29th April 2009 - Return of White Rabbit Bass Tab
Return of White Rabbit Bass Tab submitted by Colm Laverty.
For News, Blogs, Tour dates and more see: www.ash-official.com
3rd August 2008 - Launch Of New www.ash-official.com
On Friday 1st August Ash and I travelled to the Ricoh Arena, Coventry, to launch a whole new www.ash-official.com. The site is currently only in it's early stages but the plans for it are huge. Starting over gives us a chance to put together a much better site and we're going to concentrate on keeping the news regularly updated and by having multiple blog contributors from the extended Ash family, which includes me. Read More.
Because I and the band are going to be working to development the site and keep the blogs and news up to date, I will be no longer updating the news section of this site. All news will be added to www.ash-official.com.
Ashtabs will soon be returning to it's roots and becoming focused more toward guitar music again, whilst keeping all other current sections and news achieve. But do not despair as there will be more Ash news than ever before and all in one place, added by those close to the band, the all new www.ash-official.com.
See you over there. The jedi & Ash x
29th July 2008 - ASH Speak About New Material And A Release This Year...
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Taken from BBC News Beat. Ash say they remain committed to a promise not to release any more albums, despite having enough new songs.
The northern Irish rockers announced in June 2007 that their album, Twilight of the Innocents, would be their last. The band said they would concentrate on single track releases because "the way people listen to music has changed". |
Singer Tim Wheeler told Newsbeat: "We knew what we said was quite shocking but we didn't think it would create waves that big".
At the time, the band said more people were downloading single tracks rather than entire albums, so it made more sense to simply release new tracks, as and when they were finished.
Wheeler continued: "Loads of people have copied us since, a lot of bands are saying they're going to do the same thing so it's been inspirational for a lot of people already."
"I just can't wait to put it in effect."
Since Wheeler and bandmates Rick McMurray and Mark Hamilton made the announcement, Muse are another big band who have expressed interest in abandoning the traditional album format.
In March, frontman Matt Bellamy told NME: "I like the idea of releasing a series of songs, every month or every couple of months - just putting songs out there."
New material
Wheeler said the band are coming to the end of a punishing tour schedule which has taken in Japan, Ireland and London in the past week alone. But far from resting, Ash have been holed up in their own recording studio.
He said: "We've been working up some diabolical inventions to come out next year.
"It's been very freeing being away from the album format and not thinking, 'Oh, this track has to fit with that track'. We're just trying all sorts of crazy stuff.
"We've got one album worth so far but we want to get a double album worth of stuff."
Drummer McMurray agreed: "I think we have to go for it. You don't have to ignore some songs because they don't fit in with overall picture."
Ash headlined at Ben & Jerry's Sundae on the Common in London at the weekend and showcased one new song, called Ichiban.
Typically Ash-sounding pop rock, the song got a good reception from the strange mix of middle class families, students and Aussie backpackers enjoying the sunshine on Clapham Common
Wheeler said: "It's Japanese for number one, it's just a fun upbeat kind of song and its great to play live so we've been playing it at all the festivals so far.
"But we've also got a great disco song that Mark wrote, we're not sure what it's called yet but it's really different for us.
"We can't wait to start playing it live."
1977 re-release
Ash's former label is about to re-release a deluxe edition of their debut album 1977 in September.
Wheeler said: "It's a bit of nostalgia, we released it nearly 12 and a half years ago."
The band, who formed 16 years ago in Downpatrick, will play two shows in London to mark the occasion but Wheeler insists that even if it is a big seller fans shouldn't expect them to go back on their word.
He said: There's something very special about giving stuff to people in instalments. You know that feeling when you have to wait for something?
"I think it's going to be fun for our fans, getting something quite regularly from us instead of getting an album every three years.
"I think it's going to be really cool."
The new songs should emerge around Spring next year.
Oh and something the BBC didn't tell you... the 1977 re-release will come with much more than just the original album. Be Excited.
27th July 2008 - ASH Glasgowbury
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Ash played the following set at Glasgowbury yesterday, announcing that there won't be any further Northern Irish Ash appearances this year.
