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.
Loaded
Wishbone Ash Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I got a fix for your despair
I said, hey, mama, hey,
I got connections everywhere.
Anything you want, I got.
Do you want to know the score?
Right here in my pocket
I can't say anymore.
I got a fix for your despair.
Hey, anybody want to get loaded?
Wooh, anybody want to get high?
Hey, anybody want to get loaded?
Wooh, anybody want to get high?
She said, yeah.
I ain't no backstreet jiver,
And I'm just trying to make you see.
You don't know just what you want,
But I know what you need.
I can ease your dilemma
One step at a time,
I got the remedy,
You can take it line by line.
Hey, mama, I got a fix for your despair.
Take what you want,
Just take it, all I got.
If you ain't had enough go on,
Take another shot.
You want it, I got it,
You want it, I got it -
Hey, mama, I got a cure for your despair.
The lyrics of "Loaded" by Wishbone Ash speak about someone offering a cure for another person's despair by offering drugs. The first two stanzas, addressed to "mama," paint the picture of someone confident in their ability to provide whatever is needed to lift the other person's spirits. The lines "Anything you want, I got. Do you want to know the score? Right here in my pocket I can't say anymore," hint at something illegal, possibly drugs or other contraband.
The chorus, "Hey, anybody want to get loaded? / Wooh, anybody want to get high?" repeats the message of the first stanzas, with a sense of excitement and urgency added to the mix. The third stanza moves away from addressing "mama" and instead speaks of the singer's own intentions to help. They claim to "know what you need" and can "ease your dilemma / One step at a time." They have the remedy, and it can be taken "line by line."
Finally, the last two stanzas reiterate the singer's willingness to give the other person what they need, with the lines "Take what you want, / Just take it, all I got. / If you ain't had enough go on, / Take another shot." The song ends with the emphatic statement, "Hey, mama, I got a cure for your despair," with the implication that this "cure" is not what it seems.
Overall, "Loaded" is a cautionary tale about the dangers of drug use and the temptation of quick fixes. It speaks to the magnetic pull of addiction and the false promises of happiness that often accompany substance abuse.
Line by Line Meaning
Hey, mama, hey,
I got a fix for your despair
The singer is addressing his mom and informs her that he can help her with her sorrowful situation
I said, hey, mama, hey,
I got connections everywhere.
Anything you want, I got.
Do you want to know the score?
Right here in my pocket
I can't say anymore.
The singer reiterates his ability to help his mom by informing her that he has the resources to remedy her troubles, but he cannot divulge more information at the moment
Hey, anybody want to get loaded?
Wooh, anybody want to get high?
Hey, anybody want to get loaded?
Wooh, anybody want to get high?
The singer asks if anyone wants to indulge in drugs or alcohol with him
She said, yeah.
An unidentified woman responds in the affirmative to the artist's previous request
I ain't no backstreet jiver,
And I'm just trying to make you see.
You don't know just what you want,
But I know what you need.
I can ease your dilemma
One step at a time,
I got the remedy,
You can take it line by line.
Hey, mama, I got a fix for your despair.
The artist asserts that he is not a con artist and is only trying to help the people who do not see the solution to their problems, including his mom. He assures them that he can solve their issues gradually and has the remedy ready for each phase
Take what you want,
Just take it, all I got.
If you ain't had enough go on,
Take another shot.
You want it, I got it,
You want it, I got it -
Hey, mama, I got a cure for your despair.
The singer urges the listener to use as much of his resources as needed and, if necessary, request more without hesitation. He reiterates his ability to cure any kind of emotional distress, including that of his mother
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Written by: ANDY POWELL, LAURIE WISEFIELD, STEVEN UPTON
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Tom Rott
FANTASTIC RECORD FROM START TO FINISH. ABSOLUTELY UNDERRATED !
Jürgen Seibert
One of the best bands of all times !
Johan Peter Niclassen
Love Laurie...fantastic songwriter and guitar player...
Darth Vader
WBA is one of those bands that were just consistently good, this isn't the level of Argus but they still kept making good music no matter what
Hervé Manillier
For me Wishbone have always been underrated
Alan Scott
Seriously underrated....
Roker Lopez
Wishbone Ash representa la
Exelencia del Rock Británico
La sensacional portada del
album: The Number The Braves hace honor a la creatividad de
estos verdaderos Guerreros Del Rock
Senazi Redzsepi
Perfektan album.Fantasticno sinhronizovan rád gitara,blistavo ,sjajno!Jedna od omiljenih grupa iz osamdesetih!Na ovom albumu sve pesme se dopunjuju jedna na drugu ,kao da se prelivaju!
Đanfranko Geza Martinčić
Stvarno ti se sviđaju. Meni pašu isto
Wallnetto
This is where I'm suddenly scratching my head with the band. So underrated, but this is not a good example of the band's later work. Nothing against getting "loaded," but...what? Some good tracks later on. This is...like Buckcherry?