Laser induced fluorescence and 1 + 1 resonance enhanced multiphoton ionisation spectra of the A (3)Pi - X (3)Sigma(-) transition of SO radicals prepared by an electric discharge in a supersonic jet expansion are presented. Rotational constants are given for A state vibrational levels with upsilon' = 0 -13, extending to within 190 cm(-1) of the A state dissociation limit. The Rydberg-Klein-Rees curve derived from these constants shows significant anharmonicity, even around the equilibrium geometry. In addition, several small local perturbations of the rotational structure are observed. Collision free fluorescence lifetimes are determined for the complete range of vibrational states, and are found to fall smoothly from 29.5 mu s for upsilon' = 0 to 6.45 mu s for upsilon' = 12. Combining these data with earlier measurements leads to a better determination of the A-X transition dipole moment over the range 1.4-2.0 Angstrom.