A POCKET HISTORY OF WISHBONE ASH

By: STEVE UPTON

 

17 February 1983
Drove south from Madras to an ancient shrine on the coastline of
the Bay of Bengal. There are seven enormous granite boulders, 
which are carved into fantastic scenes. Each rock shrine is 
dedicated to a particular Hindu deity and dates back to the 
beginning of the 7th century. On our return journey to Madras 
we stopped at a crocodile farm where we witnessed the frenzied 
feeding time as they were thrown chunks of meat into their walled pits.

18 February 1983
Played Madras, open air concert.

19 February 1983
Flew to Bangalore. The police chief was a fan of the band and 
insisted that we be introduced to him on the stage in front of 
the audience prior to playing the gig, which we duly did. 

20 February 1983
Flew back to London. Played Marquee Club, recorded and video 
taped the gig for Marquee's 25th Anniversary series.

25 February 1983
Flew to Dublin. Arrived early morning to find that the crew 
truck with the equipment had been stolen. Several hours later 
the police found the truck abandoned with all the equipment 
still on board. 

17 April 1983
Trevor Boulder's last gig in Vaal, Holland.

25 April 1983
Mervyn Spence joins band on bass and vocals.

3 May 1983
Flew to America to start tour.

June - December 1983
Recorded fourteenth album during this period, with Nigel Gray. 
Album called "Raw to the Bone."

July - December 1983
Rest of year doing gigs in Europe and rehearsing.

11 January 1985
Took tape of "Raw to the Bone" and photographs of band to Miles 
at Marlborough Place. He said he would be embarrassed to be 
associated with Wishbone Ash again! 

January - May 1985
Period for album deals in UK and USA.

1 June - 9 December 1985
UK tour and one-off gigs in Europe.

11 December 1985
Flew to Bombay, India for third tour.

14 December 1985
Played in Bombay to the usual masses inside and outside the venue. 

15 December 1985
Played in Goa, a place we have always wanted to visit but till 
now had not. An old Portugese colony on the west coast, it is 
a haven for travelers of the world who, once they arrive, never 
want to leave. Audience was made up of both Indian and Europeans.

17 December 1985
Our return to Madras was marked by mass stomach troubles, which, 
slowly but surely, picked out its victims with devastating results. 
As one person slowly recovered from the ordeal of being turned 
inside out, the expressions on the faces of one's laughing mates 
could be seen to change very quickly, as the first stabbing pains 
afflicted them and they knew it was their turn to be strapped to 
the toilet seat for the day. One poor victim never made it to the 
seat and was found the next morning laying on the floor in a fetal 
position, covered in his bodily exhumations. He was promptly hosed 
down and recovered soon after.

19 December 1985
Spent two days at a place called Fisherman's Cove. We occupied 
beach side bungalows and recovered from "Delhi Belly" in style. 
We were situated on one of the longest stretches of beach in the 
world on the Bay of Bengal. Small fishing villages either side of 
where we were staying dotted the coastline. One day we decided to 
visit one. The village people were very friendly and took two of 
us out on one of their dug out fishing boats. We seemed to float 
miles from the shore and suddenly we both realized where we were, 
and that we were at the mercy of two strangers who looked like 
cut-throat pirates in their loan clothes and turbans. They were, 
however, as friendly as could be and happy to show us their world. 

21 December 1985
Flew to Calcutta. The drive from the airport to the hotel was as 
if we were descending to the center of the world. The pollution and 
smell was the worst in our experience of travel. On arrival at the 
hotel, Andy Powell went for a walk on the streets himself. The number 
of people scurrying about soon absorbed him and he was lost. He tried 
in vain to find his way back, and at one point was consumed by a 
passing procession of Lepers who were ringing bells and banging small 
drums. He was quite happy walking along with them listening to what 
he thought was music until he noticed the man who was banging the drum. 
His Beard had dropped off. He eventually found his way back in time for 
our gig that evening, which was held in an open-air amphitheater. Again, 
an ecstatic audience response.