Palmolive at The Dublin Castle: The Slits & Raincoats Drummer on Her Forthcoming Memoir "Punk's Palmolive, Fighting Dragons In The Land of Concrete"

We spent a very entertaining Sunday afternoon at the legendary Dublin Castle in Camden courtesy of the Rock ‘n’ Roll Book Club in the company of Paloma Romero McLardy, otherwise known as Palmolive, the former drummer with The Slits and The Raincoats, talking about her forthcoming memoirs “Punk’s Palmolive: Fighting Dragons In The Land of Concrete”. After an introduction, Palmolive sat behind a laptop and treated us to a ‘Punk Rock PowerPoint Presentation’ with lots of rare and previously unseen photos from her childhood right through to her time in The Slits and The Raincoats. She started off talking about growing up in Spain under the rule of the dictator Franco and how she escaped to London, knowing that she did not fit in under such a harsh regime and not wanting to conform to the norms of society. She fell in with the West London squatting scene based around the Pub Rock band The 101ers and fell in love with their frontman Woody in the process. Of course, they were both galvanized by seeing the Sex Pistols and Woody soon became Joe Strummer, leaving behind the 101ers to join The Clash and the rest is their history. There are lots of anecdotes about this time – how Joe’s new bandmate Paul Simonon got to christen her Palmolive, how Joe was intrigued by her tales of Franco’s regime and the Spanish Civil War, a subject that would inform quite a few of his lyrics with The Clash. She talks about the impact that Ari Up had on her and how she was encouraged by Joe to form The Slits in 1976 with Ari as vocalist, Viv Albertine on guitar and bassist Tessa Pollitt, who was there among the audience on the afternoon to support her former bandmate. Palmolive talks about touring with The Clash and of writing some of The Slits early classics such as “Newtown” and “Shoplifting” which sparks off an amusing anecdote about her time as a petty pilferer. 

Palmolive left The Slits before the recording of their debut album “Cut” but did feature on the superb Peel Sessions, which to my mind are some of the best recordings the band made. She talks about the run-ins she had with Sid Vicious and Malcolm McLaren, kicking (sometimes literally) not just against the male dominated music business, but also against the patronizing attitudes and jealousy from some of her peers. Palmolive then went on to join the equally influential band The Raincoats, featuring on their self-titled debut album so beloved of Kurt Cobain, Bikini Kill, Thurston Moore and Kim Gordon among many others. A Q&A session followed, although some of the questioning drew some exasperated interjections from Palmolive’s friends and family in the crowd, not to mention the impressive contingent of Raincoats including Ana da Silva, Gina Birch, Shirley O’Loughlin, Vicky Aspinall and Ingrid Weiss, some of whom chipped in with their (sometimes contradictory) versions of events! I get the feeling that Palmolive may have to do some more editing before the book is ready. The floor was then open to questions so I asked Palmolive about The Slits sound and how I thought that The Clash, despite their “No Elvis, Beatles and Rolling Stones” war-cry and the Sex Pistols (without Johnny Rotten’s voice), were both rooted in traditional Rock & Roll music – you could see where their influences came from – but The Slits were truly unique, and I wondered how they arrived at their sound. She said it was more by accident than design, the fact that they really couldn’t play their instruments to start with and this chaotic, confrontational attitude were all components in the Slits sound, as she says “I didn’t play the drums, I hit them.”  

Photo Above: The Raincoats (l/r) Ingrid Weiss, Vicky Aspinall, Gina Birch, Ana da Silva, Palmolive & Shirley O'Laughlin. 

Palmolive has a wicked sense of humour with an infectious laugh, a twinkle in her eyes and some of her stories had us laughing out loud. She still carries that spirit of independence and creativity that the initial Punk explosion engendered as in the PR to the book she writes “I want to inspire you to make art, go on adventures, take risks, speak to power, believe in yourself and don’t let someone else write your own narrative.” Fine sentiments indeed. She was a thoroughly entertaining speaker, bursting with energy and I came away inspired and happy that pioneers such as The Slits and The Raincoats are still getting the recognition they deserve to this day. Palmolive and all her former bandmates that were present were more than happy to chat to fans after the talk and it was an honour to meet them and get our record covers signed. Palmolive now lives in America and lectures on Punk History, she will be appearing at this year’s Rebellion Festival which starts on August 1st. She has set up an excellent web-site Punk's Palmolive which is packed full of archive material, press coverage, merchandise and links to what she has in the pipeline. You can also sign up to her newsletter, so you don’t miss out on further news on the book’s release, it certainly promises to be a fascinating read.

