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Skin (musician)

Deborah Anne Dyer OBE (born 3 August 1967), known mononymously by the stage name Skin and often erroneously as the name of her band Skunk Anansie, is a British singer, songwriter, and electronic music DJ. She is the lead vocalist of British rock band Skunk Anansie, a band often grouped as part of the Britrock movement in the UK, and has gained attention for her powerful, wide-ranging soprano voice and striking look.

Skin
OBE
Skin at the 2011 Eska Music Awards
Skin at the 2011 Eska Music Awards
Background information
Birth nameDeborah Ann Dyer[1]
Born (1967-08-03) 3 August 1967 (age 57)
OriginBrixton, London, England
Genres
InstrumentsVocals
Years active1994–present
Labels
Websiteskinmusic.net

In 2015, she joined the judging panel of the Italian version of the talent show The X Factor for one season, and in 2016 she was on the cover of the UK lesbian magazine Diva. After releasing new music and touring with Skunk Anansie, in 2018 Skin was featured as one of the cover stars of Classic Rock magazine's special "She Rocks" issue and was honoured with the Inspirational Artist Award at the Music Week Awards ahead of celebrating 25 years of Skunk Anansie. She also appeared on the cover of Kerrang! magazine in November 2018.

Mavis Bayton, author of Frock Rock, stated that "women like Skin, Natacha Atlas, Yolanda Charles, and Debbie Smith are now acting as crucial role models for future generations of black women".[2]

Early life

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Deborah Ann Dyer was born on 3 August 1967 in Brixton, London, to Jamaican parents. Her father was in the Royal Air Force and later worked on oil rigs. Her mother was a nurse before taking a government position in the environmental department. She describes her parents as "very strict, very Jamaican". At the age of 6, she moved into a two-up two-down in Acre Lane, with her grandfather, who ran a nightclub in the basement, in which she mentions there was "always music and rum" and posters of Bob Marley and Muhammad Ali, which inspired her. As a child, she wanted to be a pianist. At the age of 14, she read Macbeth, later stating that she loved the "intricacy and complexity of Shakespeare's play".[3]

Skunk Anansie

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Main article: Skunk Anansie

After forming in 1994, the band released three albums, Paranoid & Sunburnt,[4] Stoosh[5] and Post Orgasmic Chill, which sold more than 4 million copies worldwide;[citation needed] their biggest hit was the single "Weak".[citation needed] The band disbanded in 2001, after which Skin embarked on a solo career, and reformed in 2009. As of 2019 they are still recording and touring. Skunk Anansie have been unapologetic in their reluctance to alter their substance or aesthetic to satisfy others around them since their inception in 1994. Their early singles established the tone. First, an anti-fascist anthem, Little Baby Swastikka. The sequel, Selling Jesus, is a critical examination of organized religion and corporate avarice. The band hit it off right on, releasing six studio albums and touring with David Bowie, U2, and Lenny Kravitz.[6]

Solo career

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Skin performing in 2003

After Skunk Anansie split, Skin released her debut solo album Fleshwounds. The album was toned down from her Skunk Anansie days and did not gain the same acclaim from Skunk Anansie fans. She even ditched her trademark bald look and grew her hair into a boyish crop. While the album was not a massive success in the UK, two singles were released from it: "Trashed" and "Faithfulness". "Lost", a double A-side with "Getting Away with It". Skin felt that her record company didn't put any money or effort into promoting the album in England. She felt they did better in Europe with the album selling over half a million copies.[7]

After releasing Fleshwounds, Skin went on to perform various solo gigs around Europe. She was also support for the European leg of Robbie Williams' and Placebo's world tours.

Soon after touring she began to record her second album, Fake Chemical State, which was released for sale on 20 March 2006, preceded by new single "Just Let the Sun" two weeks earlier. The first single actually issued from this album was "Alone in My Room", a download-only track released on 7 November 2005. "Alone in My Room" was also the name given to Skin's first solo tour in two years, which commenced in Berlin in November 2005. For this album she shaved her head bald again, returning to the look she had in her Skunk Anansie days.

Skin's next solo outing was a small promotional "Fake Chemical State" tour. It started in Glasgow on 17 March 2006. She went on to perform many festivals around Europe including Rock Werchter in Belgium and the Southside/Hurricane festivals in Germany. She performed on the main stage at most of these festivals.

In February 2008, she announced that she was working with Timo Maas and Martin Buttrich on a side project called "Format-3". Her 2008 song "Tear Down These Houses" was released as a part of the soundtrack to Parlami d'Amore, directed by Silvio Muccino.

