Phoenix Rising

Phoenix Rising ‘Mk I’

Phoenix Rising were initially formed in 1980 by Pete Bangert (guitar), Jack Bunker (vocals), Chris Hamilton (bass) and Danny Spencer (drums). The timing of the formation of the band coincided with an underground resurgence of heavy rock which became known to pundits and journalists as the New Wave Of British Heavy Metal (NWOBHM).

However that trend was not apparent until later and that was not the reason that Phoenix Rising was formed. Like a number of other musicians at the time, the guys were fed up with the commercialised punk, new wave, romantic music that was all pervasive at the time. They were just a group of musicians who wanted to get back to the roots of British Rock.

This ‘Mk I’ line-up produced a number of recordings on vinyl, tape, vidoe and re-mastered onto CD. They continued gigging until late in 1985.

Click here for more details and the Mk I line-up catalogue...

Phoenix Rising ‘Mk II’

The ‘Mk II’ version of Phoenix Rising was formed in 1991, after the untimely death of the original drummer Danny Spencer, with the express purpose of raising money for the Leukaemia Research Fund. The new line up was Pete Bangert (guitar and synth), Mel Day (vocals), Gordon Henderson (drums) and Nick Parfrey (bass).

By this time Pete had added a guitar synth to his equipment and this added a whole new dimension to the sound and capabilities of the band. The ‘Mk II’ line-up continued gigging regularly as a unit in the late 90’s.

Click here for more details and the Mk II line-up catalogue...