For more information please do kindly take some time to investigate the highlighted links throughout the feature, not only Palmolive's great site but also Gina and Ana's sites as both are very much active with their own music and art. I'd also highly recommend the superb Slits documentary "Here To Be Heard", and Tessa's Slits Scrapbook which comes with a DVD of the movie. As for books, some of my favourites include Zoe Howe's brilliant biography "Typical Girls? The Story Of The Slits", Vivien Goldman's "Revenge of The She Punks", Viv Albertine's "Clothes, Clothes, Clothes, Music, Music, Music, Boys, Boys, Boys", Jordan Mooney & Cathi Unsworth's "Defying Gravity", Helen Reddington's "The Lost Women of Rock Music" and Julian Yewdall's "A Permanent Record" featuring photos of The 101ers, The Clash, The Slits, Joe Strummer and more.

All Photos Copyright Retro Man Blog, July 2024.

VIVA Strange Boutique - Tokyo's Post-Punk, New Wave & Indie Store

VIVA Strange Boutique is a fantastic store located near Okusawa station in the south-west of Tokyo close to Jiyugaoka and its packed with vintage Post-Punk and Indie posters, badges, records, music magazines and memorabilia. The emphasis is very much on U.K. Post-Punk and Indie with prominent displays of the more avant-garde and DIY acts such as Alternative TV, Television Personalities, Throbbing Gristle and Psychic TV. Store owner Minami, who also sings and plays guitar with her own band, She Talks Silence, designs and produces original, officially authorised merchandise for some of her favourite bands and artists such as Felt, A Certain Ratio, The Raincoats, Durutti Column, David J, The Vaselines, Primal Scream, Sparks and the Japanese band Plastics who were a kind of cross between The B-52's, Wall of Voodoo and early Talking Heads. She's had some well known visitors too, DJ Don Letts and Devo's frontman Mark Mothersbaugh have popped in to visit the store. 

 

You can check out the VIVA Strange Boutique online store here for the full list of merchandise, as they also offer shipping worldwide. Of course, you can probably guess from the store's name, that Minami is a huge fan of The Monochrome Set and they recently invited the band over to Tokyo to headline a sold-out gig at the WWWX venue in Shibuya to celebrate the fifth anniversary of the store's opening. 

 

There's also an exhibition space in the basement and luckily we were able to catch an exhibtion of stunning photos by the music photographer Toshi Yajima who also just so happened to be in the store, so we could have a nice chat about this work and career as a UK based correspondent sharing his photos to various publications back in Japan. He took very early photos of the Sex Pistols in their Denmark Street rehearsal room in 1976 and would go on to photograph all the musical greats such as The Clash, The Jam, David Bowie, XTC, Iggy Pop, The Damned, Japan, Morrissey, The B-52's, Devo, Paul Weller, The Specials and Kraftwerk among many others - all are featured in an excellent book entitled "Each & Every One" which was actually published by VIVA Strange Boutique. Hopefully, we will be doing a more in-depth feature on his superb pictures sometime in the future.

With thanks to Minami and Toshi Yajima. For more information on VIVA Strange Boutique please check out their web-site here and Facebook page here, they are also on Instagram.

David Arnoff "Shot In The Dark" - Photo Book Featuring Iconic Images of The Damned, The Cramps, Blondie, Ramones and more gets Deluxe Reissue & Launch Party

Photographer David Arnoff celebrates the 'resurrection' of his excellent book "Shot In The Dark" with an afternoon event at the Dublin Castle in Camden on SUNDAY MARCH 19th from 1:30-5pm. The book, full of his iconic photos of bands and artists such as The Cramps, The Damned, Nick Cave, Lydia Lunch, Blondie, The Gun Club, Ramones and Patti Smith, has been given a deluxe reissue make-over by Red Planet Books and features new text, a limited edition signed slipcase and 16 new images. The afternoon at the Dublin Castle will see David signing copies of "Shot In The Dark" and there will be a display of photos from the book along with a DJ supplying a suitably atmospheric soundtrack. It's shaping up to be an event that's not to be missed! PLEASE NOTE THIS IS A RE-SCHEDULED DATE (originally March 12th).

If you can't come along to the re-launch party then you can order the book from Red Planet here. 

For more information on David Arnoff's photography, please check out his official web-site here.

