The Baby Vultures were an early 80’s electronic experimental band that only played a couple of live gigs. The band were, Pete Bartley (guitar & vocals), Ian Shuttleworth (synths),  Jon Silverside (vocals), Stephen Hunter, (sax and guitar), Paul Tohill (bass at 2nd gig). Backing vocals were provided by female trio - Trish, Joanne and Nicky.

Ian Shuttleworth recalls the band’s two live gigs “Yes, we played two gigs in out lifetime. A brief set supporting Blue Rhythm (who at the time were an '80s-new-jazz duo consisting of Paul Maxwell and Paul McIlwaine) somewhere in the sticks of Belfast's hinterland, can't remember the venue but I do recall - literally - chicken in a basket being served as we played - and a relaunch party for Live magazine at the Orpheus, supporting Sample & Hold. Both were during early 1983”.

The band were Pete Bartley's idea: he'd first used the name for an ad hoc assemblage of musos on a home-recorded cassette album, then he decided to give the idea flesh. Ian Shuttleworth again “It evolved out of the Saturday-afternoon drinking circle presided over by Maxwell in the York Hotel on Botanic Avenue. Pete's original idea was that the Vultures would have no guitar, and so the first gig's line-up had Pete on bass and most lead vocals, myself on synth (and lead vocals on one number, a cover of Allen Ginsberg's punk single "Birdbrain"!), Stephen Hunter on sax (Stephen would join a later version of Blue Rhythm, which for a time also took the name of Maxwell's previous combo Etc Etc), a Mancunian BBC producer named Jon Silverside on vocals for one number (a surreal rant called "Standard Love"), whatever drum machine we could cadge and/or backing tapes”.

The only original composition in the band’s set was "Standard Love". Covers played included  Eno's "Baby's On Fire", Love's "Signed D.C.", Brel's "My Death", a stripped-down version of "Tomorrow Never Knows".

If anyone has any further information or photographs of this band, then please contact Spit Records via spit77to82@aol.com