Paul’s dream debut

Band attracts big-name fans

AN Oldham guitarist’s childhood dreams have come true as his band releases its debut EP.

Bassist Paul Daggatt only joined The Rainband last year — and now they can boast a sell-out UK tour.

The 31-year-old, from Chadderton but now living in North Manchester, said he wants to wrestle music back from “the soulless and the fakes”, and hopes The Prodigal, released on March 21, can do just that.

The Rainband — alongside Paul are singer Martin Finnigan, drummer Steve Irlam and guitarist Phil Rainey, who made his name with Peter Hook’s cult group Monaco — only got together as a four-piece last year.

But they have already attracted the backing of Mercury prizewinners Elbow, from Bury, the legendary ex-Smiths guitarist Johnny Marr and veterans Simple Minds.

After supporting Badly Drawn Boy and The Fall, the band signed to Manchester independent label Affinity Records.

Paul said that Simple Minds’ manager had heard The Rainband play acoustically on a radio show and asked to hear the full band version. It was played to frontman Jim Kerr and he loved it.

He said: “Next thing we knew Jim himself rang us up to ask us if we would support them on their upcoming tour. We thought it was one of our mates messing around, but it was actually him. We are big fans so it was pretty amazing.

“I’ve always wanted to be in a band and release some music since I was a kid, so this is a dream come true.

“When I see the EP for sale, I think it will hit home what we’ve achieved.

“The Rainband also wrote the soundtrack for a TV adaptation of a book called Broken Youth, a gritty novel about life growing up in Manchester. It is now being made by ITV, so that’s pretty exciting.”

The Prodigal EP, which features tracks Alone, Alive and The Prodigal, is available to buy on iTunes and from record stores.