Rain In The Summertime is a song by The Alarm which was first released as the a single on 5th October 1987, it then appeared on the Eye Of The Hurricane album released on 9th November 1987. The song was first played live at the Greenbelt festival in England on 31st August 1987
On the album all the songs had a location included as the influence or place of writing, for Rain in The Summertime its is Cymru
Rain In The Summertime, that song was a very spontaneous song in the inception before it was put together in rehearsals, and it’s as if the song came out of thin air. We switched on the tape recorder, we started playing, we stopped and that was Rain In The Summertime. It’s just a very pretty, simple song. Lyrically, to me, it’s a song about having a feeling of release. People can put their own meaning to that song. I don’t want to kill its meaning by saying too specifically what it is because I think, it’s a song for all seasons – Mike Peters Star Hits Magazine February 1988
Only a Welshman could write Rain In The Summertime although, at the time of writing I had just seen a restored version of David Lean’s classic Lawrence of Arabia at the cinema and that is where the opening line Under The Anvil of the sun comes from – Mike Peters – Alarm 2000 liner notes
“Rain” was one the The Alarm’s biggest hits and co-written by the band. It started as a jam one day at a rehearsal studio in Elephant & Castle. I was playing with a drum machine and had the basic drum riff going. Dave was jamming along to it and ended up with the guitar riff you hear on the track. Mike and Eddie arrived at rehearsals and the track was born. When we recorded it at Linford Manor, I wrote the bass and drums lines using “Pro 24,” a very early music sequencing software that was designed for the Atari 1040ST computer (which I still have). I recorded live drums over the samples triggered by the Atari. All the cymbals, Tom-Tom riffs, Timbale and percussion were live in the studio – Nigel Twist 2011
We were basing our production ideas on tapes of the new songs recorded on tour and a rough demo tape called “The Gaslight Compilation” which we had recorded “live” on Nigel Twist’s professional Song Walkman. The last track on the tape was a rough recording of the Rain In The Summertime jam session and John Porter was really excited about this track. John had set up an Atari computer in the room above the studio and Nigel Twist and Eddie Macdonald would join him as they worked up a “Summertime” backing track of electronic beats, bass guitar samples and sweeping synthesiser lines. It was the first time I had ever seen an entire backing track created on a computer – Mike Peters – Alarm 2000 liner notes
At first none of us were very sure about the direction the track was going but John Porter kept reassuring us that the outcome would prove to be spectacular. On Monday 22nd June 1987, John had Tony Platt put the backing track onto the 2” tape recorder and then I sang a rough guide vocal of scat lyrics. Next, they got Dave Sharp in to play guitar. Dave had not played guitar on the track since that one time only jam session at Gaslight back in early April. We were all in the control and played back the demo tape to remind Dave of the riff he and Eddie had worked out. Once Dave had a rough idea he asked Tony Platt to roll tape. John Porter also asked Tony to record “just in case”. At first Dave was fooling around over the long intro playing a few harmonics and getting a feel of the riff again. By the first chorus, he sort of had the part under control, by the second chorus he had it down pat and as it dropped in to the solo, he improvised the cutting blues break that preempts the middle eight, brilliant. During the outro he had perfected the song’s signature guitar riff and as the last notes faded away we all knew we had a hit record on our hands. It was an amazing moment. After the euphoria had died down and we had all finished congratulating John for his vision and Dave for his guitar playing, John said to Dave, “Right Dave, let’s go back to the top of the song and repair the mistakes and play the correct riff before the vocals come in”. Dave replied “No way man, that’s a piece of rock n roll history right there, the fact that I’m tuning up at the start is all part of it dude”. None of us could believe it, we all knew that if we could tidy up the track we would have a hit single on our hands. Dave was having none of it, he just put down his guitar and walked out of the control room and headed for the pub. I went ballistic, I stormed after