Shouting Out Loud: Lives of the Raincoats

The first biography of legendary and influential British punk band The Raincoats, who were instrumental in the origins and longevity of Rough Trade Records, were invited to tour with Nirvana and others, and have long been revered by those in the international punk scene.

The Raincoats were formed in London in 1977 as an experimental punk band synonymous with their indie label, Rough Trade; in fact, Geoff Travis even said that "the whole genome of Rough Trade wouldn't have been anywhere near as good without them." The Raincoats went on to create what Vivien Goldman called "a new legacy of punk" and arguably became the most pioneering and challenging female band of the post-punk era while inspiring a new wave of DIY and queercore artists.

Introduced by Kurt Cobain to a new generation in the 1990s, The Raincoats were invited to tour with Nirvana, and were known as the "godmothers of grunge" and "godmothers of Riot Grrrl" before eventually becoming label mates with Sonic Youth, Nirvana, Hole, Bikini Kill, and Elastica. In the new millennium, they went on to play openings for feminist art exhibitions at New York's Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) and the Tate Britain, as well as major festivals, and experimented with emerging DIY music technology. In the 21st-century, The Raincoats singularly inspired Bikini Kill to reform after a 20-year hiatus.

Featuring exclusive interviews and brand new photos from the Raincoats' archives, as well as reproduced ephemera (handbills, flyers, contracts, ticket stubs, artworks, etc.), SHOUTING OUT LOUD is the first ever biography of this groundbreaking band and shows how this pioneering group of women paved the way for those that followed in their footsteps. Additionally, the book features original interviews with members of Sonic Youth, Hole, Bikini Kill, Sleater-Kinney, Big Joanie, Liz Phair, and many more.

Meticulously researched and sweeping in scope, SHOUTING OUT LOUD is the must-have account of a band that became the linchpin of feminist music in the 20th century.