• Vault Lines: Hannah Richardson on 1977 by Ash

    September 6, 2023 - By 

    In the latest installment of Vault Lines, Hannah Richardson from fast-rising Derry pop-punk trio Cherym sings the praises of a stone-cold Northern Irish classic, 1977 by Ash Photo by Jane Donnelly I was introduced to Ash as a teenager by a friend. By this point in time I was well into my wee punky teenage-angsty phase, but I’d also started taking an interest in local bands and Irish bands in general. My friend grew up with ‘cool parents’ who listened to a lot of music and they had a bookshelf that occupied a space in their back hall, dedicated entirely…

  • Ash to Play Belfast and Dublin in December

    September 4, 2018 - By 

    Northern Irish alt-rock heroes Ash have announced they will play Belfast and Dublin later in the year. Tim Wheeler, Mark Hamilton and Rick McMurray will stop off at Dublin’s Academy on Wednesday, December 19 and Belfast’s Limelight on Thursday, December 20. On sale at 9am on Friday, tickets cost €27 and £20 respectively. Back in May, the band released their seventh studio album, Islands.

  • Ash – Islands

    June 14, 2018 - By 

    Ash’s seventh studio album Islands lets you listen once again to the corny soundtrack to your summer love affair. Wheeler scrapes towards the very bottom of the barrel in one final bid to transform that washing machine shift at a Gaeltacht Céilí into the idealised romanticised summer of sun, beach and surfing. Islands features a myriad of sun-soaked riffs, images of crisp, white beaches for miles and just about everything else you’d expect from an Ash album. Only this time, the summer lovin’ fallacy just isn’t working its charm the way it used to as the album falls just short…

  • The Breeders, Orbital, Ash and More Added to BBC’s Biggest Weekend in Belfast

    February 7, 2018 - By 

    The final acts to play at BBC’s Biggest Weekend in Belfast across May 25-26 has been announced, and it’s pretty special. Joining the likes of Beck, Courtney Barnett and Manic Street Preachers are The Breeders, First Aid Kit, Goldie, Orbital, Little Dragon, Franz Ferdinand, Young Fathers and Ash. We’re going out on a limb here: this is probably the strongest line-up for a festival in Northern Irish music history. Don’t pass up the chance to get tickets when they go on sale this Monday at 10am.

  • Interview: Looking Forward with Tim Wheeler of Ash

    July 17, 2017 - By 

    In between the victory lap of a 1997 anniversary tour and a new studio record set for release next year, Ash are spending the summer playing clubs and festivals across the UK. Jonny Currie spoke to frontman Tim Wheeler ahead of the band’s highly-anticipated headlining slot at Stendhal Festival in Limavady next month. If money was no object, what would be your dream festival line-up alongside Ash? Oh, that’s a good one. I’d say probably… Mudhoney, Weezer and Brian Wilson. You and the band are playing Limavady in August, but outside of touring with Ash are you back in Northern…

  • Irish Tour: Ash

    November 14, 2016 - By 

    Downpatrick alt-rock legends Ash performing as part of their 1977 anniversary tour at Dublin’s Olympia Theatre and Belfast’s Mandela Hall. Photos by Moira Reilly and Alan Maguire, words by Justin McDaid. The Olympia Theatre, Dublin Photos: Moira Reilly 1977, now, just seems like one of those albums that slots into the drawer in the mental filing cabinet marked ‘halcyon days’. It’s hard to believe that Ash’s debut album proper is a spritely twenty years old – not much older than Tim Wheeler, Mark Hamilton and Rick McMurray were when they released it; ignited by the roar of a TIE Fighter and…

  • Ash To Be Awarded Oh Yeah Legend Award

    July 21, 2016 - By 

    With previous recipients including Therapy? and The Divine Comedy, it’s been revealed that Northern Irish alt-rock trio Ash will be awarded this year’s Oh Yeah Legend Award at a special presentation at Belfast’s Mandela Hall on November 11. Followed by a live performance of their classic debut album 1977, the event will be preceded by another award, the NI Music Prize, which aims to celebrate the very best Northern Irish album of the year previous, as selected by an academy of local media and music industry professionals. Charlotte Dryden, CEO the Oh Yeah Music Centre says: “Ash have played a major…