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The Slits

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The Slits
The Slits in New York City, 2007
The Slits in New York City, 2007
Background information
OriginLondon, England
GenresPunk rock, post-punk, reggae
Years active1976–1982, 2005–2010
LabelsIsland, Y, CBS, Narnack
Past membersAri Up
Palmolive
Suzy Gutsy
Kate Korus
Tessa Pollitt
Viv Albertine
Budgie
Bruce Smith
Hollie Cook
Michelle Hill
NO
Anna Schulte
Adele Wilson

The Slits were a British punk rock band. The quartet was formed in 1976 by members of the bands The Flowers of Romance and The Castrators. The members were Ari Up (Ariane Forster), who died of cancer in October 2010, and Palmolive (Paloma Romero, who later left to join The Raincoats), with Viv Albertine and Tessa Pollitt replacing founding members, Kate Korus and Suzy Gutsy.[1] Palmolive was replaced by the drummer Budgie (also known as Peter Clarke), formerly of The Spitfire Boys and later of Siouxsie and the Banshees.[1] Although not all line-ups were exclusively female, the three main female members appeared on most record covers and publicity photos, and the group was generally presented as a female band.

Career

1976-1982

The group supported fellow punk band The Clash on their 1977 White Riot tour along with the Buzzcocks and the Subway Sect.[2] Club performances of The Slits during this period are included in The Punk Rock Movie (1978). In November 1978, The Slits toured with the Clash again on the "Sort it Out Tour" and were joined by The Innocents who opened the shows.[3]

Number One for me at the moment are the Subway Sect. They've got some good ideas. The Slits are good, too. Palmolive on drums! She's the female Jerry Nolan. But like everyone, they need to do thirty gigs in thirty days and they would be a different group. Then they'd be great. The same with us.

— Joe Strummer[4]

Captured on a Peel Session, the Slits' originally raw and raucous live sound was cleaned up and polished by the time of their debut album. A mixture of reggae rhythms, scratchy guitars, anger and mischief,[5] the Dennis Bovell produced debut album Cut was released in September 1979 on Island Records with Neneh Cherry joining as additional vocalist.[1] The album's sleeve art depicted the band naked, except for mud and loincloths.[1] (Palmolive left before the recording sessions for Cut, partly because she disliked the others' concept for the sleeve).[5]

The Slits' sound and attitude became increasingly experimental and avant-garde during the early 1980s, when they formed an alliance with Bristol post-punk band The Pop Group, sharing a drummer (Bruce Smith) and releasing a joint single, "In The Beginning There was Rhythm" / "Where There's A Will" (Y Records), followed by a bizarre, uncommercial, untitled album of mostly homemade demo recordings, and a few more singles. The band toured widely and released another album, Return of the Giant Slits before breaking up in early 1982.[1][5] Ari Up went on to be part of the New Age Steppers.[1]

2005-2010

Ari Up and Tessa Pollitt reformed the band with new members in 2005, and in 2006 released the EP Revenge of the Killer Slits.[2] The EP featured former Sex Pistols member Paul Cook and Marco Pirroni (formerly of Adam and the Ants, and Siouxsie and the Banshees) as both musicians and co-producers. In fact, Cook's daughter Hollie is a member of the current line-up, singing and playing keyboards. Other members of the reformed band were No (of The Home Office) on guitar, German drummer Anna Schulte, and Adele Wilson on guitar.[6]

The band toured the United States for the first time in twenty-five years during 2006's 'States of Mind' tour. In 2007, they toured Australia as well as returning to the US, where they opened for Sonic Youth at New York's McCarren Park Pool.[7] In their first ever visit to that country, the band undertook a short tour of Japan in October 2007.

In 2008, the band again toured America. Adele Wilson left the band and No was replaced by the American guitarist, Michelle Hill. In November 2008, the band played Ladyfest in Manchester, and visited London Astoria the following month. In January 2009 The Slits' MySpace page listed former guitarist Viv Albertine as one of the groups current members, however Albertine's own MySpace blog states that she only rejoined to play two shows.

In January 2009, the Los Angeles based Narnack Records announced they had signed the band to a recording contract. A biography - Typical Girls? The Story Of The Slits by Zoe Street Howe was published in the UK by Omnibus Press in July 2009.[8]

A full-length album entitled Trapped Animal was released in 2009,[9] and the band continued to perform live.

