The Slits
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The Slits were a
punk Punk or punks may refer to: Genres, subculture, and related aspects * Punk rock, a music genre originating in the 1970s associated with various subgenres * Punk subculture, a subculture associated with punk rock, or aspects of the subculture s ...
/
post-punk Post-punk (originally called new musick) is a broad genre of music that emerged in late 1977 in the wake of punk rock. Post-punk musicians departed from punk's fundamental elements and raw simplicity, instead adopting a broader, more experiment ...
band based in
London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
, formed there in 1976 by members of the groups the Flowers of Romance and the Castrators. The group's early line-up consisted of Ari Up (Ariane Forster) and Palmolive (a.k.a. Paloma Romero, who played briefly with Spizzenergi and later left to join the Raincoats), with Viv Albertine and Tessa Pollitt replacing founding members Kate Korus and Suzy Gutsy. Their 1979 debut album, '' Cut'', has been called one of the defining releases of the post-punk era.


Career


1976–1982

The Slits formed in October 1976 when Ari Up went to a
Patti Smith Patricia Lee Smith (born December 30, 1946) is an American singer, songwriter, poet, painter, author, and photographer. Her 1975 debut album '' Horses'' made her an influential member of the New York City-based punk rock movement. Smith has fu ...
gig at the
Hammersmith Odeon The Hammersmith Apollo, currently called the Eventim Apollo for sponsorship reasons, and formerly and still commonly known as the Hammersmith Odeon, is a live entertainment performance venue, originally built as a cinema called the Gaumont Pa ...
in London. After having an argument with her mother, Ari was approached by Palmolive and Kate Korus with the offer to form a band. The next day they had their first rehearsal. The group supported
the Clash The Clash were an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1976. Billed as "The Only Band That Matters", they are considered one of the most influential acts in the original wave of British punk rock, with their music fusing elements ...
on their 1977 '' White Riot'' tour along with
Buzzcocks Buzzcocks are an English punk rock band that singer-songwriter-guitarist Pete Shelley and singer-songwriter Howard Devoto formed in Manchester in 1976. During their career, the band combined elements of punk rock, power pop, and pop punk. The ...
,
the Jam The Jam were an English rock band formed in 1972 in Woking, Surrey, consisting of Paul Weller, Bruce Foxton and Rick Buckler. They released 18 consecutive top 40 singles in the United Kingdom, from their debut in 1977 to their break-up in ...
, the Prefects and Subway Sect. 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.
Joe Strummer John Graham Mellor (21 August 1952 – 22 December 2002), known professionally as Joe Strummer, was a British musician. He was the co-founder, lyricist, rhythm guitarist, and lead vocalist of punk rock band the Clash, formed in 1976. The Clash' ...
said the group would be "great" with intense gigging. Palmolive left the band in 1978 and debuted with the Raincoats on 4 January 1979. She was replaced by the drummer Budgie (Peter Clarke), formerly of the Spitfire Boys and later of
Siouxsie and the Banshees Siouxsie and the Banshees ( ) were a British Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1976 by vocalist Siouxsie Sioux and bass guitarist Steven Severin. Post-punk pioneers, they were widely influential, both over their contemporaries and later ...
. With the change of drummer came a change of musical style. The Slits' originally raw, raucous and drum-dominated live sound, as captured on two Peel Sessions in 1977 and 1978, was cleaned up and polished to a more bass-orientated sound with the Budgie line up, and their new style drew heavily from
reggae Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica during the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its Jamaican diaspora, diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, "Do the Reggay", was the first ...
, dub and
world music "World music" is an English phrase for styles of music from non-English speaking countries, including quasi-traditional, Cross-cultural communication, intercultural, and traditional music. World music's broad nature and elasticity as a musical ...
. Their Dennis Bovell-produced debut album '' Cut'' was released in September 1979 on
Island Records Island Records is a multinational record label owned by Universal Music Group. It was founded in Jamaica by Chris Blackwell, Graeme Goodall, and Leslie Kong in 1959, and was eventually sold to PolyGram in 1989. Island and A&M Records, another ...
, with
Neneh Cherry Neneh Mariann Karlsson (; born 10 March 1964), better known as Neneh Cherry, is a Swedish singer, songwriter, rapper, occasional disc jockey, and broadcaster. Her musical career started in London in the early 1980s, where she performed in a numb ...
joining as additional backing vocalist. The album's sleeve art depicted the band naked, except for mud and loincloths. It is often claimed that Palmolive left partly because she did not like the album artwork, including by Palmolive herself, but Viv Albertine has stated that Palmolive had been asked to leave the band several months previously, and she does not appear on the record. The Slits' sound and attitude became increasingly
experimental An experiment is a procedure carried out to support or refute a hypothesis, or determine the efficacy or likelihood of something previously untried. Experiments provide insight into cause-and-effect by demonstrating what outcome occurs whe ...
and
avant-garde In the arts and literature, the term ''avant-garde'' ( meaning or ) identifies an experimental genre or work of art, and the artist who created it, which usually is aesthetically innovative, whilst initially being ideologically unacceptable ...
during the early 1980s, when they formed an alliance with
Bristol Bristol () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, the most populous city in the region. Built around the River Avon, Bristol, River Avon, it is bordered by t ...
post-punk Post-punk (originally called new musick) is a broad genre of music that emerged in late 1977 in the wake of punk rock. Post-punk musicians departed from punk's fundamental elements and raw simplicity, instead adopting a broader, more experiment ...
band the Pop Group, sharing drummer Bruce Smith and releasing a joint single, " In the Beginning There Was Rhythm / Where There's a Will..." ( Y Records). This was followed by an untitled compilation album of mostly homemade
demos Demos may refer to: Computing * DEMOS, a Soviet Unix-like operating system * DEMOS (ISP), the first internet service provider in the USSR * Demos Commander, an Orthodox File Manager for Unix-like systems * Plural for Demo (computer programming ...
and live performances from before the release of ''Cut''. The band toured widely and released their second studio album, '' Return of the Giant Slits'', before breaking up in early 1982. Ari Up went on to be part of the New Age Steppers.


