player Darren Wharton. They formed in 1985, and have released eight albums to date, including the #48 UK single Blood from Stone. Dare was formed in 1985 by Darren Wharton after Thin Lizzy had broken up. By 1987, Dare had gained a local following in Oldham and they were offered recording contracts from A&M, RCA and MCA Records. The band's debut album, Out of the Silence, was released in 1988 on A&M Records. Dare had minor success in Europe, but album sales flagged and the band was dropped from their label after their second album Blood from Stone (1991). The band have had four songs in the UK Singles Chart: "The Raindance" (#62, 1989), "Abandon" (#71, 1989), "We Don't Need a Reason" (#52, 1991) and "Real Love" (#67, 1991). The band continues to this day, but have departed from their hard rock and melodic rock roots, and now feature a heavy celtic influence. The original lineup featured Brian Cox who played keyboards on the records Out of the Silence and Blood From Stone. Cox later played with D:Ream before becoming a particle physicist and science communicator. Dare appeared at the Firefest Festival in October 2010 and are set to appear again this year.