UK (band)
Encyclopedia
U.K. were a short-lived British progressive rock
Progressive rock
Progressive rock is a subgenre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s as part of a "mostly British attempt to elevate rock music to new levels of artistic credibility." John Covach, in Contemporary Music Review, says that many thought it would not just "succeed the pop of...

 supergroup
Supergroup (music)
In the late 1960s, the term supergroup was coined to describe "a rock music group whose performers are already famous from having performed individually or in other groups"....

 active from 1977 until 1980.
The band was composed of Singer/Bassist John Wetton
John Wetton
John Kenneth Wetton is an English bassist, guitarist, keyboardist, singer and songwriter. He was born in Willington, Derbyshire, and grew up in Bournemouth. He has been a professional musician since the late 1960s...

, formerly of King Crimson
King Crimson
King Crimson are a rock band founded in London, England in 1969. Often categorised as a foundational progressive rock group, the band have incorporated diverse influences and instrumentation during their history...

, Bryan Ferry
Bryan Ferry
Bryan Ferry, CBE is an English singer, musician, and songwriter. Ferry came to public prominence in the early 1970s as lead vocalist and principal songwriter with the band Roxy Music, who enjoyed a highly successful career with three number one albums and ten singles entering the top ten charts in...

's band and Uriah Heep
Uriah Heep (band)
Uriah Heep are an English rock band formed in London in 1969 and regarded as a seminal classic hard rock act of the 1970s. Uriah Heep's progressive/art rock/heavy metal fusion's distinctive features have always been massive keyboards sound, strong vocal harmonies and David Byron's operatic vocals...

, Keyboardist/Electric Violinist Eddie Jobson
Eddie Jobson
Edwin "Eddie" Jobson is an English keyboardist and violinist noted for his use of synthesizers. He has been a member of several progressive rock bands, including Curved Air, Roxy Music, U.K., and Jethro Tull. He was also part of Frank Zappa's band in 1976-77...

, formerly of Curved Air
Curved Air
Curved Air are a pioneering British progressive rock group formed in 1970 by musicians from mixed artistic backgrounds, including classic, folk, and electronic sound. The resulting sound of the band was a mixture of progressive rock, folk rock, and fusion with classical elements...

, Roxy Music
Roxy Music
Roxy Music was a British art rock band formed in 1971 by Bryan Ferry, who became the group's lead vocalist and chief songwriter, and bassist Graham Simpson. The other members are Phil Manzanera , Andy Mackay and Paul Thompson . Former members include Brian Eno , and Eddie Jobson...

 and Frank Zappa
Frank Zappa
Frank Vincent Zappa was an American composer, singer-songwriter, electric guitarist, record producer and film director. In a career spanning more than 30 years, Zappa wrote rock, jazz, orchestral and musique concrète works. He also directed feature-length films and music videos, and designed...

's Band, Guitarist Allan Holdsworth
Allan Holdsworth
Allan Holdsworth is an English guitarist and composer. He has released twelve studio albums as a solo artist and played many different styles of music over a period of four decades, but first drew attention for his work in jazz fusion...

, formerly of Tempest
Tempest (UK band)
Tempest was a British progressive rock band active from 1973 and 1974. Its core members were Jon Hiseman on drums and Mark Clarke on bass. They released two studio albums before breaking up.-Band biography:...

, Soft Machine
Soft Machine
Soft Machine were an English rock band from Canterbury, named after the book The Soft Machine by William S. Burroughs. They were one of the central bands in the Canterbury scene, and helped pioneer the progressive rock genre...

, The New Tony Williams Lifetime
The Tony Williams Lifetime
The Tony Williams Lifetime was a jazz-rock fusion group led by jazz drummer Tony Williams.-Original line-up:The Tony Williams Lifetime was founded in 1969 as a power trio with John McLaughlin on electric guitar, and Larry Young on organ. The band was possibly named for Williams' debut album as a...

 and Gong
Gong (band)
Gong is a Franco-British progressive/psychedelic rock band formed by Australian musician Daevid Allen. Their music has also been described as space rock. Other notable band members include Allan Holdsworth, Tim Blake, Didier Malherbe, Pip Pyle, Gilli Smyth, Steve Hillage, Francis Moze, Mike Howlett...

 and Drummer Bill Bruford
Bill Bruford
William Scott "Bill" Bruford is an English drummer, percussionist, composer, producer, and record label owner. He was the original drummer for the progressive rock group Yes, from 1968-1972. Bruford has performed for numerous popular acts since the early 1970s, including a stint as touring...