Meltdown, Burn Baby Burn, You Can't Have It All, A Life Less Ordinary, Shining Light, Kung Fu, Ichiban, Orpheus, Renegade Cavalcade, Teenage Kicks (short and sweet to cover tech difficulties), End of the World, Blacklisted, Oh Yeah, Girl from Mars, Twilight of The Innocents // Lose Control, Jack Names the Planets |
11th July 2008 - Oh Yeah Music Centre
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Belfast based Oh Yeah Music Centre, named after the 1996 Ash single 'Oh Yeah', has been awarded £191,000 by The Paul Hamlyn Foundation to transform a former whiskey warehouse into a dedicated recording studio, as well as exhibition areas and offices. Read more on
NME.com.
Back on 10th Feb 2007 Mark told us this about the Northern Irish music scheme: "Back home there's a great new project being set up in Belfast to help emerging talent from N. Ireland. |
"It's been named Oh Yeah (perhaps after our 1996 hit single???) and our friend Stuart Bailie from ALT who founded the idea has been spearheading the non-profit making initiative.
"Head over to the new Oh Yeah website to check out the ambitious plans and if you feel inclined buy a T-shirt, all proceeds will be going towards setting up this amazing and much needed creative center, which will include a recording studio, rehearsal rooms, a performance area, music industry offices, training suites and a multi-media center.
Stu was over in New York just before Christmas and called into the studio to interview Tim for a new BBC documentary on Northern Irish music. You can see a pic of Stu and Tim from that day and a quote from Tim on the project in this scan from their promotional booklet."
7th July 2008 - ASH At z008
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Despite problems with promoters and bands cancelling left, right and centre ASH blow z008 away with a 12 song set. Mark is quoted as saying "We didn't know if it was going to go ahead earlier on. There were a lot of issues with the promoters." ASH were meant to be paid half of their fee before the performance and half after. They'd been told they'd been paid the first half, checked the bank account and this wasn't the case. The park's managing director Bob O'Connor stepped in and paid the band and their performance went ahead as planned.
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Full Set: Meltdown, Burn Baby Burn, A Life Less Ordinary, Orpheus, Shining Light. , Ichiban, Kung Fu, You Cant Have It All, Orpheus, Oh Yeah, Girl from Mars, Twilight of the Innocents
4th July 2008 - New Material Update
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Tim has said today that 5 songs finished and mixed, and there are 3 more to be mixed. While Mark told ashtabs last week that they were getting through finishing and mixing 15 songs (including the songs Chad heard ? see Nouvelle Adventures: New ASH Material Update (15th May 2008)) and then they'd be starting on another batch.
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26th June 2008 - Ricoh Arena Gig
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ASH are set to play a show at Jaguar Hall at Coventry City's Ricoh Arena, hosted by Radio 1's (and Channel 5's) Colin Murray, on Friday 1st August. Tickets are available from Ticketmaster. Support on the night will come from The Gentlemen, The Vintones and Aunty Doubles.
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18th June 2008 - ASH-Official Update
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As you may have noticed www.ash-official.com has been down for the past few weeks due to database trouble. Because of this the old version of the site has been replaced by a holding automatically redirecting traffic to ASH's Myspace and ASH have hired a crack commando unit who have begun work developing the new site.
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15th June 2008 - ASH Make Download Debut
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ASH their Download festival debut last night playing a 11 song set on the Tuborg Stage. Before they went on stage Mark & Tim spoke to NME.com about their thoughts on the festival.
Full Set: Orpheus, Burn Baby Burn, You Can't Have It All, A Life Less Ordinary, Shining Light, Clones, Kung Fu, Renegade Cavalcade, Blacklisted, Girl from Mars // Twilight of the Innocents |
11th June 2008 - Please Let That Be You
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ASH's cover of Matt Sharp's the Rentals 'Please Let That Be You' is now available to listen to or download from ASH Myspace, ASH's iLike Page, US iTunes and Amazon.com. The song is lifted from the album 'Friends of P - The Rentals Tribute'.
Matt Sharp is a founding member and former bassist for Weezer and 'Please Let That Be You' was demoed by Weezer under the title of 'Mrs Young'. Sharp is also credited in the Meltdown sleeve notes for band photography and lending a bass amp. |
ASH & The Big Ask
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Everyone attending the current UK Tour will see ASH have got Friends of the Earth on tour with them. Like a lot of people, ASH are really worried about climate change. Which is why they approached Friends of the Earth last month to offer their help in getting the word out about their Big Ask campaign which is calling on the UK Government to take urgent action on climate change.
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ASH are now joining Friends of the Earth in urging the Government to strengthen their planned Climate Change Law this winter. If the campaign is successful, and the Government listen, the UK will be the first country to introduce annual and legally binding CO2 emission reduction targets. The UK will then be leading the way and setting an example to the rest of the world.
