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Biography
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Ash Latest
Select April 1996
Tim, Rick and Mark on selected topics
This is a momentous occasion. Owen
Morris - enormously successful,
highly acclaimed record producer in
his mid 30s - is standing in the middle of the studio floor,
in a static
mid-strike air-guitar pose. Beside
him are Ash, throwing similarly
exaggerated stadium-rock shapes. It's 2am,
Rockfield studios, Wales.
With
a litre of vodka, a mound of empty beer cans,
a half-caned wrap of sulphate testifying to
the nutrition on offer, the finished mix of Ash's
new single, 'Goldfinger', gnaws through the
speakers.
And then, over to the large cardboard box in
the corner of the room, the word 'Suggestions'
scrawled across the side. A stash of inspired
ideas, kindly donated by anyone passing, from
which Ash will select the title for their first
full-length album. Something appropriate, perhaps
reflecting their growing maturity and
long-term aims.
"For f**k's sake," Rick
squeals, as the winning suggestion
is picked from the box. "Who
the fuck wrote this?"
Tonight marks the inception of 'Ash: The
Adult Years. The notoriously rogue-ish sixth-form blazers 'n'
booze boys, want to grow up.
Expose their one-dimensional, happy-happy, no
worries, teenage-kicks world for what it is.
Divulge the sensitive facets of their inner
psyches... Be taken a little more seriously.
Hence, they will not be calling their gritty, eclectic debut album,
'Ash: Look Girls, Cut The Shit
And Suck My Dick.'
Tim Wheeler is 19 years old.
Born January 4
Guitarist/vocalist and main
songwriter. A non-smoker with a nervous finger-
fiddling habit. He worships Phil Lynott
and used to
wear a studded wrist-band. Teasingly nicknamed
Jake The Peg due to the reputed size of his
manhood. He's presently slurping his way through
a bowl of soggy cornflakes.
THE BAND
"We're actually very mature, but you wouldn't
guess it from our image. It's our own fault we're
portrayed as this mad, young, pissed band.
Teenagers just f**king out of school not knowing
about music and all that, but that's not the truth.
We know where we're at, we just haven't f**king
told anyone yet. Usually we dismiss serious things,
thinking we'd sound pompous or arrogant. But if
people are gonna get it, you have to tell them, cos
we're not like any other band. I know we're special."
FAME
"It's not a massive deal, because we're no way
near massive. But at first it did my head in, even
though I've always wanted to be famous and was
totally obsessed with wanting to be a rock star.
Fame seems to mean that people respect you or
something, but it'sjust made me treat everything
and everybody very cynically. Even my friends -
started thinking nobody really means it. Eventually I
got my head round it - some people are real and
some aren't. Unfortunately, I'm a really bad judge
of character, I can never tell."
ALCOHOL
"I don't drink as much as the other two. I've got
more pressures than them, so I try to keep my
head together. I tend to go through phases really.
I'll binge for three days and then get bored and
think, F**k it, there's no point. But it's fun - I don't
drink to forget, because there's nothing I want to
forget. How do I act? I can be cool, but mostly
I'm a bit of a dickhead."
PARANOIA
"It's hard to be a normal person with all that going
on, you do get really paranoid. I don't think I've
been an arrogant wanker... yet. But if you are going
to be a proper rock star, it helps if you have an
attitude. The attitude of being better, because
people do look up to you, and it works if you play up
to it. At the same time, you have to be for real. My
mother said to me, Don't stop being a nice guy...
I don't think I will."
SEX
"I lost my virginity to my first girlfriend on New
Year's Eve, four days before my 17th birthday. It
was pretty lame, actually, but we went out for a long
time, so it got better. Sex is no big deal, but I like it.
Well... I love it, but I have self-control. You do get a
lot of girls who come up to you, but I can hold back.
I always try and maintain my integrity. Anyway, I'm
generally attracted to people I can get along with,
rather than looks. I don't like insincerity, so I wait
until I can trust somebody."
DRUGS
"I suppose I've done f**k all really. I smoke quite a
lot, but I don't really count that. I took acid when I
was 15 and it really f**ked me up. It was after I split
with my girlfriend and it just made me realise how
lonely and depressed I was (laughs). I blamed the
acid. I suppose I always thought that if I started
taking all this stuff, I'd become a real drug addict. I
like the thought of going completely off the rails - it
seems attractive, but I've plenty of time for that
later. For the moment, I've got to keep it together."
CHILDHOOD.
"I'm lucky, I never really had any problems.
Everything was very secure and stable, just how it's meant to be.
My parents are from a
much older generation, so they have
a sort of naivety about a lot of
things, which actually makes them
quite liberal."
MONEY
"I don't care much for money, I
just want security. I suppose
we've got a wee bit in
the bank now.
At least,
more than most 19 year olds, which
is nice, but not that important to us.
