Arianna Foster, Ari Up from The Slits, Dies at 48

by Jordan Yerman | October 21, 2010 at 08:48 am

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Ari Up of The Slits Dies at 48

Ari Up, born Arianna Foster, lead singer of all-female punk band The Slits, has passed away due to illness on October 20 at the age of 48.

Raised in the punk scene (her mom used to date Johnny Rotten), Ari Up began playing music at age 14. She had learned guitar from The Clash's Joe Strummer and formed The Slits in London with Palmolive (born Paloma Romero), Kate Korus and Suzy Gutsy in 1976.

Kate Korus and Suzy Gutsy left The Slits and were replaced by Viv Albertine and Tracy Pollitt.

he Slits toured with The Clash and The Buzzcocks, releasing two albums, The Cut andReturn of the Giant Slits, before breaking up in 1982. The group reunited in 2005, and still exists with a new lineup.

Aside from The Slits, Ari Up also played with The New Age Steppers and Nina Hagen, as well as performing as a solo artist.

The news of Ari Up's death was made public by John Lydon, better known as Johnny Rotten of The Sex Pistols and Public Image Ltd.

John and Nora have asked us to let everyone know that Nora's daughter Arianna (aka Ari-Up) died today (Wednesday, October 20th) after a serious illness. She will be sadly missed.