Live at the Wireless album review

Far from being a serious follow-up to Ash’s hugely successful debut album, 1977, Live at the wireless is an official bootleg, featuring 10 tracks recorded live in the studio, Peel Session-style, during the Irish pop-punk trio’s 1996 Australian tour. Even in relaxed mood, goofing around and making a mess of things here and there, Ash are a mightily impressive live band, oozing the kind of confidence that only comes from a solid year on the road.

Most of the hits are here - “Kung Fu”, “Girl From Mars”, “Oh Yeah”, “Goldfinger- plus a few fun items to delight obscurists. However, with the album’s pressing limited to just 20,000, it seems inevitable that many of those completists will either miss out or find themselves paying silly prices for second-hand copies.