Icon A.D.

ByLets Go Punk
Icon A.D. were a Leeds band active from 1979 to 1983

Icon A.D., originally known as Icon, were a band from Leeds that formed in 1979 and existed in short, intense bursts before stopping in the early 1980s. Their run included appearances on a Crass compilation, a BBC Radio 1 Peel Session, and two EPs that placed them firmly within the UK underground before they disappeared just as quickly as they arrived.

Early Connections in Leeds

Before Icon A.D. took shape, Craig Sharp-Weir and Mark Holmes played together in local punk bands including the Jackets and Terminal Boredom. While attending Temple Moor High School, they joined forces with Phil Smith and Dicky Walton and officially formed a band in 1979 under the name Icon.

The group became regulars at Leeds venues such as the F Club and Tiffany’s, building momentum through live shows rather than recorded output. During this period they recorded a home demo and sent it to members of Crass, which led to their inclusion on the 1980 compilation Bullshit Detector.

Breaking Up and Starting Again

Icon broke up in 1981 when the members finished high school, but Sharp-Weir and Holmes continued rehearsing together. In 1982 they returned to the studio without a clear long term plan, joined by Sharp-Weir’s sister Caroline Holmes and Holmes’ wife’s younger sister Bev Smith on vocals. Around this time, they adopted the name Icon A.D.

The new lineup recorded the EP Don’t Feed Us Shit, released in September 1982 through Radical Change Records. The record reached number twenty on the UK Independent Singles and Albums Charts, marking the band’s most visible success.

Live Activity and a Second EP

Following the EP’s release, bassist Roger Turnbull of the Leeds post-punk band F-3 joined the group and live shows resumed. Caroline Holmes soon stepped away, leaving Bev Smith as the sole vocalist.

In October 1982, Icon A.D. recorded a session for BBC Radio 1 with John Peel. Not long after, they released their second EP Let The Vultures Fly…. Despite renewed attention, the band broke up again in early 1983.

After the End and Later Recognition

Although their active period was brief, the band’s recordings continued to circulate. In 2006, Underground Records released a full collection of their work titled …Lest We Forget, bringing together all known recordings from both versions of the band.

Sound and Approach

Icon A.D. are commonly associated with anarcho punk. Their songs balanced aggression with strong melodic structure, pulling from the wider UK punk landscape of the late 1970s and early 1980s while keeping a sharp, direct delivery.

Members

Final lineup:

  • Bev Smith, vocals, 1982 to 1983
  • Craig Sharp-Weir, guitar, 1979 to 1983
  • Roger Turnbull, bass, 1982 to 1983
  • Mark Holmes, drums, 1979 to 1983

Former members:

  • Dicky Walton, vocals, 1979 to 1981
  • Phil Smith, bass, 1979 to 1981
  • Mick, bass, 1981
  • Caroline Holmes, vocals, 1982

Discography

EPs:

  • Don’t Feed Us Shit (1982)
  • Let The Vultures Fly… (1982)

Live recordings:

  • John Peel Session (1982)

Compilations:

  • …Lest We Forget (2006)

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