Kleenex formed in Zurich in 1978, and were built around the all girl line-up of Klaudia Sciff, Lislot Ha, Regula Sing and Marlene Marder. They released “The Kleenex EP” in their native Switzerland, receiving airplay in the UK courtesy of John Peel, which then paved the way for them to sign to Rough Trade records and release their 2nd single “Ain’t You” in November 1978. In early 1979 singer Regula Sing (Ramona Carlier) left the band to join the Mo-dettes. That same year the band faced legal action from Kimberly-Clark, the American manufacturers of Kleenex™, and so changed their name to LiLiPUT.
The bands output has since been re-released on CD by Kill Rock Stars.
According to Allmusic the band “made some of the best, most adventurous, most exhilarating, and most critically derided music” of the punk rock era. Their ramshackle and scratchy nature have invited comparisons with The Raincoats, the Delta 5 and Bush Tetras.
Kurt Cobain from Nirvana listed the band’s music in his list of Top 50 favourite albums.