'A'

'A' are...

• Jason Perry - vocals
• Mark Chapman - guitar
• Dan Carter - bass
• Adam Perry - drums
• Giles Perry - keyboards

Having been Britrock's nearly men after releasing 1997 debut album How Ace Are Buildings, second LP Monkey Kong, and live mini-album Exit Stage Right, 'A' returned to capitalise on the resurgence of rock with new full-length effort Hi-Fi Serious and accompanying Top 10 single 'Nothing'.

'A' bounded onto the blossoming mid-'90s indie scene, helmed by energetic frontman Jason Perry. Signing to Tycoon Records in the UK, their boysterous punk-pop soon made inroads into the charts with minor hits 'Foghorn' and 'Number One' during 1998. Favourites among skaters and surfers alike, 'A' successfully merged the melodic pop and good-time sound of the Beach Boys with the brattish attitude of punk, thus being more easily categorised with the new wave of US punks such as The Offspring and Blink-182.

After the release of a stopgap live set Exit Stage Right (2000), 'A' were dropped by their record label and disappeared for almost two years, before returning with Hi-Fi Serious in 2002. They've played live with the likes of Blink 182, Feeder, Ash, The Offspring, The Bloodhound Gang and Faith No More. Tom Edwards