You know, when I recently stumbled across this track, I instantly remembered it!

Hmmmn. Then I wondered if maybe it just sounds so familiar because it reminds me so much of Sparks. But no – I’m sure I can recall this being played as a sixteen / seventeen year old.

Not to be confused with The Raincoats, who formed a year or so after A Raincoat had disappeared without much of a trace, this band was the project of Andy Arthurs who had graduated from the University of Surrey in 1974 with one of the earliest UK degrees in music production. I believe he actually worked with the production team behind The Beatles before turning his hand to becoming a freelance recording producer; sound designer; composer and recording artist.

Andy formed A Raincoat around 1974, recording for an independent production company, Glamswell Ltd, who subsequently signed a deal with EMI Records.

The debut single was given decent national radio play, but was one of those which falls between the cracks – perhaps by 1975 the whole ‘Glam’ music scene was well on the slide. However, EMI stood by the band for another two singles, neither of which appeared on their one and only album, also of that year.

‘Digalongamacs‘ is the oddly named album produced by the band. Originally entitled ‘Macs By Graves’ the label backtracked for fear of offending the singer / comedian, Max Bygraves.

Some of the tracks, like the following, remind me more of the late-Sixties, Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band which perhaps ‘dated’ their music a little at a time when new fads and trends like disco and punk were starting to take hold.

Never-the-less, A Raincoat remain one of those quintessentially, eccentric, English bands who merit a bit more acknowledgement. Indeed, Just Add Water records seem to agree as they re-released the 1976 single, ‘It Came in the Night‘ (on a limited run of 300 7″ vinyl) in the summer of 2023.

After the demise of A Raincoat, Andy Arthurs recorded as a solo performer and worked in music production and engineering with the likes of Bryan Ferry, The Chords and 999, before later emigrating to Australia.

A RAINCOAT

Andy Arthurs – Vocals / Guitar
Phillippe Chambon – Guitar / Vocals
Rod Syers – Bass / Vocals
Dave Hudson – Keyboards / Vocals

TITLE	FORMAT	YEAR	LABEL	NOTES
Digalongamacs	LP	1975	EMI
Nostalgia ’75	7″ single	1975	EMI
I Love You For Your Mind (Not Your Body)	7″ single	1975	EMI
It Came In The Night	7″ single	1976	EMI	Re-released by JAW Records in 2023, with ‘Vote For Me’ on the B-side as opposed to ‘Morocco’ which appeared on the original.

** Information for this post was gleaned from the booklet notes that accompany the Cherry Records CD box set, ‘ Oh! You Pretty Things.’**