Alannah Joy Currie (born 20 September 1957) is a New Zealand artist based in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

. She is a musician and

activist Activism (or Advocacy) consists of efforts to promote, impede, direct or intervene in social, political, economic or environmental reform with the desire to make changes in society toward a perceived greater good. Forms of activism range fro ...

, best known as a former member of the pop band

Thompson Twins Thompson Twins were a British Pop music, pop band formed in 1977 in Sheffield. Initially a New wave music, new wave group, they switched to a more mainstream pop sound and achieved considerable popularity during the mid-1980s, scoring a string ...

Career

Born in New Zealand and trained as a journalist, Currie emigrated to the UK in 1977. Currie

squatted Squatting is the action of occupying an abandoned or unoccupied area of land or a building, usually residential, that the squatter does not own, rent or otherwise have lawful permission to use. The United Nations estimated in 2003 that there ...

in South London. She formed a band the Unfuckables that performed a single

gig Gig or GIG may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Gig'' (Circle Jerks album) (1992) * ''Gig'' (Northern Pikes album) (1993) * ''The Gig'', a 1985 film written and directed by Frank D. Gilroy * GIG, a character in ''Hot Wheels AcceleRacers'' ...

. In 1981, Currie joined Tom Bailey,

Joe Leeway Joseph Martin Leeway (born 15 November 1955) is a British musician and songwriter, who is best known as being a member of the pop music, pop band Thompson Twins, joining the band in 1981 after being one of their Road crew, roadies. Leeway was b ...

, and others to form part of

, the line-up of which included up to seven members in its early days. Thompson Twins became a trio in 1982 and signed two major

recording contract A recording contract (commonly called a record contract or record deal) is a legal agreement between a record label and a recording artist (or group), where the artist makes a record (or series of records) for the label to sell and promote. Artists ...

s with

Arista Records Arista Records () is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the North American division of the Japanese conglomerate Sony. The label was previously handled by BMG Entertainmen ...

before signing with

Warner Bros. Records Warner Records Inc. (formerly Warner Bros. Records Inc.) is an American record label. A subsidiary of the Warner Music Group, it is headquartered in Los Angeles, California. It was founded on March 19, 1958, as the recorded music division of the ...

. Currie was a lyricist, percussionist, visual stylist, and backing vocalist in the band for 15 years. She co-wrote and recorded six studio albums which included gold and platinum records and the hits "

Doctor! Doctor! "Doctor! Doctor!" is a song performed by the British new wave band Thompson Twins. It is the second single from the band's fourth studio album, ''Into the Gap'' (1984). It was written by Tom Bailey, Alannah Currie and Joe Leeway, and prominent ...

", " Hold Me Now", and "

You Take Me Up "You Take Me Up" is a song by British pop group Thompson Twins, released as the third single from their fourth studio album, ''Into the Gap'' (1984), on 19 March 1984. It was written by Tom Bailey, Alannah Currie and Joe Leeway and prominently ...

". The band performed at the JFK Stadium, Philadelphia for the 1985

Live Aid Live Aid was a multi-venue benefit concert held on Saturday 13 July 1985, as well as a music-based fundraising initiative. The original event was organised by Bob Geldof and Midge Ure to raise further funds for relief of the 1983–1985 fami ...

concert and worked with artists including

Nile Rodgers Nile Gregory Rodgers Jr. (born September 19, 1952) is an American musician, record producer and composer. The co-founder of Chic, Rodgers has written, produced, and performed on records that have sold more than 500 million albums and 75 million ...

Madonna Madonna Louise Ciccone (; ; born August 16, 1958) is an American singer-songwriter and actress. Widely dubbed the " Queen of Pop", Madonna has been noted for her continual reinvention and versatility in music production, songwriting, a ...

Grace Jones Grace Beverly Jones (born 19 May 1948) is a model, singer and actress. Born in Jamaica, she and her family moved to Syracuse, New York, when she was a teenager. Jones began her modelling career in New York state, then in Paris, working for ...

Alex Sadkin Alex Sadkin (April 9, 1949July 25, 1987) was an American record producer, engineer, mixer and mastering engineer. Sadkin grew up in Fort Lauderdale, Florida across the street from Bennett Elementary School, and played saxophone in Sunrise Junio ...

and

Jerry Harrison Jeremiah Griffin Harrison (born February 21, 1949) is an American songwriter, musician, producer, and entrepreneur. He began his professional music career as a member of the cult band the Modern Lovers before becoming keyboardist and guitarist ...