I know we're all from quite middle
class families, but none of us were
spoilt. I rarely got pocket money and
if I did, it was at 1972's rates, the
amount my dad gave my older sister."
THE TEEN PIN-UP
"I love the idea of being on posters,
it's cool attention. If I wasn't in a
band, no one would f**king stop to
look at me. Being a pop star makes
all the difference, and, at least I
know that, so it's alright. Attention is
not something I need, it's not that
important, but whenever I get it, I
do go for it. I remember when
Justine (
Elastica) said
she liked
the idea of 16-year-old boys
wanking over her picture. I found
that insulting and patronising,
because I was 16 at the time.
But I guess it was a pretty cool
thing to actually admit."
RELIGION
"First of all, as a Northern Ireland
thing, I don't give a shit about
religion and politics. When I was
younger I used to think about God,
but I never really believed in him. It's
just about security, and I'd prefer to
find that in relationships."
LOVE
I was disillusioned about love after
breaking up with my first girlfriend. I
don't think I've been in love since
then. It just felt so good, but now I
find it really hard to fall in love with
anyone. I'm much more cynical, and
it feels really impossible after having
your heartbroken. I'd like it to truly
mean something."
DEATH
"Maybe I am scared, but I ust
haven't thought about it. Maybe
that's one of the great things about
being in a band, and making
records. You leave a mark, you never
die, and I want to be significant. I
don'twanttobe like everybody else."
THE FUTURE
"We want to be around for a while,
the records I'm making now won't
be a scratch on what I'll be
doing when I'm 25. I'll be
ashamed - I've already dismissed
'Angel Interceptor' and that was
the last single."
Rick McMurray. Drummer, and, at 20, the oldest member of Ash. Born
July 11 1975. A 20-a-day Malboro Lights
man, he achieved three 'A's after
barely working for his A-Levels. An intellectual who admits to being
lazy and easily led. Nicknamed 'Frock'
after a spate of dress-wearing
incidents. he pours himself a glass of wine and warns that the speed
he just
took may kick in at any time.
SEX
"I lost my virginity at 18. It wasn't that I waited for the right time,
I just kept thinking, Sh*t, is it ever going to happen? It was worse
than I expected, but it was alright. I have slept with people on tour, but
it doesn't happen very often and it's usually the result of drink and luck. The thing
about groupies is they want to shag someone famous and you just want sex,
so both people are getting what they want. I don't see it as taking advantage
of anyone else."
ASPIRATIONS
"I'd love to play the guitar actually, I have all these strange dreams
about killing Tim and taking over the band (he laughs). Just kidding.
But I sometimes wish I could write songs as good as Tims'."
DRUGS
"I don't really do that much, I smoke a bit and take speed sometimes.
I do it when I feel like it and want to have a good time, usually when
I'm off my face. I'm pretty open to the whole thing - I'd like to see
what certain drugs are like, but it's not a big deal. Taking drugs can
be interesting, but I certainly don't have to have them."
ALCOHOL
"I love getting drunk, it's fun, just to have a good time and jabber
like an idiot at people. I don't really care what anyone thinks - I've
got a brain, but sometimes I like losing it. I've had quite a lot of
blackouts recently, after drinking too much. My parents don't worry
about me, cos I lie to them, they don't even know I smoke."
LOVE
"If it ever came to a choice between love and the band, I'd choose the
band. I've only ever been in love once, it lasted about a year. I don't
really want a girlfriend at the moment, I'm such a lazy bastard, I can't
be bothered with making phone calls. I prefer to sit around and do nothing.
Commitment is difficult when you're in a band. You have to face the reality
of what you're doing."
IMAGE
"I'm really tired and bored of the Kids On The Piss thing. People in
bands drink, teenagers drink, it's not a big deal. I just wsh they'd get
a hold of something more interesting. At the same time, I'm not going to
stay straight just because some journalist's there, I don't care about
the gossip columns. The novelty of us being underage drinkers has worn off.
Time to move on."
CHILDHOOD
"I was pretty quiet at school, not very outgoing. I was a bit of a late developer
when it came to drinking. I'm not sure if it was the band that brought
the exhibitionist out in me, because the band and drinking started at
the same time. I don't think I'm shy at all anymore. You can't be if you have
to meet people all the time."
FAME
"I don't really think about it that much. There was one time backstage after a gig,
I was drunk and talking sh*t as usual, and this girl turned round and
said, 'You're only acting like that because you're in a band, and it'll probably all
be gone in two years." We had this big argument for about an hour.
Travelling and stuff is really cool, but being in a band doesn't make
you a better person."
