The Slits -

The Slits were an all-female English post-punk combo that made the 1979 album Cut on Island/Antilles, followed by 1981’s Return of the Giant Slits on CBS.

Members: Ari Up [Arianna Forster, aka Ari-Upp] (vocals), Suzi Gutsy (bass, 1976-77), Kate Korus (guitar, 1976-77), Palmolive (drums, vocals, 1976-79), Viv Albertine (guitar, vocals), Tessa Pollitt (bass, vocals) Budgie (drums, 1978-79), Bruce Smith (drums, 1979-81)

Background

The Slits formed in October 1976 through mutual bonds between some of the earliest female clubgoers on the London punk scene. During a 10/22 Patti Smith concert at the Hammersmith Odeon, drummer Paloma Romero (b. December 26, 1954; Melilla, Spain) noticed the unbridled moves of teenager Ariane Forster (b. January 17, 1962; Munich). Amused by the girl’s energy, Romera proposed they form a band.

Forster, who went by the name Ari Up, was the daughter of affluent German newspaper heir Nora Forster — who would later marry Sex Pistols frontman John Lydon — and the goddaughter of Yes frontman Jon Anderson.

Romero fled Franco’s Spain at age 17 and took up drums as part of a London pantomime troupe. She frequented the city’s clubs from 1974 onward with her then-boyfriend, Joe Strummer, who fronted pub-rockers the 101ers. Through their relation, she witnessed the formative stages of The Clash in May/June of 1976. Their bassist, Paul Simonon, mispronounced her name as “Palmolive,” hence her nickname.

Another party to these early Clash rehearsals was budding Australian-born guitarist Viv Albertine (b. December 1, 1954; Sydney), an attendee of the 100 Club Punk Special in September 1976. A fellow attendee, Pistols-fan and momentary Banshee John Ritchie (aka Sid Vicious), invited Viv and Palmolive to join him in a band with guitarist Keith Levine, who’d briefly played in the embryonic Clash. Sid’s band, the Flowers of Romance, rehearsed for a few weeks but quickly collapsed after the two women spurned his advances.

Formation

Straight after the Flowers debacle, Palmolive and Ari formed The Slits with bassist Suzi “Gutsy” Webb and American-born guitarist Kate Korus. On January 17, 1977, The Slits received coverage along with another new female act, The Castrators, in a feature on female punk in the UK tabloid News of the World.

When Gutsy proved an ill fit, Palmolive and Ari switched her out with Castrators bassist Tessa Pollitt (b. January 1959), a London native. (Webb cut a 1981 album with Dee Sign — an all-female Danish post-punk band — and later joined goth-rockers Shark Taboo.)

On March 11, 1977, The Slits made their live debut at the Harlesden Coliseum as part of a multi-act bill with the Buzzcocks, Subway Sect, and headliners The Clash. After the show, Clash guitarist Mick Jones urged Palmolive and Ari to switch out Korus with Viv Albertine, his then-girlfriend. (Korus surfaced in the Mo-Dettes).

Early Activity

With Albertine, The Slits opened for Siouxsie & The Banshees on March 26, 1977, at The Roxy, a converted warehouse in Convent Garden that served as London’s punk epicenter. Filmmaker Don Letts documented Roxy acts on Super 8 and compiled the highlights in The Punk Rock Movie, which features one Slits live number (“Vaseline”) and footage of their rehearsals.

The Slits joined the Clash’s White Riot Tour, a 24-date package blitz with the Buzzcocks, Subway Sect, Brummie punks The Prefects, and Polydor signees The Jam, who fought with The Clash for co-headliner billing in light of their Top 40 debut single “In the City.” The tour commenced on May 1 at Guildford Civic Hall and wrapped on the 30th at the Dunstable’s California Ballroom.^>

As the tour advanced, rock journalist Caroline Coon interviewed The Slits for a Melody Maker profile; later republished in 1988: The New Wave Punk Rock Explosion, Coon’s compilation of 1976/77 articles on the early UK scene (1982, Omnibus Press).

1977–78 Recordings

Early originals in the Slits’ live set included “No. 1 Enemy,” a misanthropic Palmolive/Ari rant; and “Love and Romance,” Viv’s spoof on saccharine love songs. Coon printed the lyrics to both songs in 1988, titled after the book’s closing sentence: “Whatever happens now, the force of punk will be felt in society at least until 1988.”

On September 19, 1977, The Slits cut their first session for BBC Radio One DJ John Peel, whose 9/27 broadcast aired one early setlist number (“Vindictive”) and rough takes of three songs for their far-off first album: “New Town,” “Shoplifting,” and the notorious “Love and Romance.”

On April 17, 1978, The Slits cut their second Peel session for the DJ’s 5/22 broadcast, which aired three further songs in development for their eventual album: “So Tough,” “Instant Hit,” and “FM.”

