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.
don't cry
Wishbone Ash Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Calling me back to you.
I'm at a loose end still
And I don't know what I'm going to do.
I walk the streets
Hoping to find something to take you off my mind.
Little girl
Well, I'm trying hard to forget you
But I know that it only makes me want to stay.
Don't want to be the one to lose you,
Don't want to see you with someone new.
Don't cry
I still love you.
Don't cry
I'll never leave you.
I find it hard sometimes
To keep my mind on the job.
Well, I've been down
When my love comes crumbling.
I walk the streets
Hoping to find something to take you off my mind.
Don't cry
I still love you.
Don't cry
I'll never leave you.
In the song "Don't Cry" by Wishbone Ash, the singer seems to be struggling with a recent break-up, and is haunted by memories of his former partner. The echoes inside his head are like a constant reminder of the way he used to feel when he was with her, and he longs to be able to move on and forget her. He tries to distract himself, walking the streets and looking for something to take his mind off of her, but nothing seems to work.
One interesting interpretation of these lyrics is that the singer is actually talking to himself, trying to reassure himself that he still loves this woman, and that he shouldn't give up hope of being with her again. The line "I don't want to be the one to lose you" could be read as the singer trying to convince himself that he is still in control of the situation, despite the fact that the relationship has ended. Similarly, the repetition of the plea "don't cry" could be seen as the singer trying to convince himself that he is capable of comforting and taking care of his own emotional needs.
Line by Line Meaning
I hear echoes inside my head
I can't stop thinking about you, and my thoughts echo in my head.
Calling me back to you.
My thoughts keep bringing me back to you, and I can't escape them.
I'm at a loose end still
I feel lost and uncertain without you, and I don't know what to do.
And I don't know what I'm going to do.
I'm struggling to cope without you, and I don't know how to move on.
I walk the streets
I wander aimlessly, hoping to find something to distract me from thoughts of you.
Hoping to find something to take you off my mind.
I'm desperate to forget you and find something else to occupy my thoughts.
Little girl
Affectionate term for the person he's addressing (could be romantic partner, friend, etc.).
You make me feel this way
You have a powerful effect on me, and I can't control my emotions when I'm around you.
Well, I'm trying hard to forget you
I'm doing my best to move on from my feelings for you, but it's not easy.
But I know that it only makes me want to stay.
The more I try to forget you, the more I realize how much I want to be with you.
Don't want to be the one to lose you,
I'm afraid of losing you and being alone without you.
Don't want to see you with someone new.
The thought of you being with someone else is too painful for me to bear.
Don't cry
I don't want you to be upset or hurt by my feelings.
I still love you.
Despite everything, my feelings for you haven't gone away.
I'll never leave you.
I'll always be here for you, no matter what happens.
I find it hard sometimes
I struggle to focus on anything else when I'm thinking of you.
To keep my mind on the job.
I have a hard time concentrating on my work or other tasks due to my thoughts of you.
Well, I've been down
I've been feeling depressed and low since we've been apart.
When my love comes crumbling.
When my feelings for you become overwhelming and start to fall apart.
Contributed by Natalie E. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@aitechnasus1041
Don't Cry Is A Great Straight Up Killer Rock Song By WISHBONE ASH And Totally Rocks And It Needs To Be Fully Cranked Up All The Way To Full Maximum Volume.
@maxb9315
Why do you capitalise every word?