Formed in 1979 by William 'Bill' Corbett, Julian Portinari, Dan MaCintyre and Pete Byng-Hall, the band came into its own when Andy Martin took over lead vocals and lyrics in 1981. Shortly afterwards he was joined by Dave Fanning, ex-Innocent Bystander bassist.

Variation was always key in music styles as they progressed from punk, to industrial, with influences like Lemon Kittens, Nocturnal Emissions and Throbbing Gristle cited, through to pure avant garde experimentation.

Although over their lifetime the core of the group remained stable, as Andy Martin and Dave Fanning, they were joined by various members over their 20 year+ span including, in 1983, Geordie guitarist Martin Lewty, later of Hellbastard, Sidewinder and Nero Circus and 14-year-old Scots drummer Chris Low who re-surfaced in The Parkinsons after years as a successful DJ and club-promoter.

Always highly critical of the seemingly inward looking anarchist movement of the times, the autonomous and extreme libertarian approach of The Apostles seemed to portray classic anarchism, as opposed to the conformity of many of their contemporaries. This led to much respect from notable members of the anarcho-punk movement such as Conflict, who released three records by The Apostles, and Crass with whom the band co-operated with during the squatting of the Zig-Zag Club and during the time in which the The Autonomy Centre and Centro Iberico anarchist venues operated.

During the time the band was together Andy Martin began to write about his homosexuality and the subject in general which alienated many of their former fans but did not deter Martin. In 1989, Andy and Dave did an interview with Homocore fanzine which addressed this issue. Among their many recordings released, The Apostles contributed the song Forbidden Love to the first queercore compilation, JD.s Top Ten Homocore Hits, released by J.D.s fanzine in 1990.

The Apostles split as a group in 1990, immediately forming Academy 23 which also included Nathan Coles (of The Unbelievables) and Lawrence Burton (formerly of Konstruktivists). The group collaborated with the industrial band The Grey Wolves on two songs, Terror Chamber and Terror Intensifies, both featured on compilations.

Academy 23 were later renamed in 1994 as Unit who continue to record and perform to this day.