It was in April 1974 that Garry Pierrepont, David Seymour and Stephen Voller, all close neighbours and friends in Burpham in Guildford, decided to form a 'pop group'!

Millbrown was born.

In June David bought his first drum kit (second hand), Garry bought a bass from Woolworths and Steve bought himself a guitar, and they clubbed together to buy a second hand amplifier. They were ready to go - well ready to start trying anyway! Practice sessions were held in their own bedrooms (it must have been purgatory for the parents), with Garry on vocals.

The trio made regular visits to Andertons, the music store in Guildford, and in December Garry bought a microphone stand for £5.94 (up to then he had been using a wooden one constructed by chippy-to-be David), and Steve bought a new Gibson Les Paul copy guitar for a small fortune of £47!

The band tried out a keyboard player, Colin Murphy, in February 1975, but things didn't work out, and Millbrown remained a three-piece. In April the band moved on from bedrooms and garages (though not permanently) to hold its first practice at the local village hall in Burpham, at a cost of £1.20 for the evening.

With all the band in part-time weekend or holiday jobs, new equipment came along, David buying a drum kit in May for £60. This was followed in August by a 100 watt amplifier for a small fortune of £140!

Millbrown's first gig was on 24 October 1975, when they played at a friend's party at Jacob's Well Village Hall. This was moderately successful, and was followed by another performance at their own party on 13 December 1975 at their 'home venue' Burpham Village Hall. And here are two surviving photographs from that 'famous' night!

In 1976 the band didn't really move forward for many months. Guitarists John Bennett and Pete Smith were tried, but didn't fit in. Steve wanted to advertise for a keyboard player, but nothing ever materialised.

On 9 July guitarist Paul Venables guested at a practice session and was a hit. Vocalist Dave was tried, but failed, and Garry persisted on vocals.

Some staggering news arrived on 24 August 1976, with the band being invited for an audition for the TV programme "New Faces" (a '70s version of X Factor). The date was exactly one month forward, and the venue for the audition was the London Palladium!

Now all the focus was on playing one song at the audition! With Paul Venables now firmly on board, he wrote a song called 'Oh Babe' for the event. Although Paul normally wrote instrumentals more in the style of progressive rock, here was a 3 minute pop song! Another vocalist - Paul Charman - was trialled on 3 September, but he wasn't up to scratch either!

Paul brought along his saxophone-playing friend Neil on 14 September, and the line-up for the audition was complete. A team "kit" of white trousers and different coloured matching t-shirts was bought for the occasion (some evidence in photo here).

On 24 September 1976 the band, driven by "roadie" Andy in his van, made their way to the London Palladium for the New Faces audition. It was up to you - wear your own gear, bring your own equipment, sing your own song. It was a great experience for the band, as they followed on stage a group of dancing, singing Osmond-alikes! Up stepped Millbrown, set up their equipment, sang 'Oh Babe' for less than three minutes to an audience of about six (with the judges sitting in a virtually empty Palladium theatre), cleared their gear, loaded the van and disappeared.

'Oh Babe' gets a run through at Burpham Village Hall, September 1976. Neil, Paul, David, Stephen, Garry.

For the 70s (& 80s & 90s!) that was just about it. On 5 October 1976, Garry left for University. When he returned home at Christmas he was given his share of the sale of the amp for £55, and Millbrown was dead.

26 years on

And so, spring forward 25 years to late 2001, and thanks to the internet and Friends Reunited, lost contacts were renewed and Garry, Stephen and David met up for a drink in a pub in Woking on 8 January 2002. How long was it before Millbrown was mentioned? How long was it before David admitted to having recently bought a new drum kit? Not long!

Pub meetings and chinese restaurant meetings became reminiscing sessions, then serious discussion points for a re-formed band! Steve bought a new guitar and on 28 June Garry bought a bass guitar and practice amp for £283 from Andertons, now moved to bigger and better premises in Guildford. The trio once again clubbed together to buy a new 100w amp.

On 27 July 2002, hair a bit greyer and bodies a little weightier, they played their first session together for nearly 26 years, this time at David Seymour's workshop (he owns a kitchen manufacturing business). But Millbrown were not re-born; now, at least temporarily, it was Mid Life Crisis. But that didn't last as there were lots of other bands out there with that name!

Sessions continued, but they realised that they needed a decent lead guitarist to take them onto a higher level. David thought of a customer of his, one who had a collection of guitars, and his own studio - and he could play! So on 2 June 2003 the unnamed band got together at Martin Paling's studio for the first time. He instantly made a positive difference, his experience and ability helping the band to gel.

Various names were tried, such as Thirty Years After and even Raw Sewage, but the closest one to sticking was Backs and Fingers after a session had to be cancelled because of an uncomfortable back and a split finger!

Knowing his limitations Garry didn't want to continue singing, so a fifth member of the band was sought. Malcolm Packer is an excellent all-rounder on nearly all instruments, and he can sing. He came to two practice sessions, on 20 & 27 October 2003, and was very impressive, but it didn't work out at the time.

It wasn't until July 2004 that a new singer was found in the form of Keith Edwards, who sang in a choir, but had never sung for a rock band before. Well, now was his chance! The new five-piece combination went well, giving the band confidence to play its first gig for nearly 30 years on 4 June 2005 at a private party at The Holiday Inn, Guildford. Still without a proper name, the band nevertheless went down a storm.

Despite the high the band got from the gig, it was actually the last time it played in that format. Martin Paling left the band and the search was on for another lead guitarist. The void was filled by Noel Yates in late 2005, to complete the line-up. And a new name was agreed: Silverfire.

Unfortunately with Noel's lack of availability due to work abroad, his tenure with the band began to loosen in autumn 2006.

Malcolm Packer, a local singer/songwriter was recruited as the new lead guitarist, and he joined for two successful gigs in December 2006 and January 2007, but decided to leave the band soon after that.

In May 2007, Graeme Osborn joined the band as lead guitarist, and his vibrant lead guitar playing has taken the band up to a new level. A marvellous addition to the band.

Rhythm guitar & vocals

A natural performer and veteran of hundreds of gigs around Europe, music producer, guitarist and vocalist Chris Jenkins is always a welcome guest.

Vocals

A budding singer, Garry's neice Jenny has guested more than once at Silverfire gigs.

Rhythm guitar

David's daughter Chloe has guested at just one Silverfire gig, but would be welcome back.

Vocals

John Hulme, previously of MP5 and now of Frayed Knot, guested at the 2008 Christmas gig.

Lead guitar

Malcolm Packer has been playing guitar for over 30 years, and joined Silverfire in November 2006 as lead guitarist ("I'm not a lead guitarist" claims were ignored!). Malcolm left the band in March 2007.

Lead guitar

Noel joined the band in late 2005 and left in December 2006.