She sings in the opening musical piece "Renaissance", in Medici: Masters of Florence, a Netflix original series released in October 2016.[8]

Skin has always had a love of electronic music and she moved into the genre when her friend Damian Lazarus gave her a mixer in 2009. Going under the moniker D-Dyer she made her first steps into the DJ world which she has now been doing for the past decade. She plays Techno, Tech House and Minimal all over the world at classic venues such as Output in New York, Sound Nightclub in LA and Fabric in London.

In 2015 Skin collaborated with techno icon Nicole Moudaber and they released the Breed EP on Nicole's Mood Records. It features five tracks including "Don't Talk To Me I'm Dancing". In 2016 she DJ-ed at Carl Cox's Revolution in Ibiza, Coachella and also released Techno music under the guise of Juvenal through Mood Records.

In 2020, Skin participated in the UK version of The Masked Singer, appearing as Duck. Her identity was revealed in episode six, when she was eliminated. A memoir, It Takes Blood and Guts, co-written with Lucy O'Brien, was published by Simon & Schuster in September 2020.[9][1] On 18 October 2020, Skin began presenting a Sunday-night radio show titled The Skin Show on Absolute Radio.[10]

Personal life

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Skin graduated with a BA (Hons) degree in Interior Architecture & Design from Teesside Polytechnic in 1989 and received an honorary Master of Arts degree from Teesside University in 2000.[11] Skin is openly queer.[12] In 2013, she entered into a civil partnership with Christiana Wyly, daughter of American billionaire Sam Wyly.[13] The relationship ended in 2015. In September 2020, Skin announced her engagement to Rayne Baron.[14] In June 2021, the couple announced they are expecting their first child.[15]

In January 2021, Skin assumed the role of Chancellor at Leeds Arts University in Leeds, England.[16][17]

Since the United Kingdom European Union membership referendum in 2016, Skin has talked against Brexit and its effect in terms of rise in racism, labour shortage and impoverishment of British culture in numerous interviews.[18][19][20][21][22]

She was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2021 Birthday Honours for services to music.[23]

After the results of the 2022 Italian election were announced, Skin said that she was disappointed that the Italian people voted for Giorgia Meloni and said that Italy was "sinking towards fascism" once again.[24]

Discography

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Main article: Skin discography
See also: Skunk Anansie discography

Solo studio albums

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Guest appearances

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  • Vocals on "Carmen Queasy" from Maxim's (of The Prodigy) 2000 solo album, Hell's Kitchen – UK Chart Number 33
  • Vocals on "Licking Cream" from Sevendust's second album, Home
  • Vocals on "You Can't Find Peace", by Pale3, which was made for the Tom Tykwer film Der Krieger und die Kaiserin (The Princess and the Warrior)
  • Vocals on "Good Times", by Ed Case – UK Chart Number 68
  • Vocals on "If This Ain't Love" by Erick Morillo & Eddie Thoneick – released 2012
  • Contributes vocals to "Still Standing" from Unity – The Official Athens 2004 Olympic Games Album
  • Performs "Kill Everything" on the OST of L'Empire des Loups
  • Contributes vocals to "La Canzone Che Scrivo Per Te" on the album Che Cosa Vedi by Marlene Kuntz
  • Contributes vocals on "Stagioni D'Amore" (Seasons of Love) from the cast album to the Italian production ofRent
  • Vocals on "Meat" from Tony Iommi's album Iommi
  • Vocals on "Comfort of Strangers" on the OST to Timecode
  • Vocals on "Remains" on the third part of Bastille's Other People's Heartache EP
  • Contributes to charity single "It's Only Rock And Roll"
  • "Not an Addict" (with K's Choice) – live at Pinkpop 1996
  • "Army of Me" (with Björk) – live version on Top of the Pops, 5 May 1995
  • "Anti Love Song" (Betty Davis cover; live on Taratata with Lenny Kravitz)[25]
  • Vocals on "Nothing Matters" by Mark Knight.[26]

