Wishbone Ash are a British rock band who achieved success in the early to mid-1970s.

Wishbone Ash are noted for their extensive use of harmony twin lead guitars, which had been attracting electric blues bands since Jeff Beck and Jimmy Page had played together in the Yardbirds in 1966. Their contributions helped Andy Powell and Ted Turner to be voted "Two of the Ten Most Important Guitarists in Rock History" (Traffic magazine 1989). Melody Maker (1972) described Powell and Turner as "the most interesting two-guitar team since the days when Beck and Page graced The Yardbirds". Several notable bands have cited Wishbone Ash as an influence, including the Eagles, Judas Priest, Iron Maiden, Van Halen, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Thin Lizzy, Metallica, Dream Theater, Overkill and Opeth.

Formed in Torquay, Devon in 1969 out of the ashes of the trio The Empty Vessels (originally known as The Torinoes, later briefly being renamed Tanglewood in 1969), which had been formed by Wishbone Ash's founding member and creative force Martin Turner (lead vocals and bass guitar) in 1963 and complemented by Steve Upton (drums and percussion) in 1966. Wishbone Ash formed when Martin Turner and Steve Upton set up auditions for a guitarist and subsequently ended up with two guitarists because they could not decide between the two. So as a result, guitarists/vocalists Andy Powell and Ted Turner completed the original Wishbone Ash line-up. In 1974 Ted Turner left the band, and was replaced by Laurie Wisefield.

In the meantime, previously booked concerts were covered by the Powell/Upton/Crompton/Pyle lineup, including a show in May 1987 in

Sun City in South Africa, where the band had been advised that they would be playing to a 50/50 multi-racial audience. But when this did not occur, the band returned to the UK and wrote to the United Nations expressing their regret at playing the show and their support of the anti-apartheid cause. The court ruled in favour of Andy Powell with the comprehensive judgement forming a clear history of the band since its inception.

On 19 February 2014 the 24th studio album Blue Horizon was released. The reviews for this album were generally very positive. As of 2014 this line-up of the band, having been together since 2007, became the longest-lasting line-up of Wishbone Ash in the group's history and on 16 May 2015 they recorded a live to vinyl album at Metropolis Studios.

On 21–23 May 2015 Wishbone Ash recorded the DVD Live in Paris at in France. The performance included additional percussion and guitar contributions from Andy's son Aynsley Powell.

In May 2017 it was announced that Mark Abrahams, a long time Wishbone Ash fan, would be joining to cover guitar duties. Abrahams is a guitarist who previously owned Vision Guitars, a guitar shop in Castleford, West Yorkshire, England.

On 24 September 2019 it was announced that Wishbone Ash were signed to Steamhammer/SPV and released Coat of Arms, their first studio album in six years, on 28 February 2020. The album's lead single, "We Stand as One", was premiered on to the band's 50th anniversary in autumn 2019 and had been released on 10 January 2020. The second single "Back in the Day" was released on 7 February 2020. The album cover was created by a heraldry artist Olaf Keller in the Regal Coat of Arms design studio.

For some dates on their 2021 tour, drummer Windsor McGilvray subbed for Joe Crabtree, then Mike Sturgis rejoined the band in place of Crabtree, after which Mike Truscott became Wishbone Ash's official drummer in February 2022.

In August 2023 the band announced the release of a live album, Live Dates Live.

In January 2026 drummer McGilvray replaced Mike Truscott.

Martin Turner ex Wishbone Ash

Martin Turner began touring in 2004 with "Martin Turner's Wishbone Ash", performing material by the classic line ups of the band. Occasionally Ted Turner and Laurie Wisefield have joined his group on stage as guests. He published his autobiography in 2012.

In 2013 Andy Powell took legal action to protect the Wishbone Ash registered trademark and prevent Martin Turner from using his chosen group name. The court ruled in favour of Andy Powell and Martin Turner's application to appeal was refused. Since then he has toured and recorded with his band as "Martin Turner ex Wishbone Ash".

Special events

Wishbone Ash have developed two group gatherings, AshCon in the UK and AshFest in the United States. These began in 1994 and have developed into gatherings of the 'faithful' and have since become annual fixtures.

Personnel

;Current members

  • Andy Powell – guitar, vocals <small>(1969–present)</small>
  • Bob Skeat – bass, backing vocals <small>(1997–present).</small>
  • Mark Abrahams – guitar <small>(2017–present)</small>
  • Windsor McGilvray – drums, backing vocals <small>(2026–present)</small>

Discography

Studio albums

  • Wishbone Ash (1970)
  • Pilgrimage (1971)
  • Argus (1972)
  • Wishbone Four (1973)
  • There's the Rub (1974)
  • Locked In (1976)
  • New England (1976)
  • Front Page News (1977)
  • No Smoke Without Fire (1978)
  • Just Testing (1980)
  • Number the Brave (1981)
  • Twin Barrels Burning (1982)
  • Raw to the Bone (1985)
  • Nouveau Calls (1987)
  • Here to Hear (1989)
  • Strange Affair (1991)
  • Illuminations (1996)
  • Trance Visionary (1998) <small>(electronic re-recordings)</small>
  • Psychic Terrorism (1998) <small>(electronic re-recordings)</small>
  • Bare Bones (1999) <small>(acoustic re-recordings)</small>
  • Bona Fide (2002)
  • Clan Destiny (2006)
  • Power of Eternity (2007)
  • Elegant Stealth (2011)
  • Blue Horizon (2014)
  • Coat of Arms (2020)

References