Wishbone Ash - Music Artist Band Bio

Biography

The members of this UK progressive rock band first came together in 1966 when Steve Upton (Born 24 May 1946, Wrexham, Wales; drums), who had previously played with the Scimitars, joined Martin Turner (Born 1 October 1947, Torquay, Devon, England; bass/vocals) and Glen Turner (guitar) in the Torquay band, Empty Vessels. This trio then moved to London where they took the name Tanglewood and were managed by a young Miles Copeland. Glen Turner departed, before the similarly-titled Ted Turner (Born David Alan Turner, 2 August 1950; guitar) joined the band. He had previously played in the Birmingham band, King Biscuit. Wishbone Ash was formed when Andy Powell (Born 19 February 1950, Stepney, London, England; guitar) of the Sugarband joined Upton, Turner and Turner. Signed to MCA Records in the UK and Decca Records in the US, Wishbone Ash's hallmark quickly became the powerful sound of their twin lead guitars, heavily influenced by the music of the Yardbirds and the Allman Brothers Band. Their biggest commercial success was Argus, released in 1972. This was a prime example of the band's preoccupation with historical themes, complex instrumentals, and folk-rock.

Ted Turner departed in 1974, and was replaced by Laurie Wisefield, formerly of Home. Wishbone Ash continued successfully, becoming tax exiles in the USA, returning to England in 1975 to play at the Reading Rock festival. Locked In and New England were released through Atlantic Records in the US. In 1980, Martin Turner was replaced by John Wetton (Born 12 July 1949, Willingdon, Derbyshire, England), formerly of Uriah Heep and Roxy Music, who featured on Number The Brave alongside folk singer Claire Hamill (Born Josephine Clare Hamill, 4 August 1954, Port Clarence, Middlesbrough, Cleveland, England). Wetton was subsequently replaced by ex-Uriah Heep bass player Trevor Bolder. The new line-up released only one album before disbanding in 1982, and it was the recruitment of Mervyn Spence to replace Bolder and tackle the lead vocals on Raw To The Bone that seemed to give some of its former vitality back to Wishbone Ash. In 1987, the original quartet began working together again, recording the brand new Nouveau Calls.

This project involved the renewal of their relationship with Copeland, which had sundered in 1977, and a deal with his I.R.S. Records label. Here To Hear followed before Upton retired from the music business and Martin Turner opted to concentrate on a solo career. Ray Weston and Robbie France filled in on the band's final I.R.S. album, 1991's Strange Affair. Powell, Turner, Weston and Andy Pyle recorded the Live In Chicago set for the Permanent label. Ted Turner left the band in 1995, leaving Powell to continue performing and recording with various line-ups to a loyal and devoted following. In the late 90s, Powell worked with producer Mike Bennett on the experimental Trance Visionary set, which fused the band's traditional progressive rock sound with club rhythms.

Discography:
Wishbone Ash (MCA/Decca 1970)***, Pilgrimage (MCA/Decca 1971)**, Argus (MCA 1972)***, Wishbone Four (MCA 1973)***, Live Dates (MCA 1973)***, There's The Rub (MCA 1974)**, Locked In (MCA/Atlantic 1976)**, New England (MCA/Atlantic 1976)**, Front Page News (MCA 1977)**, No Smoke Without Fire (MCA 1978)**, Live In Tokyo (MCA 1978)**, Just Testing (MCA 1979)***, Live Dates Volume Two (MCA 1980)**, Number The Brave (MCA 1981)**, Twin Barrels Burning (Fantasy 1982)**, Raw To The Bone (Neat 1985)***, Nouveau Calls (I.R.S. 1987)***, Here To Hear (I.R.S. 1989)**, Strange Affair (I.R.S. 1991)**, BBC Radio 1 Live In Concert 1972 recording (Windsong/Griffin 1991)***, Live In Chicago (Permanent/Griffin 1992)**, Live In Geneva (Hengest 1996)**, Illuminations (HTD/Renaissance 1996)**, Live - Timeline 1991 recording (Receiver 1997)**, Trance Visionary (Invisible Hands/Resurgence 1998)***, Psychic Terrorism (Dreamscape/Ration 1998)***, Bare Bones (HTD 1999)**, Live Dates 3 (Eagle 2001)**, Bona Fide (Talking Elephant/Dead Ringer 2002)***.

Compilations:
Classic Ash (MCA 1977)***, Best Of Wishbone Ash (MCA 1982)***, Hot Ash (MCA 1981)**, Time Was: The Wishbone Ash Collection (MCA 1993)***, The Very Best Of Wishbone Ash: Blowin' Free (Nectar 1994)***, From The Archives Vol. 1 (Dr. John/Powerbright 1994)***, Archives Vol. II (USASH/Powerbright 1995)**, Live At The BBC aka On Air 1971/1972 recordings (Windsong 1995)***, Archives Volume Three (USASH/Powerbright 1996)**, Distillation 4-CD box set (Repertoire 1997)***, The Best Of Wishbone Ash (MCA 1997)***, Outward Bound (BMG 1998)***, The King Will Come - Live 1973/1976 recordings (Receiver 1999)**, "Blowin' Free": An Introduction To Wishbone Ash (Universal 2001)***, Tracks (Talking Elephant 2002)**, Time Was: The Live Anthology (Castle 2004)***.

Videography:
Phoenix (Hengest 1990), Wishbone Ash Live (BMG 1990).

Bibliography:
The Illustrated Collector's Guide To Wishbone Ash, Andy Powell. Blowin' Free: Thirty Years Of Wishbone Ash, Mark Chatterton and Gary Carter.



Source: Encyclopedia of Popular Music