Ash guitarist talks of solo debut

Charlotte Hatherley is the female guitar player and joint singer with Ash. She has just released her first solo material and Rebekah caught up with her to discuss naked parties, tattoos and Thai food… oh yeah, and her debut album, Grey Will Fade.

Rebekah: How is your solo album Grey Will Fade different from the Ash sound?

Charlotte: Well, It’s more individual and quite quirky. I wanted to put my own style in obviously, so it’s definitely more indie!

Rebekah: Do you find being a girl in a rock band difficult, or did you find it hard to be accepted by your audience at first?

Charlotte: At first, yes. I think people-especially girls-felt quite threatened by me. Now I’ve got no problems of course, but I think earlier on in my career with Ash people thought I was somebody’s-probably Tim’s-girlfriend!

Rebekah: Who do you think is the best looking in Ash?

Charlotte: Hmm… I’m going to have to think about that one! They all have their own very good features, but Tim is definitely a pretty boy!

Rebekah: Do you have any female rock idols?

Charlotte: Not very many, but I like Kate Bush; she’s very individual and I like how she’s totally in control of her career, from the writing and the producing. She can do whatever she wants whenever she wants!

Rebekah: What’s the best gig you’ve ever done?

Charlotte: Best gig? There’re so many! It’d have to be in 1997 when I played in front of an audience of 20,000. It was pretty scary, because I’d only played to about 100 people in London clubs before!

Rebekah: What’s your favourite song by Ash?

Charlotte: On the new album Meltdown, definitely “Orpheus”. Love it! Really, really great song.

Rebekah: Favourite food?

Charlotte: Oooh-Thai! I have it practically every night! I live next to a Thai place. The owners probably think I’m deranged the amount of times I go in there!

Rebekah: I’ve never had Thai food…

Charlotte: (Sounds genuinely shocked) Really?! You haven’t lived! It’s gorgeous!

Rebekah: You’ve come across in other interviews as quite a scary girl! Do you do this on purpose? I was actually pretty worried about doing this interview!

Charlotte: (Laughs) No, I’m not! I think people like to portray me like that because they want me to smile all the time! I’m like ‘Why? What if I don’t feel like smiling? Sometimes I feel that people want me to conform to a permanently happy girly image. It doesn’t reflect real life. Everyone has their good and bad days.

Rebekah: Got any funny stories to tell us about touring?

Charlotte: Well, we were touring in the States for about eight months recently and after two of them, we were all going crazy with boredom. So one night, we were having a party and decided to get naked and draw all over each other!

Rebekah: Have you got any ‘rawk’ tattoos?

Charlotte: Nope! I actually have a phobia of needles. Stupid I know, but I don’t even have my ears pierced! Tim had tattoos done in LA though-they look quite cool. I suppose it’s weird to see a rock star who’s totally unblemished by piercings and tattoos nowadays!

Rebekah: What do you like doing on a Friday night? If you’re not sleeping because you’re knackered after a gig of course…

Charlotte: Well, I’ve just got home at the moment, so I’m going to see my sisters and my mates and catch up with the gossip-have a proper girly night out!

Rebekah: What do you see happening in five years time? Do you think Ash will have evolved?

Charlotte: I think Ash have definitely got at least five years left to do new things, but I hope by the time I’m 30 that I’ll have another couple of albums out!

Rebekah: Ash have recently changed their image to a more ‘rock’ style, evident in the clothes, videos and in the new album Meltdown. They seem pretty angry! Is this an attempt to break America?

Charlotte: I see what you mean! I think it’s definitely a contrived attempt, but we all experiment with different styles and images-it’s a lot more fun that way!

Rebekah: Finally, which track have you most like recording on your debut album?

Charlotte: Hmm… I think it’d have to be “Paragon” because it’s slightly crazy-and six years old! I really liked doing “Bastardo” too though. I’m a bit worried about releasing that one, because apparently, radio stations might not play it because of the name.

Rebekah: Well, it’s got an o’ on the end, so maybe it won’t be that bad! I’ve heard worse titles.

Charlotte: I hope so. I really like that one!

Rebekah: Thank you very much Charlotte. Good luck with your solo career. I hope everything goes really well!