The Man Next Door
The Slits formed in London in October 1976. Ari Up, born Ariane Forster in Munich in 1962, was the daughter of German publishing heiress Nora Forster and later became the stepdaughter of Sex Pistols frontman John Lydon. She was also the goddaughter of Yes singer Jon Anderson. After seeing Patti Smith at the Hammersmith Odeon, Ari met drummer Palmolive, and the two decided to form a band the next day. Viv Albertine came in on guitar, Tessa Pollitt on bass. They rehearsed in Joe Strummer's squat. They could barely play their instruments. They toured with The Clash on the White Riot tour in 1977 while still learning them. Their 1979 debut album Cut, produced by Dennis Bovell, is one of the defining records of the post-punk era.
The Man Next Door was written by John Holt and first recorded with his group The Paragons in 1968, produced by Duke Reid on his Duke label. It has been covered by Dennis Brown, UB40, Horace Andy, and Massive Attack. The Slits recorded their version at Berry St. Studios in December 1979, produced and mixed by Adrian Sherwood. Tessa Pollitt was in hospital during the session, so Arianne Forster played bass. The 7-inch single was released on June 4, 1980 on Y Records and Rough Trade, reaching number 5 on the UK Indie Chart and staying there for 13 weeks. A separate 12-inch re-recording with Pollitt on bass, produced by Dennis Bovell, was also released in 1980. It was later released in the United States on Human Records in October 1980.
"We didn't think about being women in a band. We just thought about being in a band and making the best music we could and saying what we thought."
Ari Up died of cancer on October 20, 2010, aged 48. She had reformed The Slits with Tessa Pollitt in 2005 and they toured sporadically until her death. Viv Albertine went on to a celebrated career as a director of music videos and television, and published her acclaimed memoir Clothes, Clothes, Clothes. Music, Music, Music. Boys, Boys, Boys. in 2014. Today is June 4, 2026. Forty-six years ago today this single was pressed and distributed into record shops across the United Kingdom. The Slits were four women who could barely play their instruments, rehearsing in a squat, touring with The Clash, making music that sounded like nothing else. The Man Next Door is the document of what they became when they found dub. It is as good as anything they made.