him and tried to get him to come back and finish off the track, he refused again. That’s when the red mist descended. I picked Dave up by the scruff of the neck, held him up against a wall outside the studio and I had to totally restrain myself from hitting him. I couldn’t make Dave come back and so I went back in the studio. In the control room I found John Porter unperturbed by what had gone on, he said he had “techniques” for moments like this. What he did was record Dave Sharp’s “correct” riff from the end of the song on to a piece of ¼” tape on another recorder and “fly” it into the beginning of the song. It took a lot of attempts and required a lot of patience but by the time Dave Sharp came back from the pub Rain In The Summertime, sounded like Rain In the Summertime – Mike Peters – Alarm 2000 liner notes
Rain In The Summertime was first released in the UK on a 7″, 7″ Collectors pack, 2 different 12″ singles and a promo CD single on 5th October 1987. The CD version was the first single by The Alarm released in this format
It initially entered the UK single charts at 20 on 17th October 1987
UK Official Singles Chart positions for Absolute Reality single release
17th October 1987 – Enters at number 20
24th October 1987 – Climbs to number 18
31st October 1987– Drops to number 24
7th November 1987 – Drops to number 44
14th November 1987 – Drops to number 63
Leaves the Top 100 official UK singles
1987 Eye Of The Hurricane album recording
Running length 5:16
Written by The Alarm
Musicians & Credits
Mike Peters – Lead Vocals, Electro-acoustic Guitar
Dave Sharp – Electric Guitar
Eddie Macdonald – Bass Guitar, Programming, Backing Vocals
Nigel Twist – Drums, Programming, Backing Vocals
Mark Taylor – Keyboards
John Porter – Slide Guitar, Programming
Recorded at Great Linford Manor Studios, Milton Keynes, England 22nd June 1987
Produced by John Porter and The Alarm
Recording Engineer Tony Platt
Mixed by David Leonard
Alternative studio recording releases – Single Remixes
September 1987 – Through The Haze Mix also known as Thunder Mix
Released as 12″ Single for Rain In The Summertime
Running length 8:34
Musicians & Credits
Mike Peters – Lead Vocals, Electro-acoustic Guitar
Dave Sharp – Electric Guitar
Eddie Macdonald – Bass Guitar, Programming, Backing Vocals
Nigel Twist – Drums, Programming, Backing Vocals
Mark Taylor – Keyboards
John Porter – Slide Guitar, Programming
Produced by John Porter and The Alarm
Engineered by Tony Platt
Mixed by David Leonard
Remixed by Steve Thompson
September 1987 – Lightning Mix
Released as 12″ Single for Rain In The Summertime
Running length 7:15
Musicians & Credits
Mike Peters – Lead Vocals, Electro-acoustic Guitar
Dave Sharp – Electric Guitar
Eddie Macdonald – Bass Guitar, Programming, Backing Vocals
Nigel Twist – Drums, Programming, Backing Vocals
Mark Taylor – Keyboards
John Porter – Slide Guitar, Programming
Produced by John Porter and The Alarm
Engineered by Tony Platt
Mixed by David Leonard
Remixed by Steve Thompson
September 1987 – Instrumental Mix
Released on promo 12″ Single for Rain In The Summertime
Running length 5:14
Musicians & Credits
Mike Peters – Lead Vocals, Electro-acoustic Guitar
Dave Sharp – Electric Guitar
Eddie Macdonald – Bass Guitar, Programming, Backing Vocals
Nigel Twist – Drums, Programming, Backing Vocals
Mark Taylor – Keyboards
John Porter – Slide Guitar, Programming
Produced by John Porter and The Alarm
Engineered by Tony Platt
Mixed by David Leonard
Album Appearances and discography for studio versions
All the following are Worldwide releases except where stated
19th October 1987 : The Alarm – Eye Of The Hurricane
Released in the UK on IRS Records
Catalogue numbers : Vinyl MIRG 1023, Cassette MIRGC 1023, CD DMIRG 1023
Released in Europe / Spain / Greece on IRS Records
Catalogue numbers : Vinyl ILP 460131 1 , Cassette ILP 460131 4, CD ILP 460131 2
Released in USA & Canada on IRS Records
Catalogue numbers : Vinyl IRS-42061, Cassette IRSC42061, CD IRSD-42061
Released in Japan on IRS Records and CBS/Sony
Catalogue numbers : Vinyl -28AP 3413, CD 32DP 889
Released in Australia on IRS Records
Catalogue numbers : Vinyl -460131 1, Cassette 460131 4
Released in Brazil on Epic
Catalogue numbers : Vinyl Epic 231.110
Released in Taiwan on CBS/Himalaya Records CBC 8947
Catalogue numbers : Vinyl -28AP 3413
Original 1987 album recording
2000 : The Alarm – Eye of The Hurricane [1987-1988]
Twenty First Century Recording Company, catalogue number 21C013 (CD)
Appearing as part of The Alarm 2000 collection box set and then later as an individual disc.
