Wishbone Ash

Newcastle and the northeast has historically been a Wishbone Ash stronghold for nearly half a century with a sizable following of loyal fans who have turned out annually to see them ever since their heydays back in the early 1970's when Newcastle City Hall was a regular venue on their tour sheet and of course where tracks from their best selling live album, Live Date were recorded.

During recent years, however, Wishbone Ash have been playing venues in and around Newcastle that were far below the bands'status of being one of the most influential guitar bands in the world.

However, agents and promotors pulled their collective stops out for the bands 50th anniversary tour to book them into the Sage, Hall 2. Back in a venue more fitting to their music and in the hub of the Newcastle/Gateshead music scene unsurprisingly the show sold out in record time.

Andy Powell, the bands only remaining original member, who has kept the bands'unique twin lead trademark sound alive by recording and touring tirelessly for 50 years commented on how lucky we were to have such a nice venue with such a great sound. Now joined by his 9th "twin", Mark Abrahams, more than half Mr Powells' age, the equally youthful Joe Crabtree on drums and long-serving member of the quartet, Bob Skeat on bass, the band treated their spell-bound audience to a blistering two hour musical tour highlighting the 5 decades of their career, from the first album through to a track recorded for their new album, Coat of Arms, due for release in January. Although the twin lead trademark sound underpinned the set, not one song sounded like another. The well-chosen set selected from their 24 studio and live albums not only demonstrated the diversity and variety in mood, colour, tone and texture of their music but of course their musical craftmanship and abilities both in writing and performing. It may be true to say that many bands from the late sixties/early seventies still performing are past their peak but the general vibe amongst the audience after the show was that they had witnessed something fresh and new in music from the past 50 years. That may be the secret to Wishbone Ash's longevity. They have never stood still forever evolving, never allowing themselves to be pigeon holed.

Due to the demand for this show Wishbone Ash return to the Sage in January 2021 but this time in the larger hall 1. No surprise.

Although they achieved much of their success with huge hits back in the early 70s, their performances of their blues, rock, and progressive rock crossover today is still incredible. They’ve changed their line-up considerably over the years, and in my opinion, this has kept their sound fresh and exciting, and prevented their music from getting same-y and stale. Their use of the harmony twin lead guitars in their sets is something that the band are incredibly famous for, and they’ve maintained this set up throughout their years of performance.
They opened the show with the title track from their album Bona Fide, before revisiting much of their older material, before reaching Blue Horizon, their new 2014 album. It was great to see a performance with all of the original members back in position after so many years of alternative members, and they totally rocked it. It was the first time that Blue Horizon had been played in its entirety to a live audience, and it was absolutely incredible to be in that audience. The venue was full of long time fans, and everyone was singing along word for word to every single track. They band were great at getting the audience dancing and involved, and it was a great show.

I have seen Wishbone Ash (in a number of forms) over twenty times. On Thursday 1st October I saw them (well, Andy Powells' Wishbone Ash) at "Eleven" in Stoke-on-Trent. I was accompanied by a good friend, George. The last time we saw them together was in 1975 at The Free Trade Hall in Manchester. It was great to be nostalgic and chat about 'old times'. On the night we both thought that Wishbone were great. The new guitarist fitted in perfectly, the rhythm section was it's usual solid yet innovative self and Andy Powell,as always, never lets you down. I have always admired lead guitarists and regard him as one of the best. It was the first time I had visited "Eleven" and was quite impressed with the venue. We both agreed what a super evening we had and what a great concert we had witnessed.
Colin Price
Stoke-on-Trent

The first time I have seen Wishbone with new guitarist Mark Abrahams. As always, whenever a twin guitarist leaves, Andy Powell somehow manages to replace them with someone equally as good as any of the predecessors. This was no exception and the set was heavily focussed towards the early work of Argus. Not to be missed!
Wonderful, wonderful, wonderful and I am going to follow this up with a visit to sunny Hunstanton on Tuesday night to see them again. They are now in their 49th year of touring! Catch them before the sands of time catch up with them and you will have to concede that you never did see Wishbone Ash live

The evening was ok, but I really don’t like two set gigs,
It’s just a way of getting you in the bar to pay over inflated prices for inadequate offerings.
There is no doubt that wishbone ash are a fabulous
Underestimated band but the evening was spoilt by the house PA System that is not fit for purpose.
The music was far to loud for the venue size, so much so that I went and sat at the back during the interval.
And on a number of occasions there was bad distortion and
Feed back.
I definitely would recommend seeing wishbone ash live but not at The Haymarket, Basingstoke.

Chris.

Superb- what can I say- a brilliant show featuring all the old faves and a few newbies! The engagement with the audience was brilliant too- they made you feel a part of the performance and were obviously loving what they were doing! The music was incredibly tight with astounding performances by all! I loved the creative bass playing and the lead guitarist was incredible! The vocals were phenomenal - even after all this time- the harmonies were spot on! I have not enjoyed a concert like that for years and would love to see them again if I can! YOU MUST GO TO SEE THEM, or you will miss out big time!

Wishbone Ash at the Jahrhunderthalle, Frankfurt put on a superb show including a mix of old and new tracks. The quality of the musicianship was fantastic and the acoustics in the concert hall were excellent. It’s great to experience a band that can still produce a high level of entertainment and belt out songs that originated fifty years ago. It was an exhilarating performance from the group and it appeared they really enjoyed putting on the show. There was great interaction with the audience, all of whom responded with enthusiastic applause. What a night! Well done Wishbone Ash!

I really only knew the Argus album which I listened to relentlessly in 1972 when I was 15/16. Last night was the first time I'd seen them live - absolutely awesome guitar playing but the vocals on thé Argus tracks weren't quite the same. Years have passed, I know, and perhaps they originally were sung by a different band member.
Andy encouraged us to buy his book and said he'd meet us in the foyer to sign them but when we met him he was v brusque and dismissive of us and more interested in saying hello to two people he knew. I found that v disappointing - v unfriendly

It was a fantastic show. Wishbone Ash was in top form and sounded amazing. They had audience members on their feet by the end of the performance. What troopers to drive in to Denver with an impending snow storm. They made it and so did we. I'm grateful we didn't miss this first show in the U.S. tour!! It is my 2nd time seeing Wishbone Ash and they far exceeded my expectations with this 50th anniversary tour. I heard all my favorites and then some. I cannot wait for them to return to Colorado soon!

The guys were on it from the moment they came on stage. A great set list from across the decades really helped the night go well.

Probably one of the best performances I’ve seen in a long while, if not ever. Sound mix was good as you could clearly pick out each of the band, and boy what a band. Andy, Bob, Mark and Joe really worked as one and it was a pleasure to witness it.

Happy 50th chaps and here’s to many more. See you again next year . . .