Snatch

Over the holidays, I came upon a compilation called First Edition that E.G. Records' Editions EG released in 1982. If you're familiar with Editions EG, home to some of the edgier and more conceptual acts of the post-punk and art-rock scenes of the 70s and 80s, like Brian Eno, Robert Fripp, Penguin Cafe Orchestra, the Lounge Lizards, King Crimson, West India Company, then you, like me, have probably already heard most or all of the tracks contained on the record. If not, then dig it up and dive in! It's a good one, so give it a shot regardless of your familiarity with the imprint.

The two things that jumped at me were Adam and the Ants' "Deutscher Girls," a track I'd never heard (and which here is credited, pretentiously and passive-aggressively, to "the Original Adam and the Ants") and the Brian Eno and Snatch's "R.A.F.," a funky and dubby yet abstract piece which Rhett Davies coproduced. A little research led me to the Before and After Science-era "Kings Lead Hat" single ("kings led hat" is an anagram for "talking heads") upon which "R.A.F." ("Red Army Faction") appeared as the B-side. This I was familiar with, but who was Snatch, I wondered?



Answer: a duo comprised of Judy Nylon and Patti Palladin. It seems Judy was the more active and productive of the two, collaborating with Eno, singing backup with John Cale here and there (e.g. "The Man Who Couldn't Afford to Orgy"), and releasing a solo album of no wave reggae dub called Pal Judy. But Patti was out and about, too: she sang for Johnny Thunders (e.g. "Subway Train"), sang with Johnny Thunders (their collaborative Copy Cats full-length), and was an early member of the Lounge Lizards.

So Snatch was the two of them coming together. Their first single included the tracks "I.R.T." and "Stanley," and it had the presence of first-wave punk being busked.



The second 7-inch was a little more radio-friendly and included "All I Want" and "When I'm Bored," which the great Jerry Nolan of the New York Dolls drummed on. There was also 1980's Cale-produced Shopping for Clothes, and, eventually, a self-titled album came, though it was more of a compilation of the singles, EPs, and unreleased demos than a brand-new production. If Malcolm McLaren and Barbara Kruger teamed up on, they would've made Snatch. Sharp, cutting satire and social commentary presented as a high-gloss nugget of glammy punk.

This EG talk got me combing through their catalog more closely than I have in the past, and in doing so, I found an Andrew Weatherall remix of West India Company's "O Je Suis Seul" that I'm inclined to share now. 1990, baby!