Born in 1953 to Anglo-Jewish/Nigerian parents, Pauline Black was subsequently adopted by a white, working class family in Romford. Never quite at home there, she escaped her small town background and discovered a different way of life - making music. Lead singer for platinum-selling band The Selecter, Pauline Black was the Queen of British Ska. The only woman in a movement dominated by men, she toured with The Specials, Madness, Dexys Midnight Runners when they were at the top of the charts - and, sometimes, on their worst behaviour. From childhood to fame, from singing to acting and broadcasting, from adoption to her recent search for her birth parents,Black By Designis a funny and enlightening story of music, race, family and roots. Its more than a musical memoir. Black paints a vivid portrait of simmering racial tension in Britain after the Second World War... This is also an intelligent and affecting account of life as a black child in a white family, feeling like a cuckoo in somebody elses nest... Britains original rude girl, she approached her job with a fearlessness and determination that carried her through a subsequent acting career... She takes few prisoners, which what you would expect from a woman who has spent a lifetime taking a sledgehammer to race and gender barriers. With Black by Design, one hopes she will get the recognition she deserves. IndependentTheres plenty of on the road tales to please 2-Tone fans, but this is ultimately the story of a brave, intelligent womans struggle to make sense of the nasty world around her. Mojo The perfect poster girl for the 2-Tone record label... she has stories aplenty, and her intelligence and fierce sense of right and wrong make them a fascinating... read. Metro