Pauline Black has been called “the Queen of Ska”. She came to prominence in the 1970s as the lead singer of the renowned 2-Tone band The Selecter. Pauline has also been an actress with roles in film and television shows. She is a deputy lieutenant for the West Midlands and was recently awarded an OBE by the King. But throughout her childhood, growing up as an black child adopted by a white family in Essex Pauline says she felt like a “cuckoo, in somebody else nest”. Education and Music were her escapes. As she puts it: “Any band is like a surrogate family.”
Warning: Contains discussions of sensitive subjects including racism, and sexual abuse.