Da Silva and Birch were inspired to make a band after they saw the Slits perform live earlier that year. Birch stated in an interview with She Shreds magazine, "It was as if suddenly I was given permission. It never occurred to me that I could be in a band. Girls didn’t do that. But when I saw The Slits doing it, I thought, ‘This is me. This is mine.’”[3] For the band's first concert on 9 November 1977 at The Tabernacle, the line-up included Birch, da Silva, Ross Crighton (guitar) and Nick Turner (drums). Guitarist Kate Korus (from the Slits and later the Mo-dettes) joined briefly but was replaced by Jeremie Frank. Nick Turner left to form the Barracudas, and Richard Dudanski (ex–the 101ers and later Public Image Ltd.) sat in on drums, while filmmaker Patrick Keiller replaced Frank on guitar.
Late in 1978, the Raincoats became an all female band as they were joined by the Slits' ex-drummer Palmolive and the classically trained violinist Vicky Aspinall,[4] with this line-up making their live debut at Acklam Hall in London on 4 January 1979.[5]Geoff Travis, the founder of Rough Trade Records, recruited Mayo Thompson of the Red Krayola to produce the band at this time; they suggested that Aspinall approach her violin in the style of the Velvet Underground.[6] Managed by Shirley O'Loughlin, the band went on their first UK tour with Swiss female band Kleenex, in May 1979 after Rough Trade released their first single, "Fairytale in the Supermarket". Johnny Rotten was an early admirer of the band, and later stated: "The Raincoats offered a completely different way of doing things, as did X-Ray Spex and all the books about punk have failed to realise that these women were involved for no other reason than that they were good and original".[7] The Raincoats' distinctly uncommercial sound did not appeal to everyone; after witnessing an early performance by the band, Danny Baker remarked that "they are so bad that every time a waiter drops a tray we'd all get up and dance".[8]
On 21 November 1979, Rough Trade released the band's self-titled debut album.[9][10] Palmolive had left the band in September, shortly before The Raincoats came out, and teenager Ingrid Weiss joined the band on drums. The Raincoats' second album, Odyshape, was released in 1981 and featured Weiss as well as drumming contributions from Dudanski, Robert Wyatt (Soft Machine) and Charles Hayward (This Heat). The Raincoats employed a diverse selection of cheap second-hand instruments such as the balophone, kalimba and gamelan on Odyshape, and the album incorporated British folk, dub basslines, polyrhythmic percussion and elements of free jazz among other world music influences. Its eclectic mix of musical genres has been described as one of the "great lost moments of women-in-rock".[11][12]
"The basic theme in rock'n'roll is what goes on between men and women...Rock'n'roll is based on black music. And it's based in the exclusion of women and the ghettoization of blacks. Which is why we want to put a bit of distance between what we do and the rock'n'roll tradition."[13] — The Raincoats interviewed by Greil Marcus
The Raincoats recorded Moving in 1984. Tired of constant touring and "pulling in different musical directions", the band members began work on solo projects shortly after the album's release.[15] Birch and Aspinall formed Dorothy, while da Silva worked with choreographer Gaby Agis on a series of dance projects and formed Roseland with Hayward.
In 1992, Kurt Cobain of Nirvana went into the Rough Trade Shop in Talbot Road, London in search of a new copy of The Raincoats, and Jude Crighton sent him around the corner to see da Silva at her cousin's antique shop. Cobain wrote passionately about this meeting in the liner notes of Nirvana's Incesticide album. In late 1993, Rough Trade and DGC Records reissued the band's three studio albums, with liner notes by Cobain and Sonic Youth's Kim Gordon.
"I don't really know anything about the Raincoats except that they recorded some music that has affected me so much that, whenever I hear it I'm reminded of a particular time in my life when I was (shall we say) extremely unhappy, lonely, and bored. If it weren't for the luxury of putting that scratchy copy of the Raincoats' first record, I would have had very few moments of peace. I suppose I could have researched a bit of history about the band but I feel it's more important to delineate the way I feel and how they sound. When I listen to the Raincoats I feel as if I'm a stowaway in an attic, violating and in the dark. Rather than listening to them I feel like I'm listening in on them. We're together in the same old house and I have to be completely still or they will hear me spying from above and, if I get caught – everything will be ruined because it's their thing." — Cobain's liner notes for The Raincoats
"I loved The Slits because of their boldness and that they actually had commercial songs, but it was the Raincoats I related to most. They seemed like ordinary people playing extraordinary music. They had enough confidence to be vulnerable and to be themselves without having to take on the mantle of male rock/punk rock aggression...or the typical female as sex symbol avec irony or sensationalism." — Gordon's liner notes for Odyshape
Gina Birch performing at Celebrating Sisterhood!, The Verge at The Cheshire Ring, 2012.
Later, Cobain listed the Raincoats debut album at No. 20 in his 50 favorite albums.[16][17]
1994–present
O'Loughlin persuaded Birch and da Silva to play a show at The Garage in London in March 1994 with Steve Shelley (Sonic Youth) on drums and Anne Wood on violin to celebrate the album re-releases. They recorded a session for BBC Radio 1's John Peel, which was released as Extended Play on Paul Smith's Blast First and Shelley's label Smells Like Records. Cobain invited them to play on Nirvana's planned UK tour in April, but he died a week before the tour began. The Raincoats released Looking in the Shadows on Rough Trade/Geffen in 1996, produced by BritpopproducerEd Buller (who had previously worked with Suede and Pulp). Musicians included Wood (violin, bass), Heather Dunn (drums) and Pete Shelley (Buzzcocks).
In 1995, the Tim/Kerr label released a Raincoats compilation, Fairytales.[18]
Since 1996, the Raincoats have played some special events such as Wyatt's Meltdown in 2001, and Chicks on Speed's 99 Cents album release party in Berlin in December 2003. Birch and da Silva recorded a cover version of "Monk Chant" for a tribute album of Monks songs called Silver Monk Time, and performed the song live with the Monks at Berlin's Volksbühne in October 2006. They played at Ladyfest in Leeds in April 2007, and the Nuits Sonores Festival in Lyon on 18 May 2007. On 28 March 2009, The Raincoats-Fairytales-A Work in Progress, directed by Birch and produced by the Raincoats, was screened at the British Film Institute in London. On 25 April, the band performed at Donaufestival in Austria.
On 9 November 2009, the Raincoats' debut album was reissued on vinyl on We ThRee (the band's own label) in the UK and on the Kill Rock Stars label in the U.S.
The band performed at Matt Groening's All Tomorrow's Parties festival in May 2010 at Minehead in Somerset. The following week, the Raincoats played their debut album live for an ATP Don't Look Back concert at London's Scala, supported by the Raincoats-influenced band Trash Kit. On 21 November 2010, the Raincoats performed a concert as part of the PopRally series at MoMA in New York City.[19] The band were invited by Jeff Mangum of Neutral Milk Hotel to perform their debut album live at the All Tomorrow's Parties festival in March 2012.[20] In December 2011, it was announced that the Raincoats would also appear at the 35 Denton music festival in Texas the same month.
The Raincoats invited Angel Olsen to collaborate for the 40th anniversary of Rough Trade at London's Islington Assembly Hall on 3 November 2016.
On 5 October 2017, Jenn Pelly's 33⅓ book The Raincoats, about the band's first album, was published by Bloomsbury.
Kurt Donald Cobain was an American musician who was the co-founder, lead vocalist, guitarist and primary songwriter of the rock band Nirvana. Through his angst-fueled songwriting and anti-establishment persona, Cobain's compositions widened the thematic conventions of mainstream rock. He was heralded as a spokesman of Generation X and is highly recognized as one of the most influential alternative rock musicians.
Nirvana was an American rock band formed in Aberdeen, Washington, in 1987. Founded by lead singer and guitarist Kurt Cobain and bassist Krist Novoselic, the band went through a succession of drummers, most notably Chad Channing, before recruiting Dave Grohl in 1990. Nirvana's success popularized alternative rock, and they were often referenced as the figurehead band of Generation X. Despite a short mainstream career spanning only 3 years, their music maintains a popular following and continues to influence modern rock culture.
Grunge is an alternative rock genre and subculture which emerged during the mid-1980s in the U.S. state of Washington, particularly in Seattle and nearby towns. Grunge fuses elements of punk rock and heavy metal, but without punk's structure and speed. The genre featured the distorted electric guitar sound used in both genres, although some bands performed with more emphasis on one or the other. Like these genres, grunge typically uses electric guitar, bass guitar, drums and vocals. Grunge also incorporates influences from indie rock bands such as Sonic Youth. Lyrics are typically angst-filled and introspective, often addressing themes such as social alienation, self-doubt, abuse, neglect, betrayal, social and emotional isolation, addiction, psychological trauma and a desire for freedom.
In Utero is the third and final studio album by the American rock band Nirvana. It was released on September 21, 1993, by DGC Records. After breaking into the mainstream with their second album, Nevermind (1991), Nirvana hired Steve Albini to record In Utero, seeking a more complex, abrasive sound that was reminiscent of their work prior to Nevermind. Although frontman and primary songwriter Kurt Cobain claimed that the album was "very impersonal", many of its songs contain heavy allusions to his personal life and struggles, expressing feelings of angst that were common on the band's previous album.
"In Bloom" is a song by American rock band Nirvana, written by vocalist and guitarist Kurt Cobain. It appears as the second track on the band's second album, Nevermind, released by DGC Records in September 1991.
"Rape Me" is a song by the American rock band Nirvana, written by vocalist and guitarist Kurt Cobain. It is the fourth song on the band's third and final studio album, In Utero, released in September 1993.
"Lithium" is a song by the American rock band Nirvana, written by vocalist and guitarist Kurt Cobain. It appears as the fifth track on the band's second album Nevermind, released by DGC Records in September 1991.
"Drain You" is a song by American rock band Nirvana, written by vocalist and guitarist, Kurt Cobain. It is the eighth track on their second album, Nevermind, released in September 1991. The song was released as a promotional single in late 1991, and also appeared as a b-side on UK retail editions of the first single from that album, "Smells Like Teen Spirit".
Gina Birch is an English musician and filmmaker, best known as a founding member of post-punk rock band, The Raincoats.
The Raincoats is the debut studio album by English rock band The Raincoats. It was released on 21 November 1979 as one of the first records issued by the London-based independent label Rough Trade. The album is perhaps best known for its off-kilter cover of "Lola" by the Kinks. The album's sixth track, "The Void", was covered by Hole in 1994.
Odyshape is the second album by the Raincoats, originally released on 1 June 1981 by Rough Trade.
"Endless, Nameless" is a song by the American rock band Nirvana, written by vocalist and guitarist Kurt Cobain, bassist Krist Novoselic, and drummer Dave Grohl. It is the 13th and final song on the band's second studio album, Nevermind, released in September 1991.
"Breed" is a song by the American rock band Nirvana, written by vocalist and guitarist Kurt Cobain. It is the fourth song on their second studio album, Nevermind, released in September 1991.
"Serve the Servants" is a song by the American rock band Nirvana, written by vocalist and guitarist, Kurt Cobain. It is the first track on their third and final studio album In Utero, released in September 1993.
Paloma McLardy, known as Palmolive, is a Spanish drummer and songwriter who was a member of influential early punk bands. She founded the Slits toward the end of 1976. After leaving that group in 1978, she joined the Raincoats and performed on their first album, The Raincoats.
Ana da Silva is a musician, best known as a founding member of post-punk rock band the Raincoats.
Looking in the Shadows is the fourth studio album by British alternative rock group the Raincoats, released in 1996 by Rough Trade and DGC. It was the band's first album in 12 years.
The Kitchen Tapes, released by ROIR in 1983, is the only live album by the Raincoats. It is a recording of a December 1982 performance at The Kitchen in New York City. It was originally released on cassette only, but was reissued in 1995 and 1998 on CD.
LiLiPUT, initially known as Kleenex, were a Swiss punk rock band formed in Zürich in 1978. The band experienced numerous line-up changes throughout their existence, with bassist Klaudia Schiff being the only constant member of the band over their entire history. Guitarist Marlene Marder joined the group shortly after their formation, and remained a member until their 1983 split. LiLiPUT's final line-up consisted of Schiff, Marder, and lead vocalist Astrid Spirit, and it was in this incarnation that the band recorded their only full-length studio albums, Liliput (1982) and Some Songs (1983).
Helen McCookerybook is a British musician and singer-songwriter, who was the bass player and co-singer with The Chefs, during the late 1970s and early 1980s. She went on to form Helen and the Horns in the mid 80s. Both bands were admired by John Peel, recording six BBC Radio 1 sessions between them. After a long break from her music career, Helen McCookerybook started again as a solo artist in 2005. She regularly plays live gigs, releases recordings, and promotes occasional revivals of Helen and the Horns.
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