News

Ari Up Will Be Missed

• 22nd Oct 2010

Frontwoman, Arianna Forster, for probably the most well known and loved all female bands in the UK, The Slits, has died age 48 after suffering from a serious illness.

It was Stepfather John Lydon, of the Sex Pistols who broke the news from his blog. “John and Nora have asked us to let everyone know that Nora's daughter Arianna (aka Ari-Up) died today (Wednesday, October 20th) after a serious illness,” the statement read. “She will be sadly missed.”

Shahin Ewalt of Narnack Records issued a statement “Ari was a rare and beautiful person. She had so much energy, and was full of life. She was fearless, pushing the boundaries of music in unprecedented ways. You can hear her direct influence in punk, indie and reggae over the course of the past three decades.”

From the age of 15, Ari Up was out supporting The Clash on tour, as idolized in “The Punk Rock Movie” released in the late 1970s. By 16, Ari had already released her debut album “Cut” where she provocatively appeared on the front cover with her band the rest of her band. Their recent tour in May this year was a positive step to the re-egnitement of women in UK music.

Realising how difficult the climate is for female bands, The Kut spoke to us about the news today. “The Slits definitely broke the mould and paved the way for women in music, so we owe a lot to them in terms of how open the industry is now'. When asked if the band was named after The Slits, Maha mentioned “We've been asked a few times whether we named our band The Kut after The Slits album, sadly no, but at least it allowed me to discover their music! Music lives forever and there are few vocalists like Ari who really represent women so well. RIP”