Water is a four-piece band from the Liverpool area, which consists of close pals Chris O’Neill, Paul McDonaugh, Dave Reilly and Gary Harmon.

The Beatles connection

Their sound is melodic and harmonious and reminds you instantly of The Beatles which doesn’t come as much of a surprise considering these guys also make up the ultimate tribute to the fab four - The Backbeat Beatles.

And their connection with the rock and roll phenomenon doesn't stop there, Chris is also known for his portrayal of George Harrison in the cult film 'Backbeat'.

Don’t be fooled into thinking Water’s sound is merely a Beatles style band in the 21st century though, their sound is clearly influenced yet totally original.

“The good thing about playing the Beatles music is the songs are so correct", says Chris.

“We have taken on board all the lessons we are learning from the Beatles’ music and applying them to our own songs. If they are similar it’s only because they have got decent melodies and they are sung well,” says Paul who, alongside Chris, writes the lyrics of the songs.

All of the band members are big fans of the Liverpudlian legend and so playing their music and learning from it is a dream come true.

“The good thing about playing the Beatles music is the songs are so correct”, says Chris enthusiastically.

“Being in the tribute band is a school job really, it’s like learning how to do music properly because they are perfectly done. The songs stick in your head all the time and they have definitely rubbed off on me when it comes to writing my own songs.”

The Rainmaker Album

Water currently has one album called ‘Rainmaker’, which consists of 12 tracks that were all recorded at a cottage in the Lake District over three days.

Both Chris and Paul sing on the album, making it well contrasted, but they prefer not to analyse what the tracks mean.

“You have just got to really snatch the time that’s so precious nowadays and finish the songs”, says Paul.

“A lot of the songs were given their finishing touches as we were recording them. Chris would say something, I would give a line, then I’d say something and he would give a line and it was great. It was really inspirational to do it that way.”

The ‘Rainmaker’ album was recorded at a cottage in the Lake District over three days.

The feedback Water has had so far has been nothing short of amazing. They like to spring their album on people, quite often when they are being interviewed as The Backbeat Beatles, and find people are pleasantly
surprised at how much they like it.

“People don’t take us seriously as Water to start with”, says Paul.

“That’s because everybody and his dog has an album out these days. Everybody thinks they can do it and they can’t. It’s like the pop idol thing, to me that is just well done karaoke. I understand why they do it and I don’t blame people who do it because they just want to make a living or just want to be famous.”

Cheesed off

These lads are wise. They know what they are on about and more importantly they know there’ll always be people in this world that will try and stop you from getting to the top. (You only have to listen to the lyrics of their song 'Razorblades' to realize this.)

Part of the reason they are so clued up is because they have had some bad experiences in the past.

“I think there is a massive market of people out there who are cheesed off with the current state of music and who would buy our album,” says Paul.

“We are not having a go at the people in the country, we are really having a go at the record industry. We want to get it through to them that we sell the albums at our gigs and people do come back with really positive, nice comments.”

“there is a massive market of people out there who are cheesed off with the current state of music," says Paul.