1987 album recording remastered
Single Appearances and discography
Officially released live recordings – Audio
All are Worldwide Releases on Twenty First Century Recording Company
(Except where stated)
15th January 2000. Recorded live at The Gathering 8, The North Wales Conference Centre, Llandudno, Wales
Running Length 3:42
Performed by The Alarm MM
Band Line up : Mike Peters, James Stevenson, Craig Adams, Steve Grantley
4th December 2000. Recorded live at The Garage, Glasgow, Scotland
5th December 2000. Recorded live at University, Newcastle, England
Running Length 6:50
7th December 2000. Recorded live at The Cockpit, Leeds, England
Running Length 6:41
8th December 2000. Recorded live at Wulfrun Hall, Wolverhampton, England
9th December 2000. Recorded live at The Lomax, Liverpool, England
Running Length 6:49
13th December 2000. Recorded live at Rock City, Nottingham, England
15th December 2000. Recorded live at Shepherds Bush Empire (W12), London, England
Running Length 6:44
Also Released in USA on Beyond and Japan on Imperial Records in 2001, reissued in UK, Europe Australia & New Zealand on Select Records and USA on Beyond in 2005 as The Alarm – Greatest Hits Live
16th December 2000. Recorded live at University, Cardiff, Wales
Running Length 6:42
17th December 2000. Recorded live at University, Manchester, England
Running Length 3:35
Performed by The Alarm MM
Band line up for all of the December shows were : Mike Peters, James Stevenson, Richard Llewellyn, Steve Grantley
These December dates were part of the tour to promote The Alarm 2000 collection and were billed as The Alarm MM
6th February 2001. Recorded live at Logo, Hamburg, Germany
10th February 2001. Recorded live at Colos-Saal, Aschaffenburg, Germany
Running Length 6:20
9th April 2001. Recorded live at Elbo Room, Chicago, Illinois, USA
12th April 2001. Recorded live at T.T. The Bear’s Place, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
13th April 2001. Recorded live at The Vanderbilt, Plainview, New York, USA
Performed by The Alarm MMI
(Band Line up : tbc for the Feb and April dates)
1st February 2003. Recorded live at The Garage, Glasgow, Scotland
Running Length 6:339
6th February 2003. Recorded live at Masque Theatre, Liverpool, England
7th February 2003. Recorded live at The Mean Fiddler, Harlesden, London NW10, England
Running Length 5:47
Performed by The Alarm MMIII
(Band Line up : tbc)
24th August 2003. Recorded live at William Aston Hall, NEWI, Wrexham, Wales.
