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Zöe Street Howe

Typical Girls: The Story of the Slits Paperback – Illustrated, September 1, 2009

by Zoe Street Howe (Author)

78 ratings

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Wild, defiant and startlingly inventive, The Slits were ahead of their time. Although they created some unique hybrids - dub reggae and pop-punk, African rhythms, funk and free jazz - they were dismissed as being unable to play. Their lyrics were witty and perceptive while their influential first album challenged perceptions of punk and of girl bands - but they were still misunderstood. And that infamous debut album cover, with the band appearing topless and mud-daubed, prompted further misreadings of the first ladies of punk.

Author Zoe Howe speaks to The Slits themselves, to former manager Don Letts, mentor and PIL guitarist Keith Levene and many other friends and colleagues to discover exactly how The Slits phenomenon came about and to celebrate the legacy of a seminal band long overdue its rightful acclaim.

Too long seen as a note in the margin of the history of rock, The Slits at last get a fair hearing in this revealing biography.

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Print length

217 pages
Language

English
Publisher

Omnibus Pr & Schirmer Trade Books
Publication date

September 1, 2009
Dimensions

6.25 x 1 x 9.25 inches
ISBN-10

1847727808
ISBN-13

978-1847727800

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Editorial Reviews

Review

"Brit rock book of the year" Daily Mirror

"A perfect representation" 5***** Record Collector

"The book, thank God, it's about time the Slits got the respect they deserve." Viv Albertine, Uncut

"Superb" Loud and Quiet

"Warm and partisan, there are heroes, villains and a few shocks" MOJO

"One of the most important books about Punk, written with insight" Doll Magazine

"It's hard to imagine a better book about the Slits" Ice Cream for Quo

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Omnibus Pr & Schirmer Trade Books
Publication date ‏ : ‎ September 1, 2009
Edition ‏ : ‎ Illustrated
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Print length ‏ : ‎ 217 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1847727808
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1847727800
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 15.3 ounces
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6.25 x 1 x 9.25 inches
Best Sellers Rank: #2,098,715 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #295 in Punk Musician Biographies
- #505 in Punk Music (Books)
- #3,292 in Rock Band Biographies
Customer Reviews:
78 ratings

About the authors

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Zoë Howe
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Zoë Howe is a music writer, biographer, broadcaster, visual artist and extremely occasional drummer whose novel Shine On, Marquee Moon was shortlisted for the Virginia Prize in 2016. She broadcasts the radio show ‘Rock ‘n’ Roll Witch’ on Soho Radio every month.
Her renowned biographies include 'Typical Girls? The Story of The Slits', 'Barbed Wire Kisses - The Jesus and Mary Chain Story', 'Stevie Nicks – Visions, Dreams & Rumours', 'Lee Brilleaux – Rock ‘n’ Roll Gentleman' and 'Wilko Johnson - Looking Back At Me'. Current projects include a documentary and biography of X-Ray Spex star Poly Styrene (Poly Styrene: I Am A Cliché and Dayglo: The Poly Styrene Story, Omnibus Press, 2019) - both collaborations with Poly’s daughter Celeste Bell. Zoë’s latest book, ‘Witchful Thinking: The Wise Woman’s Handbook to Creating A Charmed Life’ was published in 2022 by Llewellyn Worldwide.
Further details can be found here: www.zoehowe.com
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Zöe Street Howe
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Discover more of the author’s books, see similar authors, read book recommendations and more.
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Marianne Hyatt
Atypical Forgotten Child Stars Reframed
Reviewed in the United States on September 11, 2013
Format: Paperback

Rounding up to 3 years from the untimely death of wunderkind Ari Up, I reread Zoe Howe's debut work, 'Typical Girls', to refamiliarise myself with the social significance of surviving anarcho-feminist punk project The Slits. It didn't disappoint.

Howe skilfully presents The Slits as musical innovators of the 2nd modernity and keenly chronicles the band's trajectory from bete noire to pioneering auteuse of hybridised musical genre. Once perceived as shambolic Clash groupies gone feral, The Slits would disrupt to survive multiple line ups, a cavalcade of mismanagement, all kinds of drug induced inertia and especially severely neotonous sexual profiling from 'rock & roll rulemakers' as well as from the public at large. Ms Howe spins a white knuckle ride of their enigmatic 20+ years adventure, as they dared to make glaring mistakes in the harsh public spotlight and triumphed before its incredulous gaze. Arthur Rimbaud's vision of womankind resonates in Howe's book, as the Slits overthrow gendrification, discover the unknown and generate its understanding - all via their vibrant musical pursuit.

Howe bookends the story with a timeline '76-'81 at the beginning and a discography at the finish. Treasured accounts abound from giants such as Don Letts, Vivien Goldman, Budgie (of Siouxie and the Banshees), Keith Levene, Dennis Bovell, Steve Beresford and others. There are fantastic glimpses into process, including Ari Up auditioning Budgie (in her knickers, like some kind of 'wild child') by gauging his reaction to her Tamla Motown collection. There's the making of 'Cut' and that muddy album cover, inspired by a freshly watered lawn at Ridge Farm. Budgie remembers late night rock-n-roll (not reggae) sessions, there - 'After Tonight' -with Dennis Bovell rockin out on a 6-string electric guitar.

Like a silken unfolding, 'Typical Girls?' reframes The Slits, in terms of the cold blooded old times they transcended through brazen self determination. Contemporary female composer/musicians stand firmly on their shoulders, whether they recognise it or not. Zoe Howe cleverly structures and narrates this book to demonstrate the profound importance of their work. She holds a blazing torch for their seminal influence and spirit, and illuminates their place in the musical pantheon. 'Typical Girls?' is a masterful work.

