News Archive

So things have been a little crazy around these parts lately and we’ve neglected to update this news with anything meaningful in a while, in our defence we have been working hard on a new walking barefoot however it is still some months away from completion. Anyway here’s an update on some of the news we’ve missed.

A few weeks ago Ash returned home to N. Ireland and played on stage for the first time since their legendary ‘1977’ shows in London last September. The band flew in with acoustics and a borrowed bass to play ‘unplugged’, as it was gonna cost to much to get all their gear flown over for only two songs. The band played ‘Shining Light’ as well as a cover of ‘Mrs. Robinson’. All the bands on the bill got on stage at the end to perform ‘Teenage Kicks’.

On the recording front the band will soon have 36 songs mixed and recorded and are ready to make an announcement in the next few weeks.

Ash have also joined in on the twitter craze that’s sweeping the world at the moment, you can read Ash’s official twitter page at http://twitter.com/ashofficial, while Ash bassist Mark Hamilton has his own twitter account which you can be found at: http://twitter.com/darthmarkh.

The new Ash official forum has also been launched, so be sure to head over there and sign up.

Ash bassist Mark Hamilton, turns 32 today. Many happy returns from all at Walking Barefoot.

Last year on their Twilight Of The Innocents tour Ash had Friends Of The Earth join them to help promote their Big Ask campaign, pressuring UK MP’s and government into implementing a new and strong climate change bill. A few days ago the bill was finally passed into law after a long 3 1/2 year campaign. The law is the first of it’s kind in the world, and it includes strong measures including shipping and aviation emissions. The UK has now committed to reduce it’s carbon emissions to 80% of 1990 levels by 2050, with annual targets.

This is a massive victory and goes to show that grassroots organizing can be effective in swaying political policy and enable progress on our biggest challenges. Hopefully the UK will encourage other countries to follow suit and move the world towards cleaner, greener, independent and ultimately safer energy policies, ones which won’t require invasions to secure resources. We’ve all been at the mercy of the fossil fuel cartels for long enough. A new green collar economy should now be the focus for government investment and the road to ride out of recession.

Ash relaunched their official website on Friday 1st August. The site is currently only in it’s early stages but the plans for it are huge. As well as regular news and video updates, the band have also added a blog which will be updated by various members of the band and their crew including:

Tim - Tim Wheeler (guitar / vocals)
dmh – Mark Hamilton (bass)
Rick – Rick McMurray (drums)
Claudius – Claudius Mittendorfer (studio engineer)
Tav - Stephen Taverner (manager)
Lance – Lance Reynolds (soundman)
Jedisteve - Steve Timmis (ash-official webmaster)

Check out the Gashed forums for an explanation of the reasons behind the downtime on the official Ash website.

Urban clothing company Marshall Artist approached Ash last year to come up with a design for their M is for Music campaign. Various artists and celebrities submitted designs with the proceeds going to a charity of their choice. Ash have decided to give any money made to the Teenage Cancer Trust.

Ash have one of these Tee Shirts to give away to a lucky winner, for the question and details of how to enter the competition check out ash-official.com.

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.

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 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 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.

Carling are running a competition on there website to win a pair of VIP tickets to Carling Weekend: Reading & Leeds Festivals where you will also get the chance to check out the backstage area on a special VIP tour.

If you fancy seeing Ash, Smashing Pumpkins and Nine Inch Nails amongst others and haven’t been able to get tickets be sure to check it out.

Thanks to Nicolien for the info.