Steve Farrell, Keith Nuttall, Gordon Farquhar and Howard McMinn were high school friends in Darwen, Lancashire. They were all very much into music, and it was only a matter of time before they learned to play instruments and formed a band, rehearsing in the school music room.
They recruited local drummer Declan Donnegan and they took the name Cloudburst shortly before their first gigs in 1982 — a series of talent shows. They were (surprisingly) well-received, quickly discovering what it was like to be screamed at by teenage girls. There wasn’t much going on in Darwen in those days!
Meanwhile, Keith had been experimenting with guitars, electronics and tape recorders, and Gordon had been writing lyrics and tunes. In a series of sessions, they composed and recorded original songs, under the working title The Cloudburst Tapes.
Declan was replaced by the enigmatic Pete Meleady on drums, with sound man Craig Jepson standing in when Pete went AWOL. They gained a local reputation from their concerts, light show (courtesy of John Parker) and DIY merchandise. They gradually introduced Keith and Gordon’s material into the set, to a mixture of puzzled and stunned stares and the occasional enthusiast.
After more gigs around Darwen in summer and autumn, Cloudburst stopped looking for a reliable drummer, and condensed to a multi-instrumentalist three-piece and drum machine, with Steve, Gordon and Keith sharing guitar, bass and keyboard. They ended the year with a series of ambitious and slightly bizarre Christmas gigs.
Keith and Gordon’s original Cloudburst material was re-recorded over the Christmas school break as the cassette-album Storm in a Teacup, which saw a limited release in early 1983. They completed another compilation of unreleased demos, The Distortion Factor, later that year.
Although they never gigged again as Cloudburst, Keith, Steve, Gordon, and Craig regrouped in summer 1983 as Albino Dinnerjacket before leaving Darwen for university.
Personnel
- Gordon Farquhar – voice, guitar & bass
- Steve Farrell – guitar & bass
- Keith Nuttall – guitars, keyboard & voice
- Craig Jepson – mixing & sound
- John Parker – lighting & effects
- Howard McMinn – bass (to Sep ’82)
- Declan Donnegan – drums (to Mar ’82)
- Pete Meleady – drums (Mar to Sep ’82)
