|
|
This article belongs to the story I Just Can’t Stop It: The Beat’s debut album. |
Introduction
In 1979 British music magazine Melody Maker published an article on the emerging ska scene, which depicted a 1964 photo of a 19 year old woman twisting with Jamaican ska pioneer Pince Buster. Cartoonist Hunt Emerson used that photo as inspiration for the “Beat girl” logo of ska-band The Beat. But, who was the woman?
Prince Buster & Brigitte Bond – Twistint at Heathrow Airport, London, 02/25/1964
Brigitte Bond
The girl in question was Brigitte Bond. The first time her name appears on paper anywhere stems from early February 1964. By that time she is known as a musician/singer. It’s in that capacity she is present at Heathrow Airport in London, where Prince Buster arrives on February 25, 1964. The famous twist photo is shot on this day.
Brigitte Bond – Blue Beat Baby
The press shows many photos of Prince Buster and Brigitte Bond. In an interview Prince Buster states that Bond has made several records, including Blue Beat Baby. That song was first promoted on March 14, 1964, in the Record Mirror magazine. On April 4, 1964, that same magazine runs a review of the single. Meanwhile Bond regularly performs in London clubs, like The California Ballroom, The Marquee, The Cellar Club and The Famingo.
On May 21, 1964, the Evening Standard published an article titled I’ll be Lady Waller in 4 months. Bond had met Sir John Waller, a well-known poet, author and reporter. Soon, their engegment was annonced, which was just as swiftly broken off when Bond turned out to be a trans-woman. Overnight, she became one of the first publicly known trans-women in the world. Late May/early June 1964 the news was announced with an original press photo and accompaying text.
LONDON: Brigitte Bond, who used to be a boy, also used to be engaged to Sir John Waller, but now the wedding is off. Sir John discovered that it wouldn’t be possible for them to have children. So Brigitte, who underwent a sex-change operation, has changed her plans of becoming a bride to continue with her singing career in London. Also, the 22-year-old entertainer has a secure future, since she is due to inherit a fortune, left by her grandfather, when she reaches 25 years of age.
Brigitte Bond – Newspaper clipping – Sex-change
Luckily, the news didn’t damage her career, as bookings kept flowing in. Far from it, Bond’s new management team advertised their client as “the controversial sex change girl with the velvet singing voice”. She frequently performed at The Pelican Club, which was on the authorities’ radar because of alleged stripteases ending in full nudity.
Brigitte Bond/Brigitte St. John vs Billy Graham
On June 18, 1965, Bond (who adopted the surname St. John or Saint John around that time) publicly protested against the American evangelist Billy Graham and his stance on mini-skirts, which he considered to be sinful. Once again, she was in the news spotlights.
Sometime later she would play in movies as Brigitte St. John and perform in night clubs in Spain, Gran Canaria and Portugal. In 1969 she played in two movies: La muchacha del Nilo and La esclava del paraíso. In February 1970 Brigitte appeared topless in English magazines Beautiful Britons Magazine and Spick Magazine.
Brigitte Bond/Brigitte St. John – Gay Club, Madrid
From 1970 to 1973 Bond regularly performed in night clubs in Italy and Spain, sometimes as a so-called ‘supervedette’ (the leader of a revue, who also dances, sings and acts herself). From 1974 onwards she performed at the Gay Club, the first ever LGBT club in Madrid (which wasn’t a safe place to be at, especially in Franco’s Spain).
It’s not exactly clear what happened next to Brigitte Bond/St. John/Saint John. In an April 1976 interview she stated she lived in Italy and that her name was Giovanna. From then on out it’s like she vanished from the face of the earth.
Melody Maker – Rudies come back! – 05/19/1979
Melody Maker
On May 19, 1979, Melody Maker published the article Rudies Come Back!, a (hi)story of ska and the revival that was growing undergound at the time. The twist photo of Prince Buster and Brigitte Bond is printed with the article and subsequently used as inpiration for the “Beat girl” logo.
Acknowledgement
This article would have been much shorter it it wasn’t for the blogs on the website MISS UPSETTER DESIGNS. Please watch the excellent documentary on Briggite Bond by MISS UPSETTER DESIGNS below.
