There is no God and no cure for cancer.  Further proof of these truisms comes with news of the death of Ari Up (Ariane Daniele Forster) aged just 48.  When she began singing with The Slits she was only 13 and this all female band came to epitomise the revolutionary DIY ethic of Punk and helped show that women need not be content to slavishly follow stereotypical roles as passive, pretty adornments.  They were not, nor had any desire to be, typical girls.

Plenty of other bands pretended not to able to play their instruments but The Slits were genuinely inept. They more than made up for this with attitude and an instinctive recognition of how you could incorporate dub rhythms and banal words to create a sound that was both radical and fun.

Unfortunately, I never got to see them live but well remember being entranced by their sessions for John Peel. The current crimson wave of girl bands from the US owe a great  debt to their innovative and fearless example.

This recording from the Peel session of Love Und Romance is nothing less than a classic which includes the following great  lyrics (when Ari could remember them):

Oh oh oh sweet love and romance /  I’m so glad we met by chance
Call you everyday on the telephone /  Break your neck if you ain’t home

 

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