In 1980, Y Records issued an untitled compilation (informally called Bootleg Retrospective) of 1977–78 Slits demos. It features “No. 1 Enemy,” “Vaseline,” “Let’s Do the Split” (aka “Vindictive”), and seven additional early songs, including two (“Face Place,” “Or What Is It?”) that later surfaced in rearranged form on their second album. Bootleg avoids material that since appeared (albeit altered) on their first album.

A1. “A Boring Life”
A2. “Slime”
A3. “Face Place”
A4. “No. 1 Enemy” features uncredited vocals by East German defector Nina Hagen, a then-unsigned presence on the London punk scene.
A5. “Vaseline”

B1. “Or What Is It?”
B2. “Bongos On the Lawn” appears in Slits Pictures, a 1979 short film by Don Letts.
B3. “Let’s Do the Split” (aka “Vindictive”)
B4. “Once Upon a Time in a Living Room”
B5. “No More Rock n Roll for You”/“Mosquitoes” is a pre-show jam with Subway Sect on the Dunstable date of the White Riot Tour.

Palmolive Exits

By late 1978, tensions swelled between Palmolive and her bandmates (purportedly over her feminist leanings versus their free-spirited outlook). She drummed for Spizzoil on one November date at the Hammersmith Odeon, then joined The Raincoats, an all-female avant-garde post-punk band. With Palmolive, The Raincoats debuted with the Rough Trade single “Fairytale in the Supermarket,” followed by a self-titled album. In late 1979, she left the music industry and moved stateside for a new domestic life.

The Slits hired male drummer Budgie (real name: Peter Clarke), a former member of Liverpool punks The Spitfire Boys and (in its final days) the shambolic proto-supergroup Big In Japan. His presence helped steer The Slits from punk to reggae.

Cut

The Slits released their debut album, Cut, on September 7, 1979, on Island.

Cut features ten originals group-credited to the classic Slits lineup of singer Ari Up, guitarist Viv Albertine, bassist Tessa Pollitt, and original drummer Palmolive, whose October 1978 exit predated the album’s sessions. Her replacement, Budgie, recorded drum tracks as an unofficial fourth member but left two months before Cut hit shelves.

Side One contains the Peel-previewed tracks “Instant Hit,” “Shoplifting,” “FM,” and “So Tough,” the last inspired by Sid Vicious and the Flowers of Romance experience. Side Two features the single “Typical Girls” and two Peel-previewed cuts: “Newtown” and the long-discussed early setlist number “Love and Romance” (now spelled “Love und Romance”).

Most of the songs feature intricate dub-reggae arrangements far removed from their brash punk-style conception. Ari’s Swedish-born roommate, fifteen-year-old Neneh Cherry (step-daughter of free-jazz trumpeter Don Cherry), sings uncredited backing vocals. Palmolive recorded an alternate arrangement of “Adventures Close to Home” with The Raincoats, released five months earlier on their debut maxi-single “Fairytale in the Supermarket.”

1. “Instant Hit” (2:43)
2. “So Tough” (2:41)
3. “Spend, Spend, Spend” (3:18)
4. “Shoplifting” (1:39)
5. “FM” (3:35)

6. “Newtown” (3:48)
7. “Ping Pong Affair” (4:16) stylized as “ƃuoԀ ƃuᴉԀ Affair”
8. “Love und Romance” (2:27) features ad libs by Bruce Smith, the drummer of The Pop Group.
9. “Typical Girls” (3:57)
10. “Adventures Close to Home” (3:28)

Sessions took place at Ridge Farm, a residential countryside studio in Rusper village near the Surrey/Sussex border. The Slits recorded Cut under the direction of Dennis Bovell, a Barbadian singer/musician (Matumbi, 4th Street Orchestra) and dub-reggae artist under the moniker Blackbeard. Bovell produced Cut in sequence with Y, the Pop Group’s debut album. Ridge staffer Mike Dunne engineered Cut and Y in sequence with albums by National Health, Hugh Hopper, and Steve Hillage.

The Slits released “Typical Girls” as a single, backed with their cover of the Motown classic “I Heard It Through the Grapevine,” recorded with Zap Pow drummer Max “Maxi” Edwards. The “Typical Girls” video takes place in Kensington Gardens, where The Slits perform on the bandstand. Ari (now 17) spins around in a bright ensemble (red wool blazer, mint shirt, Rasta bonnet, suspender stockings); flanked by Viv (red mini on black) and Tessa (red v-neck on black).

B. “I Heard It Through the Grapevine” (3:55) is a song by Motown staffers Barrett Strong and Norman Whitfield; first released as a September 1967 single by Gladys Night & The Pips (UK No. 47) and rearranged as a moody soul-psych piece by Marvin Gaye (UK No. 1). Recently, Bay Area art-punks Tuxedomoon gave the song a comedic gay spin.

Cut presents the trio Slits posed muddied topless (front) and crouched in shrubbery (back) by photographer Pennie Smith, whose cover imagery graces the 1979/80 Clash albums London Calling and Sandinista. Video from the mud shoot appears at the end of the “Typical Girls” video. The inner-sleeve features comic doodles by Viv and Regents guitarist Brian Gaylor, another Ridge staffer.

