The Slits: celebrating the enduring influence of the first all-female punk band
Punk swept Britain during the mid-1970s, becoming more than just a revolutionary music genre. It was a way of life – a subculture concerned with subverting rules and expectations. After artists based in New York, such as the Ramones and Patti Smith, began reinventing the guitar rulebook, it didn’t take long for artists in England to follow suit. The Sex Pistols, the Buzzcocks and The Clash are some of the biggest names associated with British punk from this period, reflecting the genre’s overwhelming masculinity.
During this time, it was much less common for women to pick up instruments and be taken seriously, yet The Slits, who are widely considered the first-ever all-female punk band, changed everything. It hadn’t been that long since second-wave feminism had emerged, and there was still a lot of work to be done in terms of the societal expectations placed on women. It was not the norm to see young girls playing raucous guitar-led tracks, screaming and throwing themselves around a stage – The Slits were ready to change the public’s perception of femininity and redefine the true meaning of punk.
In guitarist Viv Albertine’s memoir, Clothes, Clothes Clothes, Music, Music, Music, Boys, Boys, Boys, she explained how she struggled to find female guitar role models to look up to as a teenager. She wrote, “Every cell in my body was steeped in music, but it never occurred to me that I could be in a band, not in a million years – why would it? Who’d done it before me? There was no one I could identify with. No girls played electric guitar. Especially not ordinary girls like me.”
Yet, Albertine’s love for music triumphed, and she initially joined The Flowers of Romance, which included Sid Vicious, whom she met through her connection to the emerging punk scene. Also on the lineup was Palmolive, the girlfriend of Joe Strummer. The project was shortlived, and soon Vicious would join the Sex Pistols, and Albertine would be recruited by Palmolive to join her new band, The Slits.
From the get-go, The Slits were anything but conventional. Their wild lead singer, Ari Up, was just 14 (her mother soon married Johnny Rotten of the Sex Pistols) and had moved from Germany to England six years prior. Up was unafraid to be totally herself – she was often loud, vulgar, bratty and reckless – which was precisely what the band needed. The lineup initially featured Up, Palmolive, Suzy Gutsy and Kate Korus, before the latter two were soon replaced by Tessa Pollitt and Albertine, respectively.
None of the members of the band were exceptionally knowledgeable when it came to the technicalities of their instruments, but that didn’t stop them from giving their all to the project. During live performances, Up would thrash about the stage with unbridled movement, possessing not a hint of restraint. She even pissed on stage if need be – nothing stopped her from giving an unforgettable performance. She wasn’t afraid to let the group know when she thought they sounded shit, either, with live clips available to watch on YouTube showing her stopping songs to make the outfit restart.
The band possessed an unequivocal DIY spirit, creating music that came out of a place of necessity. For each member, music was their whole lives; their songs were conduits for expressing problems and themes such as punk’s rife drug problems, sexism and consumerism.
In 1979, the band released their debut album, Cut, which was made after Palmolive was kicked from the group. With a new drummer, Budgie, they created songs that were catchy, frenetic, and explosive, often incorporating genres such as dub and reggae into their unique sound. Up’s presence on the record is beyond charming – you can’t help but smile along to songs such as ‘Shoplifting’, in which she screams like a banshee before mumbling, “I’ve pissed in my knickers”.
Additionally, songs like ‘Love Und Romance’ are equally fun, with Up’s voice playfully singing lines like “I’m so happy/ You’re so nice!/ Kiss, kiss, kiss/ Fun, fun, life.” On tracks like ‘Typical Girls’, one of the band’s better-known singles, Albertine’s guitar moves with an addictive whir, backing musings on the expectations placed on women, with Up singing, “Don’t create/ Don’t rebel.”
The band brought a well-needed feminine perspective to punk, and their legacy inspired many other female artists to follow in their footsteps. In many ways, The Slits were the original riot grrrls, a movement that wouldn’t explode across the pond until just over a decade later. Outfits like Bikini Kill and Bratmobile were heavily inspired by The Slits, and even the late-1970s post-punk act The Raincoats, who also significantly influenced the riot grrrl movement, wouldn’t have formed if not for The Slits.
After releasing another album, Return of the Giant Slits, in 1981, the band split up the following year, with the members moving on to various other projects. In the 2000s, they reunited several times, mainly with different musicians who were not part of the original lineup accompanying Up. The singer passed away in 2010, but The Slits’ legacy remains strong. They forced people to consider the true meaning of punk, empowered countless female fans and inspired a wave of artists who have helped keep the spirit of The Slits alive.
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