Stephanie Phillips and Pauline Black - We Were Here

Join musician and arts journalist Stephanie Phillips as she reclaims the history of rock ’n’ roll. 

We Were Here is a reclamation of rock’n’roll for the Black artists who tore up and re-wrote its rules, by musician, arts and culture journalist and die-hard alternative music superfan, Stephanie Phillips.

As a music journalist and musician who writes for numerous publications including The Guardian, New Statesman, Vice and The Wire, Stephanie started the Black feminist punk band Big Joanie. Her new book promises to rip up the received history of rock ’n’ roll and alternative music and repopulate it with the extraordinary Black artists and influential figures who truly steered its course from the 1930s to the present day.

In this special event, Stephanie discusses vital figures such as Sister Rosetta Tharpe, Little Richard, Jimi Hendrix, Tina Turner, Betty Davis, Poly Styrene, Bad Brains and beyond. Stephanie will be in conversation with performer, singer, artist, band leader and songwriter, Pauline Black. A lifelong love of music inspired by punk and reggae artists from the 1970s led Pauline to join The Selecter, which went on to become a platinum-selling band and one of the most influential within the 2-Tone music scene.