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.
Roller Coaster
Wishbone Ash Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
You got to help me if you can.
I can't stay sober,
I'm such a weary man.
Just like an anesthetic
Her love sedates my head,
And, changing like the rhythm,
She winds me up instead.
That rollercoaster roll,
I'm on that rolling rollercoaster,
That rollercoaster roll.
Long distance on the telephone
She was crying out for me -
"Darling, come on home now,
That's where you ought to be."
Five hundred miles and ten hours on
I rolled through my front door -
What do you know, what do you know, she'd gone.
Ain't going to worry,
I ain't going to cry.
You know that I won't worry,
You know that I won't cry.
The very last thing that I'd want to do
Is waste my precious time
On some bitch like you.
On that rolling rollercoaster,
That rollercoaster roll,
That rolling rollercoaster,
That rollercoaster roll.
The song Roller Coaster by Wishbone Ash is an expression of the emotional turmoil the singer is going through as a result of his uncontrollable addiction to love. He seeks help from a doctor and admits that he cannot stay sober, being a weary man. The singer then draws a metaphor between love and an anesthetic drug that sedates his head, and the rhythm of his lover that winds him up instead. The metaphorical and literal comparison of love to a roller coaster is also drawn in this verse, as the singer feels the highs and lows of a tumultuous relationship that leaves him feeling like he's on a rolling roller coaster.
In the second verse, the singer paints a picture of a long-distance relationship in which the woman is crying out for him. He embarks on a long and arduous journey of five hundred miles and ten hours on the phone to be with her, only to find that she had vanished. The sense of disappointment and disillusionment is palpable in his voice, and he expresses his resolve not to worry or cry over his lost love.
The chorus, "I'm on that rolling rollercoaster, that rollercoaster roll," repeats throughout the song, emphasizing the sense of helplessness and entrapment that the singer feels. The powerful imagery and metaphorical comparisons draw the listener into the story of an addict in love who cannot resist the highs and lows of a passionate relationship, even when it's detrimental to his well-being.
Line by Line Meaning
Doctor, tell me, doctor,
You got to help me if you can.
I am desperately seeking help to overcome my addiction and I hope the doctor can offer me a solution.
I can't stay sober,
I'm such a weary man.
My addiction is causing me to feel exhausted and run down all the time.
Just like an anesthetic
Her love sedates my head,
Being in love with her has a numbing effect on me, taking away the pains and worries of everyday life.
And, changing like the rhythm,
She winds me up instead.
She keeps me guessing by changing her ways, and instead of relaxing me, she keeps me anxious and alert.
On that rolling rollercoaster,
That rollercoaster roll,
Life with her feels like an unpredictable and thrilling ride like a rollercoaster.
Long distance on the telephone
She was crying out for me -
She called me out of desperation and longing for me to come back to her.
"Darling, come on home now,
That's where you ought to be."
She believes my home is with her and not somewhere else, and she wants me to come to her.
Five hundred miles and ten hours on
I rolled through my front door -
What do you know, what do you know, she'd gone.
After a long journey to reach her, I found that she was no longer there, which left me frustrated and heartbroken.
Ain't going to worry,
I ain't going to cry.
You know that I won't worry,
You know that I won't cry.
I won't let her absence break me, and I won't shed any tears over her departure.
The very last thing that I'd want to do
Is waste my precious time
On some bitch like you.
I do not want to waste my time and energy on someone who does not value me and treats me poorly.
On that rolling rollercoaster,
That rollercoaster roll,
That rolling rollercoaster,
That rollercoaster roll.
The chorus reinforces the idea that life with her is like a wild and unpredictable ride like a rollercoaster.
Contributed by Grace W. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Rick Venlo
@Milica Mladenović
I’d like to defend my opinion
John Wetton is one of my favorite musicians of all time
Even those guys will tell you that that kind of music was running into a dead end
Yes it sounds pre-Asia
Best wishes
Clansman Scotland
Excellent lp.
wishbone
Andy ! where are you now ?
Laurie's vocal also excellent.
so,よかですね。
Claude Michel
Peu connu actuellement mais super !!!
History Buff
mmmm... love it
Seunghyun Chung
give yourself to the Bass
and321now
Musically it’s a solid album but the mix and production is absolutely terrible. Like, really bad.
sheldon Bazinga
Dommage! Quel que soit l'album, toujours inintéressants! aucune mélodie à retenir.
Rick Venlo
even the bass sounds nasal
horrible mix
this handling of sound
got me to move away from rock
sounds like a carnival
gawd
Milica Mladenović
it (seriously) seems that, you do not know anything about music,
(especially) about music production...
so... that is that...if that
Rick Venlo
@Milica Mladenović
I’d like to defend my opinion
John Wetton is one of my favorite musicians of all time
Even those guys will tell you that that kind of music was running into a dead end
Yes it sounds pre-Asia
Best wishes