Rock Docs Podcast: Poly Styrene: I Am A Cliche, with guests Sweeping Promises

Rock Docs returns with a new episode about a punk rock icon. Today, your hosts Andy Keatts and David Lizerbram take a look back at the late frontwoman of British punk rock legends X-Ray Spex, Poly Styrene, who is the subject of the 2021 film, Poly Styrene: I Am A Cliche, directed by Celeste Bell and Paul Sng.

Born Marianne Joan Elliott-Said, Poly Styrene was born to a a Scottish-Irish mother and a Somali father. Celeste Bell is her daughter, and she appears in the film and narrates it. Bell takes a personal look at Poly’s life and career, as well as her death in 2011 of cancer.

I Am A Cliche also dives into her childhood as a mixed-race kid in postwar Britain as well as her rise into a dynamic punk rock vocalist in the late ’70s, and some of the mental health issues she dealt with going to New York for the first time. Our hosts also explain, “If you’re looking for a movie where John Lydon and Sid Vicious come off as good guys, this is not the film for you.”

This week’s film was selected by Rock Docs’ special guests Sweeping Promises. After listening to this episode, make sure to go check out their awesome new album, Good Living Is Coming For You.

Hear the latest episode of Rock Docs below and check out the film’s trailer.