Gunfire Dance | id

Gunfire Dance was formed in the 80's by two young punks: 'Rockin' Ray Birch and Ozzie, with a passion for the more 'rock 'n' roll' end of the spectrum (early Damned, The Heartbreakers, New York Dolls etc). After gigging with a couple of line-ups, around 1988 they were joined by Jeff Ward and Anthony Bullock .At which point the jigsaw was finally complete.

The band gigged furiously for the next couple of years, building a following both in Birmingham and the Capital. A publishing deal was signed with Island , whereupon the bands profile and popularity increased with many a packed out gig at Londons famous old Marquee Club. The London scene, which they inadvertently became a part of, was heavily influenced by Guns 'n' Roses along with a crop of home-grown 'Keef Wannabees'. The Gunfire's fitted in with all of this but only on a superficial level , as the bands influences were always much wider and took in 60's R'n'B, Punk, Soul and 50's Rock 'n' Roll. In other words, they were always more 12 x 5 than goats head soup...!

After courting many managers and record companies the band were frustrated at the lack of product and released a 4-track E.P. on their own Stay Sick records. They also went into the studio to record 5 tracks with former Damned members Brian James and Rat Scabies: Two of which saw the light of day on a single..."Suit & Tie/Till The End Of The Day" which was released on Jeff Dahl's Ultra Under Label through Triple X.

In 1995, the band made the first of their two trips to New York City, performing numerous shows amidst the revitalized punk 'n' roll scene created by D Generation, N.Y. Loose, The Throbs and Ex Heartbreaker Walter Lure's band, The Waldos. It was on their second trip to the Big Apple that the band imploded, returning to England to play a gig with The Dogs D'amour, which was ironically to be their last....

After the split, Jeff moved to N.Y.C. and embarked upon a writing career(check amazon.com etc), later forming a band called Electrajet (check myspace). Birchy and Ozzie later formed another band with Ant , coming from a more Stooges/garage/punk vein, called The Steppin' Razors, which eventually folded due to Ants increasing struggle with alcohol as much as anything else. Birchy and Ozzie then spent time as the rhythm section in the Brian James Gang and Ozzie did an ill-fated European tour with a Stiv-less (R.I.P.) Lords of The New Church.

After Steppin Razors Ant took on a job as a mental health councilor at the hospital where he himself had been a patient . To his friends it seemed like he was thankfully getting his life back together. He even stepped out of retirement for a couple of Gunfire Dance reunion shows in the spring of 05, which were both really successful and enjoyed by the band and audiences alike. Sadly, on July 2nd 2006, after a long battle with depression and addiction, Ant took his own life. The remaining band members , Jeff, Oz and Birch are all deeply saddened by his loss and he will be greatly missed, not only as a dear friend but also as a unique talent.

Someone was once famously quoted for saying "...the Sex Pistols are an attitude, not a band..." Gunfire Dance WERE an attitude AND a band R.I.P. .