Ash
A Northern Irish trio from Downpatrick whose debut album 1977 went to number one in 1996, and who are still making records three decades on.
- Origin
- Downpatrick, County Down, Northern Ireland
- Years active
- 1992-present
- Genres
- rock, power pop, pop punk, garage rock
- Labels
- La La Land, Infectious, Home Grown, Reprise, DreamWorks, Kinetic, Earmusic, Fierce Panda
Downpatrick
Tim Wheeler and Mark Hamilton were given guitars for Christmas in 1989 and formed a metal band called Vietnam. When that ended they started a punk band, and in June 1992 the drummer Rick McMurray, whom Wheeler had approached during a school play, came in for a jam and stayed. They named themselves Ash after a word they spotted in a dictionary.
Home demo tapes led to a first single, Jack Names the Planets, on Stephen Taverner's La La Land label in February 1994. Taverner became their manager, and that April they signed to Infectious Records. Wheeler and Hamilton were 17, so their parents had to sign the contract. The mini-album Trailer followed in October 1994. In 1995, the year they left school, the singles Kung Fu and Girl from Mars broke them.
1977
1977 was recorded with the producer Owen Morris at Rockfield Studios in Wales, starting on New Year's Day 1996. It was meant to take six weeks and took three months. Wheeler wrote nearly half of the material in the studio, and it was Morris who told him that Goldfinger, which Wheeler had thought of as a B-side, was a single.
The album came out in May 1996, went to number one in the UK and was certified platinum. It was the first album by an Irish group to debut at number one there. Oh Yeah reached number six, and all five of its singles charted. The title refers to the year Star Wars was released, which was also the year Wheeler and Hamilton were born. NME placed it at 417 on its list of the 500 greatest albums, and it is in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die. When the band played it in full at London's Roundhouse in 2008, The Guardian's Caroline Sullivan wrote that it had aged well.
Hatherley and a comeback
After touring with Weezer the band felt the limits of a three-piece and recruited Charlotte Hatherley, formerly of Nightnurse, as a second guitarist and singer. Nu-Clear Sounds (1998) was recorded at Rockfield by the band with Chris Kimsey and Morris, nearly all of it live in the studio. It reached number seven in the UK and went gold, though reviews were mixed.
Wheeler went back to his parents' house in Northern Ireland and wrote for about six months, aiming for a song a day. The band had spent most of their 1977 earnings, and Infectious doubted that Shining Light would be a hit. Free All Angels arrived in April 2001, entered the UK chart at number one and went platinum. Shining Light won an Ivor Novello Award for songwriting, and Burn Baby Burn was named NME Single of the Year. Pitchfork's Joe Tangari called the record a very good pop album with some muscle behind its melodies.
Heavier, then a single a fortnight
Meltdown (2004) was made in Los Angeles with Nick Raskulinecz, and is the band's heaviest-sounding record. It reached number five and went gold. Hatherley left in January 2006. After Twilight of the Innocents (2007), which Ash said would be their last album, they played 1977 in full at the Roundhouse and from September 2009 released a single every fortnight for a year, 26 in all, as the A-Z Series.
By 2015 Wheeler was back to the album form, telling PopMatters that he had started collecting vinyl again. Kablammo! (2015) was recorded in New York and paid for by fans through PledgeMusic. Islands followed in 2018, and Race the Night, produced by Wheeler, came out on Fierce Panda in 2023. Ad Astra appeared in October 2025, and the band's official store now lists 30th anniversary editions of 1977.
Members
- Tim Wheeler vocals, guitar, keyboards (1992-present)
- Mark Hamilton bass, synthesizer (1992-present)
- Rick McMurray drums, percussion, backing vocals (1992-present)
- Charlotte Hatherley guitar, piano, backing vocals (1997-2006)
Records
- 1977 1996 · Infectious Records / Home Grown
The debut: teenage pop-punk recorded at Rockfield with Owen Morris, a UK number one that opened with a TIE fighter.
- Nu-Clear Sounds 1998 · Infectious Records / Home Grown
The follow-up with Charlotte Hatherley in the band: harder songs, ballads and a gold disc.
- Free All Angels 2001 · Infectious Records / Home Grown
The comeback: a UK number one written one song a day at the family home, with Shining Light and Burn Baby Burn.
- Meltdown 2004 · Infectious Records / Home Grown
Recorded in Los Angeles: the heaviest record the band had made, and a UK number five.
Songs
- Girl from Mars 1977 · 1995
The second single, written by Tim Wheeler at 17 and a top-20 hit that has been in every Ash set since.
- Kung Fu 1977 · 1995
A two-minute tribute to Jackie Chan, the first single from 1977.
- Goldfinger 1977 · 1996
The song Wheeler took for a B-side: it became Ash's first UK top-ten hit.
- Oh Yeah 1977 · 1996
The fifth and last single from 1977, a teenage love song that reached number six.
- Shining Light Free All Angels · 2001
The lead single from Free All Angels, which the label thought would not be a hit and which won an Ivor Novello Award.
- Burn Baby Burn Free All Angels · 2001
A bright-sounding song about a relationship slowly ending, named NME Single of the Year.
Related artists
Weezer, The Undertones, Teenage Fanclub, Buzzcocks
Where to go next
Official
- Ash official store The band's store, with tour and discography links and the 1977 30th anniversary editions.
Reference
- Ash on Wikipedia Band history, line-up and discography.
- 1977 on Wikipedia Detailed article on the debut album, its recording and its singles.
- Jack Names the Planets on Wikipedia The debut single and its demo-tape history.
- Kablammo! on Wikipedia The 2015 album, recorded in New York.
- Islands on Wikipedia The 2018 album.
- Race the Night on Wikipedia The 2023 album and its reviews.
Writing and criticism
- Ash at the Roundhouse The Guardian's review of the 2008 show playing 1977 in full.
- Free All Angels review The Guardian's four-star review at release in 2001.
- Free All Angels review Pitchfork's 2002 review of the US release.
- BBC Music review of 1977 Mike Diver's 2012 retrospective review.
- Irish Times review of the 1977 reissue Brian Boyd's review of the collector's edition.
- Bloc Party guitarist rises from the Ash The Guardian on guitarist Russell Lissack leaving the band in 2011.
Interviews
- How we made Girl from Mars Wheeler and McMurray on writing and recording the single, in The Guardian.
- Go! Fight! Win! Ash and the Art of Creative Resurrection PopMatters interview with Wheeler about the return to albums with Kablammo!
Sources
- Ash (band), Wikipedia
- Ash: how we made Girl from Mars, The Guardian (2020-03-09)
- Ash at the Roundhouse, London, The Guardian (2008-09-08)
- Ash: Free All Angels, Pitchfork (2002-06-12)
- Review of Ash - 1977, BBC Music (2012)
- Reissue: Ash, 1977 Collector's Edition, The Irish Times
- Go! Fight! Win! Ash and the Art of Creative Resurrection, PopMatters (2015-06-10)