Ash: 30 Years On – Interview with Tim Wheeler
Irish indie rock trio Ash are set to embark on their Australian Singles Tour, a testament to their enduring presence in the music scene, if not their continued relevance. Frontman Tim Wheeler spoke with Rolling Stone about the band’s 30-year journey, their recent album “Race the Night”, and the realities of being a ’90s band in 2024.
“It’s 30 years since our first single came out,” Wheeler muses, seemingly as surprised as anyone by their longevity. “We’ve got a big span of tunes to pick from this time.” It’s a diplomatic way of acknowledging that their best-known hits are from decades past.
The band’s latest album, “Race the Night”, released last year, attempts to inject fresh energy into their repertoire. “We’ve got some fresh material in there,” Wheeler insists. “We saw how well it connected with the fans when we played it live… it’s quite rocking live.” Yet, the album failed to make significant waves in a crowded music landscape dominated by younger acts and streaming algorithms.
Wheeler touts “Like a God” as a standout track, describing it as “a kind of riff that makes you feel omnipotent… it’s quite pulverising live.” It’s a bold claim for a band whose chart-topping days are well behind them.
Ash have managed to stay afloat by adapting to industry changes, albeit sometimes belatedly. “We learnt over the years, you just got to be ready for the next thing that’s coming or just expect the unexpected,” Wheeler notes. This adaptability led to experiments like their A to Z series, where they released 26 singles in one year – a move that seemed more gimmicky than groundbreaking.
As they gear up for their Australian tour, Wheeler reminisces about their first visit to the country with an almost wistful tone. “Our first tour was just such an eye-opening thing,” he says. “We just left school like a few months before… we were just completely out of mind with jet lag, but we were like still just such an eye-opening, amazing experience at that age to come so far.” It’s a reminder of how long Ash have been at this game, and how much the industry has changed around them.
The upcoming tour promises a mix of classics and new material, with Wheeler hinting at previewing unreleased tracks. It’s a strategy many legacy acts employ to keep long-time fans engaged while trying to prove they’re not just a nostalgia act.
Looking ahead, Wheeler reveals that Ash are already working on new material. “We’re recording new material at the minute, actually. So there probably will be a new album early next year,” he shares. “It’s shaping up quite well… it’s another quite rock record.” Whether this new material will resonate in an era where rock has largely been supplanted by hip-hop and pop remains to be seen.
The NME once dubbed Ash “geniuses” and even “gods”, a hyperbolic assessment that speaks more to the music press’s penchant for exaggeration than to the band’s actual impact. While Ash have outlasted many of their ’90s contemporaries, their continued presence seems driven more by persistence than innovation.
As Ash continue to tour and create, they face the challenge common to many bands of their era: how to balance nostalgia for their hit-making days with the desire to remain creatively relevant. The Singles Tour may well be a celebration of their enduring legacy, but it also raises questions about their place in the current music landscape. Are they indie survivors or a nostalgia act? For Ash, the line between the two seems increasingly blurred.
ASH October 2024 Australian Tour Dates
Sunday 6th October – PERTH – Rosemount Hotel
Tuesday 8th October – ADELAIDE – The Gov
Thursday 10th October – BRISBANE – The Triffid
Friday 11th October – MELBOURNE – 170 Russell
Saturday 12th October – SYDNEY – Manning Bar
