Obituary: Ari Up Of The Slits 1962 - 2010

The pioneering post-punk frontwoman died yesterday aged 48. Her impact will continue to be felt for many years.

Posted Thursday, 21 October 2010 in

Features & Interviews

Rock Sound Ari Up was an icon in an era that wasn’t short of figureheads and the very fact she managed to stand out as brightly as she did is testament enough to her attention-grabbing talent. A textbook example of the ‘It doesn’t matter where you came from, it only matters what you do’ spirit that fuelled the UK punk scene in the late 70s, Arianna Forster was a musical pioneer from her early teens, and her presence will be sorely missed. Her death after an undisclosed “serious illness” was announced by John Lydon aka Johnny Rotten of the Sex Pistols and Public Image Limited, who was her stepfather.

Forster was the granddaughter of a German newspaper magnate but formed The Slits in 76 with drummer Paloma Romero aka Palmolive, mixing ska, punk, dub and reggae in the nascent post-punk scene. They quickly became popular, supporting The Clash on their famous White Riot tour of 77, and won acclaim not only for their rabble-rousing musical experimentation but for their bravery in stepping into the male-dominated world of punk rock. The cover of their 79 debut ‘Cut’ featured the band topless and covered in mud – on the major label Island, no less – and Forster became an inspiration for the burgeoning riot grrrl scene.

81’s Return Of The Giant Slits was more avant-garde and precipitated the band’s break-up a year later. Forster then moved to Jamaica after living temporarily in the jungles of Indonesia and Belize and continued working as part of the New Age Steppers. The Slits reformed in 06 to release the ‘Revenge Of The Killer Slits’ EP and tour the world, before releasing ‘Trapped Animal’ in 09, their first full-length album in 28 years.

Forster died on October 20 2010, aged 48.