Byrd & Heart


Byrd & Heart is a Thai musical duo formed in 1985.

History

Kullapong and Suthipongse met each other in Los Angeles through a mutual connection and their shared interest in music. Both of them and their friends started performing in various Thai communities in the LA area.
While performing, they had written music of their own and recorded demos. In the summer break of 1985, both of them went back to Thailand, with the suggestion of their friends, they handed the demos of their songs to Nite Spot Productions. At first Nite Spot Productions was reluctant on the demos but agreed to air the demos on radio. Following the broadcast, the songs quickly became popular amongst the listeners.
They initially handed the demos without a name attached, but after it becoming popular among listeners, being voted as the song of the month on the radio show. Nite Spot Productions contacted Heart for information, he wrote down their names, putting Byrd's name first and they were introduced on radio as "Byrd & Heart". It became their band's name after the listeners know them from radio.

Controversies

Copyright issues over the song "ถอนตัว"

The song "ถอนตัว" is a song sung by Byrd & Heart on the collaborative album "meeting" under genie records. It was a widely popular song.
The song was written by Akeapup Keatpriya and Worawit Nimmansirikul in 2000 for Bright's upcoming album. But while awaiting recording, Suppawat Piranon heard the song after Akeapup had played it to him. Suppawat showed interest in the song but was told that he could not do anything with it as it is a shared intellectual property. Later that year, Akeapup transferred all his rights to the song over to Worawit. However, in 2001, the song appeared on the album "meeting" with Byrd & Heart listed as the singer and Suppawat Piranon listed as the lyricist.
Worawit filed a complaint with evidence to GMM Grammy, which prompted GMM Grammy to purchase the rights to use the song only on the album, and corrected the credits on the album.
However, the issue arose again in 2015 when the song was sung at the "30 Years Byrd & Heart Sometimes but Always" concert along with Suppawat. This prompted Worawit to sue the duo for copyright infringement.
The court case went on until April 19, 2022, when the court ruled in favour of Worawit. After the ruling on May 29, 2022 the duo was interviewed on the situation. They've said to never sing the song anywhere again.