Generational Women: Stars of music in conversation

This event will take place in the British Library Knowledge Centre Pigott Theatre and simultaneously live streamed on the British Library platform. Tickets may be booked either to attend in person or to watch online either live or within 48 hours on catch up. Viewing links for the online version will be sent out shortly before the event. 

Meet four inspirational female artists and stars of UK music as they share their experiences and creative journeys across the decades, with a few of their favourite records thrown in.  With Pauline Black of The Selecter, aka The Queen of Ska; one of the brightest new talents, the three Brit Award 2024 nominated Olivia Dean; and post punk singer, broadcaster and chef Andi Oliver. They join TV, radio and podcast host Miquita Oliver for a fresh and frank conversation.

Explore the full events programme for the British Library exhibition Beyond the Bassline: 500 Years of Black British Music (26 April – 26 August). 

Doors and Bar open at 18:00. Please arrive no later than 15 minutes before the start time of this event.  

Half price tickets available, Students, Under 26 and other concession groups. Discounts available for British Library Members.

Andi Oliver is known to British audiences as host of both the BBC’s Great British Menu and the Sky Arts Book Club, but she first came to public attention as a musician with the post punk band Rip, Rig + Panic. Formed in 1980 and also featuring her lifelong friend Neneh Cherry their blend of free jazz, funk, and reggae led to often chaotic live shows. She continued in music with the band Kalimba, and then with her brother Sean as Mighty Hog.- More recently Andi has appeared in The Caribbean with Andi and Miquita (BBC2), a mother and daughter’s emotional journey to explore their heritage. Andi’s first cookbook, Pepperpot Diaries: Tales From My Caribbean Table, was published in 2023; it reveals the flavours of Andi’s childhood and tracks how Caribbean cuisine has evolved over time.

Miquita Oliver began her career co-presenting Popworld with Simon Amstell; a music show which reached iconic status  and then Channel 4’s T4, for the next 10 years. Miquita has appeared extensively on television, fronting the critically acclaimed BBC3 documentary Young, British and Broke; Vandals and Visionaries for BBC One and Steph’s Packed Lunch on Channel 4. In 2022, Miquita fronted BBC Two’s The Caribbean with Andi and Miquita, with her mother, chef and broadcaster Andi Oliver. Miquita hosted a weekend morning show on BBC Radio One and 1Xtra, presented The Sunday Times Culture Show and has fronted podcasts including The Sunday Times Wine Podcast, Stirring It Up with Andi and Miquita Oliver, and in 2024 began hosting Miss Me? for BBC Sounds, with her friend, Lily Allen.

Olivia Dean
Olivia Dean is a London-born singer who is one of the most acclaimed artists of her generation. From being part of musical theatre lessons and a gospel choir as a child, she was a student at the BRIT School and began writing her own songs at the age of sixteen. Olivia Dean became a backing vocalist for Rudimental and was featured on their album Toast to Our Differences. At the age of twenty, she recorded her debut EP OK Love You Bye in a converted East London pub, and after it was streamed millions of times she landed a deal with EMI Records. Her studio album Messy was released in June 2023 and was nominated for a Mercury Prize and this year she was nominated for three Brit awards - for Best Pop Act, British Artist of the Year and Best New Artist. 

Pauline Black OBE is first and foremost a singer but also an artist, band leader, songwriter and an undisputed icon of British music. A lifelong love of music inspired by punk and reggae artists from the 1970s led Pauline to join The Selecter, who went on to become a platinum-selling band of the 2 Tone music scene alongside The Beat, The Specials and Madness. One of very few women in the 2-Tone scene Pauline Black is still performing live with The Selecter and recording new music, while supporting and campaigning for racial equality throughout her work. Pauline was awarded an OBE in the in the 2022 New Year Honours and received an Honorary Degree from the University of Warwick in the same year. Pauline shared her story of music, race, family and roots in her critically acclaimed memoir Black By Design.

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