Ari Up Passes

ARI UP, (born Ariane Forester), the German-born lead vocalist for seminal British punk band The Slits has died at the age of 48 after a long battle with illness. Her immediate family has asked for privacy at this time and no public service is planned. She is survived by three sons, her mother Nora, and stepfather Johnny Lydon. The Slits most recent record label Narnack Records, today released the band’s final work, the video for the song "Lazy Slam" from her 2009 album Trapped Animal. Ari Up was insistent that the video be seen and it was her wish to release it posthumously. The Slits burst onto the U.K. punk scene in 1976, with a line-up which eventually included Palmolive (Paloma Romero, who later became a member of the Raincoats), Viv Albertine and Tessa Pollitt, eventually adding Budgie from Siouxsie and the Banshees as drummer. Theysupported The Clash on their 1977 White Riot tour. Their debut album, Cut, produced by Dennis Bovell for Island Records, captured their raw, dub-heavy sound with scratchy reggae guitars and no-wave angst, but is probably best known for its sleeve, the three members covered in nothing but caked mud and loinclothes. (10/21p)