Sunday 3 January 2010

Improperly Dressed

"Stared at from the minute that I leave a place. My eyes straight ahead of me, cutting into space. You don't make eye contact standing on the street. 'Cause that's an invitation to everyone you meet. And things can get uncomfortable on tube trains late at night ..." sings Ari Up on The Slits' Improperly Dressed. And she would have known. God bless The Slits and all who sailed with them. What on earth happened to the Cut promo film that was in all the cinemas as a b-feature? Have I dreamt that existed? The clip of the girls performing on the Regents Park bandstand is one of the great pieces of London pop film. So for a change here's another Instant Hit, with some suitable London transport footage and a lot of the fun which sometimes gets forgotten about when the group is talked about or when they had to answer endless questions about being untypical girls as in this invaluable piece of film ...

4 comments:

  1. keithandrewhawkins@yahoo.co.uk4 January 2010 at 13:51

    Hi Kev...really enjoyable blog...The Slits..by far and away the best band of the Punk era..extraordinary music...only The Pop Group matched them...Slits "Cut" deluxe 2xCD was last year's best release...essential.
    Hope you're well...we should catch up for a cuppa some time...
    All the best....Keith x

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  2. Lovely to hear from you Keith. What strikes me is how as kids at school growing up with this music it all seemed perectly 'normal'. We didn't know anything else, and so we were really lucky. Will drop you a line. Be great to catch up!

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  3. keithandrewhawkins@yahoo.co.uk6 January 2010 at 21:46

    Hi Kev....1978-1982...slits...pop group..fall..p.i.l...teardrops..fire engines..a.c.r...skidoo..joy division..delta 5...jam....Yeah...maybe we were lucky...
    Great music....interesting times...
    It would be good to catch up ...Keith x

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  4. I'm guessing the Cut promo film you're referring to is Don Lett's half hour long 'Slits Pictures', incorporating the Typical Girls promo as well as other album tracks. So yes, it did/does indeed exist. In fact seeing it for the first on MTV's 120 minutes back in the 90s was what rekindled my love for the band after a decade or so of dormancy.

    I have it, albeit in a scratchy copy, on a bootleg DVD - I'll look into getting a copy to you if you want. Hell of a wasted opportunity though, them not including it as an extra on the recent special edition Cut reissue… sort it, Island!!

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