We all love our secret bands. Kurt Cobain came across a Raincoats album, and found there a bunch of soul mates whose honest emotions affected him so much that he tracked down founding member Ana da Silva somewhere in Notting Hill, persuaded DGC (Nirvana's record label) to re-issue The Raincoats back catalogue and encouraged the band to re-form. In 1977 da Silva and Gina Birch, inspired by the example of the Pistols and the Clash, of course, but also by the women of the Slits and X-Ray Spex, had responded to punk's DIY call to arms and eventually persuaded the Slit's drummer Palmolive to join their ranks. With the addition of the classically trained violinist Vicky Aspinall, The Raincoats were an all female band who owed nothing to male fantasy outfits like The Runaways, and produced a primeval punk-folk sound on original songs like 'Fairytale in the Supermarket' and 'In Love or deconstructing the Kinks' 'Lola' with cheek, fun and a pinch of salt.