What you can do to help:
Go to www.thebigask.com and add your name to the campaign. You?ll be calling on your MP to vote for a strong Climate Change Law this winter. You can even record a video (we?ve just added ours see above) which will be sent directly to your MP. It?s a way of tackling your MP without having to meet him or her face to face.
Big Ask is a campaign that offers a solution to the climate change problem, but Friends of the Earth need your help in getting the message across loud and clear.
ASH - Twilight of the Innocents
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Ash have released their highly anticipated, last ever studio album 'Twilight Of The Innocents'. The album is an anthemic, pop rock masterclass and shows ASH at their very best! Album highlights include the singles 'You Can't Have It All' and 'Polaris'. You can order your copy from iTunes right now with an exclusive two-part video documentary about the making of the album!
Below are some of things that have been written about the final studio album! |
"The perfect summer rock album" - Heat magazine
"Spikey blasts of pop sunshine, big guitars and even bigger choruses" - The London Paper
"Anthemic pop rock" - Independent On Sunday
"Proof That Growing Old can mean getting better 4/5" - The Mirror
"A clutch of brooding, widescreen epics revealing an unexpected sense of adventure 4/5" - Daily Mail
"Twilight..... is a reassuringly pop collection from Downpatricks cartoon wreckheads. But this time the three minute pop gems are stretched out with strings and emotion. 7/10" - NME
"A hot mix of crunchy melodies. ****" - Nuts
"Wheeler has confounded the sceptics and delivered an album of consistent quality and assurance." - Classic Rock
"Gum-tingling power pop that burns with radio friendly hooks and blistering guitar solos." - Mojo
"Now beginning to bloom into a big league British rock band 8/10" - Rocksound
"A stash of great tunes.... Splendid." - Uncut
Older news has been moved to the News Section.
ASH - The Final Album Press Release
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Mark Hamilton's overview:
"This was released to the press today regarding future Ash releases. We'll be discussing this in more detail soon. But to avoid confusion, this does not signal the end of physical releases. Things are just gonna be different and we're gonna have a lot of fun with formats and you the fans will get more content a lot quicker... it also does not state anywhere that we're going independant." |
Ash - The final album
Irish rock band announce radical new music industry business model
London, June 12th 2007 ? International rock band Ash, have announced bold new plans to cease releasing future albums in the traditional way.
On the eve of what will become their final album, 'Twilight Of The Innocents', the band have taken the decision to only release singles in the future.
Known for consistently writing hit singles since the early 90?s (17 top 40 hits, an Ivor Novello award and five Top 10 albums), the band feel it is time to make a stand in the future digital arena by only releasing singles. Periodically, the band will release compilation cd?s featuring the aforementioned singles.
Famously known for their pro-active stance on the internet (the band were the first to cultivate a huge loyal following using their online message board, were the first to use the internet via a fledgling nme.com, to get fans to vote for which tour towns they should play and had the first ever number one single in the download charts), the band feel it is now time to fully embrace the digital future of the music industry.
Owning their own recording studio means that the band will be able to write, record and release their music almost instantly, their fans will then benefit from not having to wait the usual ?years? between albums.
At a time when the music industry is in flux and with record sales at an all-time low, marketing music in the traditional sense is becoming increasingly less financially viable. The band hope that by harnessing the power of the internet and by being more creative in the way their singles are marketed, the record company can maximise sales, increase profits and enhance their already impressive 13 year career.
Tim Wheeler from the band:
"The way people listen to music has changed, with the advent of the download the emphasis has reverted to single tracks. It hasn't helped that most people have forgotten how to make a decent album. I'm constantly disappointed with records I buy.
I believe our new album is the pinnacle of everything we've done thus far, and I'm proud that this will be remembered as our last album. The future lies elsewhere and we can have a lot of fun by changing things up. It's like the Wild West at the moment, a time to take chances and try out new ideas.
When you're tied to the album format, you find yourself waiting six months between finishing a record and releasing it. By leaving this behind we can enter a new phase of spontaneity and creativity. We have our own studio in New York, we can record a track and release it the next day if we feel like it, give it to people while it's fresh. We're the first band to do this , but I very much doubt we'll be the last.
We've been one of the best singles bands of the last two decades and we're still younger than a lot of bands on the current scene. I?m excited to push this claim further by dedicating ourselves wholly to the art of the single for the digital age."