Ace (band)
British rock band

Ace were an English rock band featuring Paul Carrack, who later became famous as a vocalist for Mike + The Mechanics and as a solo artist. Ace were perhaps best known for their hit single "How Long", which was a top 20 single in the United Kingdom in 1974, and reached no. 3 in the United States and Canada in 1975.
Career
The band formed in December 1972 in Sheffield as "Ace Flash and the Dynamos", but soon shortened the name to "Ace". The members were assembled from various professional bands. Carrack and Terry Comer had previously played with Warm Dust, and Alan "Bam" King with Mighty Baby and before that the 1960s band The Action. Fusing elements of pop and funk, Ace achieved popularity on the pub rock circuit.
Before the recording of their debut album, Five-A-Side, the former drummer of Bees Make Honey, Fran Byrne, replaced Steve Witherington. The single "How Long" was taken from this record, and was a significant chart success, achieving a top 20 place in the UK Singles Chart, and reaching number three in the US Billboard Hot 100 chart in the spring of 1975. The Five-A-Side album did well on its own too, peaking at number 11 on the Billboard 200.
The public source identifies “Ace (band)” as british rock band. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around band, British and rock.
Why this record matters
A short description can identify a subject without explaining its stakes. For “Ace (band)”, the useful work is to connect “british rock band” to the records capable of establishing context and consequence.
Named sources, stable identifiers and responsible institutions provide the strongest route from overview to verifiable evidence. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 14, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q339889. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1974, 1975 and 1972.
A concise general-reference account can conceal disagreements about scope, terminology or the weight assigned to individual sources. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.
- Subject orientation
- Search vocabulary
- Locating named sources
The closest primary source, responsible institution and strongest cited specialist reference.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Ace (band)”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Ace (band) primary sources, Ace (band) archive and band research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Ace (band)”?
- Which institution is responsible for the underlying evidence?
- What terminology or title could unlock a more precise catalogue search?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Ace (band)” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.