Toyah at Haslemere Hall, Thursday February 10th 2022

Toyah at Haslemere Hall - photo Retro Man Blog

Toyah treated us to a superb career-spanning show last night at Haslemere Hall in deepest rural Surrey, surely one of the poshest places that I've ever seen a gig and definitely a very apt venue to host a date on the "Posh Pop" album tour. Even Toyah remarked on how posh the area was, which, given the size and grandeur of Toyah & Robert Fripp's home was really saying something. Actually, joking aside, it was refreshing to see a show in a real community theatre, staffed by lovely friendly locals with no over-the-top security or regulations and everyone was extremely helpful. Certainly a bit different from when I saw Toyah for the very first time back in 1981 at the Hammersmith Odeon. So, it was great to see Toyah perform in such an intimate environment and it really suited the Electro-Acoustic line-up which featured Nat Martin on guitars, Chloe Dupree on keyboards, Mike Nichols on bass and Jamie Dupree on guitars and all were superb musicians, really doing justice to the songs. I loved the new arrangements, they all worked really well and in my opinion "Brave New World" even beat the original. It was nice to hear something different for a change rather than note by note reproductions of songs that we pretty much know by heart anyway. 

Toyah at Haslemere Hall - photo Retro Man Blog

Toyah at Haslemere Hall - photo Retro Man Blog

They opened with a version of Martha & The Muffins "Echo Beach" and then a few songs into the set, Toyah encouraged the audience to get up from their seats, go to the front and dance and before "It's A Mystery" she even suggested we might want to get our cameras out and start videoing. Toyah was on fine form both vocally and with her between song chat which covered many diverse topics such as teaching Robert Fripp to do the Twist (unsuccessfully apparently...) and upsetting legendary movie director George Cukor with her red hair. She name-checks her musical collaborators Joel Bogen and Simon Darlow and chats about working with Katharine Hepburn and performing as a female wrestler in "Trafford Tanzi". She mentions the support she received from DJ's such as Mike Read and Janice Long and of how she escaped the attentions of Jimmy Saville during Top Of The Pops. Along the way we even learn about the financial benefits of licencing your music to Weight Watchers. Of course she talks about the terrible effects of the pandemic but lightens the mood somewhat with how she came to master Zoom meetings. 

Toyah at Haslemere Hall - photo Retro Man Blog

Toyah is not only in good humour but also full of a positive and uplifting attitude and I really liked her take on how the all-inclusive attitude of the early Punk movement allowed female musicians in particular to be able to start bands and make a career out of music. She also introduces each song with a little anecdote or nugget of background information which goes down well with us music nerds. And what a great selection of songs it was...all the hits such as "Thunder In The Mountains", "Good Morning Universe" and "I Want To Be Free" and the oldies like "Neon Womb", "Ieya" and "Danced" are complimented by a selection from the excellent new album "Posh Pop" including "Zoom Zoom", "Summer of Love", "Levitate", "Rhythm In My House" and a wonderfully moving "Take Me Home" to close the show. The only negative of a thoroughly entertaining night was the complete absence of merchandise which was a bit strange. However, it saved me some money to put towards the pre-order of the deluxe re-issue of "Toyah! Toyah! Toyah!" so I can't really complain. 

Toyah at Haslemere Hall - photo Retro Man Blog

For details on forthcoming "Posh Pop" tour dates or for general information then please check out the official Toyah web-site here. I'd also like to recommend the excellent "Dreamscape" fanzine which is a must-have for all Toyah fans. Check out further details at their web-site here.

Toyah at Haslemere Hall - photo Retro Man Blog

Retrosonic Podcast - Gary Crowley "Lost 80's Volume 2: 1980-1986" Live Talk and Q&A from Sounds of The Suburbs Records

Last Sunday (August 1st) we went along to our favourite record store Sounds of The Suburbs in Ruislip to see Gary Crowley, the legendary DJ, TV and Radio show presenter, A&R man, schoolboy music journalist and former receptionist at the NME - give a talk and Q&A session to promote his excellent new compilation "Lost 80's Volume 2: 1980-1986". This has just been released via Demon Records as a beautifully packaged 65 track 4 CD deluxe edition all housed in a hardback cover including a lavishly illustrated booklet packed full of photos, notes and background information. The tracklist itself features an eclectic mix of hidden gems and unusual choices from some familiar and not-so familiar names. Gary's picks certainly highlight the diverse musical styles that made the early to mid-80's such an exciting time - from Post-Punk, jangly Indie-Pop, Ska and Reggae, Jazz and Soul to Rap and Electronica - this compilation covers all the bases. So, in the discussion you're about to hear, which was introduced by singer-songwriter John Donegan, Gary not only talks about the compilation itself but we were also treated to a thoroughly entertaining romp through his life in music. Along the way we find out who he interviewed for his school magazine (wearing his school uniform), which soon-to-be pop star he had a secret crush on, who were the nicest stars he's interviewed (and the worse...), who he wished he'd seen play live, why The Jam just shaded The Clash as his favourite band and why he dreams of a fifth ginger Beatle! To compliment the chat, the Podcast features clips of great music from Big Audio Dynamite, Altered Images, Style Council, Theatre of Hate, Working Week, Bananarama, Paul Blake & Blood Fire Posse and Leisure Process.

