A day after Ari Up, iconic frontwoman of The Slits, succumbed to a long illness, her label Narnack Records has released what it bills as the band’s ‘final work’: a heretofore unreleased video for the song ‘Lazy Slam,’ off last year’s ‘Trapped Animal’ album.
After teasing fans with a couple 30-second clips from its forthcoming ‘Tour of the Universe: Live in Barcelona’ DVD and Blu-ray, Depeche Mode today offered up something a bit more substantial: a nearly 6-minute electronic press kit for the film, featuring performance footage, backstage clips and interviews with Dave Gahan, Martin Gore and Andy Fletcher.
German-born punk pioneer Ari Up — the frontwoman of The Slits who learned guitar from Joe Strummer and was John Lydon’s stepdaughter — died today at age 48 following ‘a serious illness,’ Lydon and her mother, Nora Foster, announced via Public Image Ltd.’s website.
With a deluxe reissue due out and U.K. tour celebrating the 30th anniversary of ‘Penthouse and Pavement’ set to being next month, Heaven 17 last night appeared on the BBC2 program ‘Later Live… with Jools Holland’ — although the synthpop group opted to perform its later hit ‘Temptation,’ the U.K. No. 2 single off its sophomore album ‘The Luxury Gap.’
Los Angeles punk icons Social Distortion today announced that their seventh album — ‘Hard Times and Nursery Rhymes’ — will be released Jan. 18 on Epitaph Records and preceded by the release of first single “Machine Gun Blues” via iTunes on Nov. 9.
Saturday night, following a U.K. solo-acoustic gig, The Alarm’s Mike Peters discovered someone had walked off with his lyric book. And he wants it back: ‘Mike has been using this book extensively… to play lesser-known songs requested by fans,’ according to a post on the Alarm’s site.
The week’s new releases include a host of reissues from the likes of The Church (‘Of Skins and Heart,’ ‘The Blurred Crusade’), The Soft Boys (‘A Can of Bees,’ ‘Underwater Moonlight’), Dexys Midnight Runners (‘Searching for the Young Soul Rebels’), Gary Numan (‘Automatic’), The Wedding Present (‘Live 1989’) and Nick Heyward (‘North of a Miracle’).
Q&A: Daniel Ash on Love and Rockets’ reunion, his new band — and figuring out how to play “So Alive” 
Q&A: Chris Frantz talks Talking Heads, Tom Tom Club and new book ‘Remain in Love’ 
Q&A: Steve Wynn on The Dream Syndicate’s first new album in nearly 30 years 
Q&A: Bauhaus’ David J on his ‘accidental’ concept album ‘Not Long For This World’ 
Q&A: Peter Murphy on ‘Ninth,’ Bauhaus’ break-up, reuniting Dalis Car 
Q&A: Joey Santiago on Pixies’ ‘Doolittle’ tour, possible ‘Surfer Rosa’ shows, new album talk 
Q&A: Prefab Sprout’s Paddy McAloon on new album, changing the world with music 
Q&A: Peter Hook talks ‘Unknown Pleasures’ tour, re-recording Joy Division 