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... 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.