Group founder Ari Up died unexpectedly in October 2010.[10][11] The band's final work, the video for the song "Lazy Slam" from Trapped Animal, was released posthumously according to Ari Up's wishes.[12]

In October 2010 Viv Albertine announced via Twitter that she and Tessa Pollitt intend to release the "last ever Slits song", titled "Shoulda Coulda Woulda" from 1981 on cassette tape with hand-drawn covers.[13]

Personnel

Members

Lineups

1976 1976-1978 1978-1980 1980-1982
  • Ari Up – vocals
  • Kate Korus – guitar
  • Suzy Gutsy – bass guitar
  • Palmolive – drums
  • Ari Up – vocals
  • Viv Albertine – guitar
  • Tessa Pollitt – bass guitar
  • Budgie – drums
  • Ari Up – vocals
  • Viv Albertine – guitar
  • Tessa Pollitt – bass guitar
  • Bruce Smith – drums
1982-2005 2005-2010

Disbanded

  • Ari Up – vocals
  • Hollie Cook – backing vocals
  • NO – guitar, backing vocals
  • Adele Wilson - guitar
  • Michelle Hill - guitar
  • Tessa Pollitt – bass guitar
  • Anna Schulte – drums

Discography

Studio albums

Later albums and compilations

Singles and EPs

  • "Typical Girls" / "I Heard It Through the Grapevine" (Island (UK) / Antilles (USA), September 1979, also issued as a 12-inch EP with additional alternate versions) UK No. 60[14]
  • "In the Beginning There Was Rhythm" (Y, March 1980, split single with The Pop Group)
  • "Man Next Door" / "Man Next Door (version)" (Y, June 1980)
  • "Animal Space" / "Animal Spacier" (Human (UK), 1981, also issued as a 12-inch EP on Human (USA) with different tracks)
  • "Earthbeat" / "Earthdub" / "Begin Again, Rhythm" (CBS, August 1981 (UK), December 1981 (U.S.), 7 inch single with the first 2 tracks, and 12 inch EP with 3 tracks)[1]
  • "American Radio Interview (Winter 1980)" / "Face Dub" (CBS, October 1981, bonus record included with Return of the Giant Slits album, side one plays at 33 rpm)
  • The Peel Sessions (Strange Fruit, February 1987)
  • Revenge of the Killer Slits (2006)[1]

Bibliography

  • Zoe Street Howe, Typical Girls? The Story of The Slits, Omnibus Press, 2009. (ISBN 1847727808)

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Strong, Martin C. (2000). The Great Rock Discography (5th ed.). Edinburgh: Mojo Books. pp. 894/895. ISBN 1-84195-017-3.
  2. ^ a b "Biography by John Dougan". Allmusic.com. Retrieved 23 April 2009.
  3. ^ Tour Info MASTER/78-10-00.[dead link]
  4. ^ Coon 1977.
  5. ^ a b c Roberts, David (1998). Guinness Rockopedia (1st ed.). London: Guinness Publishing Ltd. p. 397. ISBN 0-85112-072-5.
  6. ^ Mervis, Scott (20 March 2008). "Music Preview: The Slits are back with a Pistols daughter". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
  7. ^ Slits Set for U.S. Summer Tour Pitchfork Media, 6 July 2007.
  8. ^ . ISBN 978-1-84772-780-0. {{cite book}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  9. ^ Ross, Dalton (2009-06-29). "The Slits: lady-punk legends to return with first full-length since 1981 Entertainment Weekly 29 June 2009". Music-mix.ew.com. Retrieved 2012-02-21.
  10. ^ Martins, Chris (20 October 2010). "R.I.P. Ari Up of the Slits, Dead at 48". LA Weekly. Retrieved 20 October 2010.
  11. ^ "Rotten Talk". John Lydon.Com. Retrieved 2011-12-30.
  12. ^ "Ari Up R.I.P. (1962-2010)d". narnackrecords.com. 21 Oct 2010. Retrieved 2009-10-20.
  13. ^ "Twitter / Viv Albertine: Me and Tessa are going to..." twitter.com. 24 Oct 2010. Retrieved 2010-11-14.
  14. ^ a b Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 508. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
  15. ^ Unterberger, Richie. "album overview - accessed April 2009". Allmusic.com. Retrieved 2012-02-21.

Sources

Wikimedia Commons has media related to The Slits.


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