Skunk Anansie singer Skin recently released her autobiography It Takes Blood & Guts, and in a wide-ranging new interview with Classic Rock magazine, the London-born singer speaks about her childhood, religion, sexuality, and the importance of having a rebellious streak growing up. Skin also addresses the topic of racism, stating “Racism has grown since Trump came to power and the UK voted for Brexit.”
“Black Lives Matter is really important,” Skin goes on to say, “because there’s been an air, when black people talk about racism, they kind of get shoved to the side. No one really wanted to talk about it. And now it’s put it right smack front and centre in front of people’s faces. It’s really vital that people put this at the forefront of conversation, because racism and anti-semitism have been getting worse and worse over the last few years.
"There some things happening now that have similarities to what was happening in the 1930s, just before Hitler came to power, and it was a slow erosion of rights of people over a long period of time. If you’re not the one being persecuted, it’s very easy to step aside and not get involved.”
“I’m not calling Trump a Nazi,” Skin clarifies, “but I am saying there’s a very drip, drip erosion of rights. So I’m really pleased about Black Lives Matter. I really support it, obviously, because I’m a black person and my life matters. And I think it’s made a lot of white people much more aware of all the subtleties of racism, all the things that are happening that they didn’t see.”
The new issue of Classic Rock magazine, featuring new interviews with cover star Jimmy Page, Black Sabbath, Metallica, Joe Bonamassa and more, is out now. Joe Bonamassa fans might care to check out our special JoeBo bundle, which includes an exclusive official album poster, bespoke limited edition cover, 2x special Royal Tea coasters and 2x Royal Tea Classic Rock tea bags!
Skunk Anansie will undertake a lengthy tour of the UK and mainland Europe in May, June and July 2021.
