Band History

The origins of First Crusade are similar, yet a little different, to most.

Jake Bromage-Griffiths, Kieran Perkinton and Lucia Smith were coming to the end of their Creative Media course at Kidderminster College. Being close friends, they needed a project to keep them together whilst their lives slowly distanced. While they all had aspirations to work/study at vastly different places it was the similarities in their passion for music that provided the answer.

With this aspiration they all shared to show their music to the world the band was born (under a different name). Already having experience in the field after being in a different band that had parted ways, Jake instantly got to planning the future of band. Kieran had a passion for Keyboard since a young age - however never found the right opportunity to play, and Lucia had a range of experience after taking vocal lessons since the age of two and studying music theatre at college before media. It was a sign that they had found the thing they were looking for. 

As of March 2026 First Crusade was born. The namesake 'First Crusade' didn't come from religion. much to contrary belief. The name came from Jake when he listened to My Chemical Romance's 'The Foundations Of Decay'. In the song the lyric 'As you stumble through your last crusade' really stuck out to him. The band briefly became 'Last Crusade' before realising that name was taken by others and inverting it briefly after that realisation...

With a name now finalised and an instagram page now finalised, it was time to look for the two who would make the band complete, a guitarist and drummer. 

After putting up a poster around their College looking for a guitarist, there was minimal luck. The bands original drummer had been found through conversation about a new band upon the horizon, but a guitarist was yet to materialise. Around this time however, Jake had befriended a sound tech at the college who happened to play guitar. After a bit of conversation Jake asked if he wanted to join the band as his current one was having issues, this man was Cameron Tyson. 

Now that the band had a stable lineup, it was time to look for gigs and get a photoshoot done to show that First Crusade was here to stay. Looking for a gig came easy as Jake was still in touch with many promotors from the previous band, however the set proved to be an issue. The bands original drummer turned out to be rather infrequent missing the initial photoshoot and some practices so the others came to an agreement to part ways with him. In this decision Cam told the other members that he knew someone from his past that was committed and ready to join a band. In came Liam Wilkes.

After just one practice together, Liam proved himself to the band and First Crusade knew that the lineup was now how it was supposed to be. All members agreed it was time for another photoshoot with the new lineup and time to lock in the set-list for the gig that was lined up and intended to put First Crusade on the map...

With a full lineup and a passion to prove to the world we were here, First Crusade announced the debut gig would be on 30th May at the o2 Institute in Birmingham. This was a big deal for the band as it was a relatively big venue for a debut. The world instantly spread with many people being interested to see the new band on the scene. 

Practice for the gig was something the band was really passionate about and became a frequent part of our weeks. with every Wednesday and Friday came practice from 9am till noon to make sure we had everything to near perfection for the gig. The set consisted of many covers everybody in the alternative scene could sing along to, being hits from Linking Park, Paramore, The all-American Rejects, Ghost, and My Chemical Romance. Tickets sold really well for a debut gig which the band were really happy about, as selling 50 tickets for a debut was an achievement to be happy about

As the day of the gig rolled around, there was nerves in the air but also a feeling of proudness at how far we had come so far. The feeling of walking onto that stage to cheers and a roaring crowd was a feeling we will never forget. While there were some tech issues during the set, the band were hailed as an incredible live act, which left us elated. With this achievement down the hatch, it was time to look to the future, Crusade Summer...

CRUSADE SUMMER

After the high of the debut gig, the band knew that was something that they'd be chasing for a long time. Summer was just around the corner and with that came the opportunity to do many more gigs and make First Crusade a name that is known across the Birmingham music scene. 

The band booked their next gig for Sunday 26th July at Muthers Studio with a revised setlist of the ones that went down well and new hits that would freshen up the sound. With plenty of time to practice First Crusade spent the majority of the Summer in Kieran's house as that was where practice has been relocated to. In this time frame two more gigs were also booked & played. The band played many venues over this summer time including Subside bar, and The Rainbow. These gigs turned out to be a major hit and a boost for the band. At Subside the bar, the band debuted a song that was synonymous with their sound 'Welcome To The Black Parade by My Chemical Romance. This song turned out to be a hit and defined where First Crusade had come from, almost feeling like a full circle moment. 

Over Crusade Summer the bands gig at The Rainbow also turned out to be a big one as not only was it their first headline show, but also the show where their first original 'Key To You' was debuted. Crusade turned out to be an amazing time for the band but with 2 of the band members (Lucia and Jake) beginning the process of starting their university studies elsewhere, the band needed to to lay low on gigs for some time... giving the perfect excuse to work on original material for their inevitable return.