Wishbone Ash confusion

I recently found out that Wishbone Ash are playing in Shefield in a month's time.

What I haven't realised is this sort of quarrel between Andy Powell and Martin Turner. Which one is the 'real' Wishbone Ash? Which one reminds of the old glory?

I would like some help on this one as it appears to be a rather sad story...


Edited by aapatsos - March 24 2009 at 15:03

i have seen both Wishbone Ash incarnations live and i can honestly tell you they are both fantastic, and the early material sounds great - both real WA's you will not be disappointed by either band 

Edited by mystic fred - March 25 2009 at 02:54

Well, it seems that I will check by myself in May... hope it's a real Ash sound...

Neither one is the real band.  They're both a single member from the original band and a bunch of replacements.  One is the bassist's Wishbone Ash (why? The bass in the band was nothing special), and one is the IMO less important guitarist's Wishbone Ash.  Either way you're getting nothing better than immitation and nostalgia. 

It's a shame that Powell and Turner can't be funded by a record company to just reform. But you know that is wax museum procedures that we may never see again with any band in the same circle with Wishbone Ash. I know that for more than a decade, Andy Powell has been travelling around the U.S.A. with trucks and vans in poor weather conditions, just to do the Wishbone Ash thing. Maybe after all the hard work he has endured, he feels a bit cheated over another founding member taking on the name. I remember in 2002, while visiting Disney World, I came across a little hole in the wall. A shack almost. It was on the end of a busy street corner near Tower Records. The place had an odour and that odour smelt like Wishbone Ash. After reading the name posted on the marquee, I walked away with my head down. I thought to myself.....Talk about paying your dues? But Powell obviously wants to continue till he dies it seems to me. He is a real die hard for his personal life and it would be a drag for him to compete, otherwise suffer financial loss over the band name at his age. Good luck to the Ash and all members. 

Ghostmojo wrote: TODDLER wrote: It's a shame that Powell and Turner can't be funded by a record company to just reform. But you know that is wax museum procedures that we may never see again with any band in the same circle with Wishbone Ash. I know that for more than a decade, Andy Powell has been travelling around the U.S.A. with trucks and vans in poor weather conditions, just to do the Wishbone Ash thing. Maybe after all the hard work he has endured, he feels a bit cheated over another founding member taking on the name.   I understand where that comment comes from but you have to weigh up whether he should have been doing (for ten years) what he was doing in the first place. The other original members clearly do not think so. It is so easy to fall for the hype of the brave sole warrior enduring all to keep the flame of Wishbone Ash alive, and bringing it to the fans. The alternate viewpoint would say he took something that was only 20% his in the first place - without asking the other four guys (including Laurie Wisefield) and has proceeded to profit from a brand and material that was largely created by the others. It's a bit like Ringo Starr getting a bunch of sidemen and going out as The Beatles.   I remember in 2002, while visiting Disney World, I came across a little hole in the wall. A shack almost. It was on the end of a busy street corner near Tower Records. The place had an odour and that odour smelt like Wishbone Ash. After reading the name posted on the marquee, I walked away with my head down. I thought to myself.....Talk about paying your dues? But Powell obviously wants to continue till he dies it seems to me. He is a real die hard for his personal life and it would be a drag for him to compete, otherwise suffer financial loss over the band name at his age. Good luck to the Ash and all members.    What about the other four guys? They have been losing out financially for years. They own the rights to the material. They wrote the songs. What Martin Turner has done has been a long time coming. It's about time that one of the real creative forces behind Wishbone Ash wrestled back the legacy from the bogus outfit that has been misrepresenting WA for over a decade.   What goes around comes around. It's all about honesty and integrity in the end...

Saw the Andy Powell version a few years ago. Great gig. I wouldn't give a monkey's which version of Wishbone Ash I seen just as long as I saw a Wishbone Ash of some description!