♥What was the spark that initiated this book?

I had always really loved punk and reggae, free and alternative music, and I was a music writer and DJ of a punky reggae / experimental radio show called the Pogo Sessions (now Paranoimia) so it was natural for me to fall in love with The Slits and want to write about them and push them wherever I could.

But specifically, it was when I heard their cover version of Marvin Gaye’s ‘I Heard It Through The Grapevine’ that I became really interested in them and their process.

They’d been written off as crazy girl punks, which they were too of course, but there was much more to them than that, as artists and as people, and I wanted to learn more. I was amazed when I realised no one had written a book about them, so after a while, I decided it might actually be a mission for me! Luckily the rest of The Slits and their comrades agreed, and Ari in particular has often rightly said that The Slits have always been swept under the carpet, and this is an opportunity to hopefully change that in some way.

But I also feel that it’s vital to draw attention to this group and what they did not simply because they absolutely deserve this tribute, but also for the sake of not just women but artists who are going their own way – I found learning about them wholly inspiring and motivating, and I hope the book will serve to spread this effect to others.

My idea was to particularly celebrate ‘Cut’, their seminal 1979 album which was so important and still sounds timeless, witty, original and exciting, and the book, which comes out this summer, will coincide with the 30-year anniversary of the album’s release. It also coincides with their then label Island Records’ 50-year anniversary too! So this is an important year all round.

Continue reading ‘Interview w/ Zoë Street Howe Author of Typical Girls? The Story of the Slits’