This article is about the rock band. For other uses see A band (disambiguation).
| |
|---|---|
| Origin | Suffolk, England, UK |
| Genre(s) | Alternative rock Post-punk revival Pop Punk |
| Years active | 1995 – present |
| Website | Official website |
| Members | |
| Jason Perry (Lead vocals) Mark Chapman (Guitar) Daniel P Carter (Bass) Giles Perry (Keyboard) Adam Perry (Drums) | |
| Former members | |
| Steve Swindon (Bass) | |
A is a British alternative rock band from Suffolk, England, which formed in 1995.
Contents |
History
The band known as 'A' formed in Leeds, England in the early 90s. The band was founded by three brothers, Jason, Adam and Giles Perry, and two friends, Mark Chapman and Steve Swindon. The original members cited their influences as: Rush, The Beach Boys, Van Halen and the Beastie Boys.
How Ace Are Buildings and A vs. Monkey Kong
After changing their name from 'Grand Designs' and abandoning their early prog rock-inspired sound for a more punk rock style, they signed a European recording contract with British (Warner Bros. Records) in 1996 and released their debut LP How Ace Are Buildings in 1997. Also in 1997, the band briefly appeared in the music video for "Anthem" by The Wildhearts. The band found a healthy underground reception and even had a couple of low-charting singles in the UK. After the mild success brought to the band by How Ace Are Buildings, bassist Stevie Swindon decided to quit the band. He was replaced by current bassist and BBC Radio 1 Rock Show DJ Daniel P Carter. A licensing agreement for the American music market was reached with the North Carolina-based Mammoth Records. Future releases would be distributed in the U. S. and Canada by Mammoth. A second album 'A' Vs. Monkey Kong followed in 1999. The band then toured the world and enjoyed a small degree of success worldwide, especially in Germany. They released a live album, Exit Stage Right in 2000.
Hi-Fi Serious and commercial success
Hi-Fi Serious was their third album, released in 2002. It was preceded by their biggest single to date, "Nothing", which saw the band reach the UK top ten for the first time, hitting number 9, and the further top 20 hit "Starbucks", named after the coffee chain. The release of the album was highly anticipated, and charted at #18. The tour following Hi-Fi Serious saw the band playing their largest venues to date, headlining the 5000 capacity Brixton Academy as part of their 'Inner-City Sumo' Tour. At the end of the year they won the Kerrang! award for "Best British Band", their only award to date.
Teen Dance Ordinance
'A' released their fourth album, Teen Dance Ordinance (TDO), on June 27 2005. The album had been recorded 2 years earlier, but was heavily delayed due to Jason Perry's illness and disputes with the record company. It featured a more straight-rock sound and displayed an almost complete absence of the keyboards and sampling that marked the early sound of the band. Unlike their last 2 albums, Teen Dance Ordinance was not released in the US. Hollywood Records agreed early on to release it in the US, but ultimately did not. The album charted at a disappointing #95 on the UK charts.
Hiatus
The band since the release of Teen Dance Ordinance in 2005 have been working on other projects. Jason Perry is currently involved with writing, recording, and touring with Matt Willis, formerly of Busted. He has also written songs for the pop band McFly on their most recent album, two of which have gone to number 1 in the UK Singles Chart. Adam (Perry) replaced Bloodhound Gang drummer Willie the New Guy for their 2005-6 European tour, and subsequently became the full-time drummer of the band. Daniel P Carter has been hosting BBC Radio 1's Rock Show since 25th September 2006. He continues writing material with Jason Perry, for artists such as McFly, as well as previously playing bass in Matt Willis' band for his first album. Mark Chapman has joined a band called Malpractice, whose debut single "Breathe" was released on February 19 2007. Their website can be found here.
A new beginning?
Jason Perry has stated that the band hope to begin writing a new album as a band in early 2008. A new record label has not yet been decided upon, since Warner dropped them in 2006 after poor record sales. When questioned at the Download Festival 2007, Daniel Carter said the band would be reuniting for a "few shows" at the end of the year. However, the official band website has now gone down.
Discography
Albums
| Date of Release | Title | Label | U.K. Albums Chart Peak |
| July 29, 1997 | How Ace Are Buildings | Epic Records | # |
| September 9, 1999 | A vs. Monkey Kong | Warner Music | #62 |
| March 4, 2002 | Hi-Fi Serious | London Records | #19 |
| June 27th, 2005 | Teen Dance Ordinance | Warner Music | #95 |
Live Albums
- Rockin' Like Dokken (Japan Only mini Live Album)
- Exit Stage Right (mini Live Album)
Singles
- 5 in the Morning
- House Under the Ground
- Bad Idea
- Foghorn
- Number One
- Sing-A-Long
- Summer on the Underground
- Old Folks
- I Love Lake Tahoe
- A
- Nothing
- Starbucks
- Something's Going On
- Good Time
- Rush Song
- Better Off With Him
B-sides and rare tracks
External links
- Official site (now closed)
- Daniel P Carter's Rock Show Site
- Recent live photos of the band
- www.hiddenhive.co.uk - Label set up by Steve Swindon
- http://www.a-communication.co.uk/ - Unofficial forum for 'A'
- A discography at MusicBrainz
A | |
|---|---|
| Jason Perry · Mark Chapman · Daniel P Carter · Giles Perry · Adam Perry | |
| Albums | How Ace Are Buildings · A vs. Monkey Kong · Hi-Fi Serious · Teen Dance Ordinance |
| Live albums | Rockin' Like Dokken · Exit Stage Right |
| Singles | "5 in the Morning" · "House Under the Ground" · "Bad Idea" · "Number One" · "Foghorn" · "Number One" · "Sing-A-Long" · "Summer on the Underground" · "Old Folks" · "I Love Lake Tahoe" · "A" · "Nothing" · "Starbucks" · "Something's Going On" · "Good Time" · "Rush Song" · "Better Off With Him" |
