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Biography
Infobox musical artist | | name = The Slits| image = The Slits.jpg| caption = The Slits in New York City, 2007| background = group_or_band| origin = London, England| genre = Punk rock , post-punk , reggae | years_active = 1976–1982 2005–2010| label = Island Records|Island Y Records|Y CBS Records|CBS Narnack Records|Narnack | associated_acts =| website =| current_members = Tessa Pollitt Hollie Cook Michelle Hill Anna Schulte | past_members = Ari Up (deceased) Kate Korus Suzy Gutsy Palmolive (musician)|Palmolive Viv Albertine Bruce Smith (musician)|Bruce Smith Budgie (drummer)|Budgie Adele Wilson No The Slits were a British punk rock musical ensemble|band . The quartet was formed in 1976 by members of the bands The Flowers of Romance (band)|The Flowers of Romance and The Castrators. The members were Ari Up (Ariane Forster), who died of cancer in October 2010, and Palmolive (musician)|Palmolive (Paloma Romero, who later left to join The Raincoats ), with Viv Albertine and Tessa Pollitt replacing founding members, Kate Korus and Suzy Gutsy. Palmolive was replaced by the drummer Budgie (drummer)|Budgie (aka Peter Clarke), formerly of The Spitfire Boys and later of Siouxsie and the Banshees . Although not all line-ups were exclusively female, the three main female members appeared on most record covers and publicity photos, and the group was generally presented as a female band.
Career
1976-1982
The group supported fellow punk rock|punk band The Clash on their 1977 White Riot concert tour|tour along with the Buzzcocks and the 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 (UK punk band)|The Innocents who opened the shows. http://homepage.mac.com/blackmarketclash/Bands/Clash/recordings/1978/78-10-00 Tour Info MASTER/78-10-00.
Quote|text=Number One for me at the moment are the Subway Sect. They've got some good ideas. The Slits are good, too. Palmolive on drums& #33; She's the female Jerry Nolan . But like everyone, they need to do thirty gigs in thirty days and they would be a different group. Then they'd be great. The same with us.|sign= Joe Strummersfn|Coon|1977 Captured on a Peel Session , the Slits' originally raw and raucous Live sound reproduction|live sound was cleaned up and polished by the time of their debut album. A mixture of reggae rhythms, scratchy guitars, anger and mischief, the Dennis Bovell record producer|produced debut album Cut (The Slits album)|Cut was released in September 1979 on Island Records with Neneh Cherry joining as additional vocalist. The album's record sleeve|sleeve art depicted the band naked, except for mud and loincloth s. (Palmolive left before the sound recording and reproduction|recording sessions for Cut , partly because she disliked the others' concept for the sleeve).cite book | first= David | last= Roberts | year= 1998 | title= Guinness Rockopedia | edition= 1st | publisher= Guinness Publishing Ltd. | location= London | page= 397 | isbn= 0-85112-072-5
The Slits's 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 a drummer (Bruce Smith) and releasing a joint single (music)|single , "In The Beginning There was Rhythm" / "Where There's A Will" ( Y Records ), followed by a bizarre, uncommercial, untitled album of mostly homemade demo recording s, and a few more Single (music)|singles . The band toured widely and released another 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, and in 2006 released the Extended play|EP Revenge of the KillerSlits .cite web |first= |last= |url=Allmusic|class=artist|id=p14289/biography|pure_url=yes |title=Biography by John Dougan |publisher=Allmusic.com |accessdate=23 April 2009 The Extended play|EP featured former Sex Pistols member Paul Cook and Marco Pirroni (ex- Adam and the Ants , and Siouxsie and the Banshees ) as both musician s and co- record producer|producers . In fact, Cook's daughter Hollie is a member of the current line-up, singing and playing keyboard instrument|keyboards . Other members of the reformed band were No (of The Home Office) on guitar, Germans|German drummer Anna Schulte, and Adele Wilson on guitar.Cite news |publisher=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
The band toured the United States for the first time in twenty-five years during 2006's 'States of Mind' tour. In 2007, they toured Australia as well as returning to the US, where they opened for Sonic Youth at New York City|New York's McCarren Park Pool . http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/article/news/44064-slits-set-for-us-summer-tour Slits Set for U.S. Summer Tour Pitchfork Media , 6 July 2007. In their first ever visit to that country, the band undertook 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 the American guitarist, Michelle Hill. In November 2008, the band played Ladyfest in Manchester , and visited London Astoria the following month. In January 2009 The Slits' MySpace page listed former guitarist Viv Albertine as one of the groups current members, however Albertine's own MySpace blog states that she only rejoined to play two shows.
