A LOT of grown-up indie kids suddenly felt very old indeed last week when Ash's chart-topping debut album 1977 turned 25.
The Downpatrick-bred trio's stellar contribution to the guitar-powered sound of summer 1996 cemented their status as teenagers turned hit-makers on the strength of evergreen singles Oh Yeah, Goldfinger, Angel Interceptor, Kung Fu and Girl From Mars: the album propelled singer/guitarist Tim Wheeler, bassist Mark Hamilton and drummer Rick McMurray onto magazine covers and around the globe on a trail of sweaty sold-out gigs and alcohol-fuelled mischief.
A quarter century later, 1977 is still fondly remembered as one of the quintessential indie albums of the 1990s (and one of the few that was actually independently released) and Ash have never stopped making music together – they released their seventh album, Islands, in 2018.
However, despite the global pandemic having halted their touring activities for the past year and a bit, the band have decided that the silver anniversary of their epochal Platinum-certified record must be marked. Thus, 1977 will be celebrated in ultra-modern style next month when Ash play their teenage magnum opus in its entirety for their first ever 'global transmission', which fans can watch online from the comfort and safety of their own homes.
The Irish News called the group at their rehearsal room earlier this week, where frontman, chief songwriter and erstwhile teen pin-up Tim (44) shared how the band had just reunited in person for the first time following the enforced lay-off in order to dust down their 1977 material.
"I haven't seen Rick for a year and I haven't seen Mark since last August", explains the New York City-based singer/guitarist, who spent most of lockdown in his native Downpatrick due to travel restrictions.
"It's our first time playing in over a year, so we're just running through the 1977 set and trying to blow away the cobwebs."
Given that the aforementioned singles are still pretty much staples of the modern day Ash live set, you'd imagine they can play them in their sleep after 25 years of touring – and you'd be right.
"We were surprised actually," admits Tim.
"They all sounded really good on the first time through, which has made us wonder why we've booked so much rehearsal time! I guess they're all really deep in the muscle memory. And because of the whole lockdown stuff we've all been at home playing our instruments a lot, so we're actually not too bad."
While many artists cringe their way through performances of early material, Ash are blessed with a debut album which was a concious effort to evolve their songwriting beyond the band's grungy, pop punky beginnings, an era documented on their 1994 mini-LP, Trailer, and exemplified by the power-chord brilliance of debut single, Jack Names The Planets.
It also helps that Ash rarely perform the album in its entirety, except for special occasions, as Tim explains.
"I think we've only revisited it in full only three or four times," says the frontman, who released his debut solo album, Lost Domain, in 2014.
"But the songs are still fun to play. I guess 1977 really defined us early on and these days we're always kind of pleased with how the songs stand up. They were kind of a wee bit precocious for a band our age anyway, given that we were still teenagers when we made the album.
"I dunno, it might be different if we were going to go back and play the whole of Trailer or something. Although we are actually thinking of digging out a couple of really old songs for the live streamed gig which feature on the BBC Sessions record we're putting out."
Indeed, fans may get to hear Coasting and American Devil – "which was originally a Vietnam song," reveals Tim, referring to the 'dodgy heavy metal' band he and Mark played in prior to Ash – exhumed and reanimated for the webgig, as both feature on the upcoming Record Store Day release Ash: BBC Sessions 1994-1999.
Only available in record shops on June 12, this pink vinyl LP offers a limited edition mop-up of early Ash radio session performances, including the band's debut John Peel session from 1994 – a huge landmark for any alternative act worth its salt back in the day, and also an excellent opportunity to hone promising material in a 'proper' studio environment.
"It was during Easter break from school when we were 17," recalls Tim of the band's first visit to the BBC's legendary Maida Vale Studios, where so many classic Peel Sessions were recorded.
"Jack Names The Planets was just coming out and we were over in London doing our first ever gigs there. It was pretty much our first time in a really high-end studio and we got to use the giant orchestral recording room there as well.
"They gave us a day to just bash it out. We did [soon to be released early Ash single] Petrol and I remember coming up with a guitar overdub which became one of the main parts of the song from then on. It was a really fun day and I remember we were amazed by how cheap the lunch was in the subsidised canteen – you could get a big dinner for like 50p!"
With a return to fully live music now tantalisingly within reach, the upcoming 1977 webgig is something of a stop-gap measure until Ash can hit the road properly again later in the year. In fact, the past 13 months without shows must be the longest live lay-off for the veteran Irish guitar popsters since they started way back in 1992.
"It definitely is," agrees Tim, who performed a few Ash songs acoustically from his mum's house in Downpatrick last year for a special charity webgig in aid of the #PRSlockdown campaign.
"Even if we're having a really 'quiet' year, we'd still probably do one or two festivals at least. But we haven't played since Norway last March."
Happily, with a slate of new and re-scheduled dates now ahead of them and a brand new Ash album in the can – "style wise, it's definitely the most extreme, all over the place sounding record we've ever done, but I think all the songs are really strong" reveals Tim of the record slated for release next year – the band are currently looking forward to getting back to 'normal', which also includes being able to go and enjoy live music as fans themselves.
"We've got seven festivals in late August/early September, so hopefully they will happen," he tells me.
"We're also playing the Roundhouse in London in September and The Specials are playing the night before us. We've done a few festivals with them and they've always been really fun, so I'd love to be able to go and see them again."
Of course, the most important shows in the Ash diary are their four Irish dates at the end of the year.
"Oh, absolutely," enthuses Tim of the gigs in Limerick, Galway, Dublin and Belfast, "roll on December!"
Book those babysitters now, people.
:: Tickets for the 1977 Global Transmission on June 5 and Ash Irish dates are on sale now via Ash-official.com
