Died On This Date (October 20, 2010) Ari Up / Lead Singer Of The Slits
themusicsover 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.
What You Should Own
Bob Mercer is perhaps best remembered as the music industry veteran who helmed the wildly successful Now That’s What I Call Music! hit compilation series. But to many of those with whom he worked, he was above all, a beloved mentor and motivator. Since the Now series debuted in the United States in 1998, it has sold in the neighborhood of 77 million units combined. What was fairly unique about the series at the time, at least in the US, was that the CDs collected the biggest current dor recent hits of the day, in a partnership with the major labels. To many, the series would be a flop, but of course they were proven wrong over and over again. During his career, Mercer also held executive positions at EMI UK (where he signed the Sex Pistols, Queen, and T. Rex to name a few), PolyGram’s TV division, and New Door Records. Bob Mercer was 65 when he died of lung cancer on May 5, 2010.
Malcolm McLaren was a trendsetting English fashion store proprietor who became internationally famous as the manager of the New York Dolls and Sex Pistols. During the early ’70s, McLaren opened a clothing store on London’s trendy King’s Road. In no time, it became a favorite destination for the area’s young rock crowd. While making buying trips to New York, he met up with the New York Dolls and soon began creating their stage costumes. He eventually took over management duties. By the middle of the decade, McLaren was managing the Sex Pistols, initially due to their sense of outrageous fashion rather than their musical abilities. The partnership would quickly evolve into what many credit as being the flash point of punk rock. After the band’s disintegration, McLaren worked with Adam Ant and Bow Wow Wow. He also had a moderately successful recording career of his own. His “Buffalo Gals” and “Double Dutch” were hits in the UK and US. McLaren continued to stay in the public eye, at least in the UK, well into the 2000s with various projects. Malcolm McLaren died of cancer on April 8, 2010. He was 64.
