Copied from their Myspace:
"Manrae were a slow building band formed by Glenn Bowen, drummer of then, seminal straight edge band Crossfire from Leicester, England. Glenn formed the first incarnation of Manrae in 1991. Disgruntled with the direction that Crossfire were going in, Glenn wanted to form a different band more akin to the music that inspired him at the time & at the same time make the move from behind the drum kit to singer. The first line up of Manrae was Philip Welding - Guitar, Sean Atkinson - Bass, Glenn - Vocals / Drums.
Manrae struggled through their first 18 months as a band with an unreliable drummer, Glenn having to fill in at practice sessions more often than not.
Manrae's break came when they were asked to appear on the Heartattack 10 compilation LP released by Ebullition Records of Goleta, California, USA, when owner, Kent Mclard, heard a demo tape of theirs. The band went into the studio in July 1994 & recorded 'Running On a Treadmill' for the LP. The track was well received & put Manrae firmly on the map & the band were suddenly in more demand for live appearances. At this point Adam Boot - ex Aviculture - was added as their permanent drummer.
Within 12 months Ebullition offered Manrae a seven inch release of their own & the band headed back to the recording studio in May 1995, this time recording six tracks in total. Three ('Pacata Hibernia', 'Sleight of Hand' & 'Mr. Leuchter') for the upcoming seven inch a re-recording of 'Running On a Treadmill' & two new tracks 'Collusion' & 'Or Am I Somewhere Else' which were never released.
The 'Pacata Hibernia' 7 inch (Gaelic for 'Conquered Ireland') was released later that year & gained the band even more noteriety.
Shortly before the recording of their first seven inch was due to take place, Phil decided to leave the band & pursue his other band, Schema. Manrae decided to go ahead with recording for the 7 inch with it's current line up & formed a new line up for live shows. Sean stepped up to play guitar & Kevin Batley was drafted in to play bass.
This was the final & most stable line up of the band that went on to play live for a further 8 months until Glenn disbanded Manrae 5:30am one cold February morning in 1996 after returning from what proved to be their last show in Bradford, UK.
After a short break, Glenn & Sean then went on to form Post hardcore four piece
Half Seas Over who appeared on several compilation records & released a self titled CD EP in 1998. Glenn & Phil reunited in 1998 for the short lived post hardcore three piece instrumental band "
Torrey Canyon" with Stephen Short from Half Seas Over on bass."
Manrae - Pacata Hiberina 7"
