She Bop
Suzi Quatro
by Allan Ballard
1981
NPG x125284
Past display archive
8 July - 3 November 2003
Bookshop Gallery
Free
Lucy O'Brien's book She Bop II The Definitive History of Women in Rock, Pop and Soul is the focus of this Bookshop Gallery display. She Bop II is the second, updated and revised edition of the pioneering book first published in 1995 that gave a feminist perspective and comprehensive overview of women's contribution to popular music from the early American Blues singers of the 1920s up to the present day.
In preparation of this book O'Brien conducted over 250 interviews in Britain and America between 1984 and 2001 to make it an indispensable and comprehensive study.
Previously Lucy O'Brien has published two best-selling monographs on Annie Lennox (1991) and Dusty Springfield (1989,1999) as well as having crucial first-hand experience of female empowerment by being in her own girl punk band in the late 1970s, The Catholic Girls.
This display of twenty works from the 1960s onwards, ranging from Marianne Faithfull to PJ Harvey via The Slits, is supplemented with a prequel featuring eight other portraits of early pop women that can be seen on the First Floor in Room 31 (until 1 September 2002). This includes the first all woman group The Ivy Benson Band and other icons such as Shirley Bassey and Petula Clark who were as famous in the 1950s as they are today. All these and other rock and pop images can be accessed through touch screens in the easy-to-use IT Gallery located off the Main Entrance Hall in the Ondaatje Wing.
The National Portrait Gallery would particularly like to thank all those involved in the preparation of this show, especially Lucy O'Brien who first suggested the idea and all the photographers: Allan Ballard, Andrew Catlin, Caroline Coon, Jill Furmanovsky, Ian Dickson, Gered Mankowitz, Terry O'Neill, Mike Owen, Sheila Rock, Pennie Smith, Eric Watson and Val Wilmer. They have kindly allowed their work to be included and have produced the archival prints shown here that we are delighted to be able to add to the Gallery's permanent collection.
Sinéad O'Connor
by Andrew Catlin
May 1988
NPG x35992
Sade
by Sheila Rock
1984
NPG x88054
Madonna
by Eric Watson
1984
NPG x125306
Related portraits
- Sandie Shaw (NPG x125321)
- Marianne Faithfull (NPG x88064)
- Dusty Springfield (NPG x125340)
- Ari-Up (NPG x125298)
- Paul Gustave Simonon; Ari-Up and an unknown man (NPG x125299)
- Ari-Up (NPG x125300)
- Siouxie Sioux (NPG x125301)
- Poly Styrene (Marion Elliot) (NPG x125302)
- Kate Bush (NPG x125369)
- Joan Armatrading (NPG x125366)
- Debbie Harry (NPG x125338)
- The Slits' (Ari-Up; Tessa Pollitt; Viv Albertine) (NPG x125339)
- Suzi Quatro (NPG x125284)
- Annie Lennox (NPG x125307)
- Sade (NPG x88054)
- Madonna (NPG x125285)
- Madonna (NPG x125306)
- Sinéad O'Connor (NPG x35992)
- Shakespears Sister (Marcella Detroit; Siobhan Fahey) (NPG x88145)
- k.d. lang (NPG x125364)
- Chrissie Hynde; Jill Furmanovsky (NPG x125363)
- Björk (NPG x125365)
- P.J. Harvey (NPG x125367)
Related sitters
- Viviane ('Viv') Albertine
- Ari-Up (Arianna Forster)
- Joan Armatrading
- Björk Gudmundsdóttir
- Kate Bush
- Marcella Detroit
- Siobhan Fahey
- Marianne Faithfull
- Jill Furmanovsky
- Deborah ('Debbie') Harry
- Polly Jean ('P.J.') Harvey
- Chrissie Hynde
- Kathryn Dawn ('k.d.') Lang
- Annie Lennox
- Madonna (Madonna Louise Veronica Ciccone)
- Sinéad O'Connor (Shuhada' Sadaqat (née Sinéad Marie Bernadette O'Connor, formerly Magda Davitt))
- Tessa Pollitt
- Poly Styrene (Marion Elliot)
- Suzi Quatro (Susan Kay Quatrocchio)
- Sade (Helen Folasade Adu)
- Sandie Shaw (née Sandra Goodrich)
- Paul Gustave Simonon
- Siouxsie Sioux (Susan Ballion)
- Dusty Springfield