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Ari Up, lead singer of The Slits
For all-female British punk rock band The Slits, revolution is more than just a buzzword to slap on the back of an album — it’s a way of life.
The original band members — Ari Up (vocals), Viv Albertine (guitar), Tessa Pollit (bass) and Palmolive (drums) — departed the music scene after a four-year run in the late ’70s/early ’80s during which they toured as openers for Hall of Fame inductees and fellow Brit punk rockers The Clash.
In 2006, the band re-formed with Ari Up and Pollit joined by Anna Schulte, Hollie Cook and Michelle Hill.
But to Ari Up, it’s like the intervening decades never took place.
“We just went on from where we left off as if no time has passed,” she said. “It wasn’t really a reunion as much as a continuing.
“The Slits were never really finished because the mission wasn’t accomplished. In that way, we never really ended because we hadn’t even really begun fully.”
Tonight, The Slits will stop at JJ’s Bohemia for a quadruple bill with This Bike Is a Pipe Bomb, Shellshag and Future Virgins on the way to the music and film festival South by Southwest.
During their first performance period, The Slits’ combination of dub reggae and bristling, primal punk energy was revolutionary and not always well-received.
People still have extreme reactions to The Slits’ music, but the world is coming around to their way of thinking, Ari Up said.
“That’s just coming out to the forefront now — dub music,” she said. “So many people missed it, so we’re not old-fashioned anymore.
“We were decades ahead of time. We’re just in time now — we’re shifting into time.”
Casey Phillips has worked as a features reporter in the Life department for three years. He writes about entertainment, young adults, animals and people of interest. Casey hails from Knoxville and earned a bachelor of science degree in journalism and a bachelor of arts in German. He previously worked as the features editor for Sidelines at Middle Tennessee State University. Casey received the East Tennessee Society of Professional Journalists Award of Excellence for Reviewing/Criticism in ...
