- The Slits
Infobox musical artist |
Name = The Slits
Img_capt = The Slits in NYC 2007
Background = group_or_band
Origin =London ,England
Genre =Punk rock Post-punk
Years_active = 1976 – 1981
2006 - present
Label =Island Records CBS Y Records
Associated_acts =
URL =
Current_members =Ari Up
Hollie Cook
Michelle HillTessa Pollitt
Anna Schulte
Past_members =Kate Korus Suzy Gutsy
PalmoliveViv Albertine
Bruce Smith
Budgie
Adele Wilson
NoThe Slits are a
UK punk rock band. The quartet was formed in1976 by members of the bands The Flowers of Romance andThe Castrators . The members wereAri Up (Arianna Forster) and Palmolive (Paloma Romera, who later left to joinThe Raincoats ), withViv Albertine andTessa Pollitt replacing founding membersKate Korus andSuzy Gutsy . Palmolive was replaced by maledrummer Budgie (aka Pete Clarke), formerly ofThe Spitfire Boys and later to joinSiouxsie & the Banshees .Career
At their outset, the Slits played a brand of brash, fun, snotty, catchy
punk rock naturally suited to supportingThe Clash on their 1977 "White Riot " tour along with theBuzzcocks and theSubway Sect (documented both on- and offstage byDon Letts in "The Punk Rock Movie ").As also captured on a legendary
Peel Session , the Slits' originally extremely raw and raucous live sound was subsequently cleaned up and considerably polished by the time of theirreggae influenced, dub heavy,Dennis Bovell produced1979 debut album "Cut" (Island Records ). The album's cover art depicts the band naked save for mud and loin-cloths.Their sound and attitude became increasingly experimental and
avant-garde during the early1980 's, when they formed an alliance with Bristolpost punk mavericksThe 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). The band toured widely and released a second LP "Return Of The Giant Slits" before breaking up.Other projects
Kate Korus went on to form
the Mo-dettes in 1979. Various Slits became involved with the On-U dub-jamming project New Age Steppers, along with free improvisers such asSteve Beresford and also a youngNeneh Cherry . The band has had such fans asJohnny Rotten ,Frank Zappa [Frank Zappa (interview) on The Dick Cavett Show 1980 (PBS)] and British DJ,John Peel . Albertine also collaborated with Singers & Players and The Playgroup. Ari Up has appeared on albums withRip Rig & Panic ,The Slackers , Dubblestandart, and several others.Reformation
Ari Up and Tessa Pollitt reformed the band with new members in 2005, and in 2006 released the EP "Revenge Of The Killer Slits". The EP features former Sex Pistol
Paul Cook andMarco Pirroni (ex-Adam & the Ants , and Siouxsie & the Banshees) as bothmusician s and co-producers. In fact, Cook'sdaughter 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) in 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. In 2007 they touredAustralia as well as returning to the United States where they opened forSonic Youth at NYC'sMcCarren Park Pool . [ [http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/article/news/44064-slits-set-for-us-summer-tour Slits Set for U.S. Summer Tour] Pitchfork, July 6 2007.] In their first ever visit to that country the band did 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 American guitarist Michelle Hill.
A book celebrating the Slits and their seminal album Cut is being written by music writer Zoe Street Howe, due for publication in 2009 through Omnibus, to mark the 30-year anniversary of the album's release.
Discography
tudio albums
*"Cut" (
Island Records ,1979 )
*"Return of the Giant Slits " (CBS,1981 )
*"Revenge Of The Killer Slits " (EP),(2006 )Live albums
*"
Bootleg Retrospective " (Rough Trade,1980 )
*"Live at the Gibus Club
*"Typical Girls - Live in Cincinnati & San Francisco USA " (Basic Records, 1980 )Compilation albums
*"The Peel Sessions" (Strange Fruit,
1988 )
*"In the Beginning" (Jungle Records ,1997 )ingles
*"Typical Girls"/"
I Heard It Through the Grapevine " (Island, 1979) UK #60
*"In The Beginning There Was Rhythm" (split single withThe Pop Group ), (Y Records/Rough Trade, 1980)
*"Man Next Door" (Y Records/Rough Trade, 1980)
*"Animal Space" (Human Records , 1980)
*"Earthbeat" (CBS, 1981)Trivia
*Slits drummer, Palmolive, dated Clash frontman,
Joe Strummer .
*Ari Up's mother Nora married John Lydon, also known asJohnny Rotten from theSex Pistols .
*The Slits also appear inDon Letts ' "The Punk Rock Movie " (1979) and live footage of the band playing atLondon 's Vortex Club is included in the "Punk! The Early Years "DVD .
*The Slits are namechecked in the song 'Losing My Edge ' byLCD Soundsystem
*Former band member Kate Korus famously bit the ear ofShane MacGowan at a 1976 Clash concert.References
*
Guinness Book of British Hit Singles - 16th Edition - ISBN 0-85112-190-X
* Guinness Book of British Hit Albums - 7th Edition - ISBN 0-85112-619-7External links
*The Slits [http://www.theslits.co.uk/ Official Site]
*myspace|theslits|The Slits
*Punk 77 - [http://www.punk77.co.uk/groups/slits.htm The Slits]
*Women of 1970's Punk [http://www.comnet.ca/~rina/slits.html The Slits]
*Ari Up [http://ari-up.com/ official site]
*Palmolive [http://www.palmolive2day.com/ official site]
*the home office [http://www.myspace.com/thehomeofficeband]Interviews
*3am Magazine [http://www.3ammagazine.com/musicarchives/2003/nov/interview_tessa_pollitt.html Tessa Pollitt interview]
Video
* [http://punkcast.com/1062 PUNKCAST#1062] Live @ Syrup Room, Brooklyn on Nov 3 2006 (
Realplayer ,mp4 )
* [http://punkcast.com/1184 PUNKCAST#1184] Live @ McCarren Park Pool, Brooklyn on Jul 28 2007 (Realplayer ,mp4 )
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