What is "fireclown"

Fireclown were a British heavy metal band from Manchester, England formed in 1979. The band consisted of Tony Dowler on lead guitar and vocals, Steve "Gyp" Nicholson on guitar, Pete Dutton on bass guitar and Graham Derbyshire on drums. In 1983 they added lead vocalist Paul Austin and released the 10" single "Invasion", with B-side songs "Poor Man" and "Magic", on their self-titled Fireclown Records. Ross Aspden was a regular member of the road crew, driving the bus and rigging the lights on a nightly basis. Tony Dowler now fronts the Tony Dowler Band and The Hellhounds. Gyp Nicholson went on to write and record his own album named "Gringo Land" under the name of "Mexican Roadsweepers." http://mexicanroadsweepers.net/

Fireclown have supported Motörhead. They also supported Diamond Head at Manchester's Free Trade Hall.

It is also the name of a song by Tygers of Pan Tang. More importantly, "The Fireclown" was a character in one of Michael Moorcock's series of fantasy stories.