News Archive

Tim was brought home by RTE last weekend for them to film shots of him for an upcoming RTE series on Irish song writers. The series will look at different aspects of song writing and Tim’s parts are likely to be interspersed among the six program series. They also recorded him playing ‘Shining Light’ in the old cottage at home where the band first started up. The series is due to go out in the autumn so you will have to wait a while. More details of the series will emerge nearer the air time.

To mark the 20th Anniversary year of The Essential Music Guide, Q wants you to select the 100 songs that have done most to shape our world and lives. Here’s the details:

To mark the 20th Anniversary year of The Essential Music Guide, Q will be publishing a second state-of-the-musical-nation list in the none too distant future chosen by it’s readers.

The procedure for voting couldn’t be simpler. All you need to do is pick your five finest ever songs. Write them down in descending order on the form below. Add a line or two of explanatory on each, and then submit the form.

Everyone who votes will be entered into a prize draw, with one Q reader ultimately winning something so spectacular they can’t bring themselves to reveal the details just yet. Happy voting…

Click here to vote

Prior to his surprise appearance at this weekend’s Xfm Winter Wonderland extravaganza, Ash frontman Tim Wheeler spoke to Xfm Online about the bands plans for 2005. The interview runs as follows:

Following the UK success of their last album ‘Meltdown’, the band have confirmed that they will begin 2005 by concentrating on their American campaign – not that this has stopped the band writing new material.

“I’ve been writing a bunch of songs on tour and it’s sounding really good,” Wheeler enthused, “It’s really strong material and I’m looking forward to having some time to work on them. I don’t know what style it’s going to take yet, but maybe it’ll go back to more of a songwriting thing rather than the emphasis on the band.

“We’re starting 2005 in Japan and then onto America because the album’s just getting released there,” he continued. “We’ve built up a great live fan base out there, but never really crossed over onto radio or MTV. I think this record we’ve made is the right kind of record for that. We’ll just keep persevering, which is how we see a lot of bands doing it – I think The Clash took about thirteen tours before they made it.

“Going to America keeps things fresh for us. We’re established and known at a certain level over here, but in the States it puts all the fight back into it and the challenge is still there. Going back there feels like being a new band.”

Wheeler also commented on his ‘supergroup’ featuring Darkness frontman Justin Hawkins (whom the band are currently supporting on their Christmas tour) and diminutive lothario Har Mar Superstar.

“I met Justin at Knebworth last year and he instantly invited me to join his band White Slave,” he explained, “But I think it’s more of a figment of Justin’s imagination. I’m proud to be a member of a secret club that doesn’t actually exist though. It’s the ultimate secret band – we’ve never even had a rehearsal. In fact I don’t think the three of us have ever even been in same room at the same time.”

Tim and Charlotte were on Mark Radcliffe’s Radio 2 show last night. If you missed it you can catch it on-line here. Ash were on for the whole show chatting about various things.

They also played acoustic versions of ‘Orpheus’, ‘Shining Light’ and ‘Renegade Cavalcade’.

To help Ash in their quest for world domination and basically to make sure you get a chance to catch the brilliant new video for ‘Renegade Cavalcade’ on MTV2, make sure you get voting!.

It’s as simple as clicking here and casting your vote, so come on guy’s it’s in your hands…

Tim and Charlotte from Ash will be joining Colin & Edith on their Radio 1 show next week, live from Belfast, to perform new single ‘Renegade Cavalcade’ and another Ash track chosen by listeners, both will be played unplugged. If you’ve got a favourite Ash song that you’d like to hear, it’s time to get voting.

You can vote for: Girl From Mars, Angel Interceptor, Goldfinger, Oh Yeah, A Life Less Ordinary, Jesus Says, Wild Surf, Shining Light, Burn Baby Burn, Sometimes, Candy, There’s A Star, Envy, Orpheus, and Starcrossed. A Life Less Ordinary is currently way out in the lead with Girl From Mars second. You can vote at the radio 1 website.