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.
Engine Overheat
Wishbone Ash Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
She's always ready to step inside.
I can't wait, though, to get started,
And her love is so bona fide.
I'm in the mood for it, I'm in the mood for it,
Your love, your love.
Yeah, my serenity, her intentions -
And we were rolling on down that road.
I was heading for that overload.
I'm in the mood for it, I'm in the mood for it,
Your love, your love.
It makes my engine overheat,
Puts me back into the seat,
It's just the nature, just the nature,
That makes my engine overheat.
Twin barrels burning, just like a rocket -
She took me faster than I've ever been.
There was nothing I could do, and I didn't ask for something
Like sitting on a guillotine. you know just what I mean.
I'm in the mood for it, right in the mood for it,
Your love, your love, your love, your love.
It makes my engine overheat -
Puts me back into the seat,
It's just the nature, it's just the nature of the beast.
Just the nature, just the nature,
Makes my engine overheat.
The lyrics in Wishbone Ash's song "Engine Overheat" describe the singer's excitement at picking up his partner before the sun sets, eager to hit the road and experience the rush of their physical connection. He describes their love as "bona fide" and the "nature of the beast," a force that both exhilarates and overwhelms him. The focus of the song is on the visceral sensations of love, with the singer feeling like his "engine" is overheating due to the intensity of his emotions.
The imagery used in the song is largely automotive, with mentions of tuning, exhaust, and twin-barreled engines. This serves to reinforce the idea of love as a powerful, physical force that can be just as thrilling (and potentially dangerous) as a high-speed car chase. The chorus repeats the phrase "it makes my engine overheat," emphasizing the all-consuming nature of the singer's desire.
Overall, "Engine Overheat" is a song about passion and intensity, exploring the physicality of love through metaphorical language and automotive imagery.
Line by Line Meaning
Picked up my baby before the sun set -
I picked up my significant other before sunset.
She's always ready to step inside.
She is always ready to get in the car.
I can't wait, though, to get started,
I am excited to start what I have planned.
And her love is so bona fide.
Her love is genuine and sincere.
I'm in the mood for it, I'm in the mood for it,
Your love, your love.
I am in the mood for your love.
Yeah, my serenity, her intentions -
My calmness, her purpose.
And we were rolling on down that road.
We were driving on the road.
She was tuned to, to perfection -
She was perfectly tuned.
I was heading for that overload.
I was headed towards a state of extreme excitement or pleasure.
It makes my engine overheat,
It causes a heightened state of excitement.
Puts me back into the seat,
Causes me to fall back into my seat due to the thrill or excitement.
It's just the nature, just the nature,
It is just the way things are, the natural result of the situation.
That makes my engine overheat.
The situation causes a heightened state of excitement.
Twin barrels burning, just like a rocket -
The two engines of the car are burning fuel and accelerating quickly, like a rocket.
She took me faster than I've ever been.
She drove faster than I have ever gone before.
There was nothing I could do, and I didn't ask for something
Like sitting on a guillotine. you know just what I mean.
I had no control and didn't expect such an intense experience, it was like being in a dangerous situation.
I'm in the mood for it, right in the mood for it,
Your love, your love, your love, your love.
I am in the perfect mood for your love.
It's just the nature, it's just the nature of the beast.
It is simply the nature of the situation, a natural result of our actions.
Just the nature, just the nature,
Makes my engine overheat.
The natural result of this situation is a heightened state of excitement.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: ANDY POWELL, TREVOR BOLDER, STEVEN UPTON, LAURIE WISEFIELD
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
aitech nasus
Engine Overheat Is A Great Killer Straight Up Rock Song By WISHBONE ASH And Totally Rocks It Needs To Be Fully Cranked Up All The Way To Full Maximum Volume.
George Mathie
This is the most undervalued period of this amazing band and I totally love this band.and thank YouTube for making this amazing music available
MarcoMover
Some solid hard rock right here! Love the slide solo and the funky rhythm. Great stuff.
Jaime Morrison
I remember seeing this album when it was first released, I listened to Engine Overheat, I liked it a lot, but for some reason I lost track of it, now I rediscover it and it's like a jewel
RøβєяŦ R๏ƙɨ F.
Trevor Bolder is KILLIN'
Roger Ivy
the recording is very bright did u record this from a record? Vinyl? just wondering thanks.
WishboneAshAllSongs
The audio is ripped from the 1993 CD version of the album. Glad you like it :-)
Keith Leeuwen
Great !
Dave Weston
WoW!!!
progniu progg
Trevor Bolder, Uriah Heep bass player, brought me here...