"Let It Rain" is a song by English pop boy band East 17, released on 13 March 1995 by London Records as the fourth single from their second album, Steam (1994). It was written by bandmember Tony Mortimer along with producers Ian Curnow, Phil Harding and Rob Kean. The song reached number one in Lithuania and entered the top 10 in Finland, Ireland and the UK.

Critical reception Caroline Sullivan from The Guardian named the song an "unpretentious dancefloor sparkler".Sullivan, Caroline (21 October 1994). "Music: Your essential guide to the week's Cds - Pop". The Guardian. In his weekly UK chart commentary, James Masterton wrote that 'Let It Rain' "turns back to the harder dance sound that typifies much of their output and sounds in places like a distant relation of their first hit 'House of Love' back in September 1992." Dave Simpson from Melody Maker commented, "E17 go from strewth (poncy ballads) to strength. 'Let It Rain' is their finest since 'Everybody in the House of Love'. An uplifting blend of euphoria, electronics and existential introspection, it's not that unlike mid-period ('Shellshock') New Order." Another Melody Maker editor, Victoria Segal, noted its "hysteric gospel". Music Week gave it a score of four out of five, calling it "a more upbeat, but equally commercial, follow-up to the band's Christmas number one is in remixed form, ensuring interest from even Steam-owning fans." The reviewer added, "It will no doubt be boosted by the lads' Brits performance last week."

Music Week editor, Alan Jones, deemed it "preposterous". John Robinson from NME said, "Needless to say, East 17 instruct the heavens to open and pour love upon us." He noted that it "duly arrives by way of a tumultuous chorus". James Hamilton from the Record Mirror Dance Update described it as a "love rain down on me chorused rap [track]" in his weekly dance column. Pete Stanton from Smash Hits gave it three out of five, writing, "It's as fast as 'Steam', if not faster, starts with a thunderstorm noise and ends with a thunderstorm noise and Brian belts out a stonking rap, while someone chants Love every now and then. It's nothing new and won't be their second number one, but because every-one, including your Auntie Edith, loves 'em, it should still do well."

Music video The accompanying music video for "Let It Rain" begins with East 17 arriving by helicopter. Then they are transported by jeeps to a warehouse where the band performs on a stage with dancers. In the background, the rain pours down. At the end, all the members of East 17 are back in the helicopter that takes them away. The video was a Box Top on British music television channel The Box in April 1995. It received active rotation on MTV Europe and was B-listed on Germany's VIVA in May 1995. "Let It Rain" was later made available on YouTube in 2017 by London Records, and had generated almost five million views as of late 2025.

Track listings CD and 7-inch single "Let It Rain" (Thunder radio edit) – 3:32 "Let It Rain" (J-Pac Sleeting edit) – 3:33

CD maxi "Let It Rain" (Thunder radio edit) – 3:32 "Let It Rain" (Overworld Storm edit) – 3:46 "Let It Rain" (J-Pac sleeting remix) – 5:35 "Let It Rain" (Overworld Storm mix) – 6:40

12-inch maxi "Let It Rain" (City of Love club mix) – 6:33 "Let It Rain" (City of Love instrumental mix) – 6:33 "Let It Rain" (City of Love radio edit) – 3:34 "Let It Rain" (Fritz 12-inch mix) – 4:39 "Let It Rain" (Fritz edit) – 3:51

Credits Written by Harding/Curnow, Kean and Mortimer Engineered by Dillon Gallagher and Phil Harding Mixed and produced by Phil Harding and Ian Curnow and Rob Kean Artwork by Form Photography by Lawrence Watson

Charts

Weekly charts Chart (1995)PeakpositionEurope (Eurochart Hot 100) 21 Europe (European Dance Radio) 24Europe (European Hit Radio) 21Europe (Channel Crossovers) 16Finland (Suomen virallinen lista) 10France Airplay (SNEP) 13Greece (IFPI Greece) 3Iceland (Íslenski Listinn Topp 40) 32Israel (IBA)1Latvia (Latvijas Top 20) 5Lithuania (M-1) 1UK Airplay (Music Week) 14UK Pop Tip Club Chart (Music Week) 3

Year-end charts Chart (1995) PositionIsrael (IBA) Scroll to top of the page and click "Annual" then "1995 Year End Chart".45Latvia (Latvijas Top 50) 65

Release history RegionDateFormat(s)Label(s)United Kingdom13 March 1995LondonAustralia3 April 1995

References