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.
Standing In The Rain
Wishbone Ash Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
His true love waits.
Lonely time's gone by.
There's a problem at the border
He learns they won't let him through.
She was standing in the rain.
She waits in vain for you.
She knows her love will pull her through.
Immigration law must be obeyed.
Close the case, return another day.
On the phone he tries to tell her
He must go without a single word.
She was standing in the rain.
She waits in vain for you.
She was standing in the rain.
She knows her love will pull her through.
Taking to the cloudy skies again,
The city lights shimmer on the plane.
In his eyes he sees the sadness,
For his love will always be the same.
She was standing in the rain.
She waits in vain for you.
She was standing in the rain.
She knows her love will pull her through.
The song "Standing in the Rain" by Wishbone Ash tells the story of a man who is flying through the sky to be with his true love, but is stopped at the border due to immigration law. Despite trying to communicate with his love over the phone, he must go without saying goodbye. Meanwhile, his love stands in the rain, waiting for him and knowing that their love will endure.
The lyrics capture the emotional pain and longing of separation, while also hinting at the power of love to overcome obstacles. The phrase "standing in the rain" symbolizes the endurance and perseverance of love in difficult circumstances. The contrast of the man flying through the sky and his love standing in the rain also highlights the physical distance between them, which is mirrored in the emotional distance imposed by the border.
The song's use of vivid imagery and poetic language create a sense of intimacy and emotional intensity. Through the universal themes of separation, longing, and love's endurance, Wishbone Ash's "Standing in the Rain" has become a classic rock ballad.
Line by Line Meaning
Flying through the sky
The singer of this story is traveling by air
His true love waits.
The singer has someone special waiting for him at his destination
Lonely time's gone by.
The singer has been away from his loved one for a long time
There's a problem at the border
The artist faces a hurdle while crossing the border
He learns they won't let him through.
The artist finds out that he cannot cross the border as he intended to
She was standing in the rain.
The loved one who was waiting for the singer is in the rain
She waits in vain for you.
The singer's loved one is waiting for him despite knowing that he might not come
She knows her love will pull her through.
The loved one is confident that their love will give them strength and help them overcome the present situation
Immigration law must be obeyed.
The artist is made to follow the laws of immigration
Close the case, return another day.
The artist has to leave the border and come back another day
On the phone he tries to tell her
The singer tries to inform his loved one about the current situation over the phone
He must go without a single word.
The artist has to leave without saying anything to his loved one
Taking to the cloudy skies again,
The singer is boarding another flight
The city lights shimmer on the plane.
The singer can see the city lights reflecting on the plane while flying
In his eyes he sees the sadness,
The singer feels sad and emotional
For his love will always be the same.
The artist's love for his loved one will never change
Lyrics © BMG RIGHTS MANAGEMENT US, LLC
Written by: BOB MOULD
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@jameskeffer6855
Very underrated cd and song from one of the best groups ever
@manfreddelacasse853
absolutely agree with you
@rolandmengedoth2191
Ted Turnes solo in this Song is the very best i Ever heard from him. So much melodic. Absolut Amazing ! He was One of my heros and the reason why i learned playing the Guitar. That Is many Years ago 47 years ago to be correct. And I still do ❤
@rickblackers88
Ted is singing dont it?
@Retroscoop
Why can't I give this song 1000 thumbs up ?
@dalenelson7161
A huge U.S. wishbone ash fan. Cheers
@phillipbell3393
one word great a very influential band front page news my favourite
@harrisgmts8688
Τhe definition of pure, straight rock
@johngorman4052
Yeah - I like this one , Ted is a cracking good guitarist and vocalist, so original and melodic and very technical without overdoing it, this track is the awesome blinder of a highlight of this album and one of the very best Wishbone Ash songs come on Ted, what else have you got stashed away ????!!!!!We want more of this mate!!!
@georgemathie8123
Wishbone ash are the most underrated rock groups of all time Andy Powell is the most underrated guitar player of all the classic prog era of 70s rock and he should be among the greats like Clapton and beck