Hard Rain (band)
| Hard Rain | |
|---|---|
| Origin | Birmingham, England |
| Genres | Rock, melodic rock, progressive rock |
| Years active | 1996-2000 |
| Labels |
Sophomore GmbH (1997) Eagle (1998 —2000) |
| Associated acts | Magnum |
| Website | www.magnumonline.co.uk |
| Past members |
Tony Clarkin Bob Catley Al Barrow Rob Barrow Adam Cormack Paul Hodson Sue McCloskey |
Hard Rain were a British Melodic Rock band from Birmingham, England. Formed in 1996, following the demise of Magnum. The core of the band are vocalist Bob Catley and guitarist/songwriter Tony Clarkin.
After Magnum split, a spin-off group featuring Catley and Clarkin was formed called Hard Rain, with a contemporary and alternative style. They released the albums Hard Rain in 1997 and When the Good Times Come in 1999. At this time, Catley was becoming increasingly focused on his solo career, and he quit Hard Rain in 1999, marking the end of a working relationship with Clarkin that dated back to 1972. After a quiet period Clarkin announced the end of Hard Rain.
After Magnum split up, Tony invited Bob Catley to help him finish off a few demos. The demo secured a record deal with German label Sophomore GmbH, so they made the decision to form a new band, rather than re-form Magnum. The entire self-titled album, Hard Rain (released in May 1997) was recorded at Mad Hat studios in Walsall, between February and December 1996 by Tony Clarkin and Bob Catley with programmed drums, apart from the backing vocals.
A band was assembled including Sue McCloskey on backing vocals, who had participated in the recording of the album. Sue McCloskey had sung with Silver Convention under the name Zenda Jacks. Other recruits to the band included keyboardist Paul Hodson and bassist Al Barrow, as well as Barrow's brother Rob on drums, who was selected after rehearsal sessions with original Magnum drummer Kex Gorin had failed to work out.
The band released a single in the much-favoured country of Germany "Stop Me From Loving You". After a successful UK tour, the band began work on a second album and signed with a new record company, Eagle Records. The previous record company, Semaphore GmbH, had gone bust. Their début album was subsequently reissued in Receiver Records as Perpetual Commotion.
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