Tuesday,
4 June, 2002 15:00 BST
Ash Interview |
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| Tim
Wheeler and mark Hamilton on stage |
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Ash
celebrate 10 years together this month - they've achieved world domination
along the way and were one of the headline acts at the Isle of Wight
Festival. BBC Southampton's Stephen Stafford caught up Tim Wheeler
and Rick McMurray backstage...
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Is
this is your first time on the Isle of Wight - what do you think of
it so far?
TW - Yeah,
we enjoyed the ferry crossing at about three o'clock last night, but
all we've seen is a catering tent, a hotel room and a field!
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| Mark
Hamilton |
Do
you know much about the history of the Isle of Wight festival?
TW - It's amazing that so many prestigious, incredible gigs happened
here. I hope people aren't going to try to relive it.
RM - It's not like a hippy drug fest anymore.
TW - Yeah, things have to be well organised now - there was no
crowd control or anything in those days!
Would you have like to have played back then?
TW - Yeah, big time! It would have been amazing , but I wouldn't
even have been a foetus then!
Who would you have most liked playing alongside?
TW - Well of course there was Hendrix, The Who, Bob Dylan, Leonard
Cohen...
RM - ...any one of them would do!
What's your own best festival experience?
RW - We've had some really amazing gigs at Reading. We played
The Tent when we were just kicking off, we were just 18 and had just
had our first single in the Top 20.
RM - We went back to The Tent last year and it was mad - there
were thousands of people - it was totally rammed.
TW - Last year we did the Witness festival in Ireland. We were
meant to be playing The Tent but the album had done really well, so
we got moved to the main stage to headline above Texas. It was pouring
down with rain but everyone still stayed to see us.
RM Because they have had deaths from crowd surfing in Ireland
you're not allowed to do it any more. Instead people start building
people pyramids, which is probably even more dangerous but kind of
cool looking.
Do you prepare any differently for a gig like this than you would
for a normal tour date?
TW - Not really, I guess we have a shorter set we're a bit limited
and don't get a sound check. We just get up and bash it out - we do
loads of singles. We did 44 festivals last summer so it's kind of
normal for us now.
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| Charlotte
Hathereley |
So
what have you been up to recently?
RM - Concentrating on America - I think we'll be spending the
rest of the year there. We've got a new deal with Kinetic and things
are looking pretty good - though I don't want to jinx it!
TW - We're touring with Coldplay, Moby and David Bowie, so we're
just doing massive tours.
How difficult is it for you to break America, so many people have
tried and failed?
TW - I think it's about having the right record company behind
you and spending the time out there.
RM - ...and having the right attitude, not thinking that just
because you're big over here, you can just expect to be treated like
stars over there - you need to tour and work hard.
What have the highlights been so far?
TW - We had a good gig in Providence last week
RM - Washington was good as well, playing the car park of the
Redskins stadium - that was cool.
TW - Moby and David Bowie are coming up - Charlotte is going
to be totally freaked out because Bowie is her ultimate sex god!
What's it like for you when you meet people like that?
TW - I used to get really freaked out, but you have a much better
conversation when you're not in awe of them!
RM - They're always shorter than you think!
How will you avoid being forgotten about in Britain when you're in
the USA?
TW - We're releasing a new single which we recorded in New York
- called 'Envy' which will be on a new compilation of our singles,
we'll keep releasing material - we've been around long enough so people
won't forget us!
What do you think of the new Star Wars film?
RM - I'm still not convinced. I've seen it a couple of times its
got it's good bits, but it doesn't have the same feel as the original.
Everyone's split - Mark loves it but I've heard other Star Wars fans
who said it's absolute rubbish.
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| Tim Wheeler |
Did
you rush out and see it as soon as it came out?
RM - Me and Mark did - we were in New York and managed to get
tickets for the first showing but got to the cinema two hours before,
but I was so jet lagged that as soon as we took our seats and the
lights went out I fell asleep!
The Isle of Wight is quite a similar area to where you grew up in
that it's away from the main music circuit, what advice would you
have for young bands from here?
TW - We started our career in London, that was after we'd played
round everywhere there was to play in Northern Ireland, until we couldn't
play there anymore really. Luckily someone in London heard our tape
- I'd try and get a deal there really.
Who's your money on for the World Cup?
TW - Ireland!
RM - We'll go all the way! It would be good to see some of the
lesser teams doing well - Spain, Portugal or Senegal!
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BBC Southampton Website
Broadcasting House,
Havelock Road,
Southampton
SO14 7PU
(+44) 023 80 374370/1/2
southampton@bbc.co.uk
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