Rain were an alternative rock

Alternative rock

Alternative rock is a genre of rock music and a term used to describe a diverse musical movement that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1980s and became widely popular by the 1990s...

 band from Liverpool

Liverpool

Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...

, England, who had a minor hit in 1991 with "Lemonstone Desired".

History

The band was formed at the Merseyside Trade Union Community and Unemployed Resource Centre in Huyton

Huyton

Huyton is a suburb of Liverpool within the Metropolitan Borough of Knowsley, with some parts belonging to the borough of Liverpool in Merseyside, England. It is part of the Liverpool Urban Area and has close associations with its neighbour, Roby, having both formerly been part of the Huyton with...

, Liverpool, in 1988 with a line-up of Ned Clark (vocals, guitar), Colin Murphy (vocals, guitar), Martyn Campbell

Martyn Campbell

Martyn Campbell is an English bass guitarist from Liverpool, England. He is best known for his work with Rain, The Lightning Seeds, Richard Ashcroft, Wah! and Terry Hall...

 (bass guitar, vocals), and Tony McGuigan (drums). They were signed by Columbia Records

Columbia Records

Columbia Records is an American record label, owned by Japan's Sony Music Entertainment, operating under the Columbia Music Group with Aware Records. It was founded in 1888, evolving from an earlier enterprise, the American Graphophone Company — successor to the Volta Graphophone Company...

 in late 1989, and began recording with Nick Lowe

Nick Lowe

Nicholas Drain "Nick" Lowe , is an English singer-songwriter, musician and producer.A pivotal figure in UK pub rock, punk rock and new wave, Lowe has recorded a string of well-reviewed solo albums. Along with vocals, Lowe plays guitar, bass guitar, piano and harmonica...

 producing. Unhappy with the results, they did not release any material until their 1991 debut single "Lemonstone Desired", which reached number 95 in the UK Singles Chart

UK Singles Chart

The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...

, and was the source of some controversy due to the photograph of a naked woman on the sleeve. The band recorded a session for Mark Goodier

Mark Goodier

-Early career:Mark Goodier was born in Rhodesia . His family moved to the UK when he was a child, eventually settling in Scotland. He was educated at George Heriot's School, in Edinburgh. He became a mobile DJ in Edinburgh and then joined local station Radio Forth at the age of 19...

's BBC Radio 1

BBC Radio 1

BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation which also broadcasts internationally, specialising in current popular music and chart hits throughout the day. Radio 1 provides alternative genres after 7:00pm including electronic dance, hip hop, rock...

 show in March that year. This was followed by debut album A Taste of Rain, drawing comparisons with Cream

Cream (band)

Cream were a 1960s British rock supergroup consisting of bassist/vocalist Jack Bruce, guitarist/vocalist Eric Clapton, and drummer Ginger Baker...

, R.E.M.

R.E.M.

R.E.M. was an American rock band formed in Athens, Georgia, in 1980 by singer Michael Stipe, guitarist Peter Buck, bassist Mike Mills and drummer Bill Berry. One of the first popular alternative rock bands, R.E.M. gained early attention due to Buck's ringing, arpeggiated guitar style and Stipe's...

, and the Byrds

The Byrds

The Byrds were an American rock band, formed in Los Angeles, California in 1964. The band underwent multiple line-up changes throughout its existence, with frontman Roger McGuinn remaining the sole consistent member until the group disbanded in 1973...

, and a single featuring the title track from the album. The album was followed by a reissued "Lemonstone Desired", which proved to be the band's final release while together, although they shared a posthumous split album with The Real People

The Real People

The Real People, from Liverpool, England, were one of the very first bands to play what is today known as “Britpop”, and have been quoted by Oasis as being one of their major influences...

 in 1996, featuring tracks mainly taken from their album.

Albums

• A Taste of Rain (1991), Columbia
• Liverpool: Calm Before the Storm (1996), Columbia - split with The Real People
  The Real People
  The Real People, from Liverpool, England, were one of the very first bands to play what is today known as “Britpop”, and have been quoted by Oasis as being one of their major influences...
  
  

Singles

• "Lemonstone Desired" (1991), Columbia - UK #95
• "A Taste of Rain" (1991), Columbia
• "Lemonstone Desired" (1991), Columbia - reissue