Skunk Anansie were a British rock band, notable for having a black, skinhead, female singer, named Skin (born Deborah Anne Dyer, on 3 August 1967, in Brixton, London). Other members included Cass (Richard Lewis) on bass guitar, Ace (Martin Kent) on guitar and Mark Richardson, who replaced Louis Pavlou after a disagreement with the rest of the band. The original drummer was Robbie France. The group formed in 1994, but broke up in 2001. They were named after the West Indian folk tales of Anansie the spider-man , with "Skunk" added to "make the name nastier" . They were sometimes grouped as part of a Britrock movement, running alongside Britpop.
The group played its first gig at London's Splash club in March 1994 and soon after that two of their songs, "Feed" and "Selling Jesus", appeared on the soundtrack to the movie Strange Days in 1995. The band appear in the film with Louis Pavlou as drummer, though Mark Richardson is mistakenly name checked on later DVD extras probably due to their striking resemblance. "Selling Jesus" became Skunk Anansie's controversial second song to receive radio play, following their first radio release "Little Baby Swastikkka". In 1995 they were voted Best New British Band by the readers of Kerrang! magazine. They were also voted best British Live Act in the same magazine in 1996. In 1997 they were nominated for Best Live Act and Best Group at the MTV Europe Music Awards.
Their first two albums, Paranoid and Sunburnt and Stoosh, were released under One Little Indian Records in 1994 and 1996 respectively. After switching to the Virgin label in 1998, their third and final album, Post Orgasmic Chill, was released in 1999. The single, "Secretly", from this album featured on the soundtrack to the movie Cruel Intentions.