2005–2010

Ari Up and Tessa Pollitt reformed the band with new members in 2005, as Viv Albertine was unwilling to rejoin, and in 2006 released the EP ''Revenge of the Killer Slits''. The EP featured former
Sex Pistols The Sex Pistols are an English punk rock band formed in London in 1975. Although their initial career lasted just two and a half years, they became culturally influential in popular music. The band initiated the punk movement in the United Ki ...
member Paul Cook and former
Adam and the Ants Adam and the Ants were an English Rock music, rock band that formed in London in 1977. The band existed in two versions, both fronted by Adam Ant, between 1977 and 1982. The first phase began when the band were founded in May 1977 and were call ...
members Chris Constantinou and Marco Pirroni as both musicians and co- producers. Cook's daughter Hollie played with the band, 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. The band toured the United States for the first time in twenty-five years during 2006's 'States of Mind' tour, and followed this with tours of Australia and Japan, as well as opening for
Sonic Youth Sonic Youth were an American rock band formed in New York City in 1981. Founding members Kim Gordon (bass, vocals, guitar), Thurston Moore (lead guitar, vocals) and Lee Ranaldo (rhythm guitar, vocals) remained together for the entire history of ...
at New York's McCarren Park Pool. Adele Wilson and No left the band, to be replaced by American guitarist Michelle Hill. A biography – ''Typical Girls? The Story of the Slits'' by Zoë Street Howe was published in the UK by
Omnibus Press Omnibus Press is a publisher of music-related books. It publishes around 30 new titles a year to add to a backlist of over 300 titles currently in print. History Omnibus Press was launched in 1972 as a general non-fiction publisher to complem ...
in July 2009, and the band's third full-length album entitled '' Trapped Animal'' was released three months later. Founding member Ari Up died in Los Angeles in October 2010 at the age of 48. The band's final work, the
video Video is an Electronics, electronic medium for the recording, copying, playback, broadcasting, and display of moving picture, moving image, visual Media (communication), media. Video was first developed for mechanical television systems, whi ...
for the song "Lazy Slam" from ''Trapped Animal'', was released posthumously according to Ari Up's wishes. A final song, the unreleased 1981 recording "Coulda Woulda Shoulda", was due to be released in early 2011.


