U.K. (band)
| Company type | Supergroup |
|---|---|
| Industry | Music |
| Founded | 1977 |
| Founder | John Wetton, Bill Bruford |
| Defunct | 1980 |
| Headquarters | United Kingdom |
| Products | Progressive rock music |
U.K. was a British progressive rock supergroup active between 1977 and 1980, established by bassist John Wetton and drummer Bill Bruford, both formerly members of King Crimson. The initial lineup featured violinist and keyboardist Eddie Jobson alongside guitarist Allan Holdsworth. Following the departure of Bruford and Holdsworth in 1978, drummer Terry Bozzio joined to replace Bruford. In 2012, Jobson, Wetton, and Bozzio reunited U.K. for a global tour.
Origins and debut album
In 1972, John Wetton (previously with Family) and Bill Bruford (formerly of Yes) became part of King Crimson, contributing to three albums before Robert Fripp dissolved the group in 1974. Wetton briefly collaborated with Roxy Music alongside Eddie Jobson, then recorded two albums with Uriah Heep. After departing Uriah Heep in 1976, Wetton reconnected with Bruford to produce demo recordings initially meant for a solo venture. They formed a band including keyboardist Rick Wakeman, but this project was discontinued due to Wakeman’s record label.
Following Robert Fripp’s refusal to revive King Crimson with them, Wetton and Bruford each selected new members to create a fresh band. Wetton brought in Eddie Jobson, who had recently left Roxy Music and Frank Zappa’s ensemble, while Bruford recruited guitarist Allan Holdsworth, with whom he had collaborated on his solo album Feels Good to Me (1978).
The distinctive sound of the group was heavily influenced by the Yamaha CS-80 synthesizer, which played a crucial role in their music. U.K. launched their self-titled debut album in 1978 and embarked on extensive tours across the United States. Musical disagreements led Wetton and Jobson to dismiss Holdsworth. Since Bruford preferred Holdsworth’s style, they brought in Terry Bozzio, also an alumnus of Zappa’s band, as his replacement. Bruford incorporated several instrumental pieces from U.K.’s live set into his solo work on One of a Kind (1979).
Trio configuration
After unsuccessful attempts to find a new guitarist—including auditions with a then-unknown Steve Vai—U.K. opted to continue as a trio. They recorded the studio album Danger Money, released in March 1979, followed by a North American tour supporting Jethro Tull. The album featured the modest UK charting single "Nothing to Lose," which peaked at number 67. In September 1979, they released the live album Night After Night, recorded during performances in Japan. Although plans were underway for a new studio album in America scheduled for March 1980, U.K. dissolved due to creative conflicts: Jobson favored extended instrumental compositions while Wetton leaned toward shorter, commercially oriented tracks. Jobson pointed to the pop-style non-album B-side "When Will You Realize" as contributing to the split; Wetton later re-recorded this song for his 1980 solo release Caught in the Crossfire.
Subsequent developments
Following the breakup, Jobson worked with Jethro Tull on their 1980 album A before embarking on a solo career. Wetton issued his solo album Caught in the Crossfire (1980), briefly joined Wishbone Ash from October to December 1980, then departed from E.G. Records to sign with Geffen Records. He collaborated with former Yes manager Brian Lane to establish Asia, alongside Steve Howe, Carl Palmer, and Geoffrey Downes. Meanwhile, Bozzio co-founded Missing Persons with his then-wife Dale Bozzio and fellow former Zappa musicians Warren Cuccurullo, Patrick O'Hearn, and Chuck Wild. Nearly thirty years later, Holdsworth and Bozzio reunited within the group HoBoLeMa. Both John Wetton and Allan Holdsworth passed away in 2017.
Legacy project
Between 1995 and 1998, Jobson and Wetton worked together on a planned U.K. reunion album, which also included contributions from Bruford, Tony Levin, Steve Hackett, and Francis Dunnery. Following Wetton's exit, the "Legacy" project evolved into a solo endeavor by Eddie Jobson, with Aaron Lippert stepping in as the vocalist. Ultimately, Jobson discontinued the effort, although three tracks initially meant for this project were featured on Voices of Life, a compilation produced by the Bulgarian Women's Choir under Jobson's direction.
