I don’t remember The Rose Of Avalanche as much more than a name I heard on the John Peel Show back in the mid-Eighties. But I do remember this, their debut single.

The Yorkshire goths made a minor mark* and were critically acclaimed but were beset by personnel changes and record company wrangles and broke up in 1993.

This apocalyptic epic, released as their debut single in 1985 before they had even played a gig, has stood the test of time remarkably well. It even made it into one of Peel’s annual Festive Fifties.

LA Rain might have been inspired by a downfall in the west coast of California but the band came from Leeds, where they were formed in 1984 by Phil Morris, Paul James Berry and Alan Davis.

Signed to local independent label LiL, they released two singles: LA Rain and Goddess, adding Glenn Schultz to the band, before moving labels to Fire Records and extending their line-up.

Out went Davis and in came Nicole McKay on bass, and drummer Mark Thompson was recruited to replace the drum machine they had previously used.

A support slot followed with The Mission on their 1986–87 World Crusade Tour – and one with David Bowie – before the new line-up released a tribute to Nico called Velveteen.

Unfortunately, their seemingly unstoppable rise was halted by an 18-month dispute with their label between 1987 and 1988 and Fire Records put out an album of old material against their wishes.

The Rose Of Avalanche responded by self-releasing their debut album proper – Never Another Sunset – in 1989.

Further line-up changes then ensued with Schultz and McKay departing, the latter replaced by Darren Horner on bass for the 4-track EP A Peace Inside. It was the last to feature Mark Thompson, leaving Morris and Berry to carry on with Horner and new drummer Andrew Porter.

Their next two albums, String ‘A’ Beads and I.C.E., brought about a transformation in the band’s sound, replacing heavy rhythms and chiming goth guitars with more melodic tunes but the departure of Berry hastened the demise of this ill-fated band.

They broke up after a final live show in 1993 and the original quintet re-formed 27 years later, making their second debut at the annual goth festival in Whitby in 2020, disinterring old favourites like Velveteen, Always There and Too Many Castles In The Sky for a new generation of goths.

* Back in the Eighties when you could still say things like this, Sounds called them “More conceptually magnificent than The Ramones (and) more noisily beauteous than an hour in bed with Jane Fonda.”