THE Rainband are on the brink of something big.

Warrington Festival is their last live performance of the year but 2016 has taken them to Spain, Germany, Italy, on a UK tour, to Kendal Calling and to Delamere Forest to support the Kaiser Chiefs.

The five-piece have been tipped for big things by the likes of Liam Gallagher, Paolo Nutini, Jim Kerr of Simple Minds, BBC 6 Music and Rolling Stone Magazine.

And even after many hectic months they will not be resting on their laurels towards the end of the year.

Instead they will busy in the studio putting the finishing touches to their second album.

But frontman Martin Finnigan said he tends not to think too much about his band's breakthrough into the mainstream.

"Sometimes the music industry can feel like chasing a rainbow," he said.

"If you’re chasing it for that pot of gold you’ll end up in a place where you don’t want to be.

"Sometimes the music has to speak for itself rather than worrying about when we’re going to breakthrough."

The Rainband are particularly looking forward to playing alongside Starsailor at Bank Park on September 17 after sharing a stage with the band's singer when they were handpicked to support Simple Minds in 2012.

Martin, who has his own studio at MediaCity called Unit 26, added: "I love Starsailor's album, Love Is Here, and I think Good Souls has one of the best basslines that the north west has produced.

"So it is a real pleasure to be playing with them as part of a great bill of bands in memory of Viola Beach.

"It feels on a number of levels like it will be a special day for music. It’s incredible to see the music community coming together whether it be huge bands like Coldplay or things being done at a grassroots level.

"I’m sure the family and the guys – wherever they’re looking down from – must be immensely proud. It feels sad that it is off the back of something so tragic but they’ll not be forgotten."

Inspired by Doves and the Rolling Stones, Martin formed The Rainband in 2011 with guitarist Phil Rainey, a former bandmate of Joy Division bassist Peter Hook's band Monaco.

They had their first opportunity after being offered a gig with Badly Drawn Boy in 2011 at The Ritz in Manchester.

The band then sold out Manchester Academy 3 before going on tour with Ocean Colour Scene.

Martin said: "You learn a lot by standing behind these people and watching them. It’s how you start to build and learn from experience."

But the band's most successful single has a bit of strange tale behind it.

Martin was inspired to write Rise Again after the death of motorcycle racer Marco Simoncelli as he and his family were big Moto GP fans and were devastated by the news.

The Rainband, whose drummer James Cowell is from Walton, were due to play a gig in Silverstone but wanted to get permission from Marco’s family to play the tribute song, which ended up in the Virgin charts for 14 weeks and peaking at number five in Italy.

"We went on this crazy mission," Martin added.

"It was strange. I have a mate in south Italy and he drove me all the way to Milan to pick me up and then all the way to Rimini. It took him 11 hours.

"He also acted as an interpreter between me and the family. They said they loved the song. They said they’d had three tributes to Marco which were all sad songs.

"They said he wasn’t sad. He was a 24-year-old and he loved guitar music."

Marco's family convinced Martin to release the song as a charity single and it has gone on to help raise €45,000 for the Simoncelli Foundation. Martin is the foundation's UK ambassador.

The Rainband have since become regular headline performers at the Italian Moto GP – and that is where they met Paolo Nutini who has become one of their biggest supporters.

They even toured across Europe with the Ivor Novello award-winning singer-songwriter last year.

"It’s hard for a lead singer to go on stage and constantly be upstaged by another lead singer," said Martin.

"He has a coolness about him. There was a night we played in Italy and there must have been 8,000 or 9,000 people there and storm clouds started to gather.

"I’m watching at the back of the stage and I don’t think I’ve had a moment like that with him singing Iron Sky with lightning in the background and a mesmerised crowd.

"To play with somebody who is at the peak of their musical powers is really special."

DAVID MORGAN