, formerly of Yes
Yes (band)
Yes are an English rock band who achieved worldwide success with their progressive, art, and symphonic style of rock music. Regarded as one of the pioneers of the progressive genre, Yes are known for their lengthy songs, mystical lyrics, elaborate album art, and live stage sets...

, King Crimson
King Crimson
King Crimson are a rock band founded in London, England in 1969. Often categorised as a foundational progressive rock group, the band have incorporated diverse influences and instrumentation during their history...

, and Steve Howe
Steve Howe (guitarist)
Stephen James "Steve" Howe is an English guitarist, known for his work with the progressive rock group Yes...

's band, later replaced by Drummer Terry Bozzio
Terry Bozzio
Terry John Bozzio is an American drummer best known for his work with Missing Persons and Frank Zappa.-Biography:Terry Bozzio was born December 27, 1950 in San Francisco, California. He started at age 6 playing makeshift drum sets. At the age of 13 he saw The Beatles premier performance on The Ed...

, formerly of Frank Zappa
Frank Zappa
Frank Vincent Zappa was an American composer, singer-songwriter, electric guitarist, record producer and film director. In a career spanning more than 30 years, Zappa wrote rock, jazz, orchestral and musique concrète works. He also directed feature-length films and music videos, and designed...

's Band.

Formation and first album

Singer/bassist John Wetton
John Wetton
John Kenneth Wetton is an English bassist, guitarist, keyboardist, singer and songwriter. He was born in Willington, Derbyshire, and grew up in Bournemouth. He has been a professional musician since the late 1960s...

 and drummer Bill Bruford
Bill Bruford
William Scott "Bill" Bruford is an English drummer, percussionist, composer, producer, and record label owner. He was the original drummer for the progressive rock group Yes, from 1968-1972. Bruford has performed for numerous popular acts since the early 1970s, including a stint as touring...

 had worked together in King Crimson
King Crimson
King Crimson are a rock band founded in London, England in 1969. Often categorised as a foundational progressive rock group, the band have incorporated diverse influences and instrumentation during their history...

 from 1972-4, when guitarist Robert Fripp
Robert Fripp
Robert Fripp is an English guitarist, composer and record producer. He was ranked 42nd on Rolling Stone magazine's 2003 list of the "100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time" and #47 on Gibson.com’s "Top 50 Guitarists of All Time". Among rock guitarists, Fripp is a master of crosspicking, a technique...

 disbanded the group. In July 1976, Bruford assisted Wetton on demos for a proposed solo album by the latter (a couple of these demos were later released on Monkey Business). In September 1976, they worked on forming a band with keyboardist Rick Wakeman
Rick Wakeman
Richard Christopher Wakeman is an English keyboard player, composer and songwriter best known for being the former keyboardist in the progressive rock band Yes...

, who had previously worked with Bruford in Yes
Yes (band)
Yes are an English rock band who achieved worldwide success with their progressive, art, and symphonic style of rock music. Regarded as one of the pioneers of the progressive genre, Yes are known for their lengthy songs, mystical lyrics, elaborate album art, and live stage sets...

. The project was stopped by Wakeman's label. According to Bruford, "A&M Records
A&M Records
A&M Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group that operates under the mantle of its Interscope-Geffen-A&M division.-Beginnings:...

 were unwilling to let their 'star,' Wakeman, walk off with a used, slightly soiled King Crimson rhythm section, and the idea failed."

Bruford and Wetton next asked guitarist Robert Fripp
Robert Fripp
Robert Fripp is an English guitarist, composer and record producer. He was ranked 42nd on Rolling Stone magazine's 2003 list of the "100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time" and #47 on Gibson.com’s "Top 50 Guitarists of All Time". Among rock guitarists, Fripp is a master of crosspicking, a technique...

 to reform King Crimson When Fripp declined, Bruford and Wetton decided that each would bring in a musician of his choice to form a new band. Wetton brought in keyboardist/violinist Eddie Jobson
Eddie Jobson
Edwin "Eddie" Jobson is an English keyboardist and violinist noted for his use of synthesizers. He has been a member of several progressive rock bands, including Curved Air, Roxy Music, U.K., and Jethro Tull. He was also part of Frank Zappa's band in 1976-77...

