There is more than one artist with this name, including: 1) A Band is a British improvised music collective formed in Nottingham, UK in the late 1980s. 2) A Band was a 70s American art rock band. 1) A Band is a British improvised music collective formed in Nottingham, UK in the late 1980s. In 2005, The Wire magazine stated that "the importance of the A-Band to the UK rock underground is commensurate with the explosive impact that groups like AMM, SME or The People Band had on the free jazz and Improv set. An ever-fluctuating group of artists, dole boys, punk conceptualists and record collectors, they were the first UK ensemble to anchor a free drone music in the muscle and scorch of the most high-energy rock, while keeping it as untutored as the most elemental folk." A Band itself was founded at the behest of saxophonist Vince Earimal, who required a backing band, and the unit quickly became an ever-changing, freeform improvisation unit, able to play without Earimal. Richard Youngs joined upon moving to Nottingham and he recalled in The Wire (also issue 259) that Jim Plaistow and Neil Campbell (of Astral Social Club) were the only constantly present members. They could number up to 18 on any given occasion (largely due to Campbell's insistence that he would only perform with the band if there was a new member each time). The original collective came to a halt around 1995. The line-up of the group has never been fixed, with over two dozen members credited on recordings, and

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