1) U.K. were a short-lived British progressive rock supergroup active from 1977 through 1980.
In September 1976, singer/bassist John Wetton formerly of the British Psychedelic band Family (with Roger Chapman and Rick Grech) and drummer Bill Bruford, both alumni of King Crimson, worked on forming a band with Yes keyboardist Rick Wakeman. The project was stopped by Wakeman's label. According to Bruford, "A&M Records were unwilling to let their 'star,' Wakeman, walk off with a used, slightly soiled King Crimson rhythm section, and the idea failed."
Determined to work together, Bruford and Wetton next asked guitarist Robert Fripp to reform King Crimson which Fripp had disbanded in 1974. When Fripp declined, Bruford and Wetton decided that each would bring in a musician of his choice to formulate a band. Wetton brought in keyboardist/violinist Eddie Jobson, whom Wetton knew from his work with Roxy Music in 1976 – "stealing" him from Frank Zappa. Bruford recruited guitarist Allan Holdsworth (formerly of Soft Machine and Gong) who had played guitar on Bruford's 1977 debut solo album, Feels Good to Me.
U.K. released their self-titled début album in 1978 and followed it with a supporting tour.
Following two lengthy American tours (June-October 1978), first Holdsworth and then Bruford departed U.K. over musical differences, going on to form the jazz rock fusion group Bruford. After the departure of Bruford and Holdsworth, U.K. didn't bring in another guitarist. Drummer Terry Bozzio (another one-time Frank Zappa band member) joined Wetton and Jobson, and as a result U.K. became a trio with a progressive rock lineup of keyboards/bass/drums (albeit supplemented by Jobson's violin). The trio recorded the album Danger Money, released in March 1979, and spent much of that year touring North America as opening act for Jethro Tull. A live album, Night After Night, was recorded in Japan that Spring and released in September. Following a final European tour in December 1979, and in spite of plans to record a new studio album in America in March 1980, U.K. disbanded. The reason for this was Jobson's and Wetton's different ideas on how the band should have gone on. Jobson wanted UK to go on with more long instrumental pieces, while Wetton thought that performing shorter songs was a better idea. Jobson stated that one song in particular was the reason of the band to disband: When Will You Realise?, a non-LP B-side (to date still unavailable on CD) featured on the Night After Night single, which Wetton would re-record (with slightly different lyrics) in 1980 on his solo album Caught In The Crossfire.
Throughout their brief existence, U.K.'s music was characterised by skilled musicianship, jazzy harmonies, close harmony vocals, use of odd time signatures (like 7/4 on the song In the Dead of Night), electric violin solos, and unusually varied synthesiser (Yamaha CS-80) sonorities.
--
2) A folk rock side-project of members of Latvian band The Hobos. After the release of Radio Jah Jah, The Hobos decided to take some time to do other projects. Vilnis Krieviņš went back to play with the legendary Latvian hard rock band Līvi. Rolands Ūdris and Egons Kronbergs formed a side-project called U.K. and released the album KU. Finally, in year 2006 The Hobos went back to studio and a new album was expected sometime in 2009.
Thirty Years
UK Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
That left your girl like shadows from the sun
Run into traces
Of faces you thought you saw
But never seemed to mean much more
Than echoes of a day gone by
When someone else would have to try
To light the stars
All the things you planned
Just sand castles washed away on tidal waves of tears
The fears overpowering
Your complex dreams just slither down
Drowning in rocky pools
Or smashed and dashed on peril's course
Divorcing prematurely thoughts of lasting love
In your life
Sometime when you've time to spare
Dreaming of missed opportunities
Spare a tear and douse your bridge (Burning)
Thirty years and on the ledge (Learning)
All the things you planned – fading
Thirty years in bed – waiting
All the things you planned – fading
Thirty years in bed – waiting
Chasing rainbows for a lifetime
That left your girl like shadows from the sun
Run into traces
Of faces you thought you saw
But never seemed to mean much more
Than echoes of a day gone by
When someone else would have to try
To light the stars
In your sky
Your dark sky
The lyrics of UK's "Thirty Years" describe a sense of disappointment and unfulfilled aspirations, as well as the passage of time and the feeling of being left behind. The opening line, "Chasing rainbows for a lifetime," suggests a pursuit of a seemingly unattainable goal, while the second line brings a melancholic tone with the image of the girl being left like shadows from the sun. The third and fourth lines sound like a search for something to hold onto or hope for, but the faces thought to be recognized only turn out to be meaningless echoes from the past. The lines "When someone else would have to try / To light the stars in your sky" convey the feeling of lost hope or self-belief, and perhaps a need for someone else to help rekindle the spark.
The second verse delves into the disappointment of watching plans and dreams dissolve. The line "Just sand castles washed away on tidal waves of tears" portrays the fragility of the dreams that crumble in the face of overwhelming fear. The phrase "Your complex dreams just slither down" adds to the sense of frustration and helplessness in the face of life's challenges. The words "drowning" and "smashed and dashed" suggest a sense of finality to the end of a relationship or fulfillment of a life dream. The final line of the verse, "Divorcing prematurely thoughts of lasting love in your life," implies that the sense of disappointment has a wider context than just one endeavor.
The third verse brings the song's themes together with the phrase "Thirty years and on the ledge (Learning)." The image of being on the ledge suggests being at a crucial turning point, perhaps teetering on the brink of giving up or pushing through to find a new path. The lines "All the things you planned – fading / Thirty years in bed – waiting" imply a sense of resignation, as if the search for meaning and fulfillment has come up empty over a long period of time. The final repetition of the chorus, with the addition of "your dark sky," reinforces the sense of futility and a need for something or someone to bring light into the shadows.
Line by Line Meaning
Chasing rainbows for a lifetime
You spent your entire life pursuing unattainable dreams
That left your girl like shadows from the sun
Your unfulfilled pursuits left your partner feeling neglected and unimportant
Run into traces
Occasionally stumbled upon remnants
Of faces you thought you saw
Of people who looked familiar, but you were never quite sure
But never seemed to mean much more
But they never amounted to anything meaningful
Than echoes of a day gone by
Just reminders of past experiences
When someone else would have to try
When someone else would need to make the effort
To light the stars
In order to bring happiness and joy
In your sky
To your life
All the things you planned
All your aspirations and ambitions
Just sand castles washed away on tidal waves of tears
They were fleeting and washed away with disappointment and sadness
The fears overpowering
Your worries taking over and dominating your thoughts
Your complex dreams just slither down
Your intricate goals slowly falling apart
Drowning in rocky pools
Suffocating in difficult situations
Or smashed and dashed on peril's course
Or completely destroyed by danger and obstacles
Divorcing prematurely thoughts of lasting love
Giving up on the idea of long-lasting love too soon
In your life
In general
Sometime when you've time to spare
If you ever have a moment to reflect
Dreaming of missed opportunities
Reflecting on what could have been if you made different choices
Spare a tear and douse your bridge (Burning)
Regret the bridges you've burned and the damage done
Thirty years and on the ledge (Learning)
30 years later and still learning from your mistakes
All the things you planned – fading
All your goals and plans disappearing
Thirty years in bed – waiting
30 years spent waiting for something to change
Your dark sky
Your bleak and unfulfilling life
Contributed by Penelope F. Suggest a correction in the comments below.