, whom Wetton knew from his work with Roxy Music
Roxy Music
Roxy Music was a British art rock band formed in 1971 by Bryan Ferry, who became the group's lead vocalist and chief songwriter, and bassist Graham Simpson. The other members are Phil Manzanera , Andy Mackay and Paul Thompson . Former members include Brian Eno , and Eddie Jobson...

 in 1976 – "stealing" him from Frank Zappa
Frank Zappa
Frank Vincent Zappa was an American composer, singer-songwriter, electric guitarist, record producer and film director. In a career spanning more than 30 years, Zappa wrote rock, jazz, orchestral and musique concrète works. He also directed feature-length films and music videos, and designed...

.
Bruford recruited guitarist Allan Holdsworth
Allan Holdsworth
Allan Holdsworth is an English guitarist and composer. He has released twelve studio albums as a solo artist and played many different styles of music over a period of four decades, but first drew attention for his work in jazz fusion...

 (formerly of Soft Machine
Soft Machine
Soft Machine were an English rock band from Canterbury, named after the book The Soft Machine by William S. Burroughs. They were one of the central bands in the Canterbury scene, and helped pioneer the progressive rock genre...

 and Gong
Gong (band)
Gong is a Franco-British progressive/psychedelic rock band formed by Australian musician Daevid Allen. Their music has also been described as space rock. Other notable band members include Allan Holdsworth, Tim Blake, Didier Malherbe, Pip Pyle, Gilli Smyth, Steve Hillage, Francis Moze, Mike Howlett...

) who had played guitar on Bruford's 1977 debut solo album, Feels Good to Me
Feels Good to Me
Feels Good to Me is the debut solo album by the British drummer Bill Bruford. The band Bruford grew out of the line-up assembled for this album, which was released in August 1978. Led by drummer Bill Bruford, the album also features guitarist Allan Holdsworth and John Goodsall, bassist Jeff Berlin,...

.

U.K. released their self-titled debut album in 1978 and followed it with a supporting tour. Following two lengthy American tours (June–October 1978), first Holdsworth and then Bruford departed U.K. over musical differences, returning to the jazz rock fusion
Fusion (music)
A fusion genre is music that combines two or more styles. For example, rock and roll originally developed as a fusion of blues, gospel and country music. The main characteristics of fusion genres are variations in tempo, rhythm, i a sometimes the use of long musical "journeys" that can be divided...

 group Bruford.

Trio line-up

After the departure of Bruford and Holdsworth, U.K. did not bring in another guitarist, instead becoming a trio with drummer Terry Bozzio
Terry Bozzio
Terry John Bozzio is an American drummer best known for his work with Missing Persons and Frank Zappa.-Biography:Terry Bozzio was born December 27, 1950 in San Francisco, California. He started at age 6 playing makeshift drum sets. At the age of 13 he saw The Beatles premier performance on The Ed...

 (another one-time Frank Zappa
Frank Zappa
Frank Vincent Zappa was an American composer, singer-songwriter, electric guitarist, record producer and film director. In a career spanning more than 30 years, Zappa wrote rock, jazz, orchestral and musique concrète works. He also directed feature-length films and music videos, and designed...

 band member). They recorded the studio album Danger Money
Danger Money
Danger Money is the second album by the group U.K., featuring John Wetton, Eddie Jobson and Terry Bozzio. It was released by E.G. Records / Polydor in March 1979...

, released in March 1979, and spent much of that year touring North America as opening act for Jethro Tull
Jethro Tull (band)
Jethro Tull are a British rock group formed in 1967. Their music is characterised by the vocals, acoustic guitar, and flute playing of Ian Anderson, who has led the band since its founding, and the guitar work of Martin Barre, who has been with the band since 1969.Initially playing blues rock with...

. A live album, Night After Night, was recorded in Japan that Spring and released in September. Following a final European tour in December 1979, and in spite of plans to record a new studio album in America in March 1980, U.K. disbanded as Jobson and Wetton had different ideas on how the band should develop. Jobson wanted UK to go on with more long instrumental pieces, while Wetton thought that performing shorter songs was a better idea. Jobson stated that one song in particular was the reason of the band to disband: "When Will You Realize?", a non-LP B-side (to date still unavailable on CD) featured on the "Night After Night" single, which Wetton would re-record (with slightly different lyrics) in 1980 on his solo album Caught In The Crossfire
Caught in the Crossfire
Caught in the Crossfire is 2010 American crime drama film directed by Brian A Miller. It stars Chris Klein, Adam Rodriguez, and 50 Cent. The film was released direct-to-DVD on July 20, 2010....

