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 formation