The Rainkings - Good Times and Interview

The Rainkings today released a new single Good Times with all the proceeds going to the British Tinnitus Association. Front man Stephen Holt became an ambassador for the Association following the death of his Inspiral Carpets band mate Craig Gill last year who suffered from the condition. We caught up with Stephen to find a little more about the organisation, his role in it and the single itself.

The Rainkings / The Train Set / Déjà Vega - Manchester Ruby Lounge - 13th October 2016

The Rainkings' comeback continued with their third show since reforming earlier this year at Manchester's Ruby Lounge.  Support came from another band from the late 80s / early 90s heyday making a comeback in The Train Set and the very much of the present Déjà Vega.

The Rainkings - Oldham Jackson's Pit - 11th June 2016

With Inspiral Carpets enjoying a well earned break, singer Stephen Holt has conjured up a new Rainkings line-up. After 20 years away and a well received low key warm up show, they return to a hot and sweaty Oldham as part of local businessman - and Oldham music fanatic - Mick Harwood's “Oldham Rocks” night.

The Rainkings / Ryan Jarvis - Salford Eagle Inn - 9th June 2016

Whilst reunions of Manchester bands that first made their mark around the time the eighties turned into the nineties and the country rid itself of the blight of Thatcher have been making waves for years now, a small but beautifully formed back street boozer amongst the dark satanic new build flats of the western bit of Manchester that's been annexed to form Salford was home to one of the most unheralded and unlikely reunions.

The Rainkings - Interview

This week, The Rainkings released a new EP called Fiveways, their first new material for nearly a quarter of a century. We caught up with front man Stephen Holt for a chat about the recording of the EP and setting up his own label Hear Here to release it.

The Rainkings - Fiveways EP

You wait ages for a Stephen Holt fronted band. Then, two come along at once. Stuart Ralston checks out the first new recordings from the reformed The Rainkings in the form of their Fiveways EP.

Track Of The Day : The Rainkings - In From The Rain

The Rainkings were formed in 1989 when Stephen Holt and Dave Swift left Inspiral Carpets just as they were on the cusp of breaking through. They formed The Rainkings and released a couple of singles before disbanding in 1994. They reformed in 2013 and released a career retrospective. For one week only they've made a new track In From The Rain available on soundcloud and it's our Track Of The Day.

The Rainkings - Interview with Stephen Holt and Dave Swift

The first release on the resurrected Playtime Records is Another Time 1989-1994, a compilation of singles, outtakes and unreleased tracks by The Rainkings, who featured Stephen Holt and Dave Swift after they left Inspiral Carpets in 1989.  Twenty-four years on, we met up with Stephen and Dave in a Manchester boozer to discuss the history of the band and the reasons for the compilation.

Keeping The Circle Around - The Return Of Playtime Records

There’s been a trend in recent years for bands from the 1980s and 1990s to reform, but Playtime Records are taking things a step further by becoming the first record label to reform to release some of their classic lost back catalogue.