Gary Crowley with Tony Smith at Sounds of The Suburbs, Ruislip

"Lost 80's Volume 2" is out now from all the usual outlets but it'll sound even better if you pop along to Ruislip and buy yourself a copy from Sounds of The Suburbs Records. You can listen or download directly below or subscribe to Retrosonic Podcast at Spotify, Apple Podcasts or Soundcloud.

Retrosonic Podcast · Gary Crowley "Lost 80's Vol. 2" Talk and Q&A

This Podcast has been kindly authorised by Gary Crowley. Sincere thanks to Gary, Tony Smith at Sounds of The Suburbs and John Donegan. 

Sounds of The Suburbs Records, 110 Victoria Road, Ruislip HA4 0AL (open Thu, Fri & Sat)

Killing Joke "A Prophecy Fullfilled" New Limited Edition Offical Book by Chris Bryans

 

Since late 1978, Killing Joke have been ripping up rule books. The original (and current) line-up of Jaz Coleman (vocals, keyboards), Paul Ferguson (drums), Geordie Walker (guitar) and Youth (bass) has been responsible for pioneering albums that have shaped music genres and pulverisingly intense gigs often likened to religious ceremonies. The band achieved mainstream success in 1985 with both the album "Night Time" and the single "Love Like Blood". But Killing Joke’s influence runs much deeper and darker. No Killing Joke no Nirvana, no Jane’s Addiction, no Faith No More, no Nine Inch Nails, no Soundgarden, no Marilyn Manson, no Metallica not in the form you have come to know them. This official release "A Prophecy Fullfilled" is an oral history of Killing Joke, mixing over 300 anecdotes from the fans known as Gatherers with a narrative by the band, other musicians and celebrity devotees. The book also features never-before-seen photographs, collectable memorabilia and fans’ pictures capturing Joke’s incendiary live performances. The book is now available for pre-order from This Day In Music Books here and the first 1,000 special edition copies come with an exclusive free "Wardance" (Liminal Twins disorientation mix) 7 inch vinyl single, numbered 1 – 1,000. Author, Chris Bryans can barely remember a time when Killing Joke were not part of his life. With three decades of experience as a journalist, writer and editor, he has worked/written for the BBC, The Observer and Time Out. He’s also been a writer and co-editor on "1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die" and several other titles in the hugely successful "1001…" franchise. But whatever Chris is doing, all roads usually lead him back to Killing Joke. There is no escape.

Photo from the first time I saw Killing Joke, Hammersmith Palais January 01st 1984.

Joy Division at Strawberry Studios - Photography by Paul Slattery: New Book of Iconic Photos Celebrating the 40th Anniversary of "Unknown Pleasures"

Joy Divison at Strawberry Studios - Photography by Paul Slattery

To mark the fortieth anniversary of Joy Division’s seminal album "Unknown Pleasures", Paul Slattery, the celebrated rock photographer (and my Retro Man Blog colleague...) travels back in time to Saturday 28th July 1979. His new book, published by Legends Publishing, features the iconic images of the photo session of the band which he took on the streets around Strawberry Studios in Stockport (where the band recorded the album) and later that day at the legendary "Stuff The Superstars" gig at The Mayflower Club in Gorton. This is the first time all the images have been published in one volume. Paul also shares his memories of the day and the photographic locations, along with some never-before-published images. The limited edition author-signed copies of the book come with three postcard sized prints and an exclusive Joy Division badge – while stocks last and not sold separately. Please note, the official book launch will take place on Saturday 27th at the Stockport Museum and books will be posted out on or around that date. Overseas purchases are possible but extra postage charges will apply – the publisher will advise details after an order has been made. You can order the book directly from Legends Publishing here.

Joy Divison at Strawberry Studios - Photography by Paul Slattery

Paul was invited to give a talk about his Joy Division photos at the Stockport Museum during their "I Am In Love" exhibition back in December 2017, you can read a report on the event, along with an interview with Paul by Lee McFadden of ATV, in the Blog archive here. 

- All photos copyright Paul Slattery.