References

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  1. ^ a b Chandler, Mark (3 February 2020). "Simon & Schuster scoops Skunk Anansie star Skin's debut memoir". The Bookseller. Archived from the original on 27 August 2024. Retrieved 6 March 2021.
  2. ^ Bayton, Mavis (1998). Frock Rock: Women Performing Popular Music. Oxford: Oxford University Press. p. 191. ISBN 0-19-816615-X.
  3. ^ Philby, Charlotte (7 November 2009). "My Secret Life: Skin, singer, 42". The Independent. Archived from the original on 11 July 2020. Retrieved 12 August 2020.
  4. ^ "Skunk Anansie – Paranoid & Sunburnt". Discogs. Retrieved 3 September 2021.
  5. ^ "Stoosh – Skunk Anansie". Genius. Archived from the original on 27 August 2024. Retrieved 3 September 2021.
  6. ^ Segalov, Michael (6 September 2020). "Skin: 'I refused to play the game'". theguardian.com. Daily Guardian. Archived from the original on 19 June 2024. Retrieved 22 August 2022.
  7. ^ "Interview: Skin from Skunk Anansie". Nottingham Culture. 1 February 2006. Retrieved 14 July 2024.
  8. ^ Giangrasso, Caterina (5 October 2016). "I Medici – ecco la sigla scritta da Paolo Buonvino con Skin". Cinematographe (in Italian). Archived from the original on 27 August 2024. Retrieved 4 November 2018.
  9. ^ "It Takes Blood and Guts Hardcover – 24 Sept 2020". Amazon (company). Archived from the original on 27 August 2024. Retrieved 6 March 2021.
  10. ^ "Skunk Anansie lead singer Skin joins Absolute Radio". 30 September 2020. Archived from the original on 20 October 2020. Retrieved 17 October 2020.
  11. ^ "Musical Link for Two Teesside Graduates". Teesside University. 1 March 2014. Archived from the original on 16 June 2021. Retrieved 3 September 2021.
  12. ^ Romano, Tricia (30 November 1995). "Skin and no bones about it". The Online Daily of University of Washington. The University of Washington Student Newspaper. Archived from the original on 16 February 2007.
  13. ^ Gubbins, Teresa (9 April 2018). "Kimbal Musk and Wyly heiress celebrate wedding at Dallas restaurant". CultureMap. Archived from the original on 27 August 2024. Retrieved 9 April 2018.
  14. ^ "Skin annuncia il matrimonio con la fidanzata Ladyfag: "È ciò che ho sempre voluto"". Huffington Post (Italian edition). 22 September 2020. Archived from the original on 23 September 2020. Retrieved 23 September 2020.
  15. ^ "Skin and Ladyfag are expecting a baby: Soon we will be three". Italy24 News Entertainment. 24 June 2021. Retrieved 15 July 2021.
  16. ^ "Leeds Arts University announces Skin as its first Chancellor | Leeds Arts University". www.leeds-art.ac.uk. Archived from the original on 13 August 2023. Retrieved 15 July 2021.
  17. ^ "Skin set to stay as Leeds Arts University Chancellor | Leeds Arts University". www.leeds-art.ac.uk. Retrieved 11 September 2024.
  18. ^ Pingitore, Silvia (10 July 2021). "Skunk Anansie's Skin: a politically incorrect interview". the-shortlisted.co.uk. Retrieved 15 July 2021.
  19. ^ "Skunk Anansie's Skin: "Racism has grown since Trump came to power and the U.K. voted for Brexit"". NME. 20 October 2020. Archived from the original on 27 February 2021. Retrieved 15 July 2021.
  20. ^ "Skunk Anansie's Skin: "Brexit Is A Disaster"". Kerrang!. 16 November 2018. Archived from the original on 15 July 2021. Retrieved 15 July 2021.
  21. ^ Griffin, Louise (20 October 2020). "Skunk Anansie's Skin says 'racism has grown' since Trump was elected and Brexit". Metro. Retrieved 15 July 2021.
  22. ^ October 2020, Paul Brannigan19 (19 October 2020). "Racism has grown since Trump came to power and the UK voted for Brexit, says Skunk Anansie's Skin". Classic Rock Magazine. Archived from the original on 15 July 2021. Retrieved 15 July 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  23. ^ "No. 63377". The London Gazette (Supplement). 12 June 2021. p. B11.
  24. ^ [1] https://web.archive.org/web/20220924143643/https://www.notizie.virgilio.it/giorgia-meloni-la-cantante-skin-si-scaglia-contro-la-leader-di-fratelli-d-italia-dure-accuse-di-fascismo-1542861
  25. ^ "Taratata". Mytaratata.com (in French). Retrieved 26 July 2021.
  26. ^ "Mark Knight - Nothing Matters ft. Skin (youtube)". 16 July 2012. Archived from the original on 2 November 2022. Retrieved 2 November 2022 – via YouTube.

Sources

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  • Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
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