.

Aftermath

Jobson worked with Jethro Tull
Jethro Tull (band)
Jethro Tull are a British rock group formed in 1967. Their music is characterised by the vocals, acoustic guitar, and flute playing of Ian Anderson, who has led the band since its founding, and the guitar work of Martin Barre, who has been with the band since 1969.Initially playing blues rock with...

 on the album A and went on to a solo career. Wetton, following a brief stint with Wishbone Ash
Wishbone Ash
Wishbone Ash are a British rock band who achieved success in the early and mid-1970s. Their popular records included Wishbone Ash , Argus , There's the Rub , and New England...

 (October–December 1980), and the recording of his solo album Caught In The Crossfire
Caught in the Crossfire
Caught in the Crossfire is 2010 American crime drama film directed by Brian A Miller. It stars Chris Klein, Adam Rodriguez, and 50 Cent. The film was released direct-to-DVD on July 20, 2010....

(Summer 1980), eventually left E.G. Records to sign with Geffen Records
Geffen Records
Geffen Records is an American record label, owned by Universal Music Group, and operated as one third of UMG's Interscope-Geffen-A&M label group.-Beginnings:...

 and ex-Yes manager Brian Lane and started Asia
Asia (band)
Asia are an English rock group formed in 1981. The band was labelled a supergroup as it included former members of several veteran progressive rock bands, namely John Wetton , Geoff Downes , Steve Howe and Carl Palmer Asia are an English rock group formed in 1981. The band was labelled a...

 with Steve Howe
Steve Howe (guitarist)
Stephen James "Steve" Howe is an English guitarist, known for his work with the progressive rock group Yes...

, Carl Palmer
Carl Palmer
Carl Frederick Kendall Palmer is an English drummer and percussionist. He is credited as one of the most respected rock drummers to emerge from the 1960s...

 and Geoffrey Downes. Bozzio formed Missing Persons with his then-wife Dale Bozzio
Dale Bozzio
Dale Bozzio, born Dale Frances Consalvi in Medford, Massachusetts March 2, 1955, is an American progressive rock and new wave vocalist. She is best known as co-founder and lead singer of the 1980s pop/new wave band Missing Persons. She is also known for her work with Frank Zappa...

, guitarist Warren Cuccurullo
Warren Cuccurullo
Warren Bruce Cuccurullo in Brooklyn, New York is an American rock musician who worked with Frank Zappa, was a founding member of Missing Persons, and has been a long term member of Duran Duran. He also has some notoriety in the porn industry after making nude appearances in a magazine and...

 and bassist Patrick O'Hearn
Patrick O'Hearn
Patrick O'Hearn is an American multi-instrumentalist musician, composer and recording artist. While his musical repertoire spans a diverse range of music, he is an acclaimed New Age artist in his solo career...

 – all four also from line-ups with Zappa. Holdsworth and Bozzio played together in HoBoLeMa
HoBoLeMa
HoBoLeMa is an improvisational instrumental supergroup consisting of Allan Holdsworth, Terry Bozzio, Tony Levin and Pat Mastelotto. The group toured Japan in November 2008, the West Coast of the United States in January 2009 and Europe in April and May 2010...

.

Legacy project

From 1995 to 1998, Jobson and Wetton worked together on a proposed U.K. reunion album, also recording contributions by Bruford, Tony Levin
Tony Levin
Tony Levin is an American progressive rock musician, specializing in bass guitar, Chapman stick and upright bass ....

, Steve Hackett
Steve Hackett
Stephen Richard Hackett is a British singer-songwriter and guitarist. He gained prominence as a member of the British progressive rock group Genesis, which he joined in 1970 and left in 1977 to pursue a solo career...

 and Francis Dunnery
Francis Dunnery
Francis Dunnery is an English musician, singer-songwriter, record producer and record label owner. He is best known as a solo performer , and for fronting the original lineup of the band It Bites between 1982 and 1990 .Dunnery served as a sideman and...

. However, when Wetton departed, "Legacy" became an Eddie Jobson solo project, with Wetton replaced on lead vocals by Aaron Lippert. However, Jobson eventually abandoned the project. Three tracks intended for it found their way onto Voices of Life, a compilation by Bulgarian Women's Choir organised by Jobson.

