Wishbone Ash are a four-piece English band who arrived on the rock scene in the early 1970s. This is the story of their early - and most successful - years.

Initial line up and the name 'Wishbone Ash'

Influenced by such diverse sources as jazz, blues, soul and folk, they developed their own distinctive style and were early pioneers of the twin lead guitar sound, although band-leader Martin Turner's melodic bass was always very prominent in the mix. Wishbone Ash were a band who let their music speak for itself - they were never overly concerned with projecting an image or pursuing any kind of sensationalism. As a result, the high quality of the group's musicianship shines through on all of their albums. Melody, harmony and precision playing were all Wishbone trademarks - although unkinder critics would claim that the vocals were a little weak.

After arriving in London from Torquay in October 1969, founder members Martin Turner and Steve Upton (drums) advertised for a keyboard player and guitarist but found that they could not chose between two guitarists who turned up to audition for them. To solve the problem, they took on both David 'Ted' Turner and Andy Powell, and quickly forgot about the keyboard player slot.

The name of the band arose from their manager, Miles Copeland (who later managed The Police and Squeeze), randomly choosing a word from two different lists of possible names and combining them because they had a ring to them.

Early releases

The band's early career was given a healthy push when Ritchie Blackmore (also of Deep Purple and Rainbow fame) passed a tape of the band to MCA (via Deep Purple's producer) after being impressed with their sound at a gig in May 1970. MCA liked what they heard, and signed them.

Their energetic debut album, Wishbone Ash is largely memorable for the epic track 'Phoenix,' which became something of an anthem for the band, and has always been much in demand at live shows throughout their career. The album presented on vinyl the set which the band had been using live for some time. The track 'Errors of my Way' stood out as a rather more gentle folky number in a track-listing dominated by aggressive, rocky numbers. The album made it to 34 in the UK album charts.

Pilgrimage, which followed in 1971, introduced more songs with a generally quieter mood, although the energy of Wishbone Ash is never far away. Like the first album, Pilgrimage may seem a little disjointed because of the various styles the band employed. It reached a respectable 14 in the album charts.

Argus and Wishbone Four

Their third album, Argus from 1972, was by far and away their most successful outing and remains their best-remembered album. It is, according to Andy Powell, 'not quite a concept album' but has a kind of mystical, medieval feel to it, with plenty of biblical and prophetic lyrical references. The album was recorded in five days, although the music had been played and refined in live shows for some months beforehand. The album went on to be critically acclaimed in the music press, collecting awards from Melody Maker and Sounds.

Produced by the band themselves (instead of by Derek Lawrence, who had produced the first three albums), the simpler and folkier Wishbone Four album, released in 1973, had been written and rehearsed in a Welsh cottage retreat. Unfortunately, it was perhaps too much of a departure from the dizzy heights of Argus, and many fans and critics felt a little disappointed with it. 'Ted' Turner first tried slide steel guitar playing (to great effect) on this album.

Wishbone Ash did not concern themselves overly with singles during this period although in 1972 'Blowin' Free,' from the Argus album, was reasonably successful. This song was much loved and echoes of it can be found in recordings by other bands - fleetingly in Thin Lizzy's 'The Boys are Back in Town' and more obviously throughout Steely Dan's 'Reelin' in the Years'.

A very well-received double live album - Live Dates was released at this time and featured much of the Argus album and the classic set-piece Phoenix. This release is, for many fans, the definitive Wishbone Ash album as it combines the excitement of live performance with masterful playing of material from their most successful years.

The end of the original line-up

A concert at the BBC studios in London in February 1974 was Ted Turner's last live appearance with the band¹ as he announced his departure in May of that year. Material for the fifth studio album There's the Rub had already been written and rehearsed before his departure, however. When Ted Turner left the band he was replaced by the popular Laurie Wisefield, who served alongside Andy Powell for many years. Most fans continue to rate the original line-up of Powell, Turner, Turner and Upton as the best combination, although many other musicians have come and gone over the years.

Further Reading

WishboneAsh.Com is the official band website...

...and Wishbone Ash Online is a huge website all about Wishbone Ash and related bands, and is endorsed by Martin Turner.

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¹ The original line-up actually reformed for a while in 1987 and produced three albums including the instrumental album Nouveau Calls (no vocals - geddit?).