Mental As Anything is an Australian New Wave/rock music band who, since the late 70s have released numerous albums & singles and have produced many innovative music videos. Although they have worked in a much broader musical idiom, Mental As Anything are in many respects comparable to British band Madness, in that their music is typically delivered with a quirky, ironic sense of humour and a strong visual identity.
The A Band are 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."
Crispy Ambulance were formed in Manchester (UK) in 1978 by Alan Hempsall (vocals), Keith Darbyshire (bass), Gary Madeley (drums) and Robert Davenport (guitar). Following a self-released debut single From the Cradle to the Grave (Aural Assault, 1980) the band joined Factory Records. Singles Not What I Expected (Factory, 1980) and Live on a Hot August Night (Factory Benelux, 1981, produced by Martin Hannett) preceded the album The Plateau Phase (Factory Benelux, 1981), and final single Sexus (also Factory Benelux, 1981).