Ari Upp, the flamboyant lead singer of the 70s girl punk band 'The Slits has died of cancer at age 48.
Up, whose real name was Arianna Forster, was the granddaughter of a wealthy newspaper man from Germany. Her mother was a music publisher who counted among her friends Jimi Hendrix and John Anderson of the band 'Yes' who was her godfather.
The Slits performed punk and Reggae as they toured with 'The Clash. They were the opening act.
Having no formal training Arianna did her own thing and was good at it. The Slits disbanded in 1981. Up recorded a solo album 'Dread More Dan Dead'.
Touring with re-start version of 'The Slits' Up toured as late as last year. She also did solo concerts with her back up band 'The True Warriors'.
Some of the colorful titles of 'The Slits'
- Spend Spend Spend
- Shoplifting
- Ping Pong Affair
- Difficult Fun
The covers of their albums were usually adorned with lots of flesh, tasteful for the most part....sometimes not (google 'The Slits' Peel Sessions.
RIP punk queen, your fans will miss you.