Phoenix Rising were originally formed in 1980 by a group of musicians who wanted to get back to the roots of British Rock.

The line-up was; Pete Bangert (guitar), Jack Bunker (vocals), Chris Hamilton (bass) and Danny Spencer (drums).

They ended up with a brand of original melodic heavy rock which had a nodding acquaintance to the styles of Led Zeppelin, Free and Jethro Tull. They gigged the northern pub circuit, won the rock section of the ‘Rock and Pop’ awards and then went on to gig the larger national rock venues.

They performed live frequently on commercial radio and then produced a 12” EP entitled ‘Phoenix Rising’ on the Rising Records label. The featured track ‘Understanding’ charted number one in the Kerrang independent rock charts. The band supported numerous major acts such as Bernie Torme, Marillion, Doctor Feelgood, Wilco, Jason Bonham’s Air Race amongst others. They were eventually picked up on by the A&R teams from WEA, EMI, Virgin and Island, but the group split for a time due to commercial problems.

Pete, Danny and Chris went on to other separate musical enterprises, with Pete and Danny collaborating in ToshRollo towards the end of the eighties. Jack went into virtual musical retirement with just the occasional ‘one-off’ live appearance for special gigs, generally associated with the club he was then running.

Danny’s untimely death from Leukaemia on the last day of 1990 triggered the reformation of the band in 1990, with the express purpose of raising money for the Leukaemia Research Fund. More detail of the story behind the reformation can be found on Pete Bangert’s web site.

The new line-up settled down as Pete Bangert (guitar and synth), Mel Day (vocals), Gordon Henderson (drums) and Nick Parfrey (bass). Pete had added a guitar synth to his equipment which gave a whole new dimension to the sound and capabilities of the band. They produced a tape of five numbers for sale at gigs to raise funds for the Leukaemia Research Fund. The tape content is still available on request see the Phoenix Rising pages for details.

Following the fund raising period the band continued to gig regularly. A review from the South Yorkshire press of their set at the ‘Night of the Guitars’ said that “Phoenix Rising played an exemplary set, most of which was their own material. One of Sheffield’s most popular rock bands, they have a refreshingly different sound helped by a first class front man, Mel Day, and the superb guitar work of Pete Bangert who uses a guitar synthesiser to full effect”.

The band raised a significant amount of money for Leukaemia Research produced a number of other recordings and videos and the original material from the band remains as strong as ever. The live CD ‘The Live Session - Re-mastered’ is worth checking out. The band stopped gigging as a unit in the late 90’s.

Nick worked on with a Punk/Rock band touring Germany before returning back to the west country and working in UK based bands. Mel was working in a local Council-run studio giving kids a new start and successfully collaborating with a musical writing partner. Gordon is working with Pete in ChinWig and Pete continues with Pig’n’aif, Rising Records, multiple collaborations and more song writing and recording