# ‘Three Girl Rhumba’: The ripped off 1977 riff that destroyed Elastica

- URL: https://talkfuse.com/story/three-girl-rhumba-the-ripped-off-1977-riff-that-destroyed-elastica/
- Published: 2026-09-08T00:00:00+00:00
- Updated: 2026-09-08T00:32:40+00:00
- Original publisher: Far Out
- Original article: https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/ripped-off-1977-riff-that-destroyed-elastica/
- Topics: Music

## Key points

- Elastica's hit "Connection" closely echoed Wire's 1977 song "Three Girl Rhumba"
- Further similarities to Wire and The Stranglers songs led to court settlements
- Backlash arguably contributed to their split; author cites gender double standards

## Summary

Elastica's 1994 breakthrough single "Connection" became embroiled in a plagiarism controversy after listeners noted its riff was strikingly similar to Wire's 1977 track "Three Girl Rhumba", from the post-punk band's Pink Flag album. The band, fronted by Justine Frischmann, went on to face further accusations, with another single, "Line Up", drawing comparisons to Wire's "I Am The Fly", and "Waking Up" echoing The Stranglers' "No More Heroes". These claims damaged the band's reputation within an indie scene that prided itself on originality, ultimately contributing to the commercial failure of their 2000 follow-up album, The Menace, and the band's subsequent split.

Elastica settled out of court with the publishers representing both Wire and The Stranglers over the borrowed material. Despite the settlements, the article argues Elastica were judged more harshly than male contemporaries, citing Oasis's Noel Gallagher, who has openly acknowledged borrowing riffs and lyrical ideas from other artists without suffering any dent in sales or songwriting reputation. The piece frames Elastica's downfall as evidence of a double standard applied to female-led acts in indie rock, despite The Menace being considered a solid record in retrospect.

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Summarised by TalkFuse (https://talkfuse.com/). Quote the original publisher for the reporting and link this page for the summary and discussion.