'Typical Girls? The Story of The Slits'
by Zoe Street Howe
Wild, defiant and startlingly inventive, The Slits were ahead of their
time. Although they created some unique hybrids - dub reggae and pop-punk,
African rhythms, funk and free jazz - they were dismissed as being unable
to play. Their lyrics were witty and perceptive while their influential
first album challenged perceptions of punk and of girl bands - but they
were still misunderstood. And that infamous debut album cover, with the
band appearing topless and mud-daubed, prompted further misreadings of
the first ladies of punk. Author Zoe Street Howe speaks to The Slits themselves,
to former manager Don Letts, mentor and PIL guitarist Keith Levene and
many other friends and colleagues to discover exactly how The Slits phenomenon
came about and to celebrate the legacy of a seminal band long overdue
its rightful acclaim. Too long seen as a note in the margin of the history
of rock, The Slits at last get a fair hearing in this revealing biography.
Author Biography
Zoe Street Howe is a freelance writer and broadcaster contributing to
publications including NME, Channel 4 music, Contemporary Magazine and
BBC Music. She has previously assisted with press matters for artists
such as The Blockheads, The Tiger Lillies and X Ray Spex. She also presents
and co-produces the alternative music radio show Paranoimia, which broadcasts
across Europe. Zoe lives in London, with her husband, jazz drummer Dylan
Howe.