Mark Hamilton is 18,
bassist, and
youngest, most mysterious member
of Ash. Born March 24 1977. A si-fi
fanatic, he doesn't view Star Wars
as a film, more another world. He
believes members of his family were
once abducted by aliens. Rarely
quoted in interviews, largely due to
his unintelligible accent and low
boredom threshold. He's slumped
on the sofa, with five full bottles of
lager by his feet.
FEAR
"I fucking hate fish. Wee bug-eyed
bastards. It started when I was a kid
and I found a piece of scaly skin in a
fishfinger. It must have triggered
something. I screamed and kicked
my plate across the table. At home I
have to get somebody to move the
goldfish before I'll go into the lounge.
I've been waiting for that f***er to die
for eight years."
MONEY
"I'm not really bothered about
money. I mean, it's nice to be able to
afford stuff like clothes... and Star
Wars figures. I remember when Tim
and I were 13, in our first band,
Vietnam. We used to starve
ourselves all week at school, saving
all our dinner money just so we could
buy a lead. And if we wanted to
record something even a shifty eight-
track studio would cost us £80. Back
then, we couldn't raise that much
money even if we both starved for
a whole year."
FAME
"I don't really get recognised that
much, so it doesn't bother me.
Sometimes, at home I get all these
little kids going, Oh you're Ash. But
it's not as if we have all these people
coming to Belfast to camp outside
our houses. I do understand fame -
Princess Leia (ie. Carrie Fisher) was
on the same plane as us once and I
was shaking like f**k. All the others
were saying 'Go on, get her
autograph or you'll regret it for the
rest of your life.' Eventually I did, but
I could barely even speak."
DRUGS
"I used to be mad for everything. I
even tried heroin, but I didn't like it -
I got a rush for about a minute then
blacked out. Then, last February,
everything went wrong. I just lost it.
It was a combination of problems at
home, f**king hating school and too
much drugs. Everything just caved in
and I ended up in intensive care. I
actually thought I was dead at two
different points, it was so bad.
Everything was just in pain, mentally
and physically, it was like a really bad
acid trip that lasted about six
months. Every minute went on for
hours so it was hell, but I got through
it. I still get pains in my head, but I'm
used to it. So I don't really do any of
that sh*t now. I just say, 'Nah, it's not
for me thanks. '"
ALCOHOL
"I spent the last four months of '95
drinking myself unconscious every
night. That was cool (laughs). I don't
do it so often now, not every night.
And I always get the worst hangovers,
even if I only have like, three beers."
SONGWRITING
"I've written three songs on the
album, and the B-side to 'Goldfinger'
called... I wrote that one when I was
in hospital, lying in bed, just to focus
on something. I was on Lostrol,
Valium and Beta-blockers, really
heavy downers, cos I was just mad.
You know, just to calm me down. I
was going f**king nuts. So it was
difficult to focus on anything, I was
like a vegetable for months and doing
a song was the first step to getting
fixed. As far as being a songwriter
goes, I don't feel I've got anything to
live up to. I just did it."
COMPASSION
"I've got a fluffy toy rabbit called
Peter, it's older than me and I take it
everywhere. At the moment, though,
I'm having to hide it, because Leef (sic),
our guitar tech, wants to stab it."
CHILDHOOD
"I was a real trouble maker as a kid.
Anything I could do just to get at the
teachers or stir sh*t, but I would
always get other people to do the bad
deed. I was the one busy thinking up
plans, so! never got caught. The
headmaster knew I was always
behind it but could never prove it.
I don't know why I was so
rebellious. I grew up in a
stable environment, we're
a very tight, close family.
My mum works with
old people and my
dad's a dentist.
Look! I've not got
one filling."
SEX
"I lost my
virginity at 14,
it was sort of
weird. Not sure what to do. After that,
I was the same way I was with drugs,
I totally went for it. I'm not like that
now. If I had a girlfriend, it wouldn't
bother me not having it when we're
on tour. I'd be monogamous. I don't
think I could live with the guilt."
RELIGION
"Religion is quite weird for me. I was
brought upon a totally hardcore
Protestant estate, then we moved
when I was eleven to the other
extreme, a full-on Republican area. I
was really prejudiced for a while, a
total bastard, because that's how I
was conditioned. Then you get wise
to it. All my mates back home are
actually Catholics."
THE FUTURE
"I always think, do the band, take it
as far as it will go, get really massive
and then go off and do something
new. I'm financing a record label, X-Wing
, at the moment mainly cos
there's some cool bands in Belfast
but not even one shifty wee label they
can go to. We're putting out a
compilation CD called 'Laugh Hard At
The Absurdly Evil', then we'll do a
couple of singles later on. I don't
think I'd like to end up running a big
record label. I actually like the idea of
being a fireman."
DEATH
"I don't know what to think about
death. You either die and there's
nothing or you die and go to a better
place. Since I was sick, though, I've
totally changed myways, I've gone
from being a bit of a
devious c*** to
being straight
and honest."
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