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. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

blues-rock

power trio A power trio is a rock band format having a lineup of electric guitar, bass guitar and drum kit, leaving out a dedicated vocalist or an additional rhythm guitar or keyboard instrument that are often used in other rock music bands that are quart ...

founded by

Bill Steer William Geoffrey Steer (born 3 December 1969) is a British guitarist and co-founder of the extreme metal band Carcass. He is considered a pioneer and an essential contributor to grindcore and death metal due to his involvement in Napalm Death and ...

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 proces ...

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

grindcore Grindcore is an extreme metal, extreme fusion genre of heavy metal music, 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, e ...

pioneers

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

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, also c ...

History

Firebird came together in 1999, when Steer teamed up with

Cathedral A cathedral is a church (building), church that contains the of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, Annual conferences within Methodism, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually s ...

bassist Leo Smee and Spiritual Beggars drummer Ludwig Witt.Firebird
at

MusicMight MusicMight (formerly RockDetector) was a rock music website that 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 wa ...

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/metal-Nib (pen), nibbed pen, the fountain pen, and, event ...

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, former member of Cathedral and Napalm Death. Founding Lee Dorrian started Rise Above Records in 1988 without the intention of the label being an ongoing pos ...

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

Music for Nations Music for Nations (MFN) is a British independent record label focusing mainly on rock and metal. Originally a subsidiary of Zomba Records, which was a division of BMG, the label was closed in 2004 and later revived in 2015 by Sony Music Ente ...

) *''No.3'' CD/LP (2003

Steamhammer Records SPV GmbH (short for ''Schallplatten Produktion und Vertrieb GmbH'', "Vinyl Production and Distribution Company") is a German independent record label. Founded on 1 January 1984, it has slowly grown to be one of the largest independent distributors ...

) *''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 install ...

'' CD/LP (2009

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

)

Members

–

guitar The guitar is a stringed musical instrument that is usually fretted (with Fretless guitar, some exceptions) and typically has six or Twelve-string guitar, twelve strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming ...

vocals Singing is the art of creating music with the voice. It is the oldest form of musical expression, and the human voice can be considered the first musical instrument. The definition of singing varies across sources. Some sources define sing ...

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 incl ...

(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 ...

s (1999–2001; 2005–2011) * Greyum May -

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Wood * Bass or basswood, the wood of the tilia americana tree Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in th ...

(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 Francis E. Warren, near Laramie, Wyoming. Later, stationed at Itam ...

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

References

External links

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