Early career and How Ace Are Buildings (1988–1997) A were formed in the late 1980s, as Grand Designs, and changed their name to A in 1993. The band cited their influences as
Rush,
the Beach Boys,
Van Halen and the
Beastie Boys. At the time, Perry had a job creating music for TV ads. He bought a studio, which he also used to produce some demos for the band. A landed a deal with
London Records in 1996, and released records under their own Tycoon Records subsidiary. In 1997, they recorded their debut album,
How Ace Are Buildings, over three months in
California. Perry co-produced the album with
Thom Wilson, most famous for producing
the Offspring's "
Smash". A began to build up a loyal following in the UK, touring with the likes of the
Sex Pistols,
Jesus Jones and their heroes
Faith No More. After the album was released, bassist Stevie Swindon parted ways with the band and was replaced by their friend
Daniel P Carter. In 1998,
How Ace Are Buildings was re-released in limited quantities on vinyl, with a bonus record featuring live tracks, remixes, clips from interviews, answering machine messages and general silliness. The record was produced, engineered, mixed and mastered by Perry.
A vs. Monkey Kong (1999–2000) In 1999, they released their second album, ''
'A' vs. Monkey Kong'', which had a more mature sound than their debut, and is regarded by many as their finest hour. With its release, they began touring internationally for the first time. The single "I Love Lake Tahoe", about their love of snowboarding at
Lake Tahoe was a big hit in Germany, and in 2000 the band embarked on a worldwide tour with the
Bloodhound Gang. Perry produced many of the B-sides from this period.
Hi-Fi Serious and commercial success (2001–2002) The third album,
Hi-Fi Serious, had been recorded in Germany with producer Al Clay in 2001. The first single, "
Nothing", had achieved major success, peaking on the UK singles chart at number 9. This was followed by the singles
Starbucks and
Something's Going On, which charted at number 20 and number 51 respectively. The band spent 2002 touring worldwide, appearing at many of the world's major festivals, and won a
Kerrang! award for best British band. This was the band's most successful period to date.
Teen Dance Ordinance and breakup (2003–2007) After a brief delay, the fourth studio album was recorded in early 2004 in
Seattle, with producer
Terry Date. Again, the album marked a more mature sound for the band, and was regarded as containing the band's strongest material. Around the time the album was completed, the band's UK label, London Records, was bought out by
Warner Music. Unfortunately this meant the album was shelved for the rest of the year. The band made a brief return in August of that year at the Reading and Leeds festivals, headlining the Concrete Jungle stage. At the end of the year, the new A album was given a release date of April 2005. A returned with a four night residency at the Metro Club in London, followed by a tour of Germany and a 19-date UK tour. First single "Rush Song" was released in May, but due to their two-year absence, coupled with the re-emergence of Britpop, with bands such as
Kaiser Chiefs and
Franz Ferdinand dominating the airwaves, the single inevitably received little airplay, TV coverage or press, as well as little promotion from their label. The single entered the charts at number 35, giving them a fourth top 40 hit. The album,
Teen Dance Ordinance, was finally released on 22 June 2005. Despite how much things had been looking up for them due to the success of
Hi-Fi,
Ordinance hardly managed to crack the top 100. The album was well received amongst fans, and received positive reviews in the press, but after a main stage appearance at the
Download Festival in the UK, and some dates with
Avril Lavigne in Germany, it was announced that the band was being dropped by their label due to poor record sales and that the band was going into hiatus, stating that they would be unable to continue financially. A returned in 2007 to play a one-off festival in
Rochford, and have been touring sporadically ever since.
Reunion and eventual fifth album (2018–present) A properly reunited in 2018, with
Dougie Poynter of friends
McFly filling in for former bassist
Daniel P. Carter. Poynter would remain a member of the band until 2022 when graphic designer Richard Trigg joined and finalised the band's new lineup. The band have been working on their currently untitled fifth album since 2023 and Perry announced a 2026 release date for the album. A sent out an email in October 2025 stating that they were filming a music video for the song "Techno Viking" on 20 December of that year. ==Record producer==