Running Length 4:29
Performed by Mike Peters Solo acoustic
Released in 2003 on Alarmstock vol 8 – Rock And Roll International
3rd November 2003. Recorded live at The Knitting Factory, New York, USA
5th November 2003. Recorded live at The Middle East, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
10th November 2003. Recorded live at The Knitting Factory (East), New York, USA
Running Length 6:44
17th November 2003. Recorded live at The Knitting Factory (East), New York, USA
Running Length 7:26
19th November 2003. Recorded live at The Middle East, Boston, Massachusetts,USA
20th November 2003. Recorded live at Elbo Room, Chicago, Illinois, USA
Running Length 6:36
21st November 2003. Recorded live at The Knitting Factory (West), Los Angeles, California, USA
Running Length 7:10
Performed by The Alarm MMIII
(Band Line up : tbc)
26th February 2004. Recorded live at Municipal Arts Centre, Pontypridd, Wales
Running Length 6:35
1st March 2004. Recorded live at La Scala, London N1, England
Running Length 5:59
Released in 2005 on CD/DVD Live In The Poppy Fields
Snapper Records, catalogue number SMASDVD026
7th March 2004. Recorded live at The Garage, Glasgow, Scotland
Running Length 6:31
Performed by The Alarm MMIV
Band line up for Feb/March : Mike Peters, James Stevenson, Craig Adams, Steve Grantley
28th August 2004. Recorded live at William Aston Hall, NEWI, Wrexham, Wales
Running Length 4:24
Performed by Mike Peters Solo acoustic
Released in 2004 on Alarmstock 2 vol 4 – Rock And Roll International Part 2
6th August 2005. Recorded live at Abbey Road Studios, London NW8, England
Running Length 3:17
Performed by Mike Peters Solo acoustic
Released in 2005 on Alarmstock III vol 1 – London
13th August 2005. Recorded live at Electric Lady Studio A, New York, USA
Running Length 3:25
Performed by Mike Peters Solo acoustic
Released in 2005 on Alarmstock III vol 2 – New York
20th August 2005. Recorded live at Capitol Records Studio A, Los Angeles, California, USA
Running Length 3:19
Performed by Mike Peters Solo acoustic
Released in 2005 on Alarmstock III vol 3 – Los Angeles
28th February 2009. Recorded live at Clwb Ifor Bach, Cardiff, Wales
Running Length 3:56
Mike Peters Solo Performed by Mike Peters Solo acoustic
Released on CD in 2009 Mike Peters of The Alarm Live Acoustic
Catalogue number 21C049
22nd October 2010. Record live at King Tuts Wah Wah Hut, Glasgow, Scotland
Running Length 3:26
Performed by Mike Peters Solo acoustic
Released on CD in 2010 Mike Peters // The Alarm – Direct Acoustic MMX live in Glasgow
Catalogue number 21C054
29th January 2011. Recorded live at The Gathering 19, Pontins Prestatyn Sands, Holiday Park, Wales Running length : 4:20
Performed by The Alarm
Band Line Up : Mike Peters, James Stevenson, Craig Adams and Steve Grantley
Released in 2011 – The Alarm – Live At The Gathering 2011 (audio disc)
Catalogue number 21CDVD015
26th January 2013. Recorded live at The Gathering 21, Venue Cymru, Llandudno, Wales.
Running length : 2:45
Performed by The Alarm
Band line-up : Mike Peters, James Stevenson, Craig Adams, Steve “Smiley” Barnard and Mark Taylor
Released in 2013 – The Alarm – Abide With Us – Live at The Gathering 2013
Catalogue number 21C063
18th April 2014. Recorded live at McCabe’s, Santa Monica, USA.
Running Length 3:36
Performed by Mike Peters Solo acoustic
Released on CD in 2014 Mike Peters In Concert at McCabe’s
Catalogue number 21C069
Officially released recordings – Video/ DVD
Lyrics – Eye Of The Hurricane
Under the anvil of the sun
Sweat, like a train, I come, I come
My body to dust, scorched by the might of the sun
Burning light, burning white heat
Like wildfire, I sweat a fever
My body screams, disintegrates in the heat
Our love is the faith that keeps on burning
I love to feel the rain in the summertime
I love to feel the rain on my face
I love to feel the rain in the summertime
Burnt at the stake, on a bed of fire
My body rises, taking me higher
My love’s desire, is pure ascension fire
And love is the faith that keeps on burning
I love to feel the rain in the summertime
I love to feel the rain on my face
I love to feel the rain in the summertime
And then I run ’til the breath tears my throat
‘Til the pain hits my side
As if I run fast enough
I can leave all the pain and the sadness behind
I love to feel the rain in the summertime
I love to feel the rain on my face
I love to feel the rain in the summertime
Alternative Lyrics
Audio & Visual Sources
(Page updated 28/09/2023)