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ASHThe Crescent, York
Wednesday 4th February, Doors 7pm
£27adv - https://www.seetickets.com/event/ash/the-crescent/3491097
The Truth: ‘Give Me Back My World’ is the buoyant brrrrand new single from Northern Irish noisezone ASH. Following the surprise drop of their frenetic version of ‘Jump In The Line’ in the spring, this is the second track to be lifted from their forthcoming ninth studio album, ‘Ad Astra’, due for take off on October 3rd.
You can’t accuse the trio - still very much consisting of Tim Wheeler (guitar / vocals), Mark Hamilton (bass guitar) and Rick McMurray (drums / vocals) - of loafing about, as ‘Ad Astra’ flies in a mere two years and one month since the raucous ‘Race The Night’ roared out of the traps. If their loving feelings for Harry Belafonte’s ‘Beetlejuice’ anthem were a bolt from the tropical blue, ‘Give Me Back My World’ finds Ash on furiously firm musical terrain with classic rushes of melody and heroically anthemic vibes underpinned by an innate sense of regret. From despair to here…
“Have you ever had one of those moments where you feel the rug has been pulled from under you?” asks Tim. “Everything you took for granted goes up in smoke, and you are no longer in control, and you can only look back in hindsight at a life that’s no longer yours? I think we’ve all had those moments. I think you can all relate to this song. But luckily for you a) it rails against the loss of control and b) is a total banger. So, fire it up and rage with us against the dying of the light.”
They’ve kept themselves busy, have Ash: since ‘Race The Night’ raced out they’ve run riot at SXSW in Austin, played Belfast for Steve Lamacq at Independent Venue Week, toured Down Under, headlined the 100 Club for BRITsweek, and played a rammoed Other Stage tent at Latitude. Already in 2025 they’ve amassed the masses at Glastonbury for the eighth time - equalling the multi-performance Tor-ring record of Van Morrison - and toured the UK with fellow rocksters The Darkness.
In short, 30 years into a career peppered with timeless indiepunk nuggets and wildly inventive gigging and releasing ideas, the thunderous threesome show no sign of slowing down. Indeed, it was in the gap between the ‘Islands’ and ‘Race The Night’ albums which saw the Ash live machine derailed significantly for the very first time since their GCSEs in 1994, this time by the fierce pandemic.
“If I told you ‘Give Me Back My World’ dates back to 2020 you'd hardly need a degree from the school of Marple, Holmes and Poirot to figure out what it's getting at,” explains Rick. “And although those sentiments may be just a memory from the stand point of 2025, the song's heart still feels relevant. In a time of chaos, disruption and angst there's still a beautiful world out there and it's worth fighting for.”
That very alive Ash live machine will be in full effect in Japan and the UK from September through to the Spring.
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Event Venue & Nearby Stays
8 The Crescent, YO24 1AW York, United Kingdom, 8 The Crescent, York, YO24 1AW, United Kingdom
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