A hotly-anticipated return

RAINKINGS front-man Steve Holt.

TIME is rapidly running out for fans of Steve Holt and the Rainkings to purchase tickets for Saturday's feverishly-anticipated return of the band to live action.

The Rainkings, who were first formed way back in 1989 by Inspiral Carpets' front-man Holt and Dave Swift, have chosen Mick Harwood's latest "Oldham Rocks" night at Jackson's Pit to showcase their talents in front of a live audience again for the first time in more than two decades.

Tickets, priced at £7, have been flying out of the door so far, but some still remain.

Promoter Harwood, owner of Yorkshire Street-based menswear boutique Scoots, Suits and Boots and their associated vinyl record shop, Black Sofa Records, reckons fans young and old are in for a real treat.

He said: "Anyone who has heard the Fiveways EP that the Rainkings released last year will have an appreciation of just how good this band is, and how it was a real travesty that they didn't receive the wider acclaim that their talent definitely deserved in the band's earlier years.

"Now, together, we can try and right that wrong and help to propel our local heroes to greater heights."

The Rainkings will be ably supported by Failsworth-based psychedelic outfit the Madding Crowd on Saturday.

The gig is the third showcase in the "Oldham Rocks" series.

The nights have been launched to help raise awareness of just how much talent there is in the borough of Oldham, and to be able to provide another focal point for the Oldham music scene.

Tickets for Saturday - the England vs Russia Euro 2016 game will be screened at Jackson's before the gig - are available at Scoots, Suits and Boots on Yorkshire Street. Call 0161 637 9110 to secure yours.