Legendary female punks THE SLITS formed in 1976 and after some line-up changes it was clear that the remaining trio of Ari-Up, Viv Albertine and Palmolive had no intention to jump on the punk train. I know, they were part of the same circle of young, noisy brats like Keith Levene, Johnny Rotten Lydon, Joe Strummer and Mick Jones among others and they toured with several big punk bands but they definitely were very different in sound & image than all those noisy boys gangs. They didn’t play fast, loud and furious, but developed their proper DIY sound around hyperkinetic rhythms, stripped to the bone dub reggae and weird funk patterns. If you never heard them check their sparkling 1979 debut LP CUT, featuring Neneh Cherry and produced by reggae virtuoso Dennis Bovell here. And this is what happened when they covered a mega soul hit…
I HEARD IT THROUGH THE GRAPEVINE
Originally written by Norman Whitfield and Barrett Strong for Motown Records in 1966.
The 1968 version by Marvin Gaye is the most famous rendition of this fabulous song…