Thee Moot Release New LP "Peel It To Reveal It" and Announce Appearance at Twickenham's High Tide Festival

Thee Moot "Peel It To Reveal It" cover art by Lambo

Retro Man Blog's good pals Thee Moot have released their debut full length LP "Peel It To Reveal It" which comes hot on the heels of the excellent mini-album/EP "Tomorrow's Calling". I know this is going to sound somewhat contradictory but the band are reassuringly familiar yet refreshingly different. They are certainly hard to categorise, that's for sure. I think there should be a new movement for bands such as Thee Moot, The Galileo 7 and Of Arrowe Hill - superb bands that might often get overlooked because they plough their own furrow and don't conform to easy stereotyping. Words like 'taut' and 'lean' spring to mind, you see Thee Moot specialise in perfectly formed guitar pop nuggets that are as stripped back as you can get. Each song is naggingly catchy in the extreme and Dave's memorable ringing, glacial guitar lines are the undoubted star of the "Peel It To Reveal It" show. This might have something to do with the bass being mixed down a bit too low for my taste this time round, but that's probably just a minor gripe from an ex-bassist!

Thee Moot by Thee Moot

Vocalist Nick Stone and bassist Mark Leech were in the 80's Paisley Psych act The Onlookers, whilst drummer Freezer Pinch and guitarist DC were, along with Mark, previously playing in The Transients. In fact, if I think back to The Transients it's probably from their eclectic choice of cover versions that included The Nerves, Small Faces, Rupert's Children, Television, The Only Ones and Radio Birdman - that might give you some idea of where Thee Moot are coming from. If you throw in The Church and The Kinks and even a bit of Bowie, then you will see what a broad palette Thee Moot are painting from. My personal highlight, the fuzzed up funk of "Let Your Hair Down" rides in on a great bubbling bass line before DC's vicious guitar riff slashes through the speakers. It's a welcome moment when Thee Moot let loose a bit and (if you will excuse me...) actually do let their hair down, and they are all the better for it. "My Fixation", a live favourite of mine for some time now, also benefits from a more aggressive approach and this would have made a great choice to release as a single. "Peel It To Reveal It" ends on a real high with "Don't Be Afraid of The Dark" which sees Nick in mighty fine voice and it's a fitting and strong way to finish a thoroughly satisfying album. The band will be appearing at The Eel Pie Pub in Twickenham at around 5:15pm on Saturday 22nd June as part of the High Tide Festival which is curated by the excellent Eel Pie Record Store. Given the area's rich musical history and links to classic British Beat and R'n'B - I can't think of a more apt band to be appearing at the festival than Thee Moot!

Thee Moot at the legendary Hope & Anchor - photo Retro Man Blog

You can order both Thee Moot's releases from their Bandcamp site here. You can also hear a track from the "Peel It To Reveal It" album in our latest episode of Retrosonic Podcast which you can listen to below or download from our Soundcloud page below or you can subscribe at iTunes.

Here To Be Heard: The Story of The Slits - New Documentary Screening and Q&A with Tessa Pollitt

We recently attended a screening of Here To Be Heard, an excellent new documentary movie about The Slits at the historic Regent Street Cinema in central London. This was followed by a lively Q&A session with Slits’ bassist Tessa Pollitt, the movie’s Director William E. Badgley and The Slits manager Christine Robertson. “Here To be Heard” is packed full of exciting live footage of the band in all their shocking and colourful glory and it’s easy to understand what an impact and sense of danger they must have exuded in their early days. Throughout the film, the main voice of The Slits comes from Tessa and the story unfolds from the pages of her scrapbook. She’s wearing gloves to protect the book, almost like some sort of Punk Rock historian in a museum archive and as she carefully flicks through the well-thumbed pages there are fascinating glimpses of old music press cuttings, reviews and photos. The film really captures the fear that spread through the establishment at the emergence of Punk and of course the violence that this fear provoked at the time. Sex Pistols’ Johnny Rotten and Paul Cook were attacked in the street as were many less high profile musicians and fans and girls were not immune either. Tessa shows us a photo of The Slits on stage and she is wearing jeans with a big slash across the backside. In the voiceover, she tells us that they were actually Ari’s jeans and the cut was caused by a knife. Ari was slashed by some outraged nutter yelling words to the effect of “If it’s a Slit you want, I’ll give you one!” The only place they felt accepted was among their Punk and Reggae peers and they received some welcome support and help from Joe Strummer, John Lydon and Don Letts in particular. They toured with The Clash on the legendary White Riot Tour along with Buzzcocks and Subway Sect and appeared in “The Punk Rock Movie”. Although the early UK Punk explosion did pave the way for some amazing individual female performers and artists such as Gaye Advert, Siouxsie, Fay Fife and Poly Styrene it is still hard to believe that The Slits were pretty much unique at the time. There were not that many independent non-industry manufactured all-girl bands around back then. 

