Pauline Black
| Pauline Black | |
|---|---|
Black in San Francisco, 2005
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Belinda Magnus |
| Born |
23 October 1953 Romford, London, England |
| Genres | |
| Occupation(s) |
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| Instruments | Vocals |
| Years active | 1979–present |
| Labels | |
| Associated acts |
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| Website | paulineblack |
Belinda Magnus (23 October 1953), better known as Pauline Black, is an English singer, actress and author.
In a music career spanning more than 30 years, Black came to prominence in the late 1970s as the lead singer of the 2 Tone ska revival band the Selecter, which released four singles that entered the Top 40 charts in the United Kingdom during the 1970s and the 1980s, including "On My Radio", "Three Minute Hero", "Missing Words" and "The Whisper". Rolling Stone said of Black "Hands down, Pauline Black possessed the best voice that ever graced a 2-Tone release. Blessed with a bewitching soprano and dramatic panache, Black's voice reached plateaus that made every other musical detail sound like part of a backdrop painted just to set the stage for her entrance."
Black has also been an actress, with roles in films and television.
Belinda Magnus was born on 23 October 1953, in Romford, east London, England, to an Anglo-Jewish teenage mother and Nigerian father. She was adopted by a white middle-aged couple and given the name Pauline Vickers. Her biological father, Gordon Adenle, had come to London from Nigeria to study engineering and was a Yoruba prince. Black was unaware of her Jewish heritage until the age of 42 when she traced her birth mother. Black studied science at Lanchester Polytechnic (now Coventry University) before training as a radiographer in Coventry. Upon completion of her studies she worked for the NHS for five years before she entered the music industry.
Black was a founding member of 2 Tone ska band the Selecter who were formed in Coventry in 1979. The Selecter, along with the Specials and Madness, are credited with starting the ska revival movement. She adopted a stage name in order to conceal her involvement in the band from her employer, choosing the surname Black partly in reaction to her upbringing - her adoptive family had always referred to her as "coloured" rather than black.
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Wikipedia