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Wheeler-ing the years

30th Anniversary Retrospective: On the eve of the release of their fifth album, Ash talk longevity, writing songs in Bono’s summer house and why Twilight Of The Innocents is not a pipe-and-slippers album.

John Walshe, 20 Jun 2007

The three members of Ash are the same age as Hot Press. When this very magazine was in its infancy, Tim Wheeler, Mark Hamilton and Rick McMurray were mere babes in arms. Indeed, the trio famously called their debut album 1977 - not in honour of this august organ, mind you, simply to record the year of their birth.

Since that album catapulted the Downpatrick outfit into public consciousness, Ash have had their fair share of ups and downs. The highs included that album and its array of hits (‘Girl From Mars’, ‘Oh Yeah’ etc), and their third album, Free All Angels, which saw Tim picking up an Ivor Novello Award for the majestic ‘Shining Light’, as well as storming gigs at some of the biggest festivals in the world. The lows include the critical mauling received by their sophomore effort, Nu Clear Sounds. We’re sitting backstage at Slane, at the Red Bull X-Fighters, where Ash are headlining after the bikes have finished their aerial acrobatics. They’re discussing their fabulous fifth album, Twilight Of The Innocents, their most ambitious collection to date.

You could have been forgiven, though, for fearing that Ash’s trademark guitar pop has disappeared forever. It’s been a while since their last album, Meltdown, after which they decided to take a well-earned break.

“We’d been going for around 10 years at that point, and even when we were recording Meltdown, we’d already earmarked that period to take a break, once we’d finished touring that album ‘cos it had been pretty full on,” notes drummer Rick McMurray.

Rick decamped to Scotland, while Tim and Mark upped sticks to New York. The period also saw them part ways with guitarist Charlotte Hatherley, after a period of nine years. The split, however, was totally amicable.

“It was getting tired for us and it was getting tired for Charlotte,” notes Tim. “I think we needed a kick up the ass to get us back into enjoying music.”

“Going back to a three-piece gave us back a bit more focus, and Charlotte wanted to concentrate on her solo career,” Rick opines.



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