"Rain" is a rock song by English band

The Cult The Cult are an English rock band formed in 1983 in Bradford, West Yorkshire. Before settling on their current name in January 1984, the band performed under the name Death Cult, which was an evolution of the name of lead singer Ian Astbury's ...

, which on release in 1985 reached number 17 in the United Kingdom's Singles Chart. It was the second single from the band's second long-player, ''

Love Love encompasses a range of strong and positive emotional and mental states, from the most sublime virtue or good habit, the deepest Interpersonal relationship, interpersonal affection, to the simplest pleasure. An example of this range of ...

'' (1985).

Development

The song was provisionally titled "Sad Rain" during its writing and recording stages, the lyrics being inspired the vocalist/frontman

Ian Astbury Ian Robert Astbury (born 14 May 1962) is an English singer, best known as a founding member, lead vocalist and frontman of the rock band the Cult. During various hiatuses from the Cult, Astbury has fronted the short-lived Holy Barbarians in 1 ...

's interest at that time in Northern Native American culture, and a

rain dance Rainmaking is a weather modification ritual that attempts to invoke rain. Among the best known examples of weather modification rituals are North American rain dances, historically performed by many Native American tribes, particularly in the ...

of the

Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...

Hopi The Hopi are a Native American ethnic group who primarily live on the Hopi Reservation in northeastern Arizona, United States. As of the 2010 census, there are 19,338 Hopi in the country. The Hopi Tribe is a sovereign nation within the Unite ...

people.

Performance history

Despite the song's popularity with the band's audience, and it being one of its more commercially successful single releases, after performing it on 24 November 1989 at

Wembley Arena Wembley Arena (originally the Empire Pool, now known as OVO Arena Wembley for sponsorship reasons) is an indoor arena next to Wembley Stadium in Wembley, London, England, used for music, comedy, family entertainment and sport. The 12,500-sea ...

Astbury asked the crowd: "So you like that one?", and after it cheered in response, he responded with "Well, personally I don't but there you are..." although as he laughed when saying this, he may not have been serious.

Alternative versions

An extended remix was recorded by the band entitled "(Here Comes The) Rain".

Cover art

There were several variations of the cover artwork used throughout the world. Some versions used silver lettering, others used white, while others had a silhouette effect on the cover. In

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

, an alternative picture cover was used, with trio of photographs of the band: two onstage colour photos, and on the back one promotional black-and-white photo. This version was issued as both a white label promotional record, also with picture labels.

Track listing

Vinyl 7" A Side : "Rain"
B Side : "Little Face" Vinyl 12" A Side: "Rain", "Little Face"
B Side: "(Here Comes The) Rain"

Cover versions

*German

gothic rock Gothic rock (also called goth rock or simply goth) is a style of rock music that emerged from post-punk in the United Kingdom in the late 1970s. The first post-punk bands which shifted toward dark music with gothic overtones include Siouxsie a ...

gothic metal Gothic metal (or goth metal) is a fusion genre combining the aggression of heavy metal with the dark atmospheres of gothic rock. The music of gothic metal is diverse with bands known to adopt the gothic approach to different styles of heavy met ...

band Love Like Blood recorded a cover of "Rain" on their 2001 album "Chronology Of A Love-Affair" *Italian

band

Theatres des Vampires Theatres des Vampires is an Italian gothic metal band, mostly noted for the predominant theme of vampirism within their lyrics. The band's early material was credited as melodic black metal or symphonic black metal, but the group completely aba ...

performed a cover version of Rain on their 2008 album,

Anima Noir ''Anima Noir'' is the eighth studio album by the Italian gothic metal band Theatres des Vampires. Track listing Personnel *Sonya Scarlet Theatres des Vampires is an Italian gothic metal band, mostly noted for the predominant theme of ...

. *Italian heavy metal band Rain recorded a cover of Rain on their 2008 album, "Dad is Dead". *Japanese experimental/drone/stoner band Boris, together with Ian Astbury, recorded a cover version of "Rain" on their 2010 collaborative EP, "BXI" *Canada-based groove metallists City of Fire recorded a cover of "Rain" on their self-titled 2010 album. *The album "Metal Addiction" contains a cover by Sun Eats Hours. *Canadian musician Philip André and Polish singer Palon released a cover of "Rain" in 2014. *American stoner/industrial/groove metal band City of Fire recorded a cover of "Rain" on their self-titled 2011 album. *German

band

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recorded a cover of "Rain" in their 2009 single "Wer sonst? / Im Märchenland".

Use in other media

* The original version was used in the soundtrack to the video game ''

Grand Theft Auto V ''Grand Theft Auto V'' is a 2013 action-adventure game developed by Rockstar North and published by Rockstar Games. It is the seventh main entry in the Grand Theft Auto, ''Grand Theft Auto'' series, following 2008's ''Grand Theft Auto IV'', and ...

''. * The remix and original versions of the song were used in the soundtrack of cinema film ''

Demoni 2 ''Demons 2'' ( it, Dèmoni 2) is a 1986 Italian horror film directed by Lamberto Bava and produced by Dario Argento. It is a sequel to Bava's 1985 film ''Demons'' and stars David Knight, Nancy Brilli, Coralina Cataldi Tassoni, as well as Argento ...

''.

References

{{Authority control The Cult songs 1985 singles Songs written by Ian Astbury Songs written by Billy Duffy 1985 songs Beggars Banquet Records singles