There have been at least two bands called As Is. One (not the one in the picture currently attached here) was formed in Ipswich, eastern England, in the late 1980s and played a style of music it described as Heavy Big Pop - a guitar-based post-punk blend with strong tunes and lyrics. The band was originally a three-piece featuring James Partridge (vocals, guitar and keyboards), Steven Mears (bass), Paul Read (drums). Paul Taylor was later added on guitar. The band was popular locally and received attention from the British national music press, but never achieved a major record deal, splitting up in 1989.

Partridge subsequently revived the band with an otherwise entirely different line-up, but it finally ceased to exist in 1991. A compilation CD of all the Partridge-Mears-Read-Taylor recorded material, entitled "Heavy Big Pop" was released in 2009, coinciding with a reunion gig in Ipswich marking the 20th anniversary of the split.

Partridge later went on to found folk/country/rock outfit Songs from the Blue House. Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.