The Rain Band were a Manchester three-piece formed in 2000, comprising Richard Nancollis (vocals/keyboards), Mark Lee (guitar/keyboards/programming), Stephen Taylor (bass). They were signed to the Universal/Island subsidiary label, Temptation Records, in 2001. They split at the beginning of 2004, but had written and demoed around twenty new songs which never saw the light of day - save for some sneak previews on the now-defunct band website, and at their last few gigs - but were said to have shown the band at their matured best. In December 2003, they announced plans for an official live album, recorded at their Glasgow gig on 22 November 2003, "following the fans' enthusiasm for swopping and collecting their own ‘live’ recordings of the band". They aimed to release the album exclusively through their official website in early 2004, with individually numbered and signed copies made out to everyone that bought it, but it was never released. Their music never imitated, but absorbed influences, from the likes of New Order, Depeche Mode, Neu, acid house, King Tubby and Channel One studio dub albums, Can, The Stone Roses, Happy Mondays, memories of The Haçienda, Massive Attack, Gang of Four, Cabaret Voltaire, Pere Ubu, Johnny Marr, and Talking Heads. They have been cited as being "influenced by New Order synth lines, rubbing shoulders with the brooding menace of Honey's Dead-era Jesus and Mary Chain. The lush romanticism of Echo and the Bunnymen meets the melodramatic flair of Mansun". Releases: - "Fist of Fury", a limited edition CD-R single of 500 individually numbered copies, released on 17 September 2001 via Storm Recordings. - Three singles: “The World Is Ours” (4 November 2002), “Easy Rider” (17 February 2003) and “Knee Deep and Down” (7 July 2003). - A self-titled debut album released on 21 July 2003; The Rain Band - Art Of Mass Destruction E.P., released on 27 October 2003 via Fierce Panda.
