British prog rock supergroup U.K. was one of late fusion guitarist Allan Holdsworth's last forays into rock music.
Despite its impressive lineup of virtuoso players including bassist/singer John Wetton, drummer Bill Bruford and keyboardist/violinist Eddie Jobson, U.K. received little support from the record industry and never landed a hit.
Wetton and Bruford were left bandless in 1974 when Robert Fripp disbanded King Crimson. After being rebuffed by Rick Wakeman's record label, A&M Records, regarding a potential collaboration, Wetton and Bruford stole Jobson from Frank Zappa and recruited Holdsworth, who was know for his two previous bands, Soft Machine and Gong, and formed U.K.
After releasing their self-titled debut and touring extensively in the United States, Wetton and Jobson were having a hard time getting along creatively with Holdsworth and fired him. Bruford soon quit and U.K. reloaded as a trio with drummer Terry Bozzio.
Holdsworth returned to the world of fusion, becoming world-renowned as a guitar innovator.
Bruford released several solo albums, and was also part of reunions of King Crimson and Yes.
U.K. achieved minor commercial success as a trio with the song "Nothing to Lose," from their second album, Danger Money. They later split as Wetton and Jobson couldn't agree on a direction.
Jobson wanted to push the band's progressive roots and perform longer, instrumental songs. Wetton wanted the band to trend in a more mainstream direction, which he eventually found with Asia.