UKZ and reunions
In October 2007, Eddie Jobson launched a new group named UKZ, incorporating Lippert and former King Crimson bassist/guitarist Trey Gunn. The band issued the EP Radiation in March 2009. Later that year, discussions between Jobson and Wetton about a U.K. reunion took place. A tour planned for early 2010 with Jobson, Wetton, Marco Minnemann (drums), and Greg Howe (guitar) was postponed until 2011.
During November 2009, Wetton and Jobson performed three shows in Poland as part of Jobson's Ultimate Zero (U-Z) project, joined by Minnemann, Howe, and Tony Levin (stick), presenting material from both U.K. and King Crimson. A live album compiling performances from various 2009 U-Z concerts, titled Ultimate Zero Tour - Live, was released thereafter.
On 11 February 2011, U.K. reunited for two concerts in Japan featuring Jobson, Wetton, Minnemann on drums, and Alex Machacek on guitar. This was followed by U.S. dates in April, including a performance in San Francisco. These shows were later issued as the DVD Reunion: Live in Tokyo in 2013.
For the 2012 American tour, Bozzio returned to the lineup; during the European leg, Gary Husband joined on drums alongside Machacek on guitar. In 2013, U.K. toured with Machacek on guitar and Virgil Donati replacing Bozzio on drums for East Coast appearances. On 8 November 2013 in Kawasaki, Japan, they performed both studio albums live with Minnemann handling drum duties.
U.K. participated in the 2014 Cruise to the Edge progressive rock festival featuring Machacek and Donati. In 2015, the band announced their final worldwide tour with Donati and Machacek; for the concluding dates in the U.S. and Japan, Donati was succeeded by Dream Theater drummer Mike Mangini.
Musical style
U.K.'s sound was distinguished by expert instrumental skills, jazzy chord structures, intricate vocal harmonies, complex time signatures, electric violin solos, and a variety of synthesizer tones (notably from the Yamaha CS-80). Their music blended elements of progressive rock with jazz fusion influences.
Personnel
- Members
- Eddie Jobson – keyboards, violin, backing vocals
- John Wetton – bass guitar, lead vocals
- Allan Holdsworth – guitar
- Bill Bruford – drums and percussion
- Terry Bozzio – drums, percussion, backing vocals
- Touring Members
- Tony Levin – Chapman Stick
- Greg Howe – guitar
- Alex Machacek – guitar
- Marco Minnemann – drums and percussion
- Gary Husband – drums and percussion
- Virgil Donati – drums and percussion
- Mike Mangini – drums and percussion
Timeline
<timeline> ImageSize = width:900 height:auto barincrement:20 PlotArea = left:100 bottom:90 top:10 right:0 Alignbars = justify DateFormat = mm/dd/yyyy Period = from:01/01/1977 till:12/31/2015 TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal format:yyyy Legend = orientation:vertical position:bottom columns:3 ScaleMajor = increment:4 start:1977 ScaleMinor = increment:1 start:1977
Colors =
id:guitar value:green legend:Guitar id:keyboards value:purple legend:Keyboards,_violin,_backing_vocals id:bass value:blue legend:Bass,_lead_vocals id:chapman value:skyblue legend:Chapman_stick id:drums value:orange legend:Drums,_percussion id:studio value:black legend:Studio_album id:live value:gray(0.5) legend:Live_album id:bars value:gray(0.9)
BarData =
