The Slits

Pioneers in post-punk, feminist punk and dub-rock, The Slits blazed a bright trail in the late ’70s and early ’80s, then reunited when their music and message were realised by a new generation of agitators in the 2000s. Formed in 1976 after leader Ari Up was inspired by a Patti Smith concert, The Slits toured with The Clash and were invited into the BBC studios for Peel Sessions in 1977 and 1978. Palmolive, the band’s founding drummer, left to join The Raincoats in 1978, and she was replaced by Budgie; Up and Budgie, along with guitarist Viv Albertine and bassist Tessa Pollitt, made up the core lineup for their 1979 debut album, Cut. Multiple tracks from that album, like the frenetic anti-patriarchy broadside “Typical Girls”, the postapocalyptic “Fm” and the galloping “So Tough”, would go on to become some of post-punk’s most indelible songs, as would their funk-tinged cover of the soul classic “I Heard It Through the Grapevine”. Budgie left The Slits to join Siouxsie & The Banshees shortly after Cut’s release, and he was replaced on drums by Bruce Smith, who stayed with The Slits through the recording of 1981’s Return of the Giant Slits and until the band’s dissolution a year later. In 2005 Up and Pollitt, with other musicians, began playing under the Slits name again, and they continued recording and touring until Up’s 2010 death at age 48.