV before returning to music. I loved every minute of it.

Love that movie, Quadrophenia. What do you prefer, the theatre or television, music or acting?

Theatre and music, but never, never West End Musicals.

What does the next 12 months hold in store for Pauline Black?

The Selecter will be touring internationally for most of the next 12 months, taking in USA, Australia, Far East & Japan & some festivals in Europe.

Looks like most of our readers will get a chance to see you then! Are there any online links you'd like to share with our readers?

www.theselecter.net
www.paulineblack.com
www.twitter.com/paulineblack
www.twitter.com/TheSelecter
www.facebook.com/TheSelecter
www.facebook.com/pauline.black

Finally Pauline, why the hell has nobody made a movie of your life yet?

A script based on my autobiography ‘Black By Design’ is being prepared at the moment by a writer/producer in Los Angeles. More than that I cannot say.

Awesome, I look forward to that. Thank you for speaking to Punk Globe Pauline. Is there anything else you’d like to share with our readers?

I would like to see a 2-Tone tour for the new millennium, because racism and sexism are still rife in the world and I feel that such a tour would highlight these issues. I think that the 2-tone message has got lost somewhere along the way. 2-tone was always bigger than the individual bands that made up the label.

Punk Globe would like to thank Pauline Black for taking time out of her busy schedule to speak to us and recommend her autobiography “Black by Design”, it’s a terrific book. You’ll find links on her website. Let’s hope some entrepreneurial reader has also picked up on that last point and gets a “2-Tone New Millenium Tour” together. I’m waiting to buy my ticket.