Ash

Ash have been together for 30 years, but it was their two years apart which ultimately inspired their brilliant last album.

Like the rest of the world, Tim Wheeler (guitar/vocals), Mark Hamilton and Rick McMurray (drums) were blindsided by the pandemic. It enforced not only the first extended period of downtime the band have ever had in their incredible three-decade career, but also became the longest they’d gone without seeing each other since they met at school in Downpatrick, Northern Ireland.

So, when they were finally reunited to rehearse for a livestream gig in the dark days of 2021, there were some understandable nerves at how it might go.

“Madly, we sounded like we’d never been away,” grins McMurray.

Their ability to cover multiple bases, while always pushing forward, has kept Ash a vital, growing concern ever since they blasted out of Downpatrick as teenagers with their Number One debut album, 1977.

Luckily, this most vital of bands always intuitively knows the best course of action. And that’s why Race The Night deserves to sit amongst the upper echelons of Ash’s cherished history, and remind the world that – even with 30 years of greatness behind them – the best may be yet to come.