Ari Up (Born Ariane Forster)
January 17, 1962 – October 20, 2010
Ari Up was the lead singer for the British punk band, the Slits. Born in Germany, Up was exposed to the rock music world at a very young age by her mother, Nora Forster, who was friends with Jimi Hendrix, Chris Spedding, and later married John Lydon of the Sex Pistols. By the late ’70s, the Forster home was somewhat of a halfway house for starving punk musicians, with Up taking it all in, even learning to play the guitar from Joe Strummer. In 1976, Up, who was just 14 at thetime, formed the Slits with Palmolive (Paloma Romero). The band built a solid following thanks to its reggae and dub leaning punk sound, which was heavily influenced by the Clash, and Up’s energetic live performances. In 1979, the band released its debut album, Cut, on Island Records to some controversy as the cover featured the women dressed only in loin cloths and covered in mud. Even though it was never considered a “hit,” the album generally appears in “best of” lists to this day. Following the break up of the Slits in 1981, Up all but retired from music, moving to the jungles of Indonesia and Belize with her husband and children to live amongst the indigenous people. She made music occasionally and resurfaced in 2005 to release her first solo album, Dread More Dan Dead. The following year, Up reformed the Slits and released an EP and toured the world. Since then she has appeared on albums by the likes of Lee “Scratch” Perry, the Jammyland All Stars, and Mark Stewart. Ari Up passed away on October 20, 2010 at the age of 48. Cause of death was not immediately released, but she apparently had been suffering from an undisclosed illness.
Thanks to Mike Woodford for the assist.
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