did you know that the 'beat girl' is a trans woman ? — all about brigitte bond 🏳️⚧️
most punks / rudies should be familiar with this character. she's the beat girl — the mascot for english ska band 'the beat' and a somewhat-counterpart to walt jabsco (the rude boy character who appears on many 2-tone records). much like walt, whose design was inspired by that of peter tosh, the beat girl also has a real-life inspiration — brigitte bond, a singer, dancer, actress and pioneering transgender woman.
i first learnt about this whilst reading a magazine — i forget which one, but brigitte instantly stuck with me, and she's become one of my favourite people to infodump about. before i get into this however, i will say there's a lot of unknown and inconsistent information, so keep that in mind ! i would also like to acknowledge the youtuber miss upsetter designs, as she has been monumental in the archiving and research of brigitte's story.
the story begins in 1979, with cartoonist hunt emerson attempting to design a logo for the beat. he turns to the latest copy of melody maker, and finds a 1964 photograph of prince buster — the king of ska — doing the twist with a young woman. she was 19 year old brigitte bond, a rude girl and fan of buster, who travelled to heathrow airport to greet him upon his arrival.
left: prince buster & brigitte bond dancing at heathrow airport (feb 25, 1964). right: emerson's illustration of the beat girl
it was this image which emerson referenced when designing the beat girl — obviously. but what do we know about the girl herself ?
born in the mid-40s in either france or malta, there's not much known about brigitte's early life. what we do know is that by the early 60s, she ended up in london and got her start performing at the 2i's coffee bar — one of the most important venues in rock 'n' roll history. it was here where she was noticed by an agent and signed to blue beat records, and subsequently released the single 'blue beat baby'.
here's the song ! ⬇️
the first mention of brigitte being trans came in mid-1964. brigitte was due to marry a man known as sir john waller, who needed an heir in order for him to access a large inheritance. he proposed to brigitte in the hopes that they'd have a child together, but being trans, of course brigitte couldn't get pregnant ! this was written about in various articles.
my favourite anecdote about brigitte occurred on 18 june, 1966. billy graham, an evangelist and all-round rotten person, visited soho (which he called a "notoriously sinful area") to preach his conservative beliefs. it was here where brigitte crashed his appearance. furious over a comment he made about miniskirts being sinful, she proceeded to climb on top of his car and shout "billy, what do you think about my miniskirt?" true punk attitude ! there are numerous articles about it and even a video — take a look :
( you can see her climb onto the car at 2:58 ! )
being a singer, dancer and all-round legend weren't the only things brigitte dabbled in however — she was also a model (particularly for adult magazines) and an actress ! she began her acting career in 1967 under the name 'brigitte st. john', and starred in films such as 'herostratus' and 'la muchacha del nilo'.
to conclude, i absolutely adore the bones of brigitte. her enduring pride and self assurance — all the way back as far as the 50s — goes to show that trans people have always existed, and will continue to do so for as long as this earth keeps spinning ! as mentioned before, miss upsetter designs cannot be praised highly enough for the amazing job she's done at archiving information about this amazing woman. below i will link both a timeline and documentary — both created by miss upsetter designs. if you're interested in learning even more about brigitte, PLEASE go show miss upsetter designs some love !
Hello! If you are reading this post, chances are you saw my documentary, "Blue Beat Baby: The Untold Story of Brigitte". First off, thank yo
hi~ today i'm bringing you Mirror In The Bathroom by The Beat (or The English Beat)
this is another one of the big bands that released 2Tone music during those few 2Tone years. their sound mixes 2tone with a "beat" of New Wave and Reggae Rock.
ok, now to what i wanted to talk about.
you see that iconic ska Rude Girl silhouette? it's based on a photography of trans ska singer Brigitte Bond dancing with Jamaican musician Prince Buster:
and guess what. there's a 30 minute documentary on youtube about her.
from the video description:
The Beat Girl has been representative of ska, ska subculture, and women in ska since 1979, but little has been known about the real woman who inspired the icon....until now.
This never-before-told story will take you back in time to 1964 and introduce you to the world of movers and shakers, musicians and mods, ska and strip clubs...and The Fabulous Brigitte Bond.
Brigitte Bond / Brigitte Saint John / Brigitte St. John was the earliest known transgender ska musician and was also the woman who inspired the iconic "Beat Girl" logo for 2-Tone band The Beat.
ok let's do another song by them more in line with the 2Tone sound but without a music video
he Beat Girl has been synonymous with ska, ska subculture and women in ska since 1979, but little is known about the real woman who inspired the icon.
This never-before-told story takes you back to 1964 and into the world of movers and shakers, musicians and mods, ska and strip clubs … and the fabulous Brigitte Bond.
Brigitte Bond / Brigitte Saint John / Brigitte St. John was the earliest known transgender ska musician and was also the woman who inspired the iconic "Beat Girl" logo for the 2-Tone band The Beat.
A new documentary sheds light on the true story behind The Beat Girl. It's an image instantly familiar to anyone connected to the ska world:
“Seemingly lifted from a reprinted photograph in a 1979 report by Melody Maker on the ska revival and 2-tone, the cartoon was sculpted by Hunt Emerson, and based on a fascinating young woman.
Brigitte Bond – also known as Brigitte Saint John / Brigitte St. John – was a huge ska fan, who went on to record for UK label Blue Beat. She was also a trans pioneer, and her ultimate fate remains a mystery.
The new documentary was pieced together by Miss Upsetter, a film maker and designer whose work is well worth checking out.
The film is fascinating – a 30 minute deep-dive into ska, and the life of a true original: Brigitte Bond.”
