Skunk Anansie vocalist Skin knows a thing or two about stardom. Her band's first two albums gatecrashed the UK Top 10 on release and in 1999, she became the first Black woman to headline the massive Glastonbury festival in the UK. By that point the band had crossed over from Britrock into the pop-star sphere, and in a new interview in the latest issue of Metal Hammer she discusses what it was like suddenly coming face to face with some of the biggest names in music.
“We played a lot with David Bowie," she says. "He was the ultimate inspiration. I loved him. I was nervous meeting him, because there are certain people who’re elevated beyond everybody else. But he was just a down-to-earth dude. And his wife Iman is as hugely iconic as he is, and she was a delight as well."
Bowie wasn't the only rock icon Skin was close to, however. Early in their careers, Skunk Anansie found themselves adopted by fellow Brits Motorhead, becoming close friends with frontman Lemmy.
“He was very gentle," Skin recalls when asked what the rock'n'roll legend was like. "He was the most authentic person I’ve met. He was who he was, and he wasn’t going to hide it. Also, he had absolutely the most perfect skin you’d ever imagine on a man, good baby skin. He was such a gentleman. We were writing music together whenever I was in LA, and I had the sweetest messages from him. I remember one time I was supposed to write with him, and I couldn’t, because I’d had a break-up, and he just left me the loveliest, kindest thing: ‘I’m here for you. Come over to LA and we’ll hang out.’ He was a sweetheart.”
Skin admits she wasn't keen on everybody she met in the 90s, however. Perhaps unsurprisingly for a band who were staunchly outspoken and had songs like Yes It's Fucking Political, she has some choice words about the phenomenon of 90s boybands.
"The only people that I didn’t like were boybands," she admits. "Five were fucking horrible. I think it’s because they didn’t have control, they didn’t write their songs, they were just puppets.”
Read the full interview in the new issue of Metal Hammer, on-sale now. Order it online and have it delivered straight to your door!
Skunk Anansie's new album The Painful Truth is set for release on May 23 via FLG. The band are on tour now and play UK shows with The Smashing Pumpkins later this year. For the full list of dates, visit their official website.
