The Cluny was pretty full, but not as full as last year’s sold-out performance at the same venue, for this show by Martin Turner, founding member of Wishbone Ash. I must say that I don’t particularly like to swear allegiance to either version of Wishbone Ash. I enjoy seeing Wishbone Ash with Andy Powell; a band I have seen many times over the years and Andy is to be applauded for keeping the Wishbone Ash flag flying high. Martin, on the other hand, has put together a band of excellent musicians to recreate the original sound of Wishbone Ash as close to the albums as possible.
So, I am happy for both bands to coexist and to have the opportunity of experiencing two different views of Wishbone Ash. Andy has kept the band going and transformed them into a rockier, louder format. Martin, on the other hand, attempts to recreate the original sound.
This tour is billed as selections of songs from the Live Dates 2 album (1980) along with tracks from the original Live Dates album (1973). I am pretty sure that some of the Live Dates album was recorded at Newcastle City Hall, a concert which I attended. I remember well how they announced that they were recording the concert for a future live album.
There were microphones situated around the venue to record the sound from various vantage points. At the time we will very excited that we were going to be on a live album. Of course, I bought the album and still have a copy to this day. Sadly, I sold my record collection some years ago in foolishness. I have since rebuilt it all via car boot fairs, charity shops, vintage vinyl fairs and eBay.
Jan, my carer for the evening, and I were led through a little hatch into the auditorium which holds 300 people and was pretty full. At 8 PM sharp, Martin Turner and his band took the stage. We were immediately transported back to the 1970s and the classic Argos album with “The King Will Come” (one of my favourites), followed by some later Wishbone Ash favourites as featured on the Live Dates 2 album including several I recognised immediately: “Lady Jay”; “F.U.B.B” (Fu**ed up Beyond Belief); “Persephone” and “Way Of The World”.
After a short interval Martin was back, this time focusing upon older tracks as featured on the original Live Dates album. Now we were on the home stretch with songs that were true classics and favourites of mine. These included the wonderful “Time Was”; the equally excellent Laurie Wisefield song “Goodbye Baby, Hello Friend”; the Ted Turner song “Rock ‘n Roll Widow” written about a wishbone Ash concert in the USA during which someone shot his wife’s lover!.
The perennial favourite “Blowin’ Free” follows and finally closing the show, one song that continues to grow on me, (I started off thinking it was too self-indulgent, but now I absolutely love this one), it is, of course, “Phoenix”. Magnificent. “Phoenix rise, raise your head to the sky” (Wishbone Ash, 1970). According to guitarist Ted Turner in the band’s official biography Blowin’ Free, “It was just an elongated, structured jam, but our masterpiece”.
I must mention that, once again, I was very impressed by Martin who looked well and was dressed in incredibly bright and flashy gear as always! And of course, he was playing his usual Gibson Thunderbird bass, standing stage centre, clearly leading the proceedings, flanked on either side by two excellent guitarists who reproduced the twin guitar melodies of Wishbone Ash down to a T. Some great guitar duelling throughout the evening.
The encore was another favourite song “Living Proof” followed by the final song, as it always used to be, “Jail Bait” with its twisting, twirling discordant guitar, taking me back to seeing the original band at Sunderland Locarno. An excellent close to a wonderful concert reminding me just how great Wishbone Ash were, and continue to be through Martin and his band, and Andy Powell and his version of the Ash. At one point during the concert, a guy shouted up “why don’t you reunite with Andy Powell and reform the original Wishbone Ash?” Martin soon squashed the idea. Don’t think this will ever happen.
It was great to catch up with an old friend. I also treated myself to a signed copy of Martin’s book. Thanks to Jan for the photographs and Chris for manipulating the site.
Setlist:(something like this, derived from recent set lists and memory): Set 1: The King Will Come; Helpless; Lady Jay; F.U.B.B; Persephone; Lorelei; Runaway; Way Of The World (Part. I & II)
Set 2: (In All My Dreams) You Rescue Me; Time Was; Goodbye Baby, Hello Friend; Rock ‘n Roll Widow; Doctor; Blowin’ Free; Phoenix.
Encore: Living Proof; Jail Bait.
Up until a few years ago, Stanley hosted a very successful annual blues festival, that hosted acts such as Chicken Shack. Funding issues have meant that the festival has not run for a few years. However, this year local organisers have put together a music festival which ran today, on bank holiday Sunday. The headliners were Martin Turner’s Wishbone Ash, with support from several local acts. And all for £3! I arrived late in the afternoon and caught the majority of DeeExpus’ set. DeeExpus are a North East prog rock band, and are pretty good too. Their music is classic 70s prog, with flashes of Yes and Wishbone Ash. A local busker took to the stage during the changeover, and sang a few blues songs. However, he left in the huff, as his guitar mike wasn’t working, and he told us that he “had been sabotaged”. There was a little wait before Martin Turner took to the stage, and it started to rain quite heavily. The event was also running late, and quite a number of the crowd left before the headliner started. The rain had stopped by the time Martin Turner’s Wishbone Ash opened with “The King will come”. 
There has been quite a lot of discussion on their respective message boards as to the merits of the two versions of Wishbone Ash. Having seen both acts several times over the past few years, I would say that both bands always deliver and are good value for money. Martin’s band quite clearly set out to deliver versions of the old songs which are as true as possible to the originals, and they do a pretty good job of it. Fraid I was getting cold and wet (and didn’t have my coat on) so I didn’t stay for the whole set, but what I did see was a good mix of old classics, and some lesser known songs, all played well with Martin on good form. Songs I saw were: “Warrior”, followed by “Throw Down the Sword”, “Lady Jay” which I can’t claim to know well and sounded great, “Rock n’ Roll Widow”: a favourite that I haven’t heard for a long time, and “Ballad of the Beacon” which I can’t remember at all. To my shame I left during “Phoenix” (sorry Martin). It’s good that Stanley has a festival again; hope it returns next year.
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