Ari Up was born
Arianna Forster to a German mother in 1962 (
John Lydon was her stepfather). Raised in London, she formed the all-girl punk band
the Slits in January 1977, around a lineup of drummer Palmolive (born Paloma Romero), guitarist Kate Korus, and bassist Suzi Gutsy. By the time the group actually appeared in public, however, Gutsy had been replaced by
Tessa Pollitt (the pair had previously played together in the Castrators) and Korus by
Viv Albertine, who'd appeared alongside Palmolive in
Lydon's Flowers of Romance.
Over the next four years,
the Slits would cut two landmark albums,
Cut and
Return of the Giant Slits, with further albums drawn from demos (Bootleg Retrospective), BBC radio recordings (The Peel Sessions), and live shows.
Up, however, also stepped out of the band format on several occasions, contributing percussion to
Talking Heads'
Fear of Music album and linking with producer
Adrian Sherwood in the first manifestation of
the New Age Steppers' post-punk super session. A cover of
Junior Byles' "Fade Away" was released as the first single on
Sherwood's On-U label in summer 1980.
The New Age Steppers' eponymous debut album followed, with
Up joined by Bruce Smith and
Sean Oliver of
Rip Rig & Panic,
Neneh Cherry,
Flying Lizards keyboard player
Steve Beresford, singing journalist
Vivien Goldman,
Aswad's
George Oban, and
the Roots Radics'
Style Scott. The ensuing disc is nevertheless dominated by
Up's distinctive vocals and, reinvigorated by the experience, she led
the Slits through their
Return of the Giant Slits swan song. The band broke up within weeks of their next tour, and
Up threw herself back into
the New Age Steppers. Two further albums,
Action Battlefield and
Foundation Steppers, followed.
Thereafter, however,
Up lapsed into silence, relocating to live first in Belize, and then Jamaica. She turned up on
La Onda Vaselina's Hoy album in 1995, but it was the early 2000s before
Up truly returned to action, guesting on
Terranova's Hitchhiking Non-Stop with No Particular Destination and Peace Is Tough albums, and contributing one track to Wish You Were Here: Love Songs for New York, a benefit album for victims of the Twin Towers attack -- she transformed
the Cookies' "Don't Say Nothing Bad About My Baby" into "Don't Say Nothing Bad About NY."
Up's first solo album, Dread More Dan Dead, arrived in 2005. Five years later, stepfather
Lydon announced that
Up had died from a "serious illness" on October 20, 2010. She was 48 years old at the time of her passing. ~ Dave Thompson