Firebird were a

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

blues-rock

power trio A power trio is a rock and roll band format having a lineup of electric guitar, bass guitar and drum kit (drums and cymbals), leaving out a second rhythm guitar or keyboard instrument that are often used in other rock music bands that are quartet ...

founded by Bill Steer in 1999. The music style, reminiscent of 1960s rock bands such as

Cream Cream is a dairy product composed of the higher-fat layer skimmed from the top of milk before homogenization. In un-homogenized milk, the fat, which is less dense, eventually rises to the top. In the industrial production of cream, this process ...

, is a radical departure from Steer's previous work with

grindcore Grindcore is an extreme fusion genre of heavy metal and hardcore punk that originated in the mid-1980s, drawing inspiration from abrasive-sounding musical styles, such as thrashcore, crust punk, hardcore punk, extreme metal, and industrial. G ...

pioneers

Napalm Death Napalm Death are an English grindcore band formed in 1981 in Meriden, West Midlands. None of the band's original members has been in the group since 1986. But since ''Utopia Banished'' (1992), the lineup of bassist Shane Embury, guitarist Mitch ...

and

Carcass Carcass or Carcase (both pronounced ) may refer to: *Dressed carcass, the body of a livestock animal ready for butchery, after removal of skin, visceral organs, head, feet etc. *Carrion, the decaying dead body of an animal or human being *The str ...

History

Firebird came together in 1999, when Steer teamed up with

Cathedral A cathedral is a church that contains the '' cathedra'' () of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually specific to those Christian denomination ...

bassist Leo Smee and

Spiritual Beggars Spiritual Beggars is a stoner metal band from Halmstad, Sweden, formed by Michael Amott, who is known from Arch Enemy, Carcass and Carnage. The band is heavily influenced by 1970s hard rock and incorporates elements of psychedelia into its ...

drummer Ludwig Witt.Firebird
at

MusicMight MusicMight (formerly RockDetector) was a rock music website which provides artist and product information through a global website and an ongoing book series. Based in New Zealand, the site was founded by British writer Garry Sharpe-Young, and was ...

This line-up recorded both ''Firebird'' (2000) and ''Deluxe'' (2001).Firebird
at BNR Metal Both bassist and drummer departed due to commitments with their primary bands before a 2001 European tour, that saw Steer teaming up with Blind Dog bassist Tobias Nilsson and

Quill A quill is a writing tool made from a moulted flight feather (preferably a primary wing-feather) of a large bird. Quills were used for writing with ink before the invention of the dip pen, the metal- nibbed pen, the fountain pen, and, eventually ...

drummer George Atlagic. In 2002 Steer announced yet another line-up consisting of drummer Atlagic and Quill and Spiritual Beggars bassist Roger Nilsson. This line-up recorded 2003's ''No. 3''. Since then many line-up changes occurred but significantly Steer reunited with Witt on 2006's ''Hot Wings'' and have remained the core of the line up ever since recording two more albums, 2009's ''Grand Union'' and 2010's ''Double Diamond''. Eventually the band on 3 April 2012, announced that they had disbanded. The band wrote on its official Facebook page:

Discography

*''Firebird'' CD (2000

Rise Above Records Rise Above Records is a London-based independent record label owned by Lee Dorrian (of the band Cathedral and formerly of Napalm Death). Founding Lee Dorrian started Rise Above Records in 1988 without the intention of the label being an ongoi ...

) *''Deluxe'' CD/LP (2001

Music for Nations Music For Nations (MFN) is a British independent record label focusing mainly on rock and metal. It was a subsidiary of the larger label distributor Zomba Records, which was a division of BMG and later Sony Music Entertainment. Launched in 1 ...

) *''No. 3'' CD/LP (2003 Steamhammer Records) *''Hot Wings'' CD/LP (2006

) *''

Grand Union A grand union is a rail track junction where two double-track railway or tramway lines cross at grade, often in a street intersection or crossroads. A total of sixteen railroad switches (sets of points) allow streetcars (or in rarer instal ...

'' CD/LP (2009

) *''Double Diamond'' CD/LP (2011

)

Members

* Bill Steer –

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected stri ...

vocals Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or without ...

harmonica The harmonica, also known as a French harp or mouth organ, is a free reed wind instrument used worldwide in many musical genres, notably in blues, American folk music, classical music, jazz, country, and rock. The many types of harmonica inclu ...

(1999–2011) * Ludwig Witt –

drum The drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel-Sachs classification system, it is a membranophone. Drums consist of at least one membrane, called a drumhead or drum skin, that is stretched over a she ...

s (1999–2001; 2005–2011) * Greyum May - bass (2009–2011) * Leo Smee – bass guitar (1999–2001) * Tom Broman – drums (2001) * Tobias Nilsson – bass guitar (2001) * Roger Nilsson – bass guitar (2002) * George Atlagic – drums (2002) * Al Steer – bass guitar (2003–2006) * Harry Armstrong – bass guitar (2006–2007) * Smok Smoczkiewicz – bass guitar (2007–2009) *

Tom Sutton Thomas F. Sutton (April 15, 1937 – May 1, 2002) He enlisted in the U.S. Air Force after graduating from high school in 1955, and worked on art projects while stationed at Fort D.A. Russell (Wyoming), Fort Francis E. Warren, near Laramie, Wyom ...

- bass guitar (2009) * Terry Waker - bass guitar (2009)

References

External links

Official MySpace page
English blues rock musical groups British musical trios Musical groups established in 1999 Musical groups disestablished in 2011 1999 establishments in the United Kingdom {{UK-rock-band-stub