Rainkings return to Rock Oldham!

Photo: Lynn O'Hanlon

Rainkings at the Eagle Inn at Salford

1 More Image(s) In Gallery

TWO gigs in three days and the Rainkings are back - and back with a mighty bang.

Granted, the first one, at the compact and homely, yet hugely popular Eagle Inn venue in Salford, was 'merely' an invite-only warm-up show, but Oldham's Jackson's Pit was rocked almost to its trusty foundations on Saturday.

It was at Mick Harwood's latest perfectly-named 'Oldham Rocks' showcase night that Inspirals' front-man Steve Holt brought the Rainkings back for their first official gig in 20 years (him and original members Dave Swift and Cathy Brooks couldn't remember where or when the previous gig had taken place), and they didn't disappoint.

Charging through a 13-track, hour-long set in front of a hugely appreciative 100-plus band of supporters, minor tweaks required following Thursday's Eagle set certainly paid off.

Holt and the band were bang on the money, with all five tracks from last year's well-received 'Fiveways' EP - 'In from the rain', 'By my side', 'Nothing's set in stone', 'Low hit' and 'Getting nowhere' - being afforded a particularly enthusiastic reception.

Old 1990s classics like 'Take', 'Too many words' and 'Get ready' went down a storm, proving that the Rainkings have been serious about this much-heralded comeback.

It has been a low-key comeback - for now - but Holt and his co-horts will hit the live scene again before the probable return of the Inspirals in 2017 (more on that in Tuesday's Chronicle).

Holt told me: "The two gigs have been hard work to be honest, but of course it's been great to be out there again as the Rainkings.

"We all think the songs are great so it felt fantastic to finally play some of them in front of a live audience.

"We all really enjoyed it.

"At this stage it's looking like the Rainkings will next be out in October, at the Ruby Lounge in Manchester, but there are other plans for gigs in the pipeline."

Keep an eye on the Rainkings' Twitter and Facebook pages for updates.

Meanwhile, a huge pat on the back must go to the Rainkings' support at 'Oldham Rocks' - the Madding Crowd.

The popular Failsworth-based outfit showed exactly why they've been courted in cities up and down the country in recent months by belting out a terrific and totally energetic half-hour set.

'When I go walking in the rain' and final number 'A cloud on the horizon' were particular highlights for me.

The Madding Crowd can only take positives from featuring on an 'Oldham Rocks' show alongside an experienced and clued-up band like the Rainkings - they head up to Glasgow this weekend surely pumped full of confidence.