I was about 15 when I first discovered The Slits and remember being shocked and almost scared at how primal their jungle-punk sound and energy was… That was a split second before wishing I wanted to travel back in time to be their crazy-hair leader and vocalist Ariane “Ari-Up” Forster. She was the original incarnation of what ‘girl power’ was really about in pop music – a bold rule breaker, an innovator, completely fearless and fucking cool. I’m fairly sure I wasn’t the first teenage girl to worship her years after the height of The Slits’ infamy and I won’t be the last. Yesterday John Lydon’s website put up a post saying that Ari Up had died at 48 years of age.
Lydon Ari’s fellow punk icon is married to Forster’s mother Nora. The message said:
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. She will be sadly missed.
Everyone at JohnLydon.com and PiLofficial.Com would like to pass on their heartfelt condolences to John, Nora and family.
Rest in Peace.
You can watch The Slits’ final music video “Lazy Slam,” which was directed by Jess Holzworth, featuring appearances by actress Chloë Sevigny and Gang Gang Dance singer Lizzi Bougatsos, below.
