Ash - Northern Ireland's Greatest Band
November 26th 2007 11:15
Hailing from Downpatrick, Northern Ireland is the alternative rock band Ash - known as the country's premier power-popsters.
First formed in 1992 by Timothy James Arthur Wheeler, Mark Alexander Hamilton and Richard Wilson McMurray, Ash was chosen as the band's name after the three lads picked the first short word they liked in the dictionary.
Inspired by Nirvana, Mudhoney, The Pixies and local punk rock gurus Lazergun Nun, the then teenagers started playing most weekends at dives in Belfast and Downpatrick, changing their reputation into a super-teen punk pop machine.
Over this first ultra prolific summer together they record approximately 50 demo songs at local 7-track studio Cosmic Rays, 1 track was broken. The tapes, Solar Happy and Shed are self-funded from money saved by starving themselves during lunch break and an infamous tuck shop scam.
The band started to gain momentum in 1994 through the release of their debut studio album, Trailer, which contained only seven songs but nevertheless, received warm accolades from music critics.
In 1996, Ash launched their second album, 1977, after three months in Rockfield studios with maverick Oasis producer Owen Morris. Named after the year Wheeler and Hamilton were born and the year Star Wars was released, the album is a scorcher and shoots straight to the top of the UK charts.
Before the band knew what had hit them, they were already appearing on covers of Smash Hits, NME, Select and Kerrang. The highly successful 1977 album spawned the hit singles "Goldfinger", "Girl From Mars", "Kung Fu", "Oh Yeah" and "Angel Interceptor".
In the late 90s, the band recruited Charlotte Hatherley and the first single that she appeared on, "A Life Less Ordinary", featured on the soundtrack to the Ewan McGregor/Cameron Diaz film of the same name.
The ensuing years, however, were much less successful than the years gone by. The Nu-Clear Sounds album of 1998 had been universally panned by critics and fans alike and the band slowly faded from the limelight.
In early 2006, Charlotte Hatherley left the band after nine years to forge a solo career thus leaving only the original members remaining. Despite the departure of the guitarist, the lads released the band's fifth album, Twilight of the Innocents in June 2007. Produced by the band and Michael Brauer (Bob Dylan, The Rolling Stones, My Morning Jacket), the album is a return to form for Ash; displaying yet another masterclass in writing great rock songs.
Twilight of the Innocents will be the band's last album with any future releases to be singles only.
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