The Slits

The Slits were a punk/post-punk band based in London, 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.<ref name="The Great Rock Discography"/> Their 1979 debut album, Cut, has been called one of the defining releases of the post-punk era.<ref>Template:AllMusic</ref>

Career

1976–1982

The Slits formed in October 1976 when Ari Up went to a Patti Smith gig at the Hammersmith 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.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> The next day they had their first rehearsal.

The group supported the Clash<ref name="AMG"/> on their 1977 White Riot tour along with Buzzcocks, the Jam, the Prefects and Subway Sect.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> 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.<ref>[1] Template:Dead link</ref> Joe Strummer said the group would be "great" with intense gigging.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

Palmolive left the band in 1978 and debuted with the Raincoats on 4 January 1979.<ref>Ian Penman: The Raincoats Dresden Banks Vincent Units Acklam Hall. In: New Musical Express 27 January 1979, page 43.</ref> She was replaced by the drummer Budgie (Peter Clarke), formerly of the Spitfire Boys and later of Siouxsie and the Banshees.<ref name="The Great Rock Discography"/> 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, dub and world music.

File:The Slits-24.jpg

Ari Up playing with the Slits at the Beat the Blues Festival, Alexandra Palace, 15 June 1980

Their Dennis Bovell-produced debut album Cut was released in September 1979 on Island Records, with Neneh Cherry joining as additional backing vocalist.<ref name="The Great Rock Discography"/> The album's sleeve art depicted the band naked, except for mud and loincloths.<ref name="The Great Rock Discography"/> It is often claimed that Palmolive left partly because she did not like the album artwork,<ref name="Guinness Rockopedia">Template:Cite book</ref> including by Palmolive herself,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> but Viv Albertine has stated that Palmolive had been asked to leave the band several months previously,<ref>Clothes, Clothes, Clothes, Music, Music, Music, Boys, Boys, Boys; Viv Albertine; Faber & Faber 2014, p. 205</ref> and she does not appear on the record.

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 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 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.<ref name="The Great Rock Discography"/><ref name="Guinness Rockopedia"/> Ari Up went on to be part of the New Age Steppers.<ref name="The Great Rock Discography"/>

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.<ref name="AMG">Template:Cite web</ref> The EP featured former Sex Pistols member Paul Cook and former Adam and the Ants members Chris Constantinou and Marco Pirroni as both musicians and co-producers.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> 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.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

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 at New York's McCarren Park Pool.<ref>Slits Set for U.S. Summer Tour Template:Webarchive Pitchfork Media, 6 July 2007.</ref> 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 in July 2009,<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> and the band's third full-length album entitled Trapped Animal was released three months later.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Founding member Ari Up died in Los Angeles in October 2010 at the age of 48.<ref name="Moynihan">Template:Cite news</ref> The band's final work, the video for the song "Lazy Slam" from Trapped Animal, was released posthumously according to Ari Up's wishes.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> A final song, the unreleased 1981 recording "Coulda Woulda Shoulda", was due to be released in early 2011.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

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 – backing vocals (1981)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
• 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 – melodica (2007–2009)

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 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 Anna Ozawa – melodica, keyboard

Timeline

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bar:Adele      text:"Adele Wilson"
bar:Michelle   text:"Michelle Hill"
bar:AnnaO      text:"Anna Ozawa"
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bar:Tessa      text:"Tessa Pollitt"
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Discography

Studio albums

• Cut (Island (UK) / Antilles (US), September 1979) – UK No. 30<ref name="British Hit Singles & Albums"/>
• 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, 1997)<ref name="The Great Rock Discography">Template:Cite book</ref>
• Live at the Gibus Club (Castle Music / Sanctuary, February 2005 – recorded January 1978)<ref name="The Great Rock Discography"/><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

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<ref name="British Hit Singles & Albums">Template:Cite book</ref>
• "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 (US), 7 inch single with the first 2 tracks, and 12 inch EP with 3 tracks)<ref name="The Great Rock Discography"/>
• "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)<ref name="The Great Rock Discography"/> 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.<ref name="Guard">Template:Cite news</ref>

In popular culture

The band’s name appears in the lyrics of the Le Tigre song "Hot Topic".<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

External links

• Girls Unconditional: The story of the Slits, told exclusively by the Slits at loadandquiet.com
• The Slits, article by Rina Gribovsky
• Interview with Tessa Pollit at 3 AM Magazine
• Interview with Ari Up at Supersweet