Julz Sale Of Delta 5 Has Died
Julz Sale, singer and guitarist for British post-punk band the Delta 5, has died, as Variety reports. Sale’s age and the cause of her death have not been reported.
Sale helped found the Delta 5 in Leeds in 1979. Originally, the band consisted of Sale and two bassists, Ros Allen and Bethan Peters. Drummer Kelvin Knight and guitarist Alan Riggs joined later. The band’s style was scratchy and rudimentary, built around Sale’s arch vocals and guitar stabs, and they became a part of the same Leeds art-school post-punk scene that also included Gang Of Four and the Mekons.
The Delta 5 released their debut single, the aggravation anthem “Mind Your Own Business,” in 1979 on Rough Trade Records. (Sale apparently also worked for the label for a time.) The band followed that song with singles like “Anticipation” and “Try,” and they released the album See the Whirl in 1981. Shortly afterwards, they broke up, and Sale never played with another prominent band again.
“Mind Your Own Business” become a sort of cult hit over the years, and a lot of different bands covered it. Earlier this year, “Mind Your Own Business” ended up in an Apple commercial. Kill Rock Stars reissued the Delta 5’s singles in 2006. But even in the era when most of the pioneering ’70s post-punk bands were getting back together and playing festivlas, the Delta 5 never reunited.
Below, watch a couple of Delta 5 performances.