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Ash
December 13, 2023 @ 8:00 PM – 10:00 PM
Ash were originally formed (under the name Vietnam) in the late 80s by childhood friends Tim Wheeler and Mark Hamilton. By 1992, the Downpatrick duo had added Rick Murray on drums and changed their name to Ash, landing their first UK hits before they’d even left secondary school.
The trio hit on a magic formula of geeky charm, youthful pop exuberance and scruffy punk attitude to create a steady stream of earworms that began with their 1994 EP Trailer and the single ‘Jack Names The Planets’. That early promise came back with interest on the band’s debut album 1977, which included singles ‘Girl From Mars’, ‘Kung Fu’, ‘Oh Yeah’ and ‘Goldfinger’.
Charlotte Hatherley joined on guitar shortly afterwards, expanding the line-up to a quartet for their grittier, harder-edged second full-length, 1998’s Nu-Clear Sounds, recorded with Butch Vig (Nirvana, Smashing Pumpkins, Garbage). The band also provided the theme song for the Danny Boyle film A Life Less Ordinary.
The band’s 2002 album Free All Angels marked a return to the pop-first sugar rush of their debut, resulting in another glut of hits, including ‘Shining Light’ and ‘Burn Baby Burn’, and the band’s second No.1 album in the UK.
Following the singles collection Intergalactic Sonic 7’s, Ash released their fourth album Meltdown in 2004. Hatherley left the band in 2006, following which the band recorded their first album as a three piece since their debut, 2007’s Twilight Of The Innocents.
The band announced that the album would be their last as they would instead focus on singles. Starting in September 2009, they released a single every fortnight, each just named after a letter of the alphabet. All 26 were collected together as the A-Z Series. Hatherley briefly returned in 2011 to tour with the band following the release of the Best Of Ash compilation.
Despite their previous announcement, Kablammo!, their first album in eight years, arrived in 2015. Album number seven, Islands, followed in 2018.
The band have announced their latest album, Race The Night, set to be released on 15 September 2023.
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