The Slits at Thames Polytechnic, Woolwich 4th March 1978 Photographed by Paul Slattery

The Slits were also more challenging and more chaotic than the majority of their contemporaries and I can imagine that the male dominated music industry and media must have been scared witless by them. Scared, not only by their attitude but by their music too. There was Viv Albertine’s spiky almost Avant-Garde guitar work, Tessa Pollitt’s fluid Reggae-inspired bass, Palmolive’s tribal drum beats and of course Ari Up’s fearsome voice and presence all topped off by her unnerving confidence. The movie highlighted an interesting reminder that this definitive all-girl line-up of the band never actually released any official records and were only captured on tape by the BBC for the John Peel radio sessions. In fact, The Slits didn’t get round to releasing their debut LP “Cut” until 1979 and by then Reggae had really taken a hold and they insisted on signing to Island Records and working with producer Dennis Bovell. In the movie, they admit that most Punks were disappointed that it didn’t sound anything like their raucous radio sessions and early live performances.

Viv in 1980 by Paul Slattery

It wasn’t just the music that had changed either. There were only three band members captured topless and mud-covered in Pennie Smith’s iconic album cover photo. Palmolive, who had left to join The Raincoats, was replaced by Budgie on the drums and they were no longer an all-girl band. The movie mentions the influence of The Pop Group’s angular Funk on The Slits’ sound even to the extent of them borrowing their drummer Bruce Smith to replace Budgie when he left for Siouxsie & The Banshees. The band certainly wanted to challenge people and break down genres and boundaries – touring Revue style with a revolving line-up of eclectic bands, taking in Jazz, Soul and Reggae. They would also become enamoured by Don Cherry’s daughter Neneh who would join the band as a vocalist before going on to a successful solo career in her own right. In 1981 they released an underrated album “Return of The Giant Slits” but the band were sadly to fall apart in 1982 and they disappeared off the mainstream musical radar. In the movie and the later Q&A Tessa describes the shock of suddenly finding herself out of music as akin to a war veteran coming back home, full of adrenaline with nowhere to channel it. She honestly admits that this sudden void was filled by a heroin addiction and she jumped at the chance to re-form the band when an opportunity came up in 2005. Viv and Palmolive declined the offer to re-join but Ari was back and her chemistry with Tessa was renewed.

Compere with Christine, Tessa & William E Badgley at the Q&A

They recruited Sex Pistols drummer Paul Cook’s daughter Hollie as replacement vocalist for Neneh Cherry and started touring. They released an album entitled “Trapped Animal” in 2009 and played dates in Japan and Australia. In America, they opened for Sonic Youth and it was nice to see Thurston Moore was there at the movie screening. However, it was during one US tour where things started to unravel. The band were getting frustrated by Ari’s increasingly erratic, confrontational behaviour, decided enough was enough, and quit. Even Tessa could not handle Ari any more. In the movie Hollie gets quite emotional when discussing this period as in hindsight they realise that Ari must have known she was ill and her behaviour was possibly a defence mechanism. What comes across in the movie from the start is that The Slits all looked out for, supported and defended one another so it is sad that Ari could not discuss her health with the others and instead, pushed them away in her efforts to deal with her situation. In the Q&A session afterwards, Director William E. Badgley explained that the seeds of the movie were sown during this last fateful American tour. Ari had insisted that Jennifer Shagawat, the Tour Manager filmed everything along the way, it was as if Ari knew she did not have long to live. When Ari passed away in 2010, Jennifer passed the footage to him and asked him to make sense of it all. Luckily for us Badgley did just that and he has created a long-overdue portrait of The Slits that certainly fizzles with as much energy and excitement as the band themselves. The film also includes new interviews with Viv Albertine and Palmolive (now a contented Christian school teacher living in the States) and there are talking head pieces from a variety of friends, fans and contributors including Gina Birch, Budgie, Bruce Smith, Don Letts, Dennis Bovell, Adrian Sherwood, Hollie Cook and the later line-ups of The Slits. 

