Vi Subversa
Vi Subversa | |
|---|---|
| Subversa performing in 2005 Subversa performing in 2005 | |
| Background information | |
| Born | 20 June 1935 London, England, United Kingdom |
| Died | 19 February 2016 (aged 80) |
| Genres | Anarcho punk |
| Occupations | Musician, singer |
| Instruments | Vocals, guitar |
| Years active | 1975–2016 |
| Labels | Crass, XNTrix, Cooking Vinyl |
Frances Sokolov (20 June 1935 – 19 February 2016),[1] better known by her stage name Vi Subversa, was the lead singer, lyricist and rhythm guitarist of British anarcho-punk band Poison Girls.[2]
Biography
[edit | edit source]Subversa was born of Ashkenazi Jewish parents. She spent two years in Israel in the late 1950s working in a ceramic pottery in Beersheba under Nehemia Azaz,[3] before returning to the United Kingdom. She had two children, Pete Fender (born Daniel Sansom, 1964) and Gem Stone (born Gemma Sansom, 1967), who both became members of the punk bands Fatal Microbes and Rubella Ballet.[4]
Subversa's first public performance was at The Body Show at Sussex University in 1975. In 1979, at 44 years old and a mother of two, she released her first single with the Poison Girls.[5] Her lyrics were written from a radical feminist punk perspective.[6]
She is featured in the documentary film She's a Punk Rocker.[7]
Subversa's last musical venture was with the cabaret trio Vi Subversa's Naughty Thoughts, which she formed with Michael Coates and Judy Bayley. She played her final live performance with Naughty Thoughts at Brighton's Green Door Store on 5 December 2015, with The Cravats.[8]
Subversa's son Pete Fender announced on Facebook on 19 February 2016 that she had died, following a short illness.[1]
References
[edit | edit source]- ^ a b Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ Raha, Maria. Cinderella's big score: women of the punk and indie underground. Seal Press, 2005. p. 67.
- ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ Glasper, Ian (2006) The Day the Country Died: A History of Anarcho Punk 1980 - 1984, Cherry Red Books, Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ Cope, Julian. Album of the Month #96. Head Heritage. 2007.
- ^ Leblanc, Lauraine. Pretty in Punk. Rutgers University Press. 1999.
- ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
External links
[edit | edit source]- vi subversa - what a life Official Poison Girls Website
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- 1935 births
- 2016 deaths
- 20th-century anarchists
- 20th-century British guitarists
- 20th-century British Jews
- 20th-century British women singers
- 21st-century anarchists
- 21st-century British guitarists
- 21st-century British Jews
- 21st-century British women singers
- Anarcha-feminists
- Anarcho-punk musicians
- Artists from Beersheba
- British anarchists
- British Ashkenazi Jews
- British expatriates in Israel
- British feminists
- British political music artists
- British punk rock guitarists
- British women punk rock singers
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