RIP: Ari Up of The Slits, 1962-2010
By: Thomas Hannan
According to a statement on her stepfather John Lydon’s website, Arianna Foster – aka Ari Up, founder and front woman of The Slits – died yesterday (Wednesday 20th of October) at the age of 48, after a serious illness.
The Slits held a place in punk history that saw them regarded as some of both the most tuneful and confrontational musicians in a genre that certainly wasn’t afraid of speaking its mind. Founded when Ari Up met drummer Palmolive at the age of just 14, their antics – appearing as teenagers on their debut LP cover wearing nothing but mud, for example – were as notorious as their tunes were strong, melodic and forceful, not to mention pioneering. The girls were one of the first artists to fuse the aggression and politics of punk with the tempos and rhythms of Reggae, a style that would become hugely influential in its own right.
The band released two albums, 1979’s seminal Cut and 1981’s wilfully bizarre Return Of The Giant Slits before breaking up. Their legend justifiably assured, they reunited and released the Trapped Animal LP in 2009, and on the subsequent tour were caught by the Rockfeedback TV cameras at the 2010 Primavera Sound Festival in Barcelona. We offer the footage below as both a condolence to her fans, friends and family (she spent the gig spinning her dreadlocks, talking about her genitals and berating corrupt Jamaican politicians – a good way to remember her), and a tribute to a remarkable woman.
Artists in this article: The Slits