During the Q&A session I asked Tessa if she had ever considered picking the bass up again and she admitted that she had tried a couple of times but that it had been too traumatic losing Ari. They had such an unspoken connection and so far she hasn't been able to find that playing music and she gets more pleasure as a DJ nowadays. Some other topics covered included discussing how the dole and squatting scene in the 70's meant that people could be creative on little income which is far more difficult now. Tessa felt that music has lost it's vibrancy and she wouldn't want to be starting off as a youngster in the music business now. She's not really into any bands at the moment but did express her love Subway Sect when I mentioned their original guitarist Rob Symmons is still performing with Retro Man Blog favourites The Fallen Leaves. However she is still enthralled by Jamaican music and culture and talked about The Slits interest in exploring new ideas and inspirations from World music. Indeed their admiration for Japanese culture led to Ari singing in Japanese on "Earthbeat Japan". She explained that The Slits always wanted to move on and not become a caricature of a Punk band. Tessa also touched on Pussy Riot and how there was still much to be done for Women's rights around the world. If you enjoyed the movie and you are a fans of The Slits and Reggae then you may like to know that William will be working with the Here To Be Heard team again on a documentrary about Don Letts, which has just started filming.

Compere with Christine, Tessa & William E Badgley at the Q&A

I can also thoroughly recommend Typical Girls? The Story of the Slits by Zoe Street Howe, which was published by Omnibus Press. Faber have just published Viv Albertine’s second autobiography To Throw Away Unopened a follow up to the excellent Clothes, Music, Boys. You can read a report on Viv’s book talk at the Social in our Blog archive here. There is a Pledgemusic campaign running for the Here To Be Heard DVD release and you can check out William E Badgley's official web-site with details of all his movies here. With thanks to Paul Slattery for the excellent archive photos.

Joy Division on The Streets of Stockport: Photographer Paul Slattery on his iconic 1979 photo session and Strawberry Studios Exhibition

Joy Division on the streets of Stockport photographed by Paul Slattery

In July 1979 I was working for Sounds magazine as a freelance photographer and I drove up to Strawberry Studios in Stockport with writer Dave McCullough to photograph Joy Division for an article in the mag. Dave had been listening to this demo tape very loudly in the Sounds office above Covent Garden tube station but I can’t say that I or anyone else in the office liked it at the time. Dave though had a sixth sense when it came to music, he was an absolute legend. In the evening we went to the Funhouse at The Mayflower to see Joy Division play along with The Distractions, The Fall and Ludus at a gig entitled "Stuff The Superstars". Tickets were £1.50 and I thought Joy Division were a load better live than on the demo tape though. You can still read Dave's original interview from Sounds magazine first published back in August 1979 here.

Strawberry Studios Stockport photographed by Paul Slattery

Roll on 37 years. In the late summer of 2016 Peter Wadsworth from the Stockport Museum got in touch with me about the Joy Division photo session I did on the streets of Stockport as he wanted some of the images for the upcoming exhibition "I Am In Love" about Strawberry Recording Studios. After the exhibition finishes my photographs will be on permanent display at the museum. This is a really excellent exhibition and has been hugely successful since its opening in January this year and if you still haven't been then you are lucky as it’s open until 29th January 2018. There are some great artefacts in the exhibition from Graham Gouldman and Martin Hannett from the studio made famous by 10cc and Joy Division among others. This was a golden age of British rock music and I was utterly privileged to be there. 

Photo by Tracey Holloway

Last month I was invited up to Stockport to give a talk about the Joy Division photo session at the Seven Miles Out Art Cafe. I was truly humbled by everyone letting me rattle on for about an hour or so, and to a packed crowd so I’m told. As a photographer you may hope that some of the photographs you take come out OK, but I’m truly touched at the love that this crowd showed for these Joy Division images.

Paul Slattery in front of his iconic Joy Division photographs - Photo by Peter Wadsworth

Before the talk I went to visit Hopes Carr where I took some of the photographs - little has changed except some idiot at the council decided to cover what was a beautiful cobbled street with tarmac. I was gutted. Save your history Stockport! I hadn’t been in the centre of Stockport before and I must say that it has a very attractive little town centre with many period buildings and a covered market. It also has the Robinson’s Brewery where you can book a tour. It looks like a town trying to reinvent itself for the future and there is no doubt that the preserved building fabric of the town centre, the beautiful market, the really superb and eclectic Stockport Museum and the Seven Miles Out Art Cafe are all contributing to its revival.

Strawberry Studios memorabilia on display - Photo by Paul Slattery

Many thanks are due to both Peter Wadsworth who arranged the talk and to Rosemary and John Barrett who run this excellent Arts centre in Stockport. Thanks for the coffee Rosemary!

- Paul Slattery December 2017

Lee McFadden (musician with Cult Figures, Alternative TV etc.) interviewed Paul for the Joy Division Central web-site back in 2014 and he mentions the Stockport photo session and his first experience of seeing the band perform live.

