News Archive

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)

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.

Ash are among a group of artists who have who have been hand picked by Marshall’s ‘M is for Music’ series to design t-shirts, £10 from every sale will go to directly charity. Ash’s shirt will be available to purchase from next month. You can view Ash’s shirt design here.

Full Details:Marshall Artist has reinvented itself for A/W 2007 with the “M is for Music” series. Marshall Artist has hand picked an exclusive group of guest designers from across the wide world of music.
The complete list of artists is: Amp Fiddler Ash, Larrikin Love, Lauren Laverne, Mani, Nightmares on Wax, Paul Oakenfold, Rob da Bank, Roots Manuva, Shaun Ryder, The Mitchell Brothers, The Subways, and Trevor Nelson.

£10 from every t-shirt sold will be donated to the charity of the artist’s choice. So by purchasing one of the ‘M is for Music’ t-shirts, not only are you demonstrating your allegiance to your favourite artist and bagging yourself an ace garment into the bargain, but you will be helping to improve the lives of others.

The ‘M is for Music’ series will be available across the UK from September.

You may have noticed we’ve been away for a few weeks, here’s some of the Ash snippets we’ve missed:

‘End Of The World’ Video Shoot
Ash’s manager Stephen Taverner has uploaded some photos from the video shoot of Ash’s new single ‘End Of The World’. The new video was shot in Tokyo, and features the band playing against pretty lights and skyscrapers, it also features a horse and ferris wheel.

Fuji Rock Photos
Ash’s manager Stephen Taverner has also uploaded some photos of Ash’s performance at the Fuji Rock Festival.

Melbourne Setlist
Ash played a gig in Melbourne, Australia at the Prince of Wales on August 1st. The setlist ran as follows:

I Started A Fire, You Can’t Have It All, Orpheus, Angel Interceptor, End Of The World, Walking Barefoot, Ritual, Goldfinger, A Life Less Ordinary, Polaris, Jack Names The Planets, Kung Fu, Renegade Cavalcade, Folksong, Girl From Mars, Twilight Of The Innocents.

Encore: Blacklisted, Oh Yeah, Numbskull, Burn Baby Burn

Rising From The Ashes
There’s are article with Tim Wheeler from Ash over on the Scotland on Sunday website, Tim talks about the personal nature of the songs on the new record, the departure of Charlotte Hatherley, and the future and their decision to release EP’s and singles instead of albums. Here’s some preview bits from the article:

“It’s all Chinese whispers. We hear something she says then she hears something supposedly from us and things are taken out of context. I have nothing but good things to say about her, and I am looking forward to seeing her. It reached a weird point where she had to go out and stake her independence and I guess we did too in our own way.”

“We’re a band, we’ve got our own studio, we’ve got a fan base and the internet. Why not use that to get stuff out a lot faster and more direct? And it will be a lot more interactive because we can feed off people’s reactions to stuff. We will aim to release at least three or four singles or EPs each year in the future. You won’t just be stuck with people’s perceptions being limited to one album that will form their opinion about you for the next three years.”

Ash have made a statement denying the recent rumours that are about to split up but have confirmed that their forthcoming record ‘Twilight Of The Innocents’ will be their last.

Speculation about the band’s future started on Saturday (June 9) at the Isle Of Wight Festival, when their frontman Tim Wheeler introduced their new title track by telling the audience it was the last song from their ‘last album’. However the band have ended speculation over their future, explaining that they will continue but will not release albums in the conventional way any more.

‘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,’ declared Wheeler. ‘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 and a time to take chances and try out new ideas.’

The band explained that they will use digital means to distribute their songs, which they hope to do more often then the current system allows.

‘When you’re tied to the album format, you find yourself waiting six months between finishing a record and releasing it,’ said the singer. ‘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.’

He added: ‘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.’

Ash’s ‘final’ album ‘Twilight Of The Innocents’ will be released on July 2nd.

NME.com are running a story suggesting that the bands upcoming album ‘Twilight Of The Innocents’, out in the UK on July 2nd, will be their last.

This was triggered by a comment Ash frontman Tim Wheeler made on stage during the bands show at the Isle Of Wight festival yesterday (June 9). The comment has been taken to suggest Ash might be about to split. Introducing the set closer Tim told the crowd:

‘This is the last song of our final album’

Indeed this may have been misunderstood, misheard or taken out of context. The band have said in various interviews this year that they feel they have a few more years in them yet. They have also rented a recording studio in New York which still has another two years to run on the lease.

So far the band have yet to clarify the onstage comments.

Andrew Kelsall, a graphic designer over at sqwink.com has written an informative review on the artwork for Ash’s forthcoming album. ‘Twilight of the Innocents’, out Monday 2nd July, as well as artwork for the bands previous albums. Be sure to head and over and give it a read

Ash have launch a competition via their official myspace site, and the prize is none other than a trip to the bands studio in NYC to hear the new album and hang out with the band.

For now to be in with a chance of winning you have to add this banner to your myspace page & tell your friends, or add Ash to your “Top Friends List” then add this banner to your myspace or as a comment on your friends’ pages to spread the word.

On May 25th all of the bands friends will be bulletined on how to win the prize!

Here’s the code:
<span class=”mceItemEmbed” src=”http://www.ash-official.com/banners/ash_banner.swf” mce_src=”http://www.ash-official.com/banners/ash_banner.swf” quality=”high” pluginspage=”http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer” type=”application/x-shockwave-flash” width=”468″ height=”60″></span>