An artist is an artist is an artist is an artist. Skunk Anansie’s new single, one of their strongest releases for quite some time, is something a few of London’s art galleries, curators as well as the new breed of art media darling gatekeepers could maybe do with paying attention to. It is feeling rather ageist out there right now (as we kind of said in that bit about the best art of 2024 the other day) . I guess Skin and company are aiming their shots at those who keep gate for the music industry and a from a feminist point of view, ageism is hitting us all though, well in the visual art world it certainly is. We’re with them on the chips as well!

And we see Skunk Anansie are playing a couple of dates at London’s rather big Roundhouse as part of a UK tour in late March, which I make to be something like 30 or so years since that played one of their very first gigs right over the street at the then Camden Monarch on an Organ bill. It was one of those gigs where everyone turned up to find out what the buzz was about, it was week after that still much talked about Huge Baby/Panixphere show in the same venue (we must open up the old boxes in the corner of the studio and find the flyers) and this is way before the Barfly at the Monrach days, this is back when the venue was still downstairs and the stage was tiny, that was probably the night Skunk Anansie really arrived on the scene, until that point they were a band being talked about by those in the know, after that show they seriously exploded a couple of months later everyone knew who they were. For a couple of months of so back there it was fun putting those Organ nights on at the Monarch (the book is coming… maybe?)

“AN ARTIST IS AN ARTIST” LYRICS: AN ARTIST IS AN ARTIST WHEN AN ARTIST IS AN ARTIST AND SHE DON’T STOP BEING AN ARTIST ‘COS SHE’S OLD YOU KNOW SHE DON’T ROLL DOWN HER SLEEVES PICK UP HER ZIMMER FRAME AND LEAVE PUT DOWN HER PEN PUT ON HER HAT BECAUSE OF MENOPAUSE AN ARTIST IS AN ARTIST ‘TIL HER HEART AND ALL ITS ARTERIES CLOG UP AND WHITE BLOOD CELLS THEY UN-SUSPEND THEMSELVES AN ARTIST IS AN ARTIST ‘TIL DEATH DO US DEPART-EST ‘TIL THE BRAIN HAS A CESSATION OF ITS FUNCTIONALS AN ARTIST IS AN ARTIST AN ARTIST IS AN ARTIST AN ARTIST IS AN ARTIST AN ARTIST IS AN ARTIST GO FIGURE IT OUT AN ARTIST IS AN ARTIST WHEN AN ARTIST IS AN ARTIST AND THEY DON’T STOP BEING AN ARTIST ‘COS OF YOU YER KNOW THEY DON’T DO ALL YOU SAY PACK UP THEIR LIFE AND DIE AWAY ‘COS THEY THINK ALL YOUR LITTLE VIEWS ARE EDUCATIONAL THERE ARE DAYS WHEN THEY SUSPEND IDEAS AND RETICENCE BEGINS TO WEAR UPON A TIRED MIND AND THEY FEEL BAD OF COURSE AND THEN THEY READ YOUR SHIT AND LOSE THE FUCKING WILL TO LIVE ‘COS YOUR STUPIDITY IS RAISED ABOVE THEIR PRINCIPLES AN ARTIST IS AN ARTIST AN ARTIST IS AN ARTIST AN ARTIST IS AN ARTIST AN ARTIST IS AN ARTIST GO FIGURE IT OUT GO FIGURE IT OUT GO FIGURE IT OUT GO FIGURE IT OUT AN ARTIST IS AN ARTIST WITHOUT FOLLOWERS OR FARTISTS WITHOUT COMMENTS, WITHOUT VIEWS WITHOUT CONSEQUENCE THEY AIN’T HERE FOR YOUR PLEASURE CHANGING UP LIKE BRITISH WEATHER ‘COS TODAY YOU DON’T LIKE MAYONNAISE ON CHIPS AGAIN AND WHILE I’M HERE IT’S CHIPS NOT FRIES SO DON’T GET FUCKING BUTTERFLIES I DIDN’T HANG AROUND TO BE MY OWN ECHO ‘COS AN ARTIST IS AN ARSEST WHEN THEY WANNA BE ANARCHIC ‘COS THE NARCISSIST IN ARTIST IS BEAUTIFUL AN ARTIST IS AN ARTIST AN ARTIST IS AN ARTIST AN ARTIST IS AN ARTIST OH AN ARTIST IS AN ARTIST YEAH AN ARTIST IS AN ARTIST AN ARTIST IS AN ARTIST AN ARTIST IS AN ARTIST AN ARTIST IS AN ARTIST GO FIGURE IT OUT GO FIGURE IT OUT GO FIGURE IT OUT OUT OUT GO FIGURE GO FIGURE GO FIGURE