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U.K. in the U.S.

The band U.K. was a Progressive Rock fan's dream come true. During the late 1970's Prog-Rock's dominance of the music scene was fading and the creation of U.K. was seen as the spark that could reinvigorate the loyal following. But things don't always go as planned. What follows is an interview of the band given two months after the shows we present here.

"This tour we've been very humble, eaten humble pie. On most of the gigs we've been supporting, and that means no sound check, lousy monitors and all." (PRRP: this may explain Wetton's bass sound as they open the show on July 19^th) Sitting in his modest room in a Howard Johnson's he and the three other members of U.K. - drummer Bill Bruford; guitarist Allan Holdsworth and keyboardist/violinist Eddie Jobson - each have tasted headline status, complete with sound checks and good monitors, in stints with Yes, King Crimson, Roxy Music, Frank Zappa and several other well-known bands.

"Generally speaking, we're better in a big hall because we're used to playing big halls," says Jobson. "In places like Cleveland, I've done the 10,000-seater with Roxy and Zappa. Bill did it with Yes and Crimson. John's done it with Crimson. We've done the big places, yet we go there and they want us to support in a 500-seater or something, which is sort of under kill. Consequently, we sell the place out, they add two shows and they sell out, and they say, 'Oh we should have put you in a bigger place'."

Jobson dominates the group, both on record and on stage, as he alternates between keyboards and Plexiglas violin, pushing the band through long, intricate musical passages, Holdsworth, a veteran of Soft Machine and Tony Williams' New Lifetime, stays largely in the background, occasionally erupting with bursts of furious Mahavishnu-like guitar. Bruford's drumming is light and airy and combines well with Wetton's forceful bass playing. Wetton's vocals are kept to a minimum and seem almost like an afterthought. The stage show is simply four musicians concentrating on their music, playing before audiences who frequently don't know what to expect, but by the end of the evening, fans are usually chanting "U.K., U.K."

Jobson, also the band's major songwriter bristles at descriptions of U.K. as an extension of King Crimson. "We may sound like Crimson because Bill and John were two-thirds of Crimson," he says a bit defensively. "That was one of the first policy decisions we made - we weren't going to go out and play '21st Century Schizoid Man.' we just want to be U.K." After Crimson broke up in 1975, Bruford and Wetton went their separate ways before joining Rick Wakeman in another super group last year (1977). Wetton says the three wanted to create a formal band after jamming together and went through hundreds of names. But Wakeman's management didn't care for the idea, he says. "They just saw us as another backing group for Rick Wakeman. We really didn't want to be part of that."

Bruford and Wetton resolved to stay together, "stole" Jobson from Zappa and added Holdsworth, who had played on Bruford's solo album. Eight weeks later U.K. was complete, and they mapped out their tour plans. Because they had played in well-known British groups, U.K. received a better initial reception in their homeland, headlining in 3,000-seat halls. But it became necessary to start writing again, because the band needed 90 minutes of material to headline. When they came to the U.S., the show is chopped back to 45 minutes, half music from the first album and the other half new material. The band swallowed its pride and played 28 dates as a supporting act, and a few headline. (PRRP: During the month of July, 1978, U.K. was supporting Al DiMeola and Tom Petty but played Grosse Point on their own.)
Jason Simon, Rolling Stone, September 21, 1978

U.K. were proving that master musicians will always have a following, even if they can't stay together. Sadly, this was the case and apparently the decision to split up had already been made at the time of these July shows. As recounted by someone who was at the Grosse Point concerts….

“Yes, they did two shows at the Punch & Judy. I know because I was at both. The second night my friend and I saw Holdsworth standing by the stage door before the show. We ran to a liquor store nearby and bought a 6 pack of Heineken then went back and shared them with Alan. We were raving to him about the previous night's show and asked him when the second album would be out. He casually replied that he had no idea as he and Bruford were leaving the band. To say my buddy and I were stunned would be an understatement as the previous night we'd witnessed what we agreed was the most intense band on the face of the planet …. Why would anyone leave a band this amazing? Oh well ...” (Muzikgod, DIME, 2009)

PRRP Staff

Notes from the Re-Master

Both performance recordings come from JEMS, a well known and experienced taper. The recordings are complete except for the tape flip gaps. These gaps both occurred in the same song but at slightly different points, so it was easy to use material from one recording to patch the other. Because the same equipment was used and both performances occurred in the same venue, the acoustic/audio characteristics were quite similar and a good match could be made. Both performances include the same set list with the exception of one song in the middle of the show which is different between the nights.

Notes from the original torrent seeding of these shows lists the same equipment being used for each show, and yet the July 18^th show is in stereo and the July 19^th is mono. For the 18^th, a stereo expander routine was used to try to enhance the stereo effect. For the 19^th, the mono recording was altered to give a modest stereo effect, without introducing any delays or reverb that would degrade the sound.

PRRP Staff

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