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Sylas M.
Good book about a band that not enough people have heard.
Reviewed in the United States on September 22, 2009
Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase
It's too bad that more people haven't heard the Slits. They are one of those bands that more people have heard of than actually heard.

For those who are fans of early first-wave British punk, you can't do much better than the early Peel Sessions and the reggae influence that surfaced on the "Cut" album and subsequent work make for a unique listen. It's not "white reggae" so much as it's a sound all their own.

I could blabber on about their importance as an influence to female musicians but I won't because the female musicians who were inspired by them make their own music and do a pretty good job of name-checking them on their own. It's just too bad there aren't more of them.

As for the book itself, I was impressed on how informative it was. It answered some questions I'd had since first discovering this group somewhere around 1993 at age 19 (about 12 years after they had broken up). Finding literature on them at that time was hard; finding the music was even harder.

I'm happy to say that you can easily find their music on CD now and that someone finally wrote a book on them. It's not a crappy book filled with unnamed sources and speculation, nor is it a dry and boring read. In addition, while I won't say this is a definitive book on punk itself (which it doesn't pretend to be), it does paint a very good picture of the atmosphere of the time.

If you liked John Lydon's "Rotten: No Irish, No Blacks, No Dogs" and Jon Savage's "England's Dreaming", you'd probably enjoy this book.

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17 people found this helpful

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Señora
All too brief!
Reviewed in the United States on December 23, 2009
Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase
This is a thoughtful and well-written book, which seeks to explain what punk music really was (hint: it was not clothing or hairstyle), and where the Slits fit into the movement. Interviews with all the original members, and many of the Slits' peer group, make it a fascinating and comprehensive study of a fantastic and original band from a revolutionary time in music. My only real criticism is that is way too short, and there was less biographical information about the band members than I would have liked. But its highly recommended to anyone who was or is interested in punk, and more importantly, to everyone who wants to see the Slits finally get their due.

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2 people found this helpful

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Paul
Great overview.
Reviewed in the United States on June 17, 2017
Verified Purchase
Nothing new, but fun. Viv Albertine's memoir is far superior!

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Jack Melmoth
No index!
Reviewed in the United States on November 14, 2011
Format: Paperback
Good to have such a readable and well-researched book about the Slits (at last). Bad that the book lacks an index. Very frustrating in fact, as so many people, groups, records, events and places are mentioned in the body of the text. The absence of any sort of index limits the book's value as a work of reference; so, a mere 4 stars out of 5.

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3 people found this helpful

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M. B. Marvin
Typical Girls - The Slits - book review
Reviewed in the United States on August 19, 2009
Format: Paperback
Good first hand history of the London punk scene in the late '70s. If you are into Punk, then this is a MUST read.

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T. Satchwell
Do A Runner ...you Mudhoneys
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on August 5, 2009
Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

At last....a book about the Slits.!!
Well researched..and for someone who lost the slits plot after "Cut"..very informative. I did make a "Return to the Giant Slits" a few years ago as I felt I should investigate what I had missed.
I just love books like this..they make me want to immerse myself in the music I'm reading about. Then I want to dip into some of the stuff I have tucked away that maybe took influences from them ...like Kleenex/Liliput...Heidis Head/You etc. It's interesting how much influence these ladies had on artists even today..he author references Lily Allen(Viv dress style)..and the Bjork/Ari vocal styles
I would say sympathetically written..and some great pictures..as they were such colourful characters. Fast forward`your Jubilee DVD to the car trashing scene and put the Peel versions of Shoplifting and Vindictive on really loud!! I saw them at their loudest and snottiest on a Clash tour..it kind of left an impression on me!!!!
When is that book about Adam and The Ants going to be written???

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I'm Not Johnny Ramone
Critical Reading!
Reviewed in Canada on April 5, 2019
Verified Purchase
I loved this book, very well written and covers all the bases. Loaded with interviews with especially good insight from the likes of Den Letts, Budgie and Keith Levene. The Slits made some amazing music (Cut in particular is a classic and really holds up decades later) and it's kind of a shame they're not better known; hopefully this book will help change that. Fearless trailblazers... punk rock was bad enough, buts girls acting like that was unheard of. And they accomplished a lot in a few years.

I got the Kindle edition but I'm probably going to get a physical copy so I can wear it out properly.

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G. Airey
Great example of its type
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on August 31, 2013
Verified Purchase
Loved this. Obviously based on plenty of contact time with the band and shines a lot of light on the people and their music. The Slits have had nowhere near enough analysis until this came along. Even long-term fans (like me) will learn a lot. Neat writing style too.

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Steven Mayne
Buy Read Love !
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on July 26, 2017
Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase
After reading Viv Albertine's superb book Clothes Music Boys i came across Zoe Howe's book about the Slits and i'm glad i did simply this is a brilliant read very well researched , from the opening timeline chapter which definitely sets the scene through to interviews with all members of the Slits ,managers ,mentors and friends you do discover the real Slits . ( as a side note i must admit i did play The Cut a few times during the reading of this book )

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clover
Interesting read
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on November 27, 2015
Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase
I read Viv Albertine's autobiography before this one (clothes, music and boys) so this book was a natural progression...as you knew what the writer was talking about. The only thing I didn't think the writing flowed. I wasn't fully sucked into the book and found it a bit bland. However I did finish it and my attention to reading it kept up.

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