In January 2009, the Los Angeles based Narnack Records announced they had signed the band to a recording contract . A biography - Typical Girls? The Story Of The Slits by Zoe Street Howe was published in the UK by Omnibus Press in July 2009.cite book | isbn=978-1847727800
A full-length album entitled Trapped Animal was released in 2009, http://music-mix.ew.com/2009/06/the-slits-ladypunk-legends-return.html The Slits: lady-punk legends to return with first full-length since 1981 Entertainment Weekly 29 June 2009 and the band continued to perform live.
Group founder Ari Up died unexpectedly in October 2010.cite news | url= http://blogs.laweekly.com/westcoastsound/2010/10/rip_ari_up_of_the_slits_dead.php | title=R.I.P. Ari Up of the Slits, Dead at 48 | newspaper= LA Weekly | date=20 October 2010 | accessdate=20 October 2010 | first=Chris | last=Martins cite web|url= http://www.johnlydon.com/jltalk.html#Arianna |title=Rotten Talk |publisher=John Lydon.Com |date= |accessdate=2011-12-30 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.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 Oct 2010 |accessdate = 2009-10-20
In October 2010 Viv Albertine announced via Twitter that she and Tessa Pollitt intend to release the "last ever Slits song", titled "Shoulda Coulda Woulda" from 1981 on cassette tape with hand drawn covers.cite web |url = http://twitter.com/viv_albertine/status/28581335915 |title = Twitter / Viv Albertine: Me and Tessa are going to... |publisher = twitter.com |date = 24 Oct 2010 |accessdate = 2010-11-14
Double Peel Sessions (Strange Fruit, November 1988)
In the Beginning ( Jungle Records|Jungle , 1997)cite book
| first= Martin C. | last= Strong | year= 2000 | title= The Great Rock Discography | edition= 5th | publisher= Mojo Books | location= Edinburgh | pages= 894/895 | isbn= 1-84195-017-3
Live at the Gibus Club ( Castle Music / Sanctuary Records|Sanctuary , February 2005 - recorded January 1978)Allmusic|class=album|id=r739066|pure_url=yes Allmusic.com - album overview - accessed April 2009
Singles and EPs
"Typical Girls" / " I Heard It Through the Grapevine " (Island (UK) / Antilles (USA), September 1979, also issued as a 12-inch EP with additional alternate versions) UK Singles Chart|UK #60cite book
| first= David | last= Roberts | year= 2006 | title= British Hit Singles & Albums | edition= 19th | publisher= Guinness World Records Limited | location= London | isbn= 1-904994-10-5 | page= 508
"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 Records|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 (U.S.), 7& nbsp;inch single with the first 2 tracks, and 12& nbsp;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 Records|Strange Fruit , February 1987)
Zoe Street Howe, Typical Girls? The Story of The Slits , Omnibus Press, 2009. (ISBN 1847727808)
References
Reflist
Sources
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Cite book |ref=harv |last1=Coon |first1=Caroline |authorlink1=Caroline Coon |title=1988: The New Wave Punk Rock Explosion |url= http://homepage.mac.com/blackmarketclash/Bands/Clash/Clash%20gigography/1976%20DATES.html |accessdate=2011-09-19 |year=1977 |publisher=Hawthorn |location= London |isbn=0801561299 |oclc=79262599
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External links
commons categoryRefbegin
Official| http://www.theslits.co.uk/
The Slits http://offsetfestival.co.uk/the-slits Biography and Videos
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
SUPERSWEET http://www.supersweet.org/main.aspx? atype=1& aname=Music_Slits& con=1& sc1=0& sc2=0 Ari Up Interview
Refend DEFAULTSORT:Slits, The Category:British post-punk music groups Category:English punk rock groups Category:Musical groups from London Category:Reggae rock groups Category:British New Wave musical groups Category:Musical groups established in 1976 Category:Musical groups disestablished in 1982
