Live debut at Acklam Hall

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 . This line-up made their live debut at Acklam Hall in London on 4 January 1979. 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 . Managed by Shirley O’Loughlin , the band went on their first UK tour with the 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”. 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.”