Birdie

Debsey Wykes: vocals, guitar
Paul Kelly: guitar
Sean Reid: keyboards
Jonathan Chandler: bass
Will Pepper: drums

Deborah Wykes and Paul Kelly decided to form a group together while they were members of SAINT ETIENNE’s backing band in 1994. For two years, Debsey (backing singer) and Paul (guitar) toured Europe, Japan, America and played most of the major European festivals until SAINT ETIENNE took a break and BIRDIE was born.

Bob Stanley and Pete Wiggs were great fans of Debsey’s previous band DOLLY MIXTURE and following a chance meeting they invited her to join their band.

Paul was previously a founder member of EAST VILLAGE in 1992. Signed to Heavenly Records, EAST VILLAGE released three singles and an LP “Drop Out”. They were strongly influenced by American West Coast bands including THE BYRDS and BUFFALO SPRINGFIELD which contrasted heavily with label mates THE MANIC STREET PREACHERS and FLOWERED UP with whom EAST VILLAGE played regularly including a first European visit in 1991 for all three bands.

Initial BIRDIE recordings were made on a four track home taping system until enough cash was scraped together for Debsey and Paul to record in a small East London studio. The results included two songs, “Spiral Staircase” and “Port Sunlight”, a tape of which found its way across the Atlantic where Jason Reynolds at Sub Pop heard it and subsequently released the song as a 7” single. On hearing a copy of the single back in England Tris Penna offered the group a deal with his new It Records label and in the autumn of 1998 Debsey and Paul were back in the studio recording the debut BIRDIE LP.

The BIRDIE album, “Some Dusty”, which attracted highly favourable reviews in the Uk music press, was released by Elefant Records in Spain in May 2000, shortly after the first coming of the band to this country to take part in the 4th “Viaje a los sueños polares” award party, where they collected the “Best new 1999 band” award according to the directors of the radio show. Elefant’s edition differs from It’s edition in the colour of the sleeve plus the addition of the song “She can’t lose”.

Elefant discography:
- “Some dusty”.- (CD ER-1074, 2000)