Paul: It was one of those photoshoots where you felt the band really didn’t want to be choreographed. You just took them down to a place – “look over here”. I think the image they were – or Hooky was – trying to project – wasn’t a playful image. It reflected the music, which I thought at the time was melancholy. They’re not love songs. It was a different kind of vibe to what I was used to. I’d been taking pictures of punk, power-pop bands who project this kind of pop song vibe, so you get three guys and they’re all smiling. Joy Division was a different vibe. I just got them on the corner, saw how they interracted and took a few frames. Obviously in retrospect I wish I had taken about ten rolls of film (laughs).

 

Lee: You saw them at the Mayflower that night. People often remark on the marked difference between their live and studio sound. You’d heard “Unknown Pleasures” in the office – how did you react after seeing them live for the first time?

Paul: I thought they were amazing. I felt they really came alive. Hooky was there with his low-slung bass and I thought – “Well he’s learnt something from Paul Simonon anyway!” (laughs).

Lee: He’s admitted the same to me!

Paul: They were great. Ian Curtis had so much charisma. Live they were tremendous. There were some great bands on there – Ludus, The Fall, The Distractions were a really great pop band from Manchester, and Joy Division. I never knew whether Joy Division’s band of music would surpass the Distractions. I’d seen the Distractions a few times and I like that kind of pop music. But for me, the gig was very powerful and Ian Curtis was amazing live.

Photographer Paul Slattery - Photo by Peter Wadsworth

The full original interview can be found at the Joy Division Central web-site/resource, extract used by permission. Thanks to Paul Slattery, Peter Wadsworth, Lee McFadden & Tracey Holloway.

Lester Square "Carcass" - New Solo Album from The ex-Monochrome Set & Adam & The Ants Guitarist

Lester Square photographed by Paul Slattery at our Retro Man Blog Night back in 2014

Lester Square, the original guitarist in Adam & The Ants and co-founder of The Monochrome Set has just released a new solo album entitled "Carcass". The title track features Lester's trademark twanging riffs that will of course be familiar to fans of The Monochrome Set. It's a great opener, like Dick Dale or Link Wray performing the soundtrack to an Ennio Morricone Spaghetti Western movie. Another personal highlight is "Time Flies" which is a beautifully pastoral song with vocals from The Chefs' Helen McCookerybook that reminds me of Goldfrapp's "Seventh Tree" album and it wouldn't have been out of place on the soundtrack to "The Wicker Man". Although by the end the peaceful landscape seems to get shattered and polluted by the sound of screaming fighter jets. The rest of the album features a diverse set of evocative and mainly instrumental songs that range from pulsing funky brass to baroque orchestral pieces. There's even some Gaelic Pipe Folk rubbing shoulders with organ driven tracks that touch on The Senior Service or James Taylor Quartet's output. But of course it's Lester's instantly recognisable and inventive, yet still seriously underrated, guitar work that is the star of the show. As well as recording eleven studio albums with The Monochrome Set, Lester has also recorded with The Invisible, Jesus Couldn’t Drum, ...And The Native Hipsters, Victory Through Sound and Helen McCookerybook. The official description of the album goes something like this: "Carcass, is a product of its times; a collection, if you will, of protest instrumentals; sound poems to chart these extraordinary times. Whether imagining the insect winners of a post nuclear winter, or the secrets of the Trump penthouse, these works are in equal measure poignant, sarcastic, angry and hopeful. It has been said that revolution today has no soundtrack in the same way that the anti-Vietnam draft resistance of the sixties did. For what its worth the redress starts here". You can order the CD of "Carcass" from Lester's Bandcamp page here.

Lester will be re-joining The Monochrome Set for two very special gigs at The Lexington in Islington to celebrate 40 years since The Monochrome Set formed. The band will be playing their first two albums "Strange Boutique" and "Love Zombies" in their entirety and a set of favourites, over two nights, Saturday 10th February and Sunday 11th February next year. The gig is being promoted by Bizarro and support on both nights comes from The Would-Be-Goods Two who feature Jessica Griffin and Peter Momtchiloff of the original WBG's playing a stripped down set of songs old and new. You can order tickets in advance from We Got Tickets here. There's no news yet if Lester will be playing any solo gigs to promote the release of "Carcass" but in the meantime here's the title track.

Lester Square photo copyright Paul Slattery. You can see a feature, including more of Paul's excellent photos of our Retro Man Blog Night featuring The Monochrome Set and The Fallen Leaves back in May 2014 at the Retro Man Blog archive here.