bar:Holdsworth text:Allan Holdsworth bar:Howe text:Greg Howe bar:Machacek text:Alex Machacek bar:Jobson text:Eddie Jobson bar:Wetton text:John Wetton bar:Levin text:Tony Levin bar:Bruford text:Bill Bruford bar:Bozzio text:Terry Bozzio bar:Minnemann text:Marco Minnemann bar:Husband text:Gary Husband bar:Donati text:Virgil Donati bar:Mangini text:Mike Mangini
PlotData=
width:11 textcolor:black align:left anchor:from shift:(10,-4) bar:Wetton from:01/01/1977 till:03/01/1980 color:bass bar:Wetton from:11/01/2009 till:11/30/2009 color:bass bar:Wetton from:01/01/2011 till:12/31/2015 color:bass bar:Levin from:11/01/2009 till:11/30/2009 color:chapman bar:Jobson from:01/01/1977 till:03/01/1980 color:keyboards bar:Jobson from:11/01/2009 till:11/30/2009 color:keyboards bar:Jobson from:01/01/2011 till:12/31/2015 color:keyboards bar:Holdsworth from:01/01/1977 till:12/31/1978 color:guitar bar:Howe from:11/01/2009 till:11/30/2009 color:guitar bar:Machacek from:01/01/2011 till:01/01/2012 color:guitar bar:Machacek from:05/21/2012 till:12/31/2015 color:guitar
</timeline>
Studio albums
| Year | Album | UK | US | CAN | NL |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1978 | U.K. | 43 | 65 | 53 | — |
| 1979 | Danger Money | — | 45 | 63 | 37 |
Live albums
| Year | Album | US | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1979 | Night After Night | 109 | Recorded live in Tokyo, Japan during 1979 |
| 1999 | Concert Classics, Vol. 4 | — | Captures a live performance from 1978; later reissued as Live in America and Live in Boston |
| 2013 | Reunion – Live in Tokyo | — | Live recording from the year 2011 |
| 2015 | Curtain Call | — | Documenting a live show from 2013 |
Singles
| Year | Single | UK | NL | Album | B-Side |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1978 | "In the Dead of Night" | — | — | U.K. | Mental Medication |
| 1979 | "Nothing to Lose" | 67 | — | Danger Money | In the Dead of Night (1979 Trio version) |
| "Rendezvous 6:02" | 30 | ||||
| "Night After Night" | — | — | Night After Night | When Will You Realize | |
| "Rendezvous 6:02" |
Videos
| Year | Details |
|---|---|
| 2013 | Reunion – Live in Tokyo |
| 2015 | Curtain Call |
Box sets
| Year | Album |
|---|---|
| 2016 | Ultimate Collector's Edition |
Tours
| Year | Tour | Lineup | Release |
|---|---|---|---|
| Apr-Nov 1978 | U.K. Tour | Eddie Jobson, John Wetton, Allan Holdsworth, Bill Bruford | Concert Classics, Vol. 4 |
| Mar-Dec 1979 | Danger Money Tour | Eddie Jobson, John Wetton, Terry Bozzio | Night After Night |
| Nov 2009 (Poland), as U-Z | Eddie Jobson's U-Z Project (U.K. 30th Anniversary Tour) | Eddie Jobson, John Wetton, Tony Levin, Greg Howe, Marco Minnemann | Ultimate Zero – The Best of the U-Z Project Live |
| Apr 2011 | Reunion Tour | Eddie Jobson, John Wetton, Alex Machacek, Marco Minnemann | Reunion: Live in Tokyo |
| May-Jun 2012 | Night After Night 2012 Tour | (American) Eddie Jobson, John Wetton, Terry Bozzio; (European) Eddie Jobson, John Wetton, Alex Machacek, Gary Husband | |
| Mar 28 & 29, 2013 | Cruise to the Edge | Eddie Jobson, John Wetton, Terry Bozzio, Alex Machacek | |
| Mar-Apr 2013 | Azure Seas Tour | Eddie Jobson, John Wetton, Alex Machacek, Virgil Donati | |
| Nov 8, 2013 (Japan) | Club Citta' Presents U.K. Special Live | Eddie Jobson, John Wetton, Alex Machacek, Marco Minnemann | Curtain Call |
| Apr 8 &11, 2014 | Cruise to the Edge | Eddie Jobson, John Wetton, Alex Machacek, Virgil Donati | |
| Feb-Apr 2015 | Final World Tour | Eddie Jobson, John Wetton, Alex Machacek, Mike Mangini |