The Slits | |
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 A reformed lineup of the Slits performing in 2007 | |
| Background information | |
| Origin | London, England |
| Genres | |
| Years active | 1976–1982, 2005–2010 |
| Labels | |
| Past members | Ari Up Palmolive Suzy Gutsy Kate Korus Tessa Pollitt Viv Albertine Budgie Bruce Smith Hollie Cook Michelle Hill NO Anna Schulte Adele Wilson Neneh Cherry Little Anna |
The Slits were an earlypunk and thenpost-punk band based in London, formed there in 1976 by members of the groupsthe Flowers of Romance and the Castrators. The group's early line-up consisted ofAri Up (Ariane Forster) andPalmolive (a.k.a. Paloma Romero, who played briefly withSpizzenergi and later left to jointhe Raincoats), withViv Albertine andTessa Pollitt replacing founding members Kate Korus and Suzy Gutsy.[1] Their 1979 debut album,Cut, has been called one of the defining releases of the post-punk era.[2]
The Slits formed in October 1976 when Ari Up went to aPatti Smith gig at theHammersmith Odeon in London. After having an argument with her mother, Ari was approached by Palmolive and Kate Korus with the offer to form a band.[3] The next day they had their first rehearsal.
The group supportedthe Clash[4] on their 1977White Riottour along withBuzzcocks,the Jam,the Prefects andSubway Sect.[5] Club performances of the Slits during this period are included inThe Punk Rock Movie (1978). In November 1978, the Slits toured with the Clash again on the "Sort it Out Tour" and were joined bythe Innocents who opened the shows.[6]Joe Strummer said the group would be "great" with intense gigging.[7]
Palmolive left the band in 1978 and debuted withthe Raincoats on 4 January 1979.[8] She was replaced by the drummerBudgie (Peter Clarke), formerly ofthe Spitfire Boys and later ofSiouxsie and the Banshees.[1] With the change of drummer came a change of musical style. The Slits' originally raw, raucous and drum-dominatedlive sound, as captured on twoPeel 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 fromreggae,dub andworld music.
TheirDennis Bovell-produced debut albumCut was released in September 1979 onIsland Records, withNeneh Cherry joining as additional backing vocalist.[1] The album'ssleeve art depicted the band naked, except for mud andloincloths.[1] It is often claimed that Palmolive left partly because she did not like the album artwork,[9] including by Palmolive herself,[10] but Viv Albertine has stated that Palmolive had been asked to leave the band several months previously,[11] and she does not appear on the record.
The Slits' sound and attitude became increasinglyexperimental andavant-garde during the early 1980s, when they formed an alliance withBristolpost-punk bandthe Pop Group, sharing drummerBruce Smith and releasing a joint single, "In the Beginning There Was Rhythm / Where There's a Will..." (Y Records). This was followed by anuntitled compilation album of mostly homemadedemos and live performances from before the release ofCut. The band toured widely and released their second studio album,Return of the Giant Slits, before breaking up in early 1982.[1][9] Ari Up went on to be part of theNew Age Steppers.[1]
Ari Up and Tessa Pollitt reformed the band with new members in 2005, as Viv Albertine was unwilling to rejoin, and in 2006 released theEPRevenge of the Killer Slits.[4] The EP featured formerSex Pistols memberPaul Cook and formerAdam and the Ants membersChris Constantinou andMarco Pirroni as both musicians and co-producers.[12] Cook's daughterHollie 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.[13]
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 forSonic Youth atNew York'sMcCarren Park Pool.[14] Adele Wilson and No left the band, to be replaced by American guitarist Michelle Hill. A biography –Typical Girls? The Story of the Slits byZoë Street Howe was published in the UK byOmnibus Press in July 2009,[15] and the band's third full-length album entitledTrapped Animal was released three months later.[16]
Founding member Ari Up died in Los Angeles in October 2010 at the age of 48.[17] The band's final work, thevideo for the song "Lazy Slam" fromTrapped Animal, was released posthumously according to Ari Up's wishes.[18] A final song, the unreleased 1981 recording "Coulda Woulda Shoulda", was due to be released in early 2011.[19]
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| 1976 | 1976–1978 | 1978–1980 | 1980–1982 |
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| 1982–2005 | 2005–2010 | ||
Disbanded |
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In 2018, a documentary film about the band,Here To Be Heard: The Story of the Slits, was released.[24]
The band’s name appears in the lyrics of theLe Tigre song "Hot Topic".[25]
Media related toThe Slits at Wikimedia Commons
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