Ash consists of Charlotte Hatherly (guitar), Mark Hamilton (bass), Rick Mcmurray (drums), Tim Wheeler (guitar, vocals).
Ash are a band which originated from Downpatrick ( Northern Ireland) in 1992. Ash's music was originally commonly described as Britpop, as the band became popular at around the same time as the term entered mainstream media. The band's musical style encompasses Punk, Grunge, and Hard rock.
The original band members were Tim Wheeler ( vocals and guitar), Mark Hamilton ( bass guitar) and Rick McMurray ( drums). The three were later joined by Charlotte Hatherley (guitar and vocals), who, as of 2005, also began a solo career as a side-project. On the 20th January, 2006, Hatherley's record label, Double Dragon Music announced her departure from the band .
Initially inspired by Twisted Sister and Iron Maiden in the early 1990s, Tim and Mark formed a heavy metal band called Vietnam with a few schoolfriends. After barely two gigs they were left on their own when the others left. Requiring a drummer they had a few drinks with Rick, who was in the year above them at school and had switched from playing the guitar to drums. They then ambitiously set out to develop their own music now inspired by grunge bands such as Nirvana, Mudhoney and the Pixies.
In 2002 Q magazine named Ash as one of the " 50 Bands To See Before You Die".
Ash officially formed. They created three demo tapes this year, "Solar Happy" in June, "Shed" in September, and the "Home Demo Tape" in November. These tapes featured their earliest material and the first recordings of some songs that would later be on their 1995 release, "Trailer", including "Intense Thing", "Get Out", "Obscure Thing," and their future single, "Jack names the Planets".
