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Special Artists: The Slits

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Viv, Ari-Up, Tessa and Palmolive of The Slits

Most music-lovers have at least one legendary band or

artist in their favorite genre who, for one reason or another,
they've never actually heard. These bands are frequently
cited by top artists as major influences, and so their names
are kept alive; but their music still does not get played
anywhere.

There is one prime example of a band that is paradoxically

both influential and ignored, without even the name
recognition that a male band like the Buzzcocks have, but
arguably more important. And it is to my disappointment
(and a bit of embarrassment) that I had never heard a full
album by this band until now. For, before there was such a
thing as New Wave, and long before anyone could conceive
of bands like Hole, L7, The GoGo's, or indeed any artist
played on this station... there were The Slits.
The infamous "Cut" album cov er
They were true Punk Rock. Formed in 1976, they were friends of the Sex Pistols and The Clash. They
were amateur musicians, but they had nobody to copy; so they invented a new sound all by
themselves. And they were all girls.

The term "girls" is meant literally: singer Ari-Up (aka Ariana Forster) was only 14 when she formed the
band with drummer Palmolive (Paloma Romero). Fourteen!! (When I was 14, I was throwing rocks at
my neighbor, Robbie Joyner...or maybe that was someone else.) The band was filled out by guitarist

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Viv Albertine and bassist Tessa Pollitt. Although they had no female role models (other than Patti
Smith, perhaps), they certainly were being influenced by the scene around them; in fact, Johnny Rotten
would become Ari-Up's stepfather. And although the girls were neck-deep in the UK Punk scene, the
band fortunately managed to avoid any professional involvement with Malcolm McLaren.

From the outset, The Slits knew that they were originals, and they set out to live up to that knowledge.
Punk Rock was still new, and it was all about trashing musical boundaries as well as musical venues.
Yet even within this atmosphere of invention and re-invention, The Slits were determined to be different.

"We didn't want to follow male rhythms and structures," says Ari-up in the liner notes to the recently re-
issued 1979 album Cut. "We consciously thought about getting girl rhythms into music and concluded
that female rhythms were probably not as steady, structured, or as contained as male rhythms."
Hence the tempo changes and staccato percussion arrangements of many of their songs.

Early on, though, the band's musical reach exceeded its grasp. Palmolive's style was heavy and
bombastic -- both behind the drum kit, and apparently everywhere else as well. Despite their obvious
inexperience with musical instruments, the band's energy and dedication were infectious, and they
gained some popular and critical acclaim with the release of their Peel Sessions disc (now re-issued).

After that, the major record labels came calling, and The Slits had their pick of recording deals;
eventually they chose Island Records because of the diversity of artists on the label. But even as an
unprecedented and highly anticipated band, they could only get a one-record deal. This modest
commercial aspiration was too much for drummer Palmolive, who left the band rather than being
perceived as a sellout.

Her replacement was Budgie, a respected member of the local scene, and future Banshees drummer
and husband of Siouxsie Sioux. (Siouxsie herself was at this time still a member of The Bromley
Contingent -- not a band, but a group of Sex Pistols fans who had gained a notoriety all their own.)
With the addition of Budgie, the band's creativity and cohesiveness soared. They composed new
songs, developed their live act, and in 1978 went on the road with The Clash.

After the tour, The Slits retreated to the rural Ridge Farm Studios to begin recording Cut, their album for
Island. They brought in producer Dennis Bovell, who was perhaps best known as a reggae producer,
and the creative sparks flew. (My impressions of Cut: The reggae influence is plainly apparent, yet
despite what I had heard about it, it is definitely not a reggae album. Ari-Up's distinctive voice and
"callback" vocal arrangements are edgy, different, and -- Punkers, please don't kill me for saying this --
cute.)

The Slits did a big-budget tour of the UK in support of Cut. Although the album cracked the UK top 30,
it didn't become the sensation that it deserved to, and that many people thought it would. Looking
back, one would think that the album cover alone would have guaranteed it platinum sales. Featuring
Ari-Up, Viv and Tessa covered in mud and wearing nothing but skimpy homemade loincloths, it is the
sort of thing that these days would be singled out for scorn by Christians for Prudish and Barren
Lifestyles, or some such bullshit "parental advocacy" group.

As Viv relates in the liner notes, the album cover resulted from a happy coincidence of a female
photographer who made the bandmates feel at ease, and an African friend of the manager, who earlier
had taught them how to make their own loincloths. Ironically, some people criticized The Slits as being
anti-feminist for posing nearly nude, thus proving that you can't please everybody.

The Slits would release one more album, Return of the Giant Slits, in 1981 under CBS. The
album marked the introduction of the genre that is now known as World Beat. Like Cut, it was way
ahead of its time; and like the previous album, it was sadly ignored. "Return" has been re-issued by a
thoughtful Japanese company, and is available in the US as an import.

After that, The Slits quietly disbanded. Ari-Up, distressed from making little professional headway
while crappy acts flourished around her, literally dropped out of society and lived in the jungles of
Borneo and Belize. Eventually, she re-emerged in Jamaica, and became a Dancehall
Reggae heroine performing under the name Medusa. Now a fit mother of three, she recently returned to
New York, where she performs once again as Ari-Up (and is occasionally joined onstage by her
youngest son, Wilton).

As not only the first all-girl Punk band, but also possibly the first all-girl Rock band of any note, The
Slits set the standard for every female rocker who would come after. Many noted artists name-check
them, and they are acknowledged by musicologists as true originators. Which makes it all the more
shameful how overlooked they were in their day. Whether because of chauvanistic business practices,
or their music being ahead of its time (and most likely a combination of both), The Slits were tragically
ignored by too many in the industry and the public.

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Fortunately, my eyes have been opened, and as a fan of modern female artists, I also owe a great deal
to The Slits. Perhaps if they had truly been huge, then others would have followed; and radio and the
record industry and the listening public would be more open to, and respectful of, female rockers. And
perhaps I wouldn't need to run a radio station on the internet at my own expense, just to get some of
these female artists heard.

Nevertheless, The Slits did what they did, and they were truly Punk. They were also musical
originators, and nobody can take that away from them. To Viv, Tessa and Ari-Up: Thank you!

Update: Ari-Up has seen this site, and thanked me for the tribute to The Slits! This is now the greatest thing to happen to
me since the John Peel email incident (see below). Special thanks to Ari's assistant Megan, who got her Luddite friend to
check out the site. Rock on!

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