It Takes Blood and Guts

De: Skin, Lucy O'Brien

Narrado por: Skin, Lucy O’Brien

Duración: 8 h y 43 m

Resumen del Editor

Best music books of 2020

Lead singer of multi-million-selling rock band Skunk Anansie, solo artist, LGBTQ+ activist and all around trail blazer – Skin is a global icon, and she has been smashing stereotypes for over twenty-five years. Her journey from Brixton to one of the most influential women in British rock is nothing short of extraordinary.

‘It’s been a very difficult thing being a lead singer of a rock band looking like me and it still is. I have to say it’s been a fight and it will always be a fight. That fight drives you and makes you want to work harder... It’s not supposed to be easy, particularly if you’re a woman, you’re black or you are gay like me. You’ve got to keep moving forward, keep striving for everything you want to be.’

Born to Jamaican parents, Skin grew up in Brixton in the 1970’s. Her career as an artist began in the ‘90s, when Skunk Anansie was formed in the sweat-drenched backrooms of London’s pubs. Since then she has headlined Glastonbury and toured the world, both as lead singer of Skunk Anansie and as a solo artist.

Her success has been groundbreaking in every way, which has come at a personal cost. She has always been vocal about social and cultural issues, and was championing LGBTQ+ rights at a time when few artists were out and gay.

Told with honesty and passion, this is the story of how a gay, black, working-class girl with a vision fought poverty and prejudice to write songs, produce and front her own band, and become one of the most influential women in British rock.

©2020 Skin and Lucy O'Brien (P)2020 Simon & Schuster UK

Reseñas de la Crítica

"One of the most important females in British music of my lifetime." (Colin Murray)

"A beautiful, raw and exhilarating book that will leave you feeling empowered." (Fearne Cotton)

"The pioneering Skunk Anansie frontwoman’s memories offer a very different take on the Britpop era…Skin’s story is one of a rhomboid peg spurning both the round and square hole, drilling dimensions of her own…We now have a lot of language – intersectionality, microaggressions – to describe many of the events in this memoir. However, nothing can really equal candid, first-hand experience, recounted matter of factly here. It would be instructive for anyone who thought they knew the story of the 90s to spend 300 pages in Skin’s Skin." (Observer)

Loved it! And would definitely read it again.

Skin’s narration is authentic, with a few bonus acapella songs along the way. Best way to listen to it is by listening to the songs as you go through the book. I rediscovered Skunk Anansie’s music through this book, and I am so glad. What a trailblazer she is!