The Lyrics Of 'Shoplifting' by The Slits

Fwiw 'though you need to bear in mind the historiocal context and appreciate that back in '77 / '78, very few people were as conscious of the offensiveness of "casual" racial tags and stereotypes as most people are today - and the term "paki shop" was in common parlance without any real intention to cause offence, to decribe corner shops since a significant number of these were owned / managed by asians.

I'm not saying it's right of course, but that's how it was.

Dadaismus has a point too i.e. English wasn't Ari's (or Palmolive's) first language - so presumably they just picked up the words and expressions they heard every day.

I think it's fair to say The Slits had wised up in all sorts of ways between 1977 and 1979.

In fact I think we all had.

i'm a bit irked+ that she says that cause i love the CUT version.

isnt it 'babylonian'' anyway not 'babylon yen' ?

True enough now, but not really the case in 1977.

But you'd have to hate it if the Slits had tried to have that lyric erased somehow. It's honest (and perhaps more importantly) honestly naive, and of it's time.

I suspect that Stewart is OTM in the 7th post above.

"DO A RUNNER! DO A RUNNER!"

Since Jamaicans are generally white and "The Man" (especially in this country back in those days) was almost exclusively white, I suppose it could be said to have some racial connotations under certain circumstances - but (particularly since Ari's white) not really in the way it was being used here I don't think.

If anything it's almost tempting to suggest that maybe this phrase was deliberately chosen to show solidarity in order to atone for the unintended racist element in the earlier version.

After he'd finished bollocking me, the headmaster told me to go away and think about what I'd done.

So I did.

And I still thought it had been fantastic.

So I did it again....

And the school I was at used to keep us in 'til really late.

How good were The Heartbreakers? I never got to see them.

I can understand that!

Weren't The Clash on the tour too?

You're not going to impress me by saying Terry Chimes.

"Apparently 'Lester Sands' is on the latest Buzzcocks album!"

It is and it's a great version; and there's also an equally great version of "'Til The Stars In His Eyes Are Dead" (retitled simply "Stars") from the Buzzkunst album Pete Shelley made with Howie in 2002 - in fact I reckon it could be the best album Buzzcocks have made since A Different Kind Of Tension!

One Rob Harper actually! Chimes quit before the tour. I think he came back again and then quit again. Then Topper joined.

[= thin excuse for another day of punk reminiscence]

You should see the half-ton of punk singles in that alleyway secondhand vinyl/CD shop (Harris Arcade).

you should.

To be honest 'though there aren't very many old punk singles I'm remotely interested in finding now - a few odd things by the Depressions, Desperate Bicycles, Snivelling Shits, Suburban Studs, Trash.... - and nothing I wouldn't be just as happy if not happier to have on CD if someone were to see fit to release it.

I remember the first time I met The Damned properly and had a proper conversation with them; when me and my mate interviewed them for our 'zine in December 1979.

I was 16 and so excited about meeting them that I'm surprised my trousers didn't spontaneously combust.

Captain Sensible told me about how he'd managed to blag his way to meet Gary Glitter when he was 16 - and I was thrilled because Gary Glitter had been my hero too a few years earlier.

I then asked him when he'd decided to stop trying to be like Gary Glitter or Jimi Hendrix and become Captain Sensible and he thanked me and told me that was the most intelligent question he'd been asked for a long time and I thought my head was going to explode.

Then he told me that I had bad breath and needed to clean my teeth more often and I didn't care and included that bit when I wrote up the interview too.

New York Dolls "Jet Boy" Mercury, £3
Lurkers "Aint got a clue" w/ gold vinyl "Chaos Bros" £5

The Depressions rings a bell, funnily enough. Were they on Barn records? if so, they have at least three different.

Stewart, check it out man.

(p.s. if there had been any desp bikes etc, there wouldn't be now iygm)

I've yet to ascertain whether it really was different every time or just my ears playing tricks on me.

Absolutely FANTASTIC album btw - definitely the best live Slits recording I've heard yet.

Tour Dates!

"The Slits With Ari Up"
Still fronted by Ariane Forster, the Slits were revolutionary on the punk scene in the 70s, evolving their sound to encompass dub and reggae before splitting up in the early 80s. Expect a reggae-layered set which still remains full of punkish attitude.

http://www.ents24.com/web/artist/75994/The_Slits_With_Ari_Up.html

I'd advise a little caution - but here's at least some idea of what you might be letting yourself in for.

I don't think the issue here is really whether people from Pakistan find the term offensive today, but whether they found it offensive in 1977.

I'm not in any position to speak for the Pakistani community; but I think I can speak for the majority of the indiginous population - and I'm not at all convinced that it was considered to be a term of abuse or particularly offensive by the majority of white people who who have casually used the term in 1977.

The fact that it did seem to be in general use as a word to describe almost anyone of Asian extraction (rather than just people with actual roots in Pakistan) did of course create an additional - but entirely separate - potential for causing some level of offence; in a manner similar to that which may be caused by e.g. misidentifying people from Portugal as being Spanish, people from New Zealand as being Australian, or people from Canada as being American; but that is a separate matter.

Nevertheless, it is vital to understand the context - and even if the use of the term does appear to be horribly insensitive and unenlightened from our current standpoint, it must be understood that (compared with today) those were horribly insensitive and unenlightened times and the casual use of racial tags was not only endemic but, far more importantly, was also probably the very least of the worries that faced members of many racial minorities in the UK at that time.

If an old friend came running up to you in the street and addressed you as ".... you old bastard", I imagine you'd probably be delighted.

If a complete stranger came up and did likewise then I suspect your reaction would be rather different.

If you were at the annual convention of the "People who were Conceived Out Of Wedlock Society" however, that reaction might be different again.

So calm those jerking knees for a moment and consider this: I suspect that most people today (not those directly involved in the education or child care professions perhaps, but most ordinary people) will casually use the word "kids" to describe children.

If any of us ever bother to actually stop to think about it, we're probably vaguely aware that it is a mildly pejorative term and we probably shouldn't really be using it - but it's only a word, there's no intention to offend anyone, and it's not as if it's actually hurting anyone, is it, right?

In 25 years, a new generation will look on you as being little better than a child molestor for having used that word.

It is at present afaik - but who's to say whether it will be considered so in a quarter of a century's time?

My dear old Cockney grandma, gawd bless 'er soul, used to habitually call me (and probably all her other grandchildren too, for all I know) her li'l "Cock Sparrer".

I believe the "Cock" bit was an abbreviation of "Cockney", rather than a reference to my pre-pubescent male genitalia; although if the old girl was still about today I imagine Social Services would probably put my name on the "At Risk" register, just to be on the safe side.