Editing The Slits (section)

==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>{{cite book |title=Typical Girls? The Story of The Slits |last=Street Howe |first=Zoe |publisher=Omnibus Press |year=2009 |isbn=978-0-85712-015-1 |location=London |pages=Kindle location 403}}</ref> The next day they had their first rehearsal.

The group supported [[the Clash]]<ref name="AMG"/> on their 1977 ''[[White Riot]]'' [[concert tour|tour]] along with [[Buzzcocks]], [[the Jam]], [[the Prefects]] and [[Subway Sect]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Middlespublished |first=Mick |date=2023-08-16 |title="It was the punk gig of dreams": what happened when The Clash brought Buzzcocks, The Slits and Subway Sect to Manchester |url=https://www.loudersound.com/features/the-clash-buzzcocks-the-slits-subway-sect-manchester-1977 |access-date=2025-04-08 |website=louder |language=en}}</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 (UK punk band)|the Innocents]] who opened the shows.<ref>[http://homepage.mac.com/blackmarketclash/Bands/Clash/recordings/1978/78-10-00] {{dead link|date=September 2019}}</ref> [[Joe Strummer]] said the group would be "great" with intense gigging.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Coon |first1=Caroline |author-link1=Caroline Coon |title=1988: The New Wave Punk Rock Explosion |url=http://homepage.mac.com/blackmarketclash/Bands/Clash/Clash%20gigography/1976%20DATES.html |access-date=19 September 2011 |year=1977 |publisher=Hawthorn |location=London |isbn=0-8015-6129-9 |oclc=79262599 |archive-date=26 October 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071026052834/http://homepage.mac.com/blackmarketclash/Bands/Clash/Clash%20gigography/1976%20DATES.html |url-status=dead }}</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 (musician)|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 reproduction|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 music|dub]]  and [[world music]].

[[File:The Slits-24.jpg|thumb|200px|left|[[Ari Up]] playing with the Slits at the Beat the Blues Festival, [[Alexandra Palace]], 15 June 1980]]
Their [[Dennis Bovell]]-produced debut album ''[[Cut (The Slits 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 [[record sleeve|sleeve]] art depicted the band naked, except for mud and [[loincloth]]s.<ref name="The Great Rock Discography"/><!-- Any public reaction? --> It is often claimed that Palmolive left partly because she did not like the album artwork,<ref name="Guinness Rockopedia">{{cite book
| first= David
| last= Roberts
| year= 1998
| title= Guinness Rockopedia
| edition= 1st
| publisher= Guinness Publishing Ltd.
| location= London
| page= [https://archive.org/details/guinnessrockoped0000unse/page/397 397]
| isbn= 0-85112-072-5
| url-access= registration
| url= https://archive.org/details/guinnessrockoped0000unse/page/397
}}</ref> including by Palmolive herself,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://tomtommag.com/2014/02/the-pilgrimage-of-palmolive/|title=The Pilgrimage of Palmolive - Tom Tom Magazine|date=25 February 2014|website=Tomtommag.com|access-date=25 June 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304060522/http://tomtommag.com/2014/02/the-pilgrimage-of-palmolive/|archive-date=4 March 2016|url-status=dead}}</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 music|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 (musician)|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 [[Bootleg Retrospective|untitled compilation album]] of mostly homemade [[Demo (music)|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 [[Extended play|EP]] ''Revenge of the Killer Slits''.<ref name="AMG">{{cite web |url={{AllMusic|class=artist|id=p14289/biography|pure_url=yes}} |title=Biography by John Dougan |publisher=Allmusic.com |access-date=23 April 2009}}</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-[[record producer|producers]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.discogs.com/release/2555884-The-Slits-Revenge-Of-The-Killer-Slits |title= The Slits – Revenge Of The Killer Slits|publisher= [[Discogs]]|date= |access-date= 13 July 2023}}</ref> Cook's daughter [[Hollie Cook|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>{{cite news |newspaper=Pittsburgh Post-Gazette |url=http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/08080/866469-42.stm |title=Music Preview: The Slits are back with a Pistols daughter |date=20 March 2008 |first=Scott |last=Mervis }}</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 City|New York's]] [[McCarren Park Pool]].<ref>[http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/article/news/44064-slits-set-for-us-summer-tour Slits Set for U.S. Summer Tour] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090113121620/https://www.pitchforkmedia.com/article/news/44064-slits-set-for-us-summer-tour |date=13 January 2009 }} [[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>{{cite book | isbn=978-1-84772-780-0|title=Typical Girls: The Story of the Slits|author=Zoe Street Howe|year=2009|publisher= Omnibus Press|pages=all}}</ref> and the band's third full-length album entitled ''[[Trapped Animal]]'' was released three months later.<ref>{{cite web |last=Ross |first=Dalton |url=http://music-mix.ew.com/2009/06/the-slits-ladypunk-legends-return.html |title=The Slits: lady-punk legends to return with first full-length since 1981 Entertainment Weekly 29 June 2009 |publisher=Music-mix.ew.com |date=29 June 2009 |access-date=21 February 2012 |archive-date=1 July 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090701001216/http://music-mix.ew.com/2009/06/the-slits-ladypunk-legends-return.html |url-status=dead }}</ref> 

Founding member Ari Up died in Los Angeles in October 2010 at the age of 48.<ref name="Moynihan">{{cite news|newspaper=[[The New York Times]]|title=Ari Up, a Founder of the Slits Punk Band, Dies at 48|first=Colin|last=Moynihan|date=22 October 2010|page=A33 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/22/arts/music/22ariup.html| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20110921032623/http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/22/arts/music/22ariup.html| archive-date=21 September 2011| url-status= live}}</ref> The band's final work, the [[music video|video]] for the song "Lazy Slam" from ''Trapped Animal'', was released posthumously according to Ari Up's wishes.<ref>{{cite web
 |url = http://narnackrecords.com/beta/ari-up-r-i-p-1962-2010
 |title = Ari Up R.I.P. (1962–2010)d
 |publisher = narnackrecords.com
 |date = 21 October 2010
 |access-date = 20 October 2009
 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120722010854/http://narnackrecords.com/ari-up-r-i-p-1962-2010/
 |archive-date = 22 July 2012
 |url-status = dead
 }}</ref> A final song, the unreleased 1981 recording "Coulda Woulda Shoulda", was due to be released in early 2011.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Original Slits Lineup to Release Cassette of "Last Ever Song" {{!}} Exclaim!|url=https://exclaim.ca/music/article/original_slits_lineup_to_release_cassette_of_last_ever_song|access-date=21 February 2022|website=exclaim.ca|language=en}}</ref>