# Who plays the spoons on The Slits’ 1979 song ‘Newtown’?

- URL: https://talkfuse.com/story/who-plays-the-spoons-on-the-slits-1979-song-newtown/
- Published: 2026-11-02T17:30:00+00:00
- Updated: 2026-11-02T18:42:14+00:00
- Original publisher: Far Out
- Original article: https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/who-plays-spoons-on-slits-newtown/
- Topics: Entertainment, Music

## Key points

- Dennis Bovell played the spoon on ‘Newtown’.
- He also used an ashtray and matches as percussion.
- The song satirised suburban boredom and television culture.

## Summary

Dennis Bovell played the spoons on The Slits’ 1979 song ‘Newtown’, using an ashtray, a spoon and a box of matches as percussion. The improvised sounds helped shape the track’s unusual punk and dub texture, accompanying its critique of suburban boredom and consumer culture.

The song appeared on the band’s debut album, *Cut*, recorded at Ridge Farm studio in Surrey in spring 1979, with Bovell producing. He said he played keyboards and percussion on ‘Newtown’, which likened television and football to drugs; the ashtray, spoon and matches carried references to smoking and heroin.

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Summarised by TalkFuse (https://talkfuse.com/). Quote the original publisher for the reporting and link this page for the summary and discussion.