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.
Baby come in from the rain
Wishbone Ash Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
My pockets were empty
From livin' out on the sidewalk.
Footsteps takin' me nowhere,
But where can you go when you don't know
What it is you're lookin' for?
Just as I was a desperate man
You said,"baby, come in from the rain".
You could see down the stitches and patches
That were holdin' me together,
So with stolen faces, hand in hand,
We made footsteps together for musicland.
Used to be I had troubles aplenty,
My pockets were empty, yeah,
From the bad life on the back streets.
But when your footsteps are takin' you nowhere
Where can you go and what can you do
When you don't know what you're lookin' for?
Hey, just as I reached the real world
You made the sun start to shine,
You said,"baby, come in out of the rain".
Oh, yeah, I said you made the sun start to shine,
Oh, baby, come in from the rain.
Wishbone Ash's "Come In From The Rain" is a testament to the transformative power of love. The singer reminisces about a time when they were lost and adrift, struggling to make a life for themselves on the streets. They were directionless and lacked purpose, unsure of where they were going or what they were looking for. But then they met their partner, who saw through their rough exterior and the many "stitches and patches" that were holding them together. The love and support of this person gave the singer the strength to persevere and emerge from their troubled past, finding a sense of purpose and meaning in life.
The song's lyrics are characteristically poetic and evoke vivid, visual imagery. The metaphor of "come in from the rain" is particularly striking, as it implies a sense of shelter and safety from the harsh, cold world outside. The singer brings up the idea of "musicland," a sort of utopia where they and their lover can go to escape from the troubles of the world. It's a beautiful, idealistic vision of love that transcends reality and transports the listener to a dreamlike state.
Overall, "Come In From The Rain" is a powerful ode to the healing power of love. It shows that even when we feel lost and alone, there is always someone who can help us find our way back to the sun.
Line by Line Meaning
I had troubles aplenty,
I had a lot of problems and challenges in my life.
My pockets were empty
I was broke and didn't have any money.
From livin' out on the sidewalk.
I was homeless and had to sleep on the streets.
Footsteps takin' me nowhere,
I was lost and didn't know where to go.
But where can you go when you don't know What it is you're lookin' for?
It's hard to find direction in life when you don't know what you want.
Just as I was a desperate man You made the sun start to shine,
Just when I had lost hope, you gave me a reason to feel optimistic again.
You said,"baby, come in from the rain".
You invited me to find shelter and safety with you.
You could see down the stitches and patches That were holdin' me together,
You could see that I was barely holding myself together and needed help.
So with stolen faces, hand in hand, We made footsteps together for musicland.
Together, we embarked on a new journey, leaving our old lives behind to follow our dreams.
Used to be I had troubles aplenty,
I used to have a lot of problems and challenges in my life.
My pockets were empty, yeah, From the bad life on the back streets.
I was broke and living a dangerous life on the streets.
But when your footsteps are takin' you nowhere Where can you go and what can you do When you don't know what you're lookin' for?
When you're lost and don't know what you want, it's hard to find direction in life.
Hey, just as I reached the real world You made the sun start to shine,
Just as I was getting a taste of reality, you gave me hope and a reason to keep going.
You said,"baby, come in out of the rain".
You invited me to come to a place of safety and security with you.
Oh, yeah, I said you made the sun start to shine, Oh, baby, come in from the rain.
You brought light into my life and gave me direction, and I'm grateful to be safe and secure with you.
Lyrics © BMG RIGHTS MANAGEMENT US, LLC, CARLIN AMERICA INC
Written by: CAROLE BAYER-SAGER, MELISSA MANCHESTER
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Maria Diaz
I had troubles aplenty,
My pockets were empty
From livin' out on the sidewalk.
Footsteps takin' me nowhere,
But where can you go when you don't know
What it is you're lookin' for?
Just as I was a desperate man
You made the sun start to shine,
You said, "Baby, come in from the rain".
You could see down the stitches and patches
That were holdin' me together,
So with stolen faces, hand in hand,
We made footsteps together for musicland.
Used to be I had troubles aplenty,
My pockets were empty, yeah,
From the bad life on the back streets.
But when your footsteps are takin' you nowhere
Where can you go and what can you do
When you don't know what you're lookin' for?
Hey, just as I reached the real world
You made the sun start to shine,
You said, "Baby, come in out of the rain".
Oh, yeah, I said you made the sun start to shine,
Oh, baby, come in from the rain.
Tom Layman
F.P.N is a fantastic album in my humble opinion. Every song is chock full of creativity, guitar nuances and sonic wonder.
Jürgen Seibert
you are so right
cool daddy
Love it!! Sorry it seems overlooked.
Adrian Lowe
Absolute Telecaster mastery !.....I was blown away when I saw this on The OGWT ! Stunning.
Nik Lloyd
Havent been able to find that video anywhere !!....do you have a link ?
Charlie Edwards
Must agree Laurie Wisefield is outstanding on this track
Johan Peter Niclassen
This album is my favorit "Ash" album together with "No Smoke without fire", and "Just Testing"
Jürgen Seibert
A fantastic band - on e of the best of all times !
KID JACKSON
Incredible band!
Jürgen Seibert
of course