The Wallbirds were an English folk/pop/rock band from

Doncaster Doncaster (, ) is a city in South Yorkshire, England. Named after the River Don, it is the administrative centre of the larger City of Doncaster. It is the second largest settlement in South Yorkshire after Sheffield. Doncaster is situated in ...

South Yorkshire South Yorkshire is a ceremonial and metropolitan county in the Yorkshire and Humber Region of England. The county has four council areas which are the cities of Doncaster and Sheffield as well as the boroughs of Barnsley and Rotherham. In N ...

, England, formed in 2007.

History

The Wallbirds formed in early 2007 consisting of three cousins Anthony 'Walt' Lindley on vocals, guitar and harmonica, Chris Autey on vocals, drums and Luke Moreton on vocals and bass. The band name came about when Lindley was watching a nature programme when a wallbird popped up, a bird which eats bees, which he thought that would be a great name for a band. The played their first gig in January 2007, just six hours after forming the band, and played a total of four songs at a venue in Doncaster called The Priory. Three months later the band found that they had major interest from several record labels and went under the wing of then management Karen Wosskow (Tiny Dancers and Slow Club) In the early days the band played some small tours of the United Kingdom supporting, Australian band Howling Bells and The Tiny Dancers and The Wombats. The band also played shows with Kate Nash, Spoon, Elvis Perkins and Reverend and the Makers. In late 2007 the band toured the UK with The Pigeon Detectives and in 2008 they toured with Air Traffic and One Night Only. In December 2007, The Wallbirds released "The Avenue" which reached number 12 in the UK Independent Chart. It was also available as a limited edition vinyl. At the end of October 2008, the Wallbirds set off to

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

with no record label backing. They travelled the country using various studios, including RAK Studios (

Mickie Most Michael Peter Hayes (20 June 1938 – 30 May 2003), known as Mickie Most, was an English record producer behind scores of hit singles for acts such as the Animals, Herman's Hermits, the Nashville Teens, Donovan, Lulu, Suzi Quatro, Hot Chocolate ...

's studio) and they tracked the drums and bass at The Way Studios in Hackney. The studio was chosen because of the impressive vintage 8000 series NEVE desk. The band also travelled to Livingston Studios, Chapel Studios in Lincolnshire and Park Lane in Glasgow. The vocals were recorded at Dean St. Studios, London, and editing was completed at Moloko Studios. While making the album, The Wallbirds forged a partnership with session musicians Luke 'The Duke' Smith on keyboards, Mike Brown on electric guitar and Harry Morgon on percussion. The outcome was their debut album, ''Changes with the Moon''. The Wallbirds went to Los Angeles to work with

Bob Clearmountain Bob Clearmountain (born January 15, 1953) is an American recording engineer, mixer and record producer. He has worked with many major acts, including Bruce Springsteen, the Rolling Stones, Toto, Bon Jovi and Bryan Adams, with whom he has a very ...

who mixed ''Changes with the Moon''. He also mixed their single "Lying at the Side of You", which gained UK airplay through

BBC Radio 2 BBC Radio 2 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It is the most popular station in the United Kingdom with over 15 million weekly listeners. Since launching in 1967, the station broadcasts a wide range of content. ...

DJs Janice Long, Chris Evans,

Terry Wogan Sir Michael Terence Wogan (; 3 August 1938 – 31 January 2016) was an Irish radio and television broadcaster who worked for the BBC in the UK for most of his career. Between 1993 and his semi-retirement in December 2009, his BBC Radio 2 weekd ...

and Alex Lester. The band split up in 2012 to pursue other projects. Anthony Lindley and Chris Autey formed Famous Villains in 2011, although Chris Autey left Famous Villains in 2014. Luke Moreton formed The Pilots in 2012.

References

External links

The Wallbirds featured as Band of the Week in ''The Independent'' music magazine, May 2009
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wallbirds British folk music groups English rock music groups English pop music groups