Ari Up, frontwoman of The Slits from the age of 14, died yesterday aged 48 after a long illness, it was announced by her stepfather, John Lydon of the Sex Pistols. The brilliant and confrontational female-fronted Slits were one of the finest examples of the punk era's DIY creativity, and also one of punk's most successful engagements with reggae. Ari Up never stopped being a fervent supporter of reggae culture in all its forms: after The Slits she formed New Age Steppers with legendary British producer Adrian Sherwood, and for many years she lived in Kingston, Jamaica where she was a keen participant in the local dancehall scene under the name Medusa.
The combination of the deep bass weight of reggae with the jagged urgency of punk rock and an endlessly experimental attitude was one of the most vital demonstrations of the freedom that the punk mentality offered - and set the tone for what would follow in the post-punk movement, perhaps more even than did the more standard guys-with-guitars acts of the scene. Ari Up remained an active musician throughout her life, and as recently as last year was fronting a reformed Slits for club shows playing to audiences of all ages, proving the vitality and legacy of their music, and sounding like far more than a mere nostalgia act (footage courtesy of Joe McKechnie):
Watch The Slits perform "I Heard it Through the Grapevine":
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