PAULINE Black, lead singer of the 2-Tone act The Selecter, celebrates the music of jazz legends Nina Simone and Billie Holiday this Easter weekend.
She will be performing at Selby Town Hall tomorrow with The Blue Jazz Trio, whose ranks include Dire Straits drummer Pick Withers.
As a young black woman growing up in Britain with no visible role models, Black turned to the jazz icons for the source of pride that led her to embrace the stage.
Simone and Holiday's songs had transcended the music world and struck a chord at the heart of the American civil rights movement, and in turn Black fronted the multicultural ska band The Selecter, who had four Top 40 hits in 1979 and 1980 and a top five album too.
She also has acted in films and television shows and on stage, where most notably she played the role of Billie Holiday in All Or Nothing At All at the Tricycle Theatre in London, for which she won the Time Out Award for Best Actress.
Black appeared previously at Selby Town Hall with Selecter Acoustic in 2004, and now returns to her musical roots to present Through The Glass Darkly, her interpretative journey through the songs and lives of her heroines.
Doors open at 7.30pm for an evening of Nina Simone and Billie Holiday. Tickets: £8 advance, £10 door; ring 01757 213758 (press 0).
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