Skin Skunk Anansie

About

British Jamaican singer, songwriter, musician and DJ known for being the lead singer of the rock band Skunk Anansie, a band known for their albums Paranoid & Sunburnt, Stoosh, and Post Orgasmic Chill and for the songs "Weak," "Hedonism (Just Because You Feel Good)," "Charity," and "Selling Jesus." She is also known for her solo albums Fleshwounds and Fake Chemical State.

Before Fame

She studied piano and classical notation starting when she was 6 years old. She then began singing and exploring performing with the encouragement of her grandfather who ran a nightclub in the basement of their home. She attended Teesside Polytechnic and graduated with a degree in Interior Architecture & Design in 1989. She originally did background vocal and session work before forming Skunk Anansie in 1994 with musicians Ace, Cass, and Mark Richardson. She and Skunk Anansie released their first album Paranoid & Sunburnt in 2005.

Trivia

She was the first black woman to headline the Glastonbury Festival in 1999. She shaved her head in her early 20s as a bold statement of identity and self-ownership which became her signature look. She released a memoir titled It Takes Blood and Guts in 2020. She was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire in 2023 for her services to music.

Family Life

Her real name is Deborah Ann Dyer. She grew up in a strict Jamaican household in Brixton, England. She also spent part of her childhood in Manchester, Jamaica.

Associated With

She performed live with Björk on the song "Army of Me."