# Vi Subversa

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{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2015}}
{{Infobox musical artist
|name = Vi Subversa
|image = poisongirls.jpg
|caption = Subversa performing in 1982
|background = solo_singer
|birth_name = 
|alias = 
|birth_date = {{Birth date|df=yes|1935|6|20}}
|death_date = {{death date and age|2016|2|19|1935|6|20|df=y}}
|birth_place = London, England, United Kingdom
|instrument = Vocals, guitar
|genre = [Anarcho punk](/source/Anarcho_punk)
|occupation = Musician, singer
|years_active = 1975–2016
|label = [Crass](/source/Crass_Records), XNTrix, Cooking Vinyl
|associated_acts = [Poison Girls](/source/Poison_Girls), [Crass](/source/Crass)
}}

'''Frances Sokolov''' (20 June 1935 – 19 February 2016),<ref name=death>{{cite web|author=Ged Babey|url=http://louderthanwar.com/vi-subversa-20th-june-1935-19th-february-2016-flesh-and-blood-is-what-we-are|title=Vi Subversa: 20th June 1935 – 19th February 2016: Flesh and blood is what we are|publisher=LouderThanWar|date=20 February 2016|access-date=20 February 2016}}</ref> better known by her stage name '''Vi Subversa''', was the lead singer, lyricist and rhythm guitarist of British [anarcho-punk](/source/anarcho-punk) band [Poison Girls](/source/Poison_Girls).<ref>Raha, Maria. ''Cinderella's big score: women of the punk and indie underground''. Seal Press, 2005. p. 67.</ref>

==Biography==
Subversa was born of [Ashkenazi Jewish](/source/Ashkenazi_Jewish) parents. She spent two years in [Israel](/source/Israel) in the late 1950s working in a ceramic pottery in [Beersheba](/source/Beersheba) under [Nehemia Azaz](/source/Nehemia_Azaz),<ref>{{cite news|last1=Grant|first1=Brigit|title=Subversive? On the contrary|publisher=Jewish Chronicle|date=25 July 1986|page=15|url=http://archive.thejc.com/search/pages.jsp?issue=JULY%2025%201986|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160112043835/http://archive.thejc.com/search/pages.jsp?issue=JULY%2025%201986|archive-date=12 January 2016|df=dmy-all}}</ref> before returning to the United Kingdom. She had two children, Pete Fender (born Daniel Sansom, 1964) and Gem Stone (born Gemma Sansom, 1967), who both became members of the punk bands [Fatal Microbes](/source/Fatal_Microbes) and [Rubella Ballet](/source/Rubella_Ballet).<ref name="Glasper">Glasper, Ian (2006) ''The Day the Country Died: A History of Anarcho Punk 1980 - 1984'', Cherry Red Books, {{ISBN|978-1-901447-70-5}}</ref>

Subversa's first public performance was at The Body Show at [Sussex University](/source/Sussex_University) in 1975. In 1979, at 44 years old and a mother of two, she released her first single with the Poison Girls.<ref>Cope, Julian. [http://www.headheritage.co.uk/unsung/albumofthemonth/1885 Album of the Month #96]. ''Head Heritage''. 2007.</ref> Her lyrics were written from a radical feminist punk perspective.<ref>Leblanc, Lauraine. [https://books.google.com/books?id=nU7Cl6HxIbAC&dq=vi+subversa+punk&pg=PA49 ''Pretty in Punk'']. [Rutgers University Press](/source/Rutgers_University_Press). 1999.</ref>

She is featured in the documentary film ''She's a Punk Rocker''.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://raindance.co.uk/site/index.php?id=89,911,0,0,1,0 |title=She's A Punk Rocker &#124; Raindance Film Festival 2007 |publisher=Raindance.co.uk |date=7 October 2007 |access-date=2011-09-27}}</ref>

Subversa's last musical venture was with the cabaret trio Vi Subversa's Naughty Thoughts, which she formed with Michael Coates and Judy Bayley. She played her final live performance with Naughty Thoughts at Brighton's Green Door Store on 5 December 2015, with [The Cravats](/source/The_Cravats).<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/vi-subversa-inspirational-elder-stateswoman-of-punk-who-co-founded-poison-girls-denizens-of-its-a6889691.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220817/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/vi-subversa-inspirational-elder-stateswoman-of-punk-who-co-founded-poison-girls-denizens-of-its-a6889691.html |archive-date=17 August 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |title=Vi Subversa: Inspirational elder stateswoman of punk who co-founded Poison Girls, denizens of its anarchist fringe |last1=Salewicz |first1=Chris |date=23 Feb 2016 |website=[The Independent](/source/The_Independent) |access-date=23 February 2016}}</ref>

Subversa's son Pete Fender announced on Facebook on 19 February 2016 that she had died, following a short illness.<ref name=death/>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* [http://www.poisongirls.co.uk/vi-subversa-what-a-life.html vi subversa - what a life] Official Poison Girls Website

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Subversa, Vi}}
Category:1935 births
Category:2016 deaths
Category:20th-century anarchists
Category:20th-century British guitarists
Category:20th-century British Jews
Category:20th-century British women singers
Category:21st-century anarchists
Category:21st-century British guitarists
Category:21st-century British Jews
Category:21st-century British women singers
Category:Anarcha-feminists
Category:Anarcho-punk musicians
Category:Artists from Beersheba
Category:British anarchists
Category:British Ashkenazi Jews
Category:British expatriates in Israel
Category:British feminists
Category:British political music artists
Category:British punk rock guitarists
Category:British women punk rock singers
Category:Feminist musicians
Category:Jewish anarchists
Category:Jewish English musicians
Category:Jewish women singers
Category:Jews in punk rock
Category:Musicians from Brighton
Category:Musicians from London
Category:Radical feminists

{{Anarchist-stub}}
{{UK-singer-stub}}

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Vi Subversa](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vi_Subversa) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vi_Subversa?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.