John Peel gave extensive BBC airtime to Cut, which reached No. 30 on the UK Albums Chart.

1980 Non-Album Singles

On March 7, 1980, The Slits returned with “In The Beginning There Was Rhythm,” a new original by the trio lineup. The song appeared on a split 7″ with “Where There’s a Will There’s a Way” by The Pop Group. This was the inaugural release on Y Records, a Rough Trade-associated indie devoted to the Bristol post-punk scene (Pop Group, Glaxo Babies, Maximum Joy).

A. “In the Beginning There Was Rhythm” (5:38)

Dennis Bovell co-produced “In the Beginning There Was Rhythm” at Basing St Studios (formerly Island Studios), where Raincoats soundman Adam Kidron engineered the song amid singles by Essential Logic, the Monochrome Set, and the Red Crayola. Tessa created the sleeve illustrations for this and the two subsequent singles.

On June 4, 1980, The Slits released a dub-reggae cover of “Man Next Door,” a Sixties bluebeat classic by The Paragons. This was their first of two singles on Human Records, a nascent indie with Au Pairs, Zeitgeist, and the Dangerous Girls.

A. “Man Next Door” (3:30) originated as a 1968 Duke Records b-side by Kingston rocksteady merchants The Paragons; written by singer John Holt, who lifted its structure from the 1963 song “Quiet Place” by Garnet Mimms & The Enchanters.
B. “Man Next Door (dub version)” (4:35)

The Slits recorded the single at Berry St. Studios with Kidron, who co-engineered “Man Next Door” with Creation Rebel soundman Adrian Sherwood. Ari played bass on this single in lieu of Tessa, who was hospital-stricken on the day of the session. They employed drummer Cecil of the New Age Steppers, a dub supergroup with Viv and members of The Pop Group, Raincoats, and Public Image Ltd.

On December 5, 1980, The Slits released “Animal Space” (3:35), an Afrobeat song backed with “Animal Spacier” (4:27), a dub version. Both songs reappeared ten months later on their second album.

Return of the Giant Slits

The Slits released their second album, Return of the Giant Slits, in October 1981 on CBS. Musically, they embrace Afrobeat with Ari Up on keyboards and percussion.

Giant Slits features six originals by the current Ari/Viv/Tessa trio, including the pre-released singles “Earthbeat” and “Animal Space,” inserted here as a medley with “Spacier.” Two songs (“Face Place,” “Or What Is It?”) are rearranged versions of tunes demoed during Palmolive’s tenure.

Pop Group drummer Bruce Smith (a Cut guest) fourth-wheels The Slits on Return, which has extra musicianship by session percussionist Dave Lewis and Portsmouth Sinfonia multi-instrumentalist Steve Beresford (who “plays a lot on this record”). Neneh Cherry reappears as a backing vocalist just prior to her turn as the frontwoman of Rip Rig + Panic.

1. “Earthbeat” (5:00)
2. “Or What It Is?” (4:24)
3. “Face Place” (4:23)
4. “Walk About” (4:43)
5. “Difficult Fun” (4:06)
6. “Animal Space/Spacier” (6:42)
7. “Improperly Dressed” (4:28)
8. “Life on Earth” (6:33)

The Slits preceded the album with “Earthbeat,” released as an August 1981 single with “Begin Again, Rhythm,” an exclusive b-side. CBS issued the single as a regular 7″ and an extended 12″ titled “Earthbeat and Earthdub” (7:17).

B. “Begin Again, Rhythm” (5:44)

The “Earthbeat” video takes place in a valley where Viv (pink kimono) runs through the woods, pursued on horseback by Tessa (black robe and top-hat) and Ari (blue robe and head-wrap) while Neneh Cherry (African robe and headpiece) spins upon a grassy slope.

Dennis Bovell produced five songs (excepting “Difficult Fun” and the two “Earth” tracks) amid work with Ryuichi Sakamoto and the Thompson Twins. M soundman Nick Launay engineered the three non-Bovell tracks in sequence with 1980/81 titles by Chas Jankel, Cuban Heels, Kate Bush, PIL, Positive Noise, XTC, and ex-Cowboys International singer Ken Lockie. Y Records owner Disc O’Dell took credit as a co-producer.

Return of the Giant Slits features paint-enhanced cover imagery by Neville Brody (Bush Tetras, Cabaret Voltaire), whose volcanic backdrop animates a group pic by rock photojournalist Anton Corbijn, the photographer of 1980/81 sleeves for Bill Nelson, The Comsat Angels, Fad Gadget, Joan Armatrading, Joe Jackson, Peter Hammill, The Police, and Wah! Heat. The inner-sleeve presents monochrome shots of the ragdoll-attired trio by Viv-associate Sally Orson Jones and Dub Syndicate member Kishi Yamamoto.

On October 12, The Slits cut their third Peel session for the DJ’s 10/26 broadcast, which featured raw takes of “In the Beginning” and the Giant Slits numbers “Difficult Fun” and “Earthbeat,” plus the exclusive “Wedding Song.”

Discography: