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Donald's Encyclopedia of Popular MusicA B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y ZRAINCOATS, TheUK pop/punk group formed at Hornsey Art College '76--7 by students Gina Birch and Ana da Silva. Recorded difficult but outstanding debut The Raincoats '79 on Rough Trade with violinist Vicky Aspinall and erstwhile Slit Palm Olive (see entry for Punk Rock). 'Fairytale In The Supermarket' EP was a ramshackle classic and began a strange musical progression through eerie exotic Odyshape '81, intriguing USA cassette-only Kitchen Tapes (ROIR) to alarmingly perky apparent finale Moving (Rough Trade). They re-formed unexpectedly '93 after obsessive fans Kurt Cobain and Courtney Love asked after them in Notting Hill Rough Trade record shop and were directed around the corner to meet Ana at the antique shop where she then worked: they played great old-stuff sets with Sonic Youth's Steve Shelley on drums, but a Cobain drug overdose prevented them supporting Nirvana on a planned big venue jaunt '94. They eventually toured with Sonic Youth '96, but by then had made a dire pub rock album Looking In The Shadows. |