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.
It Started In Heaven
Wishbone Ash Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
You took everything you owned,
Trying to find a little peace of mind somewhere.
You made up your own mind
So don't ask me how I feel.
You blew me away
What more can I say to you?
Don't let a mystery show
Better still, don't come between the lines.
It started in heaven
But finished with rock'n'roll;
The sun went down
You just turned around to go.
You couldn't take what I had to give
I couldn't give you any more.
You made up your mind
Don't ask me how I feel.
The lyrics to "It Started In Heaven" by Wishbone Ash tell the story of a breakup between two people. The first verse describes how the other person left suddenly, taking all of their belongings and leaving the singer to try and make sense of it all. In the chorus, we learn that their relationship "started in heaven" but ended with "rock 'n' roll" - perhaps referencing the passion and intensity of their early days together versus the rocky and tumultuous end.
The second verse reveals that the singer gave everything they had to the other person, but it still wasn't enough. There is a sense of resignation and acceptance in these lyrics, with the phrase "you made up your mind, don't ask me how I feel" repeated throughout the song. It is clear that the other person has moved on, and the singer is left to deal with the aftermath.
One interpretation of these lyrics could be that the relationship was doomed from the start - perhaps the intensity of their feelings was not built on a strong foundation of trust and communication. The phrase "don't let a mystery show fool you all the time" could be a warning not to read too much into surface-level appearances, but to try and understand what is real and true beneath the surface. Overall, the lyrics to "It Started In Heaven" speak to the pain and confusion of a breakup, and the sense of loss that can linger long after the relationship has ended.
Line by Line Meaning
You left by the highway
You departed through the highway, leaving behind a place which was perhaps not good enough for your mental state or physical possessions to accommodate, with no looks of return
You took everything you owned,
You carried all of your personal belongings along with you
Trying to find a little peace of mind somewhere.
You left to find some quiet and peace for your peace of mind and inner soul.
You made up your own mind
You decided your own future path and made up your mind with what you thought was right.
So don't ask me how I feel.
Don't probe me to articulate my feelings since it will be of no use to you.
You blew me away
You left me in a state of shock and surprise
What more can I say to you?
There is nothing more to communicate with you
Don't let a mystery show fool you all the time
Do not get deceived by an enigmatic performance that someone may show consistently.
Better still, don't come between the lines.
It would be better not to indulge between lines of a situation to avoid confusion and complications.
It started in heaven
The beginning of what happened was perfect, like how everything done in heaven is immaculate.
But finished with rock'n'roll;
The closeness of the relationship between the singer and the person they are talking to was as colorful and entertaining as rock and roll music.
The sun went down
The day ended
You just turned around to go.
You just turned your back and left without looking back.
You couldn't take what I had to give
The gifts that the singer provided to the person listening to this song was too much for them to handle and go along with.
I couldn't give you any more.
The singer had nothing else to offer the person who was listening to the song.
You made up your mind
The person who was listening to the song made their decision to leave and did not require any input from the artist.
Don't ask me how I feel.
The artist does not wish to discuss their emotions as it will not be relevant to the current topic
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Steve Whitehouse
Great band !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Flâneur
Backing vocals by Whitney's mum, Cissy - a great jazz singer
Steve Parris
Thank for posting!
Stevan Preocanin
An underrated album in my view.
Tony Morielli
One of the worst songs from their worst album