Ash have confirmed plans for a ‘Best Of’ album and a series of shows with former member Charlotte Hatherley.
Ash are difficult not to like. The Northern Irish group have more than enough summer classics in their locker to entertain any crowd, and thanks to the A-Z project new material is flooding out on a weekly basis.
Deciding to look back, Ash have outlined plans for a new ‘Best Of’. Sure, they’ve already got a singles collection but time has passed since then and hey – those album tracks aren’t going to collect themselves.
So a ‘Best Of’ it is. Sensibly titled ‘The Best Of Ash’ the album is set to drop on October 17th and charts the group’s career to date. Flooded with hype while still in their teens, debut album ‘1977’ was an enormous success.
Expanding to a four piece with Charlotte Hatherley, Ash became a long term success. Notching up hit after hit, Hatherley left with Bloc Party guitarist Russell Lissack taking her place during live performances.
The album collects the best of this era, with Ash re-recording early cut ‘Jack Names The Planets’ for the collection. Initially on their ‘Trailer’ EP the recording brings the ‘Best Of’ album full circle.
Alongside the music fans can claim the DVD documentary ‘Teenage Wildlife’. Charting the trio’s rise to fame, it features voiceover work from Ewan McGregor and a script from the much missed music scribe Steven Wells.
“It was hard for me to watch it for a while as we were going through complete nervous breakdowns trying to deal with it all as we were so young,” says vocalist/guitarist Tim Wheeler. “But it’s a really cool document of that whole time especially as it was a lot harder to make documentaries on the road back then and there was a lot of craziness.”
Due for release on October 17th, the ‘Best Of’ collection will be accompanied by some special dates. Set to play their album ‘Free All Angels’ in its entirety the short burst of tour dates marks the return of Charlotte Hatherley to the fold.
Tickets are on sale shortly.
Ash have confirmed the following shows:
October
20 Birmingham HMV Institute
21 Bristol O2 Academy
22 Glasgow O2 ABC
23 Manchester Ritz
25 London HMV Forum
