Miriam Blakemore-Hoy checked out a special screening of the new documentary about legendary all-girl punk band The Slits at Broadway Cinema, at which band members Tessa Pollitt and Palmolive and director William Badgley were present for a Q&A
Director: William E. Badgley
Starring: Viv Albertine, Hollie Cook, Palmolive, Tessa Pollitt
Running time: 86 mins
Punk’s first all-girl band are finally getting the recognition they deserve. Sure, you may have heard of The Sex Pistols and you’ll be able to sing your way adequately through London’s Calling, but how much do you really know about The Slits and all they did for music and for women in the music industry?
In a male-dominated culture that was riddled with violence and intolerance, The Slits were initially pulled together by founder member Palmolive, with a line-up that settled on Tessa Pollitt, Viv Albertine and 14-year old Ariane Forster aka Ari Up. They were loud, confident musicians who were only intent on making music – the fact that they were all women didn’t seem so important at the time. For the male musicians, having girls invading their space and taking all the attention, they didn’t quite know what to think. And the media loved to hate a group that wouldn’t fit neatly in any box. Groupies they were not, and the old feminine ideal was nowhere in sight. It seems the perfect time, in the middle of the #metoo movement, that a new level of appreciation for what they achieved and what they stood for is brought to the forefront once again. Viv Albertine, who is now a successful author, talks about being in the scene at the time and not having any role models in the music industry to look up to. By carving out a new path, The Slits themselves became an inspiration to a new generation of young women – even, arguably, Madonna.
Their story is a fascinating, long overdue depiction of how a group of women just wanted to play music
With candid interviews patchworked through the film, from members of the band, to contributors, and supporters, they each tell their part of the story. Don Letts, Neneh Cherry, Paul Cook, Dennis Bovell – the list goes on. There is a candidness which reflects the type of band that they were, and the D.I.Y. attitude, synonymous with punk. There are tons of footage and dialogue to unravel, so much so that if anything the film seems a little too enthusiastic and lacking in the discipline that a stronger edit would have served. It contains a certain amount of self-indulgence, but the fans are willing to watch it through. There is also a haunting quality to the narrative that becomes more apparent as the film progresses in the general absence of one voice among many. Lead singer Ari Up passed away in 2010 and there is no hiding the fact that this project was done with her in mind, she personally wished for a film about The Slits to be made, which was one of the reasons why so much footage was produced in the first place.
Just like their music, this film may separate the die-hard fans from the wannabee’s, but their story is a fascinating, long overdue depiction of how a group of women just wanted to play music, dressing only for themselves not for another man’s gratuity, singing their own lyrics about what they really wanted to talk about and they deserve to be heard. Now more than ever.
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