1977 is the debut studio album by Northern Irish rock band Ash. It was released on 6 May 1996 by Home Grown and Infectious Records, with whom the band had signed following the release of several demo tapes. Ash released the mini-album Trailer in 1994, and followed it with three singles "Kung Fu", "Girl from Mars", and "Angel Interceptor", all of which would reappear on 1977. Ash recorded their debut album with producer Owen Morris at Rockfield Studios in Wales in early 1996. Described as a Britpop, power pop and garage rock album, 1977 drew comparisons to the Buzzcocks, Dinosaur Jr., and Sonic Youth.
Ash are a Northern Irish rock band formed in Downpatrick, County Down in 1992 by vocalist and guitarist Tim Wheeler, bassist Mark Hamilton and drummer Rick McMurray. As a three-piece, they released mini-album Trailer in 1994 and full-length album 1977 in 1996. This 1996 release was named by NME as one of the 500 greatest albums of all time. After the success of their full debut the band recruited Charlotte Hatherley as a guitarist and vocalist, releasing their second record Nu-Clear Sounds in 1998. After narrowly avoiding bankruptcy, the band released Free All Angels in 2001 and a string of successful singles.
Trailer is a mini album by the band Ash featuring their first three singles. An expanded edition also includes four B-sides. The album was released in October 1994 through Infectious Records. The band considered it a "trailer" for their future debut album proper, and named it accordingly.
"Kung Fu" is a song by the band Ash, released as the first single from their album, 1977. It was released in March 1995 as a CD single, limited edition 7”, and standard 7” vinyl. The song was written by Tim Wheeler and produced by Owen Morris.
Intergalactic Sonic 7″s is a singles collection, released by punk-influenced band Ash on 9 September 2002. It is available in two formats, with and without the bonus disc, Cosmic Debris. These are both available on CD and vinyl. It was released to celebrate Ash's tenth anniversary and collected the band's eighteen singles along with "Envy" a new song recorded specifically for the compilation. The American mixes of "Burn Baby Burn" "Jesus Says" and "Wildsurf" are included instead of their original mixes and a shorter edit of "Shining Light is included in place of the version featured on Free All Angels
"Goldfinger" is a song by Northern Irish band Ash, released from their debut studio album, 1977 (1996), on 15 April 1996. The song was written by Tim Wheeler and produced by Owen Morris. It was released as a single CD, a 7-inch vinyl, and as a cassette.
"Sometimes" was the third single released from Northern Irish rock band Ash's third studio album, Free All Angels (2001). It was released on 9 July 2001 as two CD singles, as a 7-inch vinyl, and a DVD single. Although "Sometimes" reached only number 21 on the UK Singles Chart, it helped contribute to increase in sales for Free All Angels. The song also reached number 41 in Ireland.
Free All Angels is the third studio album to be recorded by Northern Irish rock band Ash. It was released on 23 April 2001 through Infectious Records and Home Grown. Due to the mixed reaction to the band's second studio album Nu-Clear Sounds (1998), frontman Tim Wheeler suffered from depression. He went to his parents' house in Northern Ireland to write material for the band's next album. Free All Angels was co-produced by the band and Owen Morris, and recording sessions were held at El Cortijo in Puerto Banús, Spain, then moved to The Wool Hall in Beckington and RAK Studios in London. The album was described as pop punk, power pop and punk rock, and drew comparisons to the works of China Drum, Compulsion, Hüsker Dü, and the Replacements.
"Love" is a song written and performed by John Lennon, originally released on his debut solo album John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band (1970). The song's theme is more upbeat than most of the songs on Plastic Ono Band.
"Girl from Mars" is a song by Northern Irish band Ash, the second to be released from their debut studio album, 1977 (1996). The song was written by Tim Wheeler when he was sixteen and was played by the band on their first Top of the Pops appearance two weeks after their A-level exams. It was released on 31 July 1995 on CD, 7-inch vinyl, and cassette formats. "Girl from Mars" was Ash's first top-forty single, reaching number 11 on the UK Singles Chart, number five on the Icelandic Singles Chart and number 16 on the Irish Singles Chart. It also peaked at number 86 in Australia in March 1997.
"Oh Yeah" is a song by Northern Irish rock band Ash, released as the fifth single from their debut studio album, 1977 (1996), on 24 June 1996. It was released on CD, 7-inch vinyl, and cassette formats. Upon its release, "Oh Yeah" debuted and peaked at number six on the UK Singles Chart, becoming Ash's second-highest-charting single on the chart following their previous release, "Goldfinger".
"A Life Less Ordinary" was a non-album single released by the band Ash on the 13th of October, 1997. It was the title track of the film of the same name, A Life Less Ordinary, starring Cameron Diaz and Ewan McGregor, and also appeared on the film's soundtrack. The single was released in three formats: CD, 7-inch vinyl, and cassette. The limited-edition 7-inch was printed on blue vinyl. The song peaked at number ten on the UK Singles Chart.
"Wildsurf" is a song by Ash, released as the second single from the album Nu-Clear Sounds on 23 November 1998. It reached 31 in the UK Singles Chart, while doing less prominently in BBC Radio 1, where it was placed in the "C" list. The single was released in CD, 7" vinyl, and cassette.
"Burn Baby Burn" is a song by Ash, released as the second single from the Free All Angels album on 2 April 2001, reaching number 13 on the UK Singles Chart and number 20 in Ireland. It was released as a single CD and as a 7" vinyl, and was also released for the first time on DVD format. The song can also be found on the Intergalactic Sonic 7″s hits collection.
"Candy" is a song by Ash, released as the fourth single from their album Free All Angels on 1 October 2001. It was released as a single CD as a 7-inch vinyl, as well as on DVD format. Candy performed only slightly better than previous single "Sometimes", reaching number 20 on the UK Singles Chart and number 25 in Ireland.
"There's a Star" is a song by Ash, released as the fifth single from their album Free All Angels, on 31 December 2001. It was released as a single CD as a 7-inch vinyl record and on DVD. "There's a Star" was a surprise hit for the band, reaching number 13 on the UK Singles Chart and giving them one of their best-selling singles, even though the single was deleted after one week. The song also reached number 38 in Ireland.
"Gimme Some Truth" is a protest song written and performed by John Lennon. It was first released on his 1971 album Imagine. "Gimme Some Truth" contains various political references emerging from the time it was written, during the latter years of the Vietnam War. Co-produced by Phil Spector, the recording includes a slide guitar solo played by George Harrison, Lennon's former bandmate in the Beatles.
"Starcrossed" is the third single from the Meltdown album by the band Ash. It was released as a single on 19 July 2004 as a CD and a gatefold 7-inch vinyl, as well as a DVD format and various promo copies. "Starcrossed" was A-listed on BBC Radio 1 and was expected to be a major hit for the band, but it only made it to number 22 on the UK Singles Chart and number 43 in Ireland. However, the song was successful in the long run for the band and is considered one of their most popular songs.
"End of the World" is the third single released from alternative rock band Ash's album, Twilight of the Innocents. It was released on 10 September 2007 on gatefold 7" vinyl, bagged 7", CD single and two digital download formats. It charted at a lowly No.62 in the UK Charts, becoming their first single to miss the top 40 since "Kung Fu" in 1995.
The Best of Ash is the second greatest hits album by the band Ash, released on 17 October 2011.
