Snatch

Richard Metzger is the current Boing Boing guest blogger.

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Even the most hardcore rock snob has probably never heard of the female punk band, Snatch. If they have it's usually in connection with Brian Eno, who they recorded a song about the Red Army Faction with in 1978 ("RAF" is the b-side of "King's Lead Hat"). I discovered them when the elaborate picture sleeve of "All I Want" jumped out at me as I flipped through 45s at my friend Nate Cimmino's apartment in the East Village in the early 1980s. The cover, reproduced poorly here, was really something, gold-gilded text and faux silk portraits of hottie punkettes Patti Palladin on one side and Judy Nylon on the other. "They sound like The Shangri-las if they'd have been crack smokers, I think you'll really like them!" he said. He certainly knew my taste in music!

I promptly spent the next few years searching in vain for their ultra rare records. Eventually I found them all. And now I've found them on the Internet and you can check them out for yourself. There is not a whole lot written about them that I can find. They were two ex-pat American girls living in London. Judy Nylon was probably Brian Eno's girlfriend (I assume that "Back in Judy's Jungle" is about her) at some point and Patti Palladin later recorded an incredible duets album with ex-New York Doll Johnny Thunders. It's one of my top favorite albums. Listen to their Elvis cover "Crawfish" (from "King Creole") on the MySpace page for the "Copy Cats" album, it's a song I always put on mixed CDs for friends.

"Copy Cats" MySpace page

"All I Want" download

"IRT" and "Stanley" mp3s

Second source for "All I Want" single