The 10th of March, 1984: classic gay anthem It's Raining Men enters the United Kingdom UK pop charts for the first time, just missing the number one spot and settling in for an eight week stretch. And with it, a mainstream audience of British households were introduced to The Weather Girls.

Larger than life - quite literally overweight, in fact - Martha Wash and Izora Rhodes Armstead were already cult figures on the gay scene, having shared the sequin-spangled limelight of disco drag queen Sylvester throughout the seventies. The early eighties saw the two gain fame as Two Tons Of Fun, powered by the albums Two Tons Of Fun and Backatcha. Initially Two Tons had begun as Sylvester's backing singers; he tended to take lead vocals, leaving Martha and Izora the backing track, essential for the gospel disco sound of the era. At least that was the intention: in fact Martha and Izora were quite capable of taking the lead, and Sylvester did his best to make sure they had the chance. Two Tons Of Fun were only too keen to go it alone, producing the minor hits I Got The Feeling and Never Like This from their first album.

1982 saw the release of the album Success. Their optimistic titling wasn't entirely misplaced, for the album contained their classic track - the disco hit It's Raining Men, which would later become their major hit. The track was, however, the source of some confusion. Declaring themselves, in the introduction to the song, as 'your weather girls', Two Tons Of Fun found themselves re-named - intentional or not, Two Tons Of Fun became The Weathergirls, famous now for It's Raining Men, a song they didn't even write. Constantly re-recorded and still occasionally covered, Paul Shaffer and Paul Jabara's risque disco track has become a disco legend: the track for which The Weather Girls will always be remembered.

Further success was not forthcoming, at least not under the name 'The Weathergirls'. In fact, one might be forgiven for assuming that the track was Martha and Izora's final outing. Were the re-named Two Tons Of Fun simply another one hit wonder? Apart from the occasional re-release or remix there doesn't appear to be much else. But wait...

Martha Wash left the group and continued to record through the late eighties and nineties, helping out Black Box with 1989's Everybody Everybody, and C&C Music Factory with their own camp classic Gonna Make You Sweat (Everybody Dance Now). Sadly, Martha Wash was excluded from the video for the C&C Music Factory song, being replaced by a more svelte Zelma Davis. A brief legal tussle ensued over royalties and credit, though this didn't stop the two collaborating once more on Do You Wanna Get Funky in 1994. Continuing in this vein, Martha eventually collaborated with RuPaul on a brand-new version of It's Raining Men, performing a neat full circle. Greatest hits albums beckon...

Izora continued with the Weather Girls, replacing Martha with her eldest daughter. In 1993 the album Double Tons Of Fun was released, producing a minor hit Can U Feel It. Sadly, Izora Rhodes Armstead died on Thursday the 16th of September 2004 near Oakland, California.