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.
Rest In Peace
Wishbone Ash Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
A vision in the dark,
I found that i had been across the desert space,
Saw all the people behind a naked face.
I held out my hand,
Hoping you'd be there.
I could not understand all the reasons why
Now the light has come
Breaking form the east
Someday we can find somewhere
To rest in peace.
I lost my control,
In a nightmare of being
Just a lonely soul
Without a hanging cross,
Standing all alone
Watching the lightning flash.
The lyrics of Wishbone Ash's song Rest in Peace are filled with vivid imagery and metaphors. The song speaks about a dream or a vision the singer had. In this dream, they found themselves wandering through a desert space, observing the people around them who were hiding behind a naked face. The singer extends their hand, hoping to find a familiar face, but they could not understand why they were being confronted by faces from their past.
The second verse of the song, "Now the light has come, breaking form the east" marks the beginning of a new day, signaling hope for a peaceful tomorrow. The singer describes their inner turmoil, feeling like they have lost control and are just a "lonely soul without a hanging cross". They stand all alone, watching lightning flash, possibly symbolizing the internal storm they are going through.
The chorus of the song, "Someday we can find somewhere, to rest in peace," repeatedly emphasizes the need for peace and closure. The lyrics suggest that the singer has been struggling with inner demons and is hopeful that they will eventually find their peace.
Line by Line Meaning
Last night I had a dream
The singer had a dream last night.
A vision in the dark,
The dream was a vision that occurred in the dark.
I found that I had been across the desert space,
In the dream, the singer traversed a desert space.
Saw all the people behind a naked face.
Despite their outer appearances, the people the artist encountered in the dream were transparent and vulnerable.
I held out my hand,
The artist extended their hand in the dream.
Hoping you'd be there.
The singer hoped that someone would be there to take their hand.
I could not understand all the reasons why
The singer was unable to comprehend all of the motivations behind the actions they encountered in the dream.
Faces from the past looking me in the eye.
The people the artist encountered in the dream were reminiscent of people they had known in the past.
Now the light has come
The dream is over and the artist is awake.
Breaking form the east
The sun is rising in the east.
Someday we can find somewhere
The singer suggests that at some point in the future, it may be possible to find a peaceful place.
To rest in peace.
The artist yearns for a peaceful place to rest.
I lost my control,
The singer lost control of their surroundings in the dream.
In a nightmare of being
The dream became a nightmare in which the singer was trapped.
Just a lonely soul
The singer felt lonely and isolated in the nightmare.
Without a hanging cross,
The artist lacked a symbol of faith to help them in the nightmare.
Standing all alone
The artist stood by themselves in the nightmare.
Watching the lightning flash.
The singer watched lightning flash in the nightmare, possibly symbolizing danger or instability.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: D JONES, JOSEPH JOHNSON, TONY RANDLE
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
MrCatalysis101
The weakest Wishbone album from the classic era still sounds aeons better than anything new today. Fact.
Dio Brando
Even new wish bone
Razor44
This is the song that introduced me to the Ash so many years ago. My buddy "Slink" said 'Hey man, listen to this". The hooks have been in deep ever since.
James Gibson
This album bring me memories of great times and a great girl. Yes one of their weakest, which is still better than most. Andy rocks!
C J Goh
Great piece. And peace to rest was exactly what I had then sought back in 1977, when I was about 10 years old, when home wasn't exactly the place I'd likely find it - much to my feuding parents, much of it from my wife-beating father (god rest is soul now), whom from I got to know Wishbone Ash and this song. Each time a squabble begins, I'd grab my guitar & leave, knowing what it will inevitably escalates to. Those were the days. To now, at 50, find this song on YouTube, brings back such shuddering memories of the 70s. When Peace of the domestic kind was in tatters, and rest a precious luxury.
surething baby
+surething baby and uh, sorry for saying good so many times, haha! I'm in one of my late night don't want to sleep moods (even though I should be sleeping, lol).
surething baby
+C J Goh Sorry that your childhood was so rough. I wasn't even born yet in the 70's and I tend to think of it as a happy time based on the music (my goodness 70's music is so good to me!) and it sucks that your time back then wasn't very good. :(
Jürgen Seibert
Wishbone Ash - one of the greatest band of all times...
Pedro furtado
se esse eh considerado um dos
discos mais fracos do wishbone ash e eh espetacular imaginem os demais... extraordinaria banda!
hugo leonardo martinez
muy buen disco ce hard rock!!!very very great band!!