UKZ and reunion

In October 2007, Jobson announced a new band, UKZ
UKZ
UKZ is an international progressive rock band, that was formed in 2007 by keyboardist/violinist Eddie Jobson, who had played in UK. The band also features former King Crimson guitarist Trey Gunn.-History:...

, with Lippert and former King Crimson bassist/guitarist Trey Gunn
Trey Gunn
Trey Gunn is an American musician, known for his membership in progressive rock band King Crimson from 1994 to 2003, playing Warr Guitar and Chapman Stick.-Biography:...

 among others, which released an EP called "Radiation" in March 2009. In late 2009, Jobson and Wetton both talked about a possible reunion of U.K. A U.K. reunion tour in February/March 2010 with Jobson, Wetton, Marco Minnemann
Marco Minnemann
Marco Minnemann is a German-born drummer, composer and multi-instrumentalist. He lives in Lake Elsinore, California.-Biography:...

 on drums (from UKZ) and Greg Howe
Greg Howe
Gregory "Greg" Howe is an American guitarist and composer. As an active musician for nearly thirty years, he has released nine studio albums in addition to collaborating with a wide variety of artists.-Recording career:...

 (Victor Wooten, Vitalij Kuprij, Michael Jackson) on guitar was described to promoters, but not confirmed by Wetton.

Wetton and Jobson performed three concerts in Poland in November 2009 as part of Jobson's Ultimate Zero (U-Z) project. The line-up also featured Marco Minnemann (drums), Greg Howe (guitar) and Tony Levin
Tony Levin
Tony Levin is an American progressive rock musician, specializing in bass guitar, Chapman stick and upright bass ....

 (stick). They performed music from UK and King Crimson
King Crimson
King Crimson are a rock band founded in London, England in 1969. Often categorised as a foundational progressive rock group, the band have incorporated diverse influences and instrumentation during their history...

. A CD compiled from various U-Z performances from 2009, including multiple tracks from the Polish shows, has been released.

It was announced on February 11, 2011 and later confirmed by John Wetton on his website that UK were to play 2 shows in Japan on April 15 and 16, 2011. The lineup will be Jobson, Wetton, Alex Machacek, and Marco Minnemann. Wetton's comment was "I think you can drop the 'Z', now." US dates, including a show in San Francisco, were also announced and performed in April 2011.

Musical style

Throughout their brief existence, U.K.'s music was characterised by skilled musicianship, jazzy harmonies, close harmony vocals, odd-numbered time signatures, mixed meters, electric violin solos, and unusually varied synthesiser
Synthesizer
A synthesizer is an electronic instrument capable of producing sounds by generating electrical signals of different frequencies. These electrical signals are played through a loudspeaker or set of headphones...

 (Yamaha CS-80
Yamaha CS-80
The Yamaha CS-80 was a polyphonic analog synthesizer released in 1977. It supports true 8-voice polyphony as well as a primitive settings memory based on a bank of micropotentiometers , and exceptionally complete performer expression features, such...

) sonorities.

Discography

Year Album US
Billboard 200
The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...

 
UK
UK Albums Chart
The UK Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales in the United Kingdom. It is compiled every week by The Official Charts Company and broadcast on a Sunday on BBC Radio 1 , and published in Music Week magazine and on the OCC website .To qualify for the UK albums chart...

 
Notes
1978 U.K.
U.K. (album)
UK is the eponymous debut album by the progressive rock supergroup UK. It features John Wetton , Eddie Jobson , Bill Bruford and Allan Holdsworth . It was released in 1978 on E.G. Records / Polydor...

65 43 Single releases "In the Dead of Night" and "Mental Medication"
1979 Danger Money
Danger Money
Danger Money is the second album by the group U.K., featuring John Wetton, Eddie Jobson and Terry Bozzio. It was released by E.G. Records / Polydor in March 1979...

45 - Single releases "Rendezvous 6:02" and "Nothing to Lose" UK
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...

 #67
1979 Night After Night 109 - Single release "Night After Night"
1999 Concert Classics, Vol. 4
Concert Classics, Vol. 4
Concert Classics is the title of an album recorded live by the British band UK.Recorded in 1978 in Boston, Massachusetts. Released on CD in 1999. This album was also re-released in Japan on CD in 2007 as Live In Boston. The sleeve notes date the concert as September 11, 1978 performed at Paradise...

- - Live 1978. Re-released as Live in America and Live in Boston.
The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
x
OK