Wishbone Ash can trace its origins back to Torquay, Devon, England, a seaside resort in the southwest of the country. It was there that Martin Turner and Steve Upton first performed together; Turner on bass, Upton on drums, before moving to London in 1969 to seek fame and fortune. In the capital the decision was made to place an advertisement for a keyboard player and a lead guitarist. The resulting audition threw up two guitar leads, but nobody could decide who to choose and the trademark twin-lead sound of Wishbone Ash was born.
Ted (David) Turner and Andy Powell soon went through the poverty and growing pains of a new band, but were fortunate that Miles Copeland was championing their cause and a fairly rapid progression was achieved. The first Album, Wishbone Ash, was released in December 1970 and their second, Pilgrimage, surfaced just six months later to reach #6 in the NME charts. Great things were just 11 months away with the release of Argus (1972) -- possibly the band's best album; certainly their most commercially successful -- which reached #2 in the UK charts and went gold. Argus is considered to be one of the great rock classics of all time. The next album, Wishbone Four, only 12 months later, went silver.
After these early highs, Ted Turner decided that he had had enough, and left the band to be replaced by Laurie Wisefield. Although Laurie’s style was not to everyone’s taste, he was generally well liked by the fans and brought a slightly harder edge to the folk-tinged progressive rock that was the Wishbone Ash formula. Wisefield was a dynamic player and became an excellent partner to Andy -- they were to play together for a very successful 11 years and the MKII version of the band is very well thought of for most of its output. About this time the band became more influenced by America and would eventually move there.
The next album, There's The Rub (1974), was recorded in Florida and produced by Eagles producer Bill Szymczyk. Once again it was to do well, achieving silver disc status. There's the Rub included the instrumental piece F.U.B.B. Steve Upton was arrested in New Zealand for announcing at a concert it's full title. In New Zealand, swearing in public is a criminal offense, and when Upton announced the title at an outdoor concert, a woman sunbathing in her garden nearby complained to the mayor. Upton spent the night in jail, and the album reached #3 in New Zealand due to the publicity.
It was inevitable that a turkey was due and to fans Locked In (1976) fit this bill. This record was not released -- it escaped! Fortunately things were much better with the quality of the following albums and although the high chart positions were gone, the fans were enjoying some competent, well-crafted output.
After 11 years in the band, Martin Turner decided to leave. This move began a period of frequent changes of bass player with the likes of John Wetton and Trevor Bolder being two of the better known; however, Wishbone Ash always has attracted musicians of the highest order. A much more controversial move was the introduction of Clair Hamill to fill in some of the vocal talent Martin had taken away with him. Clair was not popular with the fans which was perhaps a little unfair. She had contributed backing vocals on Just Testing (Turner's last album (1980), which he had also produced) and had co-written the excellent Living Proof, which is still a crowd favourite today. Her stay was short-lived with Andy Powell taking on more vocal duties. Wisefield left in late 1985 and the band continued to tour with various replacements, but were very much in limbo until 1987 when a miracle occurred. Miles Copland persuaded the original lineup to reform for a project for a music charity that he was helping, and a Hammersmith Odeon concert which the BBC recorded resulted. The project produced an instrumental album Nouveau Calls (1987), which was very well received. Even better received was the fact that three years of the original lineup were to follow.
Just when things were going so well, Steve Upton decided to quit the business entirely in 1990, to be replaced by Ray Weston. Martin Turner carried on for another year before leaving to pursue a solo career, and Ted left two years later. The next five years saw lots of personnel changes, but eventually resulted in a good period of stability with Ray Weston returning and Bob Skeet joining on bass in 1998.
The new millennium has also seen stability in respect of Andy's guitar partner, with the last 6 years being filled by Ben Granfelt and subsequently Muddy Manninen, both of whom come from Finland. 2005 saw Wishbone Ash celebrate their 35th year. 2006 heralded the new album Clan Destiny (the first featuring Muddy as guitarist). 2007 saw the exit of long-term drummer Ray Weston, due to the increasingly hectic pace of band life. Joe Crabtree (formerly of The David Cross band) stepped up to fill his place. With regard to new releases, 2007 saw First Light, which features original recordings of the songs featured on their debut album, as well as some outtakes. Also released that year was the new album The Power of Eternity (partly featuring Joe Crabtree on drums), which coincided with the Autumn tour.
Wishbone Ash are still performing 150 gigs a year in the U.S. and Europe. They get very supportive crowds with good numbers turning out all over Europe -- the U.S. tends to attract smaller audiences, but very committed fans. If you want to hear classic Wishbone Ash, get ahold of Argus. Visit their web site www.wishboneash.com, where tour dates and albums, etc. can be obtained.
Another Time
Wishbone Ash Lyrics
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You never told me you'd be there.
Nothing was said, but it was understood.
I never doubted that you'd care.
Another time, another memory,
Like the light from a burning star.
Another time you will come back to me
Now the storm breaks without a warning,
With no time for us to prepare.
Now more than ever how I need you.
I never doubted you'd be there.
Oh, the prophecy
Of what it's gonna be
For you and me,
Oh, forgive me if I wander
From the path that we were on.
You never told me you'd be waiting,
You never told me you'd be there.
Now more than ever how I need you.
I never doubted you'd be there.
The lyrics to the song Another Time by Wishbone Ash seem to be referring to a relationship or a friendship that has undergone a great deal of turbulence yet has remained strong throughout the years. The refrain "Another time, another memory, like the light from a burning star..." appears to be talking about a time in the past when they were together and everything was good, and how that memory has kept them going throughout the rough patches. The singer seems to have great faith in the person they are addressing, feeling that they will always be there for support, even when things are at their worst. At the same time, the singer is recognizing that things are not necessarily going to be perfect and that there may be bumps in the road, but they're willing to deal with that because of the strength of the bond between them.
Towards the end of the song when the singer says "Now more than ever how I need you," it's as though they're realizing that they can't do everything alone and that they require help from the person they're singing to. There's a sense of urgency in the lyrics and the urgency is such that they're imploring the person to forgive them if they stray from the path they were on as they deal with the storm that has broken. However, despite all these challenges, they cling to the hope that their relationship will survive and that they will see one another "Another time".
Line by Line Meaning
You never told me you'd be waiting,
I was not aware that you were waiting for me
You never told me you'd be there.
You did not say you would be there for me
Nothing was said, but it was understood.
Although not spoken, we both shared the same understanding
I never doubted that you'd care.
I was always certain that you cared for me
Another time, another memory,
In the future, when I look back, this moment will be just another memory
Like the light from a burning star.
This memory will be as bright as the light from a star on fire
Another time you will come back to me
In the future, you will return to my life
Like a messenger from afar.
You will come like a messenger from a distant place
Now the storm breaks without a warning,
Suddenly, a storm arrives without any prior indication
With no time for us to prepare.
We did not have any chance to get ready for it
Now more than ever how I need you.
At this moment, I need you more than ever before
I never doubted you'd be there.
I always knew you would be there for me
Oh, the prophecy
This situation was predicted
Of what it's gonna be
Of what is expected to happen
For you and me,
For both of us
Oh, forgive me if I wander
Please forgive me if I seem lost
From the path that we were on.
From the track on which we were headed
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: BRIAN LEE HARVEY, JOHN DARREN HENDY, IVOR REID, MARK REID, JONATHON LESLEY BECKFORD, TERENCE MARK COLDWELL
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind