A Witness
| A Witness | |
|---|---|
| Origin | , England |
| Genres | Post punk, Indie rock |
| Years active | 1982–1989; 2013-present |
| Labels | Ron Johnson, Communion, Vinyl Drip, Strange Fruit Records, Euphonium |
| Associated acts | The Membranes, Big Flame, Inca Babies, Goldblade, The Great Leap Forward, Marshall Smith, Pure Sound, Bogshed Sarandon |
| Website | https://www.facebook.com/awitnessofficial |
| Members | Alan Brown (guitar) Crayola (vocals) Rob Haynes (drums) Vince Hunt (bass) Christine Hunt (violin) |
| Past members | Rick Aitken (1956 - 1989) Triss King (1966 - 2008) Keith Curtis Noel Kilbride |
A Witness are an English post-punk/indie rock band who were originally active in the mid-1980s alternative music scene. Their first EP Loudhailer Songs and début album I am John's Pancreas brought them to the attention of BBC Radio 1 disc jockey John Peel, for whom they recorded four sessions. Their career was brought to a halt with the death of guitarist Rick Aitken in 1989. Founder member and songwriter Vince Hunt revived the band with a new line-up for a series of UK-wide dates in 2014 marking the 25th anniversary of Aitken's death, and the band continues to play live.
A Witness were formed in 1982 in , Greater Manchester, England, by Rick Aitken (guitar), Vince Hunt (bass) and a drum machine, in 1986 replaced by Alan Brown (of Big Flame fame). Keith Curtis (vocals) and Noel Kilbride (guitar) joined the group in 1983.
Initially signing to the Ron Johnson label, debut EP Loudhailer Songs put them at the forefront of a wave of Beefheart-influenced bands that emerged in the mid-1980s, and won praise from the NME. A review of the EP in Sounds described it as "pop music perfectly perverted". They gained further attention due to the inclusion of the track "Sharpened Sticks" on the NME's C86 cassette in the following year.
Debut album I Am John's Pancreas followed in October 1986, entering the NME charts and reaching a position of number 18. After a tour of Germany and Holland with Ron Johnson labelmates Big Flame, A Witness recruited multi-instrumentalist Alan Brown on drums to replace the drum machine. He also contributed arrangement and songwriting ideas, including co-writing final single '(I Love You) Mr Disposable Razors'. With Brown on drums A Witness released a further two 12" singles on Ron Johnson (one each in 1987 and 1988) before its collapse. Communion issued the US-only Sacred Cow Heart compilation in 1988.
When Brown moved on to launch his solo project The Great Leap Forward, he was replaced on the drum stool by Triss King, a gifted drummer who had worked with quirky Hebden Bridge-based outfit Bogshed. King recorded the studio versions of the band's final single '(I Love You) Mr Disposable Razors' and played on the final A Witness gigs when the band were rehearsing mostly in Liverpool, where he lived.
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