Talking Heads Talking Heads were an American rock band formed in 1975 in New York City and active until 1991.Talkin ...

amongst others. Her songwriting credits also include " I Want That Man", an international hit for

Deborah Harry Deborah Ann Harry (born Angela Trimble; July 1, 1945) is an American singer, songwriter and actress, best known as the lead vocalist of the band Blondie. Four of her songs with the band reached on the US charts between 1979 and 1981. Born in ...

in 1989. In 1984 the band participated in the "first international satellite installation" by

Nam June Paik Nam June Paik (; July 20, 1932 – January 29, 2006) was a Korean American artist. He worked with a variety of media and is considered to be the founder of video art. He is credited with the first use (1974) of the term "electronic super hi ...

Good Morning, Mr. Orwell "Good Morning, Mr. Orwell" was the first international satellite "installation" by Nam June Paik, a South Korean-born American artist often credited with inventing video art. It occurred on New Year's Day, 1984. The event, which Paik saw as a r ...

. By 1992, Currie and her then husband, fellow Thompson Twins band member Tom Bailey, elected to form

Babble Babble may refer to: * ''Babble'' (That Petrol Emotion album), 1987 album by That Petrol Emotion * ''Babble'' (Coyne & Krause album), 1979 album by Kevin Coyne And Dagmar Krause * Babble (band), a later incarnation of the Thompson Twins * Babb ...

, featuring Currie as lyricist, percussionist and visual artist, as a means of creating music without the commercial expectations that were placed on

. In 1994 Babble released their debut studio album, '' The Stone''. Currie later returned to New Zealand working primarily as a glass artist and

environmental activist The environmental movement (sometimes referred to as the ecology movement), also including conservation and green politics, is a diverse philosophical, social, and political movement for addressing environmental issues. Environmentalists advoc ...

. She was the founder of the women's anti-

genetic engineering Genetic engineering, also called genetic modification or genetic manipulation, is the modification and manipulation of an organism's genes using technology. It is a set of technologies used to change the genetic makeup of cells, including t ...

movement Mothers Against Genetic Engineering in Food and the Environment (MAdGE). In 2003 she designed a series of protest

billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

s that caused controversy in New Zealand and won several international art and science awards. In 2004 she returned to London where she works under the name Miss Pokeno and makes art that fuses "joyful dissent" with disruptive and uncomfortable narratives. Her practice plays on the boundary between the humorous and threatening, as with the (semi-) mythological militant feminists The Sisters of Perpetual Resistance and the Armchair Destructivists. She has a studio in London called Doyce Street Studios Projects. In 2022, her artwork was shown in London in a group show, ''Five Needle Five Wire'', curated by

Roxana Halls Roxana Halls (born 1974, UK) is a figurative painter known for her images of wayward women who refuse to conform to society’s expectations. She has been widely praised for her draughtsmanship, wry humour, and disturbing narratives. She lives wi ...

and Wendy Elia. Other artists included

Sarah Maple Sarah Maple is a British visual artist. She was recognised for her work after being awarded the "New Sensations" prize. Early life and education Maple was born in 1985 to a Kenyan Muslim mother and British father. In 2003, she went through a ...

Adelaide Damoah Adelaide Damoah RWA FRSA (born ) is a British painter and performance artist of Ghanaian descent who uses her body as the starting point for much of her work. Themes of particular interest include feminism, colonialism, religion and spirituality ...

, Wendy Elia,

, Rebecca Fontaine-Wolf, Marie-Anne Mancio, Annie Attridge, Carmen and Luisa,

Vicki DaSilva Vicki DaSilva (born c. 1960) is an American light painter and graffiti artist. She makes single frame time exposure photographs at night, which she terms ‘light graffiti’. Career DaSilva made her first deliberate text light graffiti photograph ...

, Farrah Riley Gray, Fiona Robinson, Tina True,

Julie Umerle Julie Umerle is an American-born abstract painter who lives and works in London. __TOC__ Biography Umerle was born in Connecticut USA and relocated to London with her family as a young child. She studied French Literature at the Univers ...

, Jessica Voorsanger and Chloe Wing.Five Needle Five Wire, Thamesside Studios Gallery
/ref>

References

External links

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Miss Pokeno
{{DEFAULTSORT:Currie, Alannah 1957 births Women new wave singers Living people New Zealand emigrants to England New Zealand expatriates in England 20th-century New Zealand women singers New Zealand songwriters Feminist musicians People educated at Mount Roskill Grammar School Musicians from Auckland Musicians from London British percussionists Squatters British synth-pop new wave musicians Thompson Twins members Feminist artists New Zealand activists British activists 21st-century New Zealand women singers