Little Birdy - Early History

Early History

Katy Steele's father Rick Steele is a local blues musician in various cover bands, and her brothers Jesse and Luke were both members of The Sleepy Jackson. Jesse left the band in 2000. Steele was the singer-songwriter and guitarist in her band, The Plastik Scene. A friend of Luke's, Simon Leach, heard Steele singing at her brother's 21st birthday party. "Katy was always there... She was around 15 when I saw her sing. Three years later, Katy and I were playing together". Steele left her band and, with Leach as drummer, they performed several gigs as a duo. Scott ('Barney') O'Donoghue later offered to play bass guitar. Leach became tired of percussion and began playing guitar when Matt Chequer joined on drums. In 2002 Little Birdy was formed, named after the Ween song of the same name.

A demo, leaked to radio, was played on alternative stations. A friend of the band dropped a copy at band manager Phil Stevens' home (manager of The Waifs, John Butler Trio and The Flairz). Stevens offered his management services. The band supported Placebo, Morcheeba, and The Superjesus in Perth concerts. A home recording of one of their songs won a WAMi Award for 'Indie-Alternative Song of the Year'. Triple J, a national radio station, started playing an early version of "Relapse", while local Perth radio station Nova 93.7 aired a demo of "Baby Blue". As a result of independent media coverage and radio playing demos, Australian labels sought to sign the band. Little Birdy opted for the independent Eleven label with distribution through Virgin Records-EMI. Steele, along with Leach, who was a graphic designer, quit their jobs and became full-time musicians after the signing.