THE SLITS PAVE THE WAY FOR WOMEN AND PUNK ROCK!

The Slits

In a time of free love and musical expression, two bands came together to create a punk rock legend that bonded four women for life. The Slits joined forces in 1976 and were created by members of the bands The Flowers of Romance and The Castrators. The band was made up of members Ari Up, Palmolive (Paloma Romero), Kate Koris and Suzy Gutsy (who would later be replaced by Tessa Pollitt and Viy Albertine).  Palmolive would later be replaced by drummer Budgie (Peter Clarke). The band may not have always been made up of an all female cast, but Ari, Kate, and Suzy would always remain a key in all the line-up changes.

The Slits hit the scene hard. Without a world of knowledge in music they attacked the scene and paved the way for girls all around the world to step out of the shadows of punk rock and bask in the neon lights of the night.  The bands self titled “The Slits” was released in 1979 and produced hits like “Typical Girls”, “So Tough”, and “I Heard It Through the Grapevine.” The band received 4.5 out of 5 stars for the album and reviews are glowing at Allmusic.com.

Many walks of life held The Slits in high regard. They were trailblazers and founders of a women’s musical moment that was for so long considered a man’s world and domination.

            "They (The Slits) were loud brash bold and unrepentant.. they never compromised their image or stance...they must have inspired loads of women to pick up a guitar and form a band....they were pure punk driven by female power...they shocked a lot of people, both on and off stage. They were dangerous, and their very presence threatened those that considered rock to be a male-only pursuit." Mark Perry 'And God Created Punk'(http://www.punk77.co.uk/groups/slits.htm)

The girls signed on with Dennis Bovell, producer, and started working on their album. The girls had a definite idea of what they wanted and the sound that they were going for. Hard work all around and constant studio time for ten weeks brought about their first album.

The group supported fellow punk band The Clash on their 1977 White Riot 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 who opened the shows (wikipedia).

During their time touring the girls went through many wild experiences, many band members, and many types of sound. They polished their performances as they went along and brought about a new sound during the 80’s.

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 (wikepdia).

Tessa and Ari came back together in 2005 to bring a new sound and new style to The Slits. They brought in new members and released a new Revenge of the Killer Slits. The EP featured former members of the Sex Pistols.  The group enjoyed their new time together and new tours, seeing parts of the world they had never seen before (Australia, Japan, America, etc).  In 2009, Narnack Records signed the girls to a real record deal.  They had accomplished something most punk rock bands would only dream of and set the tone for punk rock girls and rebellious teens everywhere.

Then unexpectedly, on Oct 20, 2010, Slits band member Ari up died of an unspecified illness at age 48. The world mourned the loss of an amazing pioneer and her memory would live in infamy as a woman who gave her whole self to the music and let nothing slow her down.