Personnel


Members

* Ari Up – vocals (1976–1982, 2005–2010; died 2010) * Palmolive – drums (1976–1978) * Suzy Gutsy – bass guitar (1976) * Kate Korus – guitar (1976–1977) * Tessa Pollitt – bass guitar (1976–1982, 2005–2010) * Viv Albertine – guitar (1977–1982) * Budgie – drums (1978–1980) * Bruce Smith – drums (1980–1982) *
Neneh Cherry Neneh Mariann Karlsson (; born 10 March 1964), better known as Neneh Cherry, is a Swedish singer, songwriter, rapper, occasional disc jockey, and broadcaster. Her musical career started in London in the early 1980s, where she performed in a numb ...
– backing vocals (1981) * Hollie Cook – backing vocals (2005–2010) * Michelle Hill – guitar (2005–2010) * NO – guitar, backing vocals (2005–2010) * Anna Schulte – drums (2005–2010) * Adele Wilson – guitar (2005–2010) * Little Anna – keyboards, melodica (2007–2009)


Lineups


Timeline


Discography


Studio albums

*'' Cut'' (
Island An island or isle is a piece of land, distinct from a continent, completely surrounded by water. There are continental islands, which were formed by being split from a continent by plate tectonics, and oceanic islands, which have never been ...
(UK) /
Antilles The Antilles is an archipelago bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the south and west, the Gulf of Mexico to the northwest, and the Atlantic Ocean to the north and east. The Antillean islands are divided into two smaller groupings: the Greater An ...
(US), September 1979) – UK No. 30 *'' Return of the Giant Slits'' (CBS, October 1981) *'' Trapped Animal'' ( Narnack, 2009)


Compilation albums

*'' The Slits/Bootleg Retrospective/Untitled'' ( Y Records, May 1980) *''Double Peel Sessions'' (Strange Fruit, November 1988) *''In the Beginning'' (
Jungle jungle is land covered with dense forest and tangled vegetation, usually in tropical climates. Application of the term has varied greatly during the past century. Etymology The word ''jungle'' originates from the Sanskrit word ''jaṅgala'' ...
, 1997) *''Live at the Gibus Club'' ( Castle Music /
Sanctuary A sanctuary, in its original meaning, is a sacred space, sacred place, such as a shrine, protected by ecclesiastical immunity. By the use of such places as a haven, by extension the term has come to be used for any place of safety. This seconda ...
, February 2005 – recorded January 1978)


Singles and EPs

*"Typical Girls" / " I Heard It Through the Grapevine" (Island (UK) / Antilles (US), September 1979, also issued as a 12-inch EP with additional alternate versions) UK No. 60 *" 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 Humans (''Homo sapiens'') or modern humans are the most common and widespread species of primate, and the last surviving species of the genus ''Homo''. They are Hominidae, great apes characterized by their Prehistory of nakedness and clothing ...
(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 (US), 7 inch single with the first 2 tracks, and 12 inch EP with 3 tracks) *"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 "Strange Fruit" is a song written and composed by Abel Meeropol (under his pseudonym Lewis Allan) and recorded by Billie Holiday in 1939. The lyrics were drawn from a poem by Meeropol published in 1937. The song Protest song, protests the Lynch ...
, February 1987) *''Revenge of the Killer Slits'' (2006) 7"/CD Maxi single (Only Lovers Left Alive/EXO)


Documentary

In 2018, a documentary film about the band, ''Here To Be Heard: The Story of the Slits'', was released.


In popular culture

The band’s name appears in the lyrics of the
Le Tigre Le Tigre (, ; French for "The Tiger") is an American art punk and riot grrrl band formed by Kathleen Hanna (of Bikini Kill), Johanna Fateman and Sadie Benning in 1998 in New York City. Benning left in 2000 and was replaced by JD Samson. ...
song " Hot Topic".


References


External links


Girls Unconditional: The story of the Slits, told exclusively by the Slits at loadandquiet.com





Interview with Ari Up at Supersweet
{{DEFAULTSORT:Slits, The English post-punk music groups English punk rock groups Punk rock groups from London English reggae rock groups Island Records artists Musical groups established in 1976 Musical groups disestablished in 1982 Musical groups reestablished in 2005 Musical groups disestablished in 2010 Underground punk scene in the United Kingdom Proto-riot grrrl bands British dub musical groups