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.
Underground
Wishbone Ash Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
They want us to go underground.
Underground,
They want us to go underground.
You've got the right,
You've got the right to say what you think
You've got to fight,
Cause they're leading us to the brink.
Fireball,
There's going to be a fireball.
Fireball,
There's going to e a fireball.
Never a time,
Never a time like this before.
There won't be a sign,
There was never a time like this before.
Oh, oh, oh oh [Repeat: x4]
Underground,
They want us to go underground.
Underground,
They want us to go underground.
Throw down a line,
You've got the right to stay alive.
You've got to fight,
You've got to fight to survive.
The song "Underground" by Wishbone Ash is a cautionary tale about the dangers of blindly following authority, especially when the authorities themselves may have questionable motives. The lyrics express a sense of urgency, warning listeners that they need to speak out against oppression and stand up for their rights before it's too late. The repeated refrain of "They want us to go underground" is a metaphor for the powers that be urging people to hide away from issues, to not speak out and be seen.
The song also makes reference to a looming disaster, described as a "fireball." This could be interpreted as a natural disaster or a human-made catastrophe, but it sends a clear message that the times are perilous and that action needs to be taken. The lyrics urge listeners to stay alive by throwing down a line, which can be interpreted as reaching out for help or standing up for oneself.
Overall, "Underground" is a protest song that asks listeners to consider the risks of following authority blindly, and encourages them to speak up for themselves and others when faced with oppression.
Line by Line Meaning
Underground,
The authorities want us to hide and be out of sight.
They want us to go underground.
They want us to be hidden and out of sight from the public.
Underground,
The authorities want us to hide and be out of sight.
They want us to go underground.
They want us to be hidden and out of sight from the public.
You've got the right,
You have the constitutional right to speak up, share opinions and speak truth.
You've got the right to say what you think
You have the freedom to express your thoughts.
You've got to fight,
It's necessary to resist the current government or authority working against public interest.
Cause they're leading us to the brink.
The government's action is taking us so close to danger that one misstep can lead to catastrophe.
Fireball,
An explosion or disaster is imminent.
There's going to be a fireball.
There is a disaster or chaos that is waiting to happen.
Never a time,
This period of time is unparalleled/more difficult than ever before.
Never a time like this before.
Time now is completely unique and has no parallel.
There won't be a sign,
There won't be any indications displaying any sort of safety or sign of hope.
There was never a time like this before.
The current situation bears no similarity to any period in history.
Oh, oh, oh oh [Repeat: x4]
Repetitive sounds expressing anxiety or dread for what is yet to come.
Underground,
The authorities want us to hide and be out of sight.
They want us to go underground.
They want us to be hidden and out of sight from the public.
Underground,
They want us to hide and be out of sight.
They want us to go underground.
They want us to be hidden and out of sight from the public.
Throw down a line,
Throwing a rope to help someone in danger, could also signify the importance of helping each other during a crisis
You've got the right to stay alive.
You have a fundamental right to survival.
You've got to fight,
It's crucial to resist and stand up for survival and well-being.
You've got to fight to survive.
Fighting is the only way to ensure survival against the odds.
Lyrics © BMG RIGHTS MANAGEMENT US, LLC
Written by: ANDY POWELL, STEVEN UPTON, LAURIE WISEFIELD
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Dimitris Norton
What a song, what a supergroup... TOP QUALITY MUSIC.
KennethTerrell
I really like this song. I saw them play this at a very small venue in Dallas very shortly after this album came out. Andy Powell announced that this was British night. They started the set off with Get Ready. The band Renaissance played before them. Both bands gave a great performance.
1990
A very underrated album. I bought it when it came out.
Dimitris Norton
so true dude
Harry Pe
What a fine song. Timeless. Beautiful.
Mike Day
I've listened to this song on repeat. I can't get enough of it, altogether too much.
Mike Day
I couldn't get enough of this song on repeat...
R S
Beautiful track ! Fantastic album and fantastic line up, one of the best album from Wishbone Ash !
Paula Andrea Vidamour
Not beautiful lyrics though considering it's about a nuclear war :)
Steve Parkinson
its music...... as a song its fantastic, subject matter is ermmmmmmm