Booker Group

Booker Group plc is the United Kingdom's largest food wholesale operator offering branded and private-label goods to over 400,000 customers, including independent convenience stores, grocers, pubs and restaurants. The firm is listed on the London Stock Exchange and a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index. The company also founded, and was previously a sponsor of, the highly prestigious Booker Prize (originally the Booker–McConnell Prize) for literary fiction, which was established in 1968.

History

Food, food-related and distribution industries

The company was founded by George and Richard Booker in 1835 when they bought their first ship and established the Booker Line which focused on shipping goods. It later diversified into the distribution of goods, and gradually disposed of its fleet of ships. With a new focus on food wholesale distribution, the company had over 100 warehouses across the United Kingdom by 1978, and was trading as Booker, McConnell Ltd.

Among other interests, it operated the sugar industry in Guyana (British Guiana before independence in 1966), running five Booker Line ships, until it was nationalised around 1970. After six months, Booker was called back to market the sugar. Booker had a long history of exploitation of sugar workers through the indentured labour system during the 19th and 20th centuries. At its peak it controlled 75% of the sugar industry in British Guiana and was so powerful that a common joke was to refer to the country as "Booker's Guiana". In 1952, Jock Campbell took over the Chairmanship of the company and his Fabian social politics transformed it dramatically into a benevolent force providing major benefits for sugar workers. Jock Campbell was also instrumental in the setting up of the Booker's Author Division, which sponsored the Booker Prize.

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a sovereign state in the European Union. Lying off the north-western coast of the European mainland, it includes the island of "Great Britain" (a term also applied loosely to refer to the whole country), the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland and many smaller islands.Northern Ireland is the only part of the UK that shares a land border with another state—the Republic of Ireland. Apart from this land border, the UK is surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, with the North Sea to its east, the English Channel to its south and the Celtic Sea to its south-southwest. The Irish Sea lies between Great Britain and Ireland. With an area of 93,800 square miles (243,000 km²), the UK is the 80th-largest sovereign state in the world and the 11th-largest in Europe. It is also is the 21st-most populous country, with an estimated 64.5 million inhabitants.

The United Kingdom is a constitutional monarchy with a parliamentary system of governance. Its capital city is London, an important global city and financial centre with an urban population of 10,310,000, the fourth-largest in Europe and second-largest in the European Union. The current monarch—since 6 February 1952—is Queen Elizabeth II. The UK consists of four countries: England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland. The latter three have devolved administrations, each with varying powers, based in their capitals, Edinburgh, Cardiff, and Belfast, respectively. The nearby Isle of Man, Bailiwick of Guernsey and Bailiwick of Jersey are not part of the United Kingdom, being Crown dependencies with the British Government responsible for defence and international representation.

U.K. (album)

U.K. is the self-titled debut album by the progressive rock supergroup U.K., released in 1978 through E.G. Records and Polydor Records. It features John Wetton, Eddie Jobson, Bill Bruford, and Allan Holdsworth. "In the Dead of Night" and "Mental Medication" were both edited for single release.

In 2015 Rolling Stone magazine ranked it as the 30th best progressive rock album of all time.

Track listing

Side one

Side two

All lyrics by John Wetton, except "Mental Medication" by Bill Bruford. Note: The first three tracks belong to a suite entitled "In the Dead of Night."

U.K. (band)

U.K. are a British progressive rock supergroup originally active from 1977 until 1980. The band was composed of singer/bassist John Wetton (formerly of King Crimson, Roxy Music, Bryan Ferry's band and Uriah Heep), keyboardist/electric violinist Eddie Jobson (formerly of Curved Air, Roxy Music and Frank Zappa's band), guitarist Allan Holdsworth (formerly of Tempest, Soft Machine, The New Tony Williams Lifetime and Gong) and drummer Bill Bruford (formerly a full member of Yes and King Crimson, and also a tour drummer for Genesis), later replaced by drummer Terry Bozzio (formerly of Frank Zappa's band). UK reformed with John Wetton, Eddie Jobson and Terry Bozzio for a world tour in 2012.

History

Formation and first album

Singer/bassist John Wetton and drummer Bill Bruford had worked together in King Crimson from 1972-4, when guitarist Robert Fripp disbanded the group. In July 1976, Bruford assisted Wetton on demos for a proposed solo album by the latter (a couple of these demos were later released on Monkey Business). In September 1976, they worked on forming a band with keyboardist Rick Wakeman, who had previously worked with Bruford in Yes. 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."