One of the Coolest People Ever Has a Memoir on the Way
You might recognize Neneh Cherry’s name because of her global 1988 dance hit “Buffalo Stance” and the solo and collaborative efforts that followed it. Yet it’s her work with some of the artists that inspired this zine (as well as many of the bands we’ll cover) that should make A Thousand Threads: A Memoir a must-read.
As a teenager, Neneh visited the UK while on the road with her step-dad, iconic jazz trumpeter Don Cherry. During that trip, Neneh first befriended fellow teen Ari Up and the rest of The Slits. Soon after, Neneh quit school and moved from New York to London. Joining the Slits camp positioned Neneh as more than one of the band’s most memorable collaborators (as heard on the In the Beginning live compilation).
She followed Ari and Slits guitarist Viv Albertine to dub mad scientist Adrian Sherwood’s New Age Steppers. Others involved in the project at different times included members of The Pop Group (Bruce Smith (a former Slit) and Mark Stewart), PiL (Keith Levene) and The Raincoats (Vicky Aspinall) plus journalist and scholar Vivien Goldman and several of Sherwood’s reggae and dub colleagues (namely Errol Holt and Bim Sherman). One of the New Age Steppers’ best songs, 1981’s “My Love,” was a Neneh and Sherman duet.
Even brighter moments followed for Neneh as the primary singer of Rip, Rig + Panic. An offshoot of The Pop Group, Rip Rig + Panic incorporated jazz elements along with reggae, dub and general post-punk weirdness. The formula set up collaborations with Ari as well as Neneh’s step-dad. In short, they’re the band from the last episode of The Young Ones‘ first series (though that’s Andi Oliver and not Neneh on lead vocals).
The book’s description promises that it’ll dive into how Neneh “burst onto the scene as a teenager in the punk band The Slits.” Hopefully, we get memories of her subsequent post-punk and dub involvement. as well.
A Thousand Threads: A Memoir hits shelves in the US on Oct. 8.