A POCKET HISTORY OF WISHBONE ASH

By: STEVE UPTON

 

29th September 1976 
Flew to Japan to start second tour.

15th September 1976
Flew to London to start UK/European Tour. 

January to May 1977
Rehearsals in Connecticut.

12 May 1977 - 28th July 1977
Recorded ninth album in Miami. Album called "Front Page News," 
produced by Ronnie and Howie Alpert. 

September to October 1977
UK / European Tour.

31 October 1977
Played first gig at Wembley Empire Pool.

8th November - 11th December 1977
U.S. Tour.

January to June 1978
Write and rehearse for the new album.

29th June - 13th August 1978
Recorded tenth album, "No Smoke Without Fire."
Derek Lawrence producing. 

6th October - 2nd November 1978
UK Tour.

7th - 8th November 1978
Third tour of Japan.

January to April 1979
Writing and recording eleventh album. Nigel Gray producing 
at Surrey Sound, album entitled "Just Testing." We heard about 
the studio from Kim Turner, Martin's brother who was now working 
with Miles and  "The Police." 

22nd November 1979
Played our only concert of the year at Wembley arena in aid of 
"year of the Child." 

19th January - 13 February 1980
UK Tour. Recorded shows for Live Dates 2.

20th September 1980
Meeting at Martin's house, he decides to leave the band.

September to October 1980
Start rehearsals for new bass player.

16 October 1980
Start rehearsals with John Wetton for next album.

21 November - 19 December 1980
Recorded our 12th album, "Number the Brave." In Miami. Produced 
by Nigel Gray.

19 December 1980
Finished the album.

14th April 1981
After auditioning bass players for the first part of the year, 
finally settle for Trevor Boulder (Bowie, Heep).

16th May 1981
First gig of UK / European tour with Trevor Boulder and Clare Hammil 
who sang back -up vocals.

14 July - 17th August 1981
U.S. Tour and then back to London.

3 December 1981
Flew to India to play our first concerts. Arrived at Bombay airport at 
about 1:30 AM Friday the 4th. We had never seen such a scene at the airport. 
People everywhere, the heat and dust filling the air; suddenly we were on 
Planet India. On the way to the hotel the scenes of people asleep at the 
side of the roads, others gathered around fires, wild dogs scavenging and 
Holy Cows wandering, it was so much to take in. It was like starring in a 
Fellinni movie. The next two days were spent getting used to our new 
environment and preparing to play gigs. 

7 December 1981
Played our first India gig in an open-air theater. Turns out we were once 
again crossing paths with Miles and The Police. They had been to India 
earlier in the year and had left their P.A. System there, as a contribution 
to Third World Rock n' Roll. We were using their P.A. system and played the 
same venue. The audience was as baffled by loud rock music as we were 
about India. There were 5000 people inside the theater and 10,000 outside 
all dancing in the streets. An amazing gig and unforgettable experience. 
Next night played the same venue.

12 December 1981
Played gig at Mandras University. This time the concert was inside a hall 
and the first five rows were filled with the dignitaries of the University 
and city, all dressed up as if they were attending a classical concert. It 
wasn't long after we started the set that they realized what they were in 
for and they slowly, one-by-one retreated and their places were taken up 
by the kids. Again, it was an amazing gig, especially for the audience who 
had not before witnessed a Western Rock Band.

14 December 1981
By the time it came for us to leave India we had all grown to love it, 
despite obvious culture differences,  and we were talking about returning 
to play more shows. 

June 1982
Period spent writing, rehearsing and demoing for a new album, also did a 
few gigs in England, trying out new songs.

7th June - 6th August 1982
Recorded 13th album "Twin Barrels Burning" at the Sol Studio with 
Ashley House as Engineer / Producer.

September - October 1982
U.K. Tour.

4th February 1983
Manager for the past 5 years resigns as director of our company and 
advises us to go bankrupt. General group decision to manage the 
crisis and keep on playing.

13th February 1983
Flew to Bombay, India to start our second tour.

15th February 1983
Played in Bombay at the same venue as before. Again, a great audience 
reaction. After show, we were taken to the hottest spots in town, 
where woman in cages display their talents to the passing audience 
in the streets.

16th February 1983
Drove from Bombay to Poona an Eastward journey in-land through the 
winding hills. The journey took about six hours but seemed like an 
eternity along the roads no bigger than lanes in a car resembling a 
sowing machine, but not quite as stable. At regular intervals there 
were the remnants of old accidents, where a car had hit an ox and cart. 
The ox would have been covered in earth and being pecked at by huge 
black birds and the cart a pile of fire wood at its side. We saw trucks 
that had gone over the ravines and we actually helped pull man from his 
truck that had turned over in the middle of the road. The gig that evening 
was just a formality after such an eventful journey. The following day we 
had to face the same journey back to Bombay. We left about five in the 
morning as we had a flight booked to Madras later in the day.