Biography
Kleenex/LiLiPUT ranks among punk rock’s most consequential all-female ensembles, crafting a style that directly anticipated both the riot grrrl surge and the pop-punk explosion. The Zurich-based quartet formed in the late 1970s and disbanded in 1983, yet their modest output only grew scarcer and more coveted afterward. Repeated reissues and compilations failed to satisfy demand, elevating the two original LPs to collector status and prompting dedicated listeners to spend more than one hundred dollars per copy.
The group’s origins trace to a Sex Pistols concert in Zurich that prompted several local women to pick up instruments. Marlene Marder first played saxophone in an early punk outfit alongside male acquaintances, only to be asked to depart once the others decided saxophones had no place in punk. Undeterred, she switched to guitar and assembled an all-female lineup with Lislot Hafner on drums, Regula Sing on vocals, and Klaudia Schifferle on bass. They adopted the name Kleenex and began performing throughout Switzerland.
Their songs stood apart from the prevailing Sex Pistols-inspired gloom: bright, buoyant pop melodies paired with witty, untroubled lyrics. Early recordings appeared on Sunrise Records in Switzerland before Rough Trade took over international distribution. Growing overseas attention soon drew a legal threat from Kimberly-Clark, the corporate owner of the Kleenex trademark, so the band renamed itself LiLiPUT after the miniature society in Gulliver’s Travels.
Although the members parted ways in 1983, their recordings quickly assumed legendary status. The Raincoats and the Slits absorbed their example early on, while later acts such as Shonen Knife and Sleater-Kinney have cited the Swiss group as a formative influence. To meet renewed interest, Kill Rock Stars issued the double-CD set Kleenex/LiLiPUT in 2001, compiling the band’s complete studio work; a live anthology on CD and DVD followed in 2010. Marlene Marder passed away in 2016 at age 61.
The group’s origins trace to a Sex Pistols concert in Zurich that prompted several local women to pick up instruments. Marlene Marder first played saxophone in an early punk outfit alongside male acquaintances, only to be asked to depart once the others decided saxophones had no place in punk. Undeterred, she switched to guitar and assembled an all-female lineup with Lislot Hafner on drums, Regula Sing on vocals, and Klaudia Schifferle on bass. They adopted the name Kleenex and began performing throughout Switzerland.
Their songs stood apart from the prevailing Sex Pistols-inspired gloom: bright, buoyant pop melodies paired with witty, untroubled lyrics. Early recordings appeared on Sunrise Records in Switzerland before Rough Trade took over international distribution. Growing overseas attention soon drew a legal threat from Kimberly-Clark, the corporate owner of the Kleenex trademark, so the band renamed itself LiLiPUT after the miniature society in Gulliver’s Travels.
Although the members parted ways in 1983, their recordings quickly assumed legendary status. The Raincoats and the Slits absorbed their example early on, while later acts such as Shonen Knife and Sleater-Kinney have cited the Swiss group as a formative influence. To meet renewed interest, Kill Rock Stars issued the double-CD set Kleenex/LiLiPUT in 2001, compiling the band’s complete studio work; a live anthology on CD and DVD followed in 2010. Marlene Marder passed away in 2016 at age 61.
Singles
