Still Burning!

Kerrang, October 1982 by Steve Gett

The fact that Wishbone Ash are still battling on after more than a decade in this business is quite remarkable.  Like true campaigners, they re-emerge onto the scene year after year and it’s a wonder they’ve not lost their will to continue considering how vehemently they tend to be dismissed.  Cynics yearn to drive the final nail into their coffin and are constantly branding the group ‘has beens’ – but all to no avail.

“We’ve had a lot of problems with the press,” states guitarist Andy Powell, “but we’ve never gone out of our way to create them.  Maybe they find us boring but basically they’re in the business of selling papers and they want sensationalism.  Lots of sensational things do happen to us (!) but we’re really not that way as a band.

“We have been around for a long time and if we were to go out under a completely different name then things would probably be a lot easier for us.  People tend to have prejudices against names.  The fact that the band is still going doesn’t surprise me at all though.  Everyone seems to think we’ll just disappear and fade into obscurity but the reason Wishbone Ash carries on is that we still enjoy it a lot.

“Touring Britain has become a kind of annual outing for us but what people don’t understand is that besides playing in the UK we do get to travel about quite a bit.  Last year we went to India for example, and that was amazing.  My own personal feeling is that if you still get a buzz out of something then there’s no reason for giving it up.”

Wishbone Ash recently completed their 1982 British trek (without the use of wheelchairs I might add) and I caught up with the rock ‘n’ roll veterans at their gig in St. Albans.  Upon arrival at the City Hall there was a paltry crowd gathered outside and it looked as though we were set for a quiet night.

Happily, by showtime a somewhat more respectable attendance level had been reached and Ash took to the stage to plenty of applause and cheering from the audience, who for the major part seemed to comprise diehard fans.

However it wasn’t until mid-way through the gig that Wishbone Ash began to elicit the kind of enthusiastic response they might have anticipated.  After their initial outburst, the crowd appeared politely appreciative as the group aired numbers from their current Twin Barrels Burning LP, but when drummer Steve Upton came to the front of the stage and announced some old standards they finally came to life again.

“we’re gonna play three songs from an album that first came out in 1972,” proclaimed the skin-beater.  “The album was called Argus and we’re gonna start with a number called ‘The King Will Come’.

Among Ash fanatics this tune is generally regarded as an all-time classic and as the intro commenced there was a good deal of foot-tapping and hand-clapping going on in the hall.  The band hit the target by continuing with ‘Warrior’ and ‘Throw Down the Sword’ but it seemed a pity that they were only able to evoke a strong audience reaction by playing numbers that are now ten years old.

On the whole, the newer items tended to be met with a degree of indifference – s shame since Twin Barrels Burning is a particularly good record containing material that is far more poignant than some of the earlier songs, which do sound a little dated at times.

Backstage, after the show, I asked Andy Powell whether he sound it a little disconcerting that it took Argus numbers to get the crowd going.

“Well on the one hand we love it, because we’re not embarrassed about our past in any way,” he replied.  “We’re really proud of what we’ve done.  At the same time though we do like to play the newer material because we believe in it and I think it’s just a case of it taking the kids a while to get used to.

“I’m sure the audiences would be quite content if we just went out and played all old stuff but we’ve got to move on and hopefully take the kids with us.”

The attendance at St.Albans hadn’t been fantastic and the general buzz about Ash’s recent outing was that they were having a hard time selling tickets.  Andy didn’t deny that it hadn’t been a phenomenally successful tour but at the same time he was eager to stress that it isn’t just Ash who’ve been struggling.

“It strikes me that everyone’s having a hard time at the moment and I think there are a number of reasons for it.  Because of the economy kids can’t afford to go to as many gigs as they might have done in the past.  The Tygers of Pan Tang were out on the road at the same time as us and it was the same for them.  In fact at some gigs they had even less people than us and they’ve got a chart album.

“The economy is very depressing and when we played in Liverpool you could really sense that people were finding it tough.  But I also think the whole heavy metal thing has been played to death.  The media has marketed it and jumped on it in such a big way that it’s eventually become a bit dangerous.  So many bands sprung up and there was a lot that wasn’t really very good…but we keep steaming on.”

Andy Powell mentioned the HM scene and I wondered whether he felt that Wishbone Ash had actually been shelved aside in the wake of all the newer bands who’ve emerged.

“To be quite honest a lot of the new bands are very derivative and unimaginative but it’s the newness of those groups that the kids seem to get off on – the image and all that kind of thing.  People tend to look upon us as being the roots because we’ve been around so long.”

One thing that had struck me by seeing Ash on their ’82 tour was how much guitarist Laurie Wisefield, who replaced Ted Turner some time ago, seems to be coming to the fore.  The man is an excellent guitarist and has plenty of talent.

Andy agrees:  “Laurie’s got a lot of energy in him and he desperately wants recognition, needs it and deserves it.  It’s been a bit difficult for him because he joined the band on the tail end of a very successful period, but he’s paid his dues and I think his time has come.”

Aside from his slick axework, Laurie has also become more involved in the vocal side of the band.  He has a fine voice but rumour had it that he hadn’t wanted to sing for many years after an abortive appearance on a TV talent contest during his adolescence.

“It all stemmed from this thing he did when he was 14,” explained Andy.  “He went on this TV show and sung with an outsize guitar and apparently it just didn’t happen.  As a result all his schoolmates laughed at him and it actually put the mockers on him singing for a long time.  He’s actually a great vocalist and puts some excellent melodies out.  It’s really good that he’s doing more singing now, because when Martin left I had to do most of the vocals.  Now it’s a little more evenly balanced.”

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