The Birds should probably do down in history as being one of the hardest done by, misfortunate acts to come out of the British rock invasion in the 1960s. This five piece consisted of Ali MacKenzie, Ron Wood (later famous for being in The Faces and The Rolling Stones), Tony Munroe, Kim Gardner and Bob Langham (later replaced by Pete McDaniel).

The band formed out of London and were known for their edgy approach to rock and were compared to other successful acts of the time like The Who and The Kinks.

After an appearance in a battle of the bands competition, Decca signed them on the spot and released the first single, You Don’t Love Me. The future looked bright for this raunchy rhythm and blues band.

But in 1965, the LA band, The Byrds, arrived in England with its hit Hey Mr. Tambourine Man. The Birds’ manager attempted legal action but to no avail. This unforeseen circumstance was a major disturbance to the sale of its second release, Leaving Here.

The Birds hired a new manager, switched record labels and even contemplated changing their name. This promising act from West London seemed to be in free fall.

In 1965, they recorded their last single, Say Those Magic Words. In 1966 secured a cameo appearance on a horror film.

By 1967, the band disbanded after only laying down about a dozen tracks.

Motorhead would go on to cover Leaving Here.

Sources: Juanita Appleby

HAVE A LOOK AT THE BIRDS MERCHANDISE HERE

This information is provided as a brief overview and not as a definitive guide, there are other sources on the net for that. If however you have a story or information that is not generally known we would love to hear from you. Content@rokpool.com

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