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Rain, Sweet Rain, Sweet spabodyworkmarket.com | Rain, Rain Go Away ecpmag.com | Rain Ponchos - Vinyl Rain Ponchos nursinghomeapparel.com |
For other uses, see The Rain (disambiguation). The Rain were the Manchester band that eventually evolved into Oasis. The band formed in Manchester, England in 1991, getting their name from The Beatles' B-side, "Rain." Founding members were Paul "Bonehead" Arthurs (guitar), Paul "Guigsy" McGuigan (bass), Chris Hutton (vocals), and a drum machine (soon replaced by drummer Tony McCarroll). Hutton was replaced as vocalist by Liam Gallagher, who became the band's songwriter, in partnership with Bonehead. According to Liam's brother, Noel, this writing partnership’s output was not strong and was in desperate need of good songwriting. The band rehearsed only one day a week and did not perform at shows often. Shortly after Liam joined, the band were renamed Oasis, at his suggestion. Various explanations of the origins of the name have been offered, however, it came about when Liam’s older brother, Noel Gallagher, roadied for the Inspiral Carpets at a venue in Swindon called the Oasis Leisure. Liam happened to like the name "and its resonance of imagery."[1] One day in August 1991, Noel, having recently returned from the Inspiral Carpets' tour of America, went to watch his brother’s band perform at one of their rare gigs. They were playing at the Manchester Boardwalk, supporting a band called Sweet Jesus. Noel was highly critical of his younger brother's band, describing them as "utter shite." Conversely, Liam realised Noel's potential in his songwriting skills and asked him to join. Noel said he would join only if he could be the lead guitarist and only perform his songs. Needing his help, the band agreed to his terms. Thus, Noel became the leader and the band were on their way to international success.
[edit] ImpactAccording to Bonehead, "Rain were really, really sad. Absolutely terrible. I had this weird long hair, bald on top, and Guigs was really fat. We did cover versions of songs like "Wild Thing," playing these shit gigs round Manchester, going nowhere. Eventually we sacked the singer, which wasn't exactly a smart move 'cos none of the rest of us could sing. So we were looking for a replacement and someone said, 'Have you heard Noel’s brother Liam? He sings a bit.' So we got him along to an audition and he was really good. We thought, right, let’s have him in the band. Maybe we can really do something."[1] However, according to the biography "Don't Look Back In Anger: Growing Up With Oasis", written by former singer Chris Hutton, Liam was moved into the band virtually without his knowledge, and whilst the band were still a full unit; principally to lure in Liam's brother Noel. The book also portrays an image of The Rain as having an influence on the early sound of Oasis. The band did not purely play covers, having several locally popular original songs, such as "Rooftop Rave" (aka "We're Having a Rave on the Roof"—purportedly about the Manchester Strangeways riots), and having somewhat more of a future than what is suggested by the other members' descriptions. This is partially evidenced by the fact that after less than a year together, the band were headlining Manchester's popular venue The Boardwalk. Their sound was allegedly close to that of Joy Division and other contemporary Mancunian bands. The name is also alleged to have been taken not from a Beatles B-side, but rather suggested by Hutton one afternoon whilst observing Manchester's characteristic drizzle. [edit] References
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