Icon A.D. (formerly known as Icon) were an English

anarcho-punk Anarcho-punk (also known as anarchist punk or peace punk) is an ideological subgenre of punk rock that promotes anarchism. Some use the term broadly to refer to any punk music with anarchist lyrical content, which may figure in crust punk, ha ...

band formed in

Leeds Leeds is a city in West Yorkshire, England. It is the largest settlement in Yorkshire and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds Metropolitan Borough, which is the second most populous district in the United Kingdom. It is built aro ...

in 1979. They were included on

Crass Crass was an English art collective and punk rock band formed in Epping, Essex in 1977 who promoted anarchism as a political ideology, a lifestyle, and a resistance movement. Crass popularized the anarcho-punk movement of the punk subculture, ...

' 1980 compilation album

Bullshit Detector ''Bullshit Detector'' was the name of a series of compilation LPs put together by the anarcho-punk band (and art collective) Crass and released on their Crass Records label. Three editions were released between 1980 and 1984, consisting of dem ...

and in 1982 recorded a

Peel session John Robert Parker Ravenscroft (30 August 1939 – 25 October 2004), better known as John Peel, was an English radio presenter and journalist. He was the longest-serving of the original disc jockeys on BBC Radio 1, broadcasting regularly from ...

for

BBC Radio 1 BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It specialises in modern popular music and Contemporary hit radio, current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, including ...

. Their debut EP ''Don't Feed Us Shit'' reach number twenty on the

UK Independent chart The UK Independent Singles Chart and UK Independent Albums Chart are charts of the best-selling independent singles and albums, respectively, in the United Kingdom. Originally published in January 1980, and widely known as the indie chart, the ...

Steve Lamacq Stephen Paul Lamacq (born 16 October 1964), sometimes known by his nickname Lammo (given to him by John Peel), is an English disc jockey, currently working with BBC Radio 6 Music. Lamacq was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire ( ...

cited their second EP ''Let The Vultures Fly...'' as one his favourite U.K. punk records of all time.

History

Prior to forming the band, Sharp-Weir and Holmes had played together in local punk rock bands including the Jackets and Terminal Boredom. They formed the band in 1979 with Phil Smith and Dicky Walton while attending

Temple Moor High School Temple Moor High School is a coeducational secondary school and sixth form located in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. In recent years, it has received 'Science College' status. In 2017 an Ofsted inspection gave the school a Good rating. Histo ...

, under the name Icon. They frequently performed at the venues such as the F–Club and Tiffany's. After sending a home-recorded demo to the members of the

, they were including on their 1980 compilation album

. They officially broke-up in 1981, when the members left high school, however Sharp and Holmes continued rehearsing together. In 1982, the pair entered the studio half-heartedly, with Sharp's sister and Holmes' wife, Caroline Holmes and her younger sister Bev Smith on vocals and took on the name Icon A.D. They released the ''Don't Feed us Shit'' EP in September of the same year which reached number twenty on the

UK Independent Singles and Albums Charts The UK Independent Singles Chart and UK Independent Albums Chart are charts of the best-selling independent singles and albums, respectively, in the United Kingdom. Originally published in January 1980, and widely known as the indie chart, the ...

, through Radical Change records. They soon recruited bassist Roger Turnbull of Leeds

post-punk Post-punk (originally called new musick) is a broad genre of music that emerged in late 1977 in the wake of punk rock. Post-punk musicians departed from punk's fundamental elements and raw simplicity, instead adopting a broader, more experiment ...

band F-3 and recommenced performing live, however Caroline Holmes stepped down soon after, leading to Bev Smith being the sole vocalist. In October they recorded a session for

presenter

John Peel John Robert Parker Ravenscroft (30 August 1939 – 25 October 2004), better known as John Peel, was an English radio presenter and journalist. He was the longest-serving of the original disc jockeys on BBC Radio 1, broadcasting regularly from ...

, followed by the recording and release of their second EP ''Let The Vultures Fly...''. Soon after, they broke up in early 1983. In 2006, Underground Records released a compilation albums of their entire discography titled ''...Lest We Forget''.

Musical style

The band have been categorised as anarcho punk. Guitarist Sharp-Weir cited their biggest influence as being fellow-Leeds

punk rock Punk rock (also known as simply punk) is a rock music genre that emerged in the mid-1970s. Rooted in 1950s rock and roll and 1960s garage rock, punk bands rejected the corporate nature of mainstream 1970s rock music. They typically produced sh ...

band

Abrasive Wheels Abrasive Wheels are a punk rock band of the late 1970s – early 1980s. They hailed from Leeds, England and were seldom out of the Independent charts between 1980 and 1984 when the band split. The band were Shonna Rzonca – vocals, Dave Ryan � ...

, along with lesser influences like

Killing Joke Killing Joke were an English rock music, rock band formed in Notting Hill, London, in 1979 by Jaz Coleman (vocals, keyboards), Paul Ferguson (drums), Geordie Walker (guitar) and Youth (musician), Youth (bass). Their first album, ''Killing Joke ...

Siouxsie and the Banshees Siouxsie and the Banshees ( ) were a British Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1976 by vocalist Siouxsie Sioux and bass guitarist Steven Severin. Post-punk pioneers, they were widely influential, both over their contemporaries and later ...

Ramones The Ramones were an American punk rock band formed in the New York City neighborhood Forest Hills, Queens in 1974. Known for helping establish the punk movement in the United States and elsewhere, the Ramones are often recognized as one of th ...

AC/DC AC/DC are an Australian rock band formed in Sydney in 1973. Their music has been variously described as hard rock, blues rock and Heavy metal music, heavy metal, although the band calls it simply "rock and roll". They are cited as a formativ ...

and

Motörhead Motörhead () were an English rock music, rock band formed in London in 1975 by bassist and lead vocalist Lemmy Kilmister, guitarist Larry Wallis and drummer Lucas Fox. Kilmister was the primary songwriter and only constant member. The band a ...

. Their music was aggressive however also melodic.

Discography

;EPs *''Don't Feed Us Shit'' (1982) *''Let The Vultures Fly...'' (1982) ;Live *

John Peel Session John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second Ep ...

(1982) ;Compilations *''...Lest We Forget'' (2006)

Members

;Final line-up *Bev Smith – vocals (1982–1983) *Craig Sharp-Weir – guitar (1979–1983) *Roger Turnbull – bass (1982–1983) *Mark Holmes – drums (1979–1983) ;Former *Dicky Walton – vocals (1979–1981) *Phil Smith – bass (1979–1981) *Mick – bass (1981) *Caroline Holmes – vocals (1982)

References

{{reflist, 30em Punk rock groups from Leeds Anarcho-punk groups Musical groups established in 1979 Musical groups reestablished in 1982 Musical groups disestablished in 1981 Musical groups disestablished in 1983