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.
Queen Of Torture
Wishbone Ash Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
She's the queen of torture, yeah,
She, yeah, you know she put me down.
She, yeah, you know she put me down.
Has anybody seen my woman hangin' round the streets?
She ain't been home for oh, so long
She walked right out on me. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
Has anybody seen my woman out around the city?
She ain't been home for two weeks now,
And ain't that such a pity, yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
The lyrics to "Queen of Torture" by Wishbone Ash narrate the story of a man searching for his woman who has left him alone and disappeared. He asks around if anyone has seen her kicking or hanging around town, but to no avail. From the chorus, it becomes evident that the man's woman is referred to as the queen of torture who had put him down. The man continues to search for her and pleads with anyone who might have seen her around the city. It is clear that the man is hurting and misses his woman, but it is also apparent that she had caused him much pain before leaving, which is why she's referred to as the queen of torture.
The lyrics suggest that the woman's departure has left a significant impact on the man's life, but it is unclear what led to her leaving in the first place. Was the relationship too painful for her too? Did the man mistreat her? The song's title, "Queen of Torture," hints that there is more to the story than just a mere disappearance. Overall, the lyrics convey a sense of longing mixed with confusion and heartache, creating a relatable story for anyone who has ever experienced a relationship's tumultuous ending.
Line by Line Meaning
Has anybody seen my baby kickin' around the town?
The singer is asking if anyone has seen his girlfriend walking around the city.
She's the queen of torture, yeah,
The singer describes his girlfriend as being someone who causes him emotional pain.
She, yeah, you know she put me down.
The singer asserts that his girlfriend has hurt him emotionally.
Has anybody seen my woman hangin' round the streets?
The artist asks if anyone has seen his girlfriend walking or hanging out in public places.
She ain't been home for oh, so long
The artist notes that his girlfriend has been absent from home for a significant amount of time.
She walked right out on me. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
The singer expresses that his girlfriend left him abruptly, causing him emotional pain.
Has anybody seen my woman out around the city?
The singer reiterates his question if anyone has seen his girlfriend walking around the city.
She ain't been home for two weeks now,
The artist informs that his girlfriend has been gone for two weeks.
And ain't that such a pity, yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
The artist expresses his disappointment that his girlfriend is still absent and causing him emotional pain.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: ANDREW POWELL, DAVID TURNER, MARTIN TURNER, STEVE UPTON
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Jürgen Seibert
What a great band - one of the best of all times ! I am fan since I was 16 - now I am 61....
Kerry Masterson
I saw them play in one of the last outdoor pop festivals. Near Baton Rouge, Louisiana '70. The Man and Life festival. They were fantastic. Song after song kept getting better. What a group!
MAGA 2020
Easily one of the most under-rated bands to ever exist!
Richard Davenport
This is just phenomenal
David Jones
Awesome band
Kelly Hopkins
Blazing guitars, whoa!
park street frank
I saw them 1970 in a small hall above a pub in St. Albans UK. No stage. Great band. I was,, 15.
norbert kovács
Wishbone Ash fantastic !!!! Foreverer! Great Band!
Curtis Smith
Played at my first concert with the Guess Who when I was 15 liked them up to the 4th album
Al Padgett
My 2nd favorite Wishbone song!!