– not exactly, anyway. As the thrillingly idiosyncratic singer driving X-Ray Spex, one of British punk’s most dynamic bands, her place in history is already assured. But it does reframe the late musician’s impact and legacy in a rather more modern way.might have branded her “one of the least conventional frontpersons in rock history”, but after watchingCo-directed by her daughter Celeste Bell, the film takes a personal approach that is well-judged and affecting.
Later, the film explores Styrene’s 1980s years living at Bhaktivedanta Manor, a Hare Krishna temple in the Hertfordshire countryside. But though she changed her name to Maharani during this period and appeared to retreat from the public eye, Bell says it would be a mistake to presume Styrene was ambivalent about her cult status. “I mean, my mum once told me that she had invented leggings,” she says with a smile. “She’d see fashion trends and say: ‘Oh, I did that in 1975.