[2] A Witness were formed in 1982 in Stockport, Greater Manchester, England, by Rick Aitken (guitar), Vince Hunt (bass) and a drum machine, in 1986 replaced by Alan Brown (ex-Big Flame).
[4] Initially signing to the Ron Johnson label, debut EP Loudhailer Songs put them at the forefront of a wave of Beefheart-influenced bands that emerged in the mid-1980s, and won praise from the NME.
When Brown moved on to launch his solo project The Great Leap Forward, he was replaced on the drum stool by Tris King, a gifted drummer who had worked with quirky Hebden Bridge-based outfit Bogshed.
However the group was shattered by the death of guitarist Rick Aitken aged 33 in a climbing accident in Scotland in October 1989, just before a UK tour supporting The Wedding Present that would have re-established their profile.
Hunt was also a founder member of Marshall Smith in 1997, with Alan Brown from Big Flame and former Pram drummer Daren Garratt, recording a debut album 'Colours'.
[8] In 2016 he joined Martin Bramah's Blue Orchids performing live and making his recording debut on two songs on the B-side of the 'Skull Jam' 10" single released in 2017.
The three other tracks – "Nodding Dog Moustache", "Faglane Morris Wind" and "Raw Patch" – formed the bulk of the following A Witness 12" single One Foot in the Groove, their 1988 final release with Ron Johnson.
To mark the 25th anniversary of the death of guitarist Rick Aitken, founder member Vince Hunt assembled a new line-up of the band to perform some live dates.
[2] For appearances in Stockport and Manchester, Hunt brought in his sister, Christine, who had recorded violin parts for the track "O'Grady's Dream" on the I am John's Pancreas album, but had never performed live with the band.