Ash at 30: The Downpatrick rock band still shining

It's Downpatrick in 1992 and three pupils at Down High School form a band.

Within four years they find themselves on top of the musical world.

"We started Ash when we were 15 and we got signed when we were 17 so it was quite quick," says lead singer and guitarist Tim Wheeler.

"We still finished school but when we finished school we had our first big hit when we were 18 and the year after we had a number one album."

Despite such a meteoric rise, drummer Rick McMurray said the group still felt impatient with the pace of their progress.

"To outsiders I think it looked quite quick but I remember within about a year of being in the band we were getting quite frustrated about not getting any progress with record deals," he said.

The Girl From Mars mural is a "shining light" in Downpatrick and was created by artist Marian No one aka Friz and her husband Gerry Norman

If a deal was slower in coming than the band would have liked, there were plenty of local gigs in which to hone their craft and get spotted.

"There was quite a good music scene in Downpatrick," according to Wheeler.

"We actually got to play a lot of gigs. We got to play at the Arts Centre and nearby at the Russell. We would make gigs happen."

'A lot of Strangford Lough in Uncle Pat'

Bass player Mark Hamilton remembers many others.

"We played at the leisure centre and little shows in community halls in Portaferry and Clough."

The band with then guitarist and vocalist Charlotte Hatherley pictured in 2002

According to Wheeler, the band's early songs were shaped by the people and places surrounding Downpatrick.

"The town rings through all of the early music, especially a song like Uncle Pat. You can hear a lot of Strangford Lough in that song.

"I guess there's also a lot about being in a small town and wanting to get out and explore the world as well in the early stuff."

Tim Wheeler in action

Earlier this year a huge "Girl From Mars" mural appeared on the gable wall of a building in Church Street. This came as a welcome shock for the band.

"A friend texted us when it started going up," said Wheeler. "It blew our minds because it's massive as well."

For McMurray the mural is more than just a reflection of the band's work, but also highlights a changing society.

"It is quite emotional as well given the connotations of some of the murals we have had in Northern Ireland in the past.

"So to see something that isn't associated with all that baggage is quite emotional. It is like a conscious thing of moving on," he added.

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The mural was painted by the street artist Friz as part of a broader project by Downpatrick Town Committee, a voluntary group which last week ran the DownTime Festival which culminated with Sunday night's 30th Anniversary show by Ash at the local Arts Centre.

'Rainy wee towns produce the best art'

For school friend Kieron Black whose band Cut Rubber opened the show, the event was a celebration of how people in Downpatrick feel about the band.

"It is always the rainy wee towns that produce the best art," he said.

"A big long winter and you are sitting there with your guitar and it is raining day in, day out. So it isn't really a surprise that the town produced it but it was pride. Look at what these boys have done. Listen to what they are doing. It was special for the get go."

School friend Kieron Black whose band Cut Rubber opened the show

For the 300 fans who secured tickets to the show, this was a rare opportunity to see the band back where it all began.

Among those in attendance was Gary Chambers who travelled five and a half hours from County Cork.

"I've actually been to Japan to see them," he says.

Sam and Lauren Campbell had a shorter journey from Newtownabbey.

"I've never seen them in a small venue so this will be quite unique for me," Sam says.

"I'm not too sure about me, I've only seen them about 10 times," Lauren adds.

"Listening to any of their songs is good enough for me."

And over the course of 30 years together there have been many memorable songs and seven studio albums in a career that has taken the group around the world many times over.

On stage at the Downpatrick Arts Centre

For the band, there's an acknowledgment that most don't make it this far.

"It is a surprise," said Wheeler. "We thought: 'Maybe we'll get five years'.

"But we didn't really have a plan B. I certainly didn't see myself as being a French businessman - I was going to do French and business studies at university."

'Still not sick of the sight of each other'

McMurray recalls a key piece of advice early in the band's career that perhaps shaped their outlook.

"Our manager said you could sign a deal for megabucks but you'd maybe only get one album out of it and then disappear or you could have a smaller deal and get a career out of it and we thought that we'd like this to continue for as long as possible," he explains.

"That would be about five or 10 years but here we are 30 years later and still not sick of the sight of each other."

According to Hamilton the fact that the band emerged before the advent of social media was also a positive.

Tim Wheeler and Mark Hamilton perform at O2 Academy Brixton in April

"We had this drive that we didn't want to do anything else. We didn't have this plan B, we were just laser focussed," he said.

"I'm just glad that there was no social media back then. Imagine all the trolling. We weren't subjected to any of that."

After the Downpatrick gig the band will be back in Belfast for a special Christmas concert at the Ulster Hall.

Bringing down the curtain on 30 years on the road.