www.martinturnermusic.com

OCT 20 2010

Martin Turner's official You Tube channel continues to expand with brand new footage being added to the already comprehensive collection of MTWA and Classic WA clips available.

Latest additions include "home movie" live videos of "Way Of The World", "Broken Down House", "Haunting Me", "Fire Sign", "Prelude" and "FUBB" filmed at shows in Leamington Spa and Halifax during the 2nd leg of the Life Begins 2010 tour.

OCT 8 2010

Watch out for special Martin Turner's Wishbone Ash contests on Classic Rock andPlanet Rock websites during the coming week.

Prizes to these contests will be special VIP tickets to MTWA's 100 Club show on 22 October - the band's only London headline appearance before 2011 and the very last chance to hear the Life Begins set list in the capital. The VIP tickets will include an exclusive meet and greet with the band prior to the show and the opportunity to watch the band's soundcheck.

OCT 4 2010

We can now confirm the stage times for MTWA's appearance alongside Argent and Curved Air at the London Forum on 13 December 2010:

7.30-8.10 Curved Air

8.30-9.10 MTWA

9.30-10.45 Argent

MTWA fans should note that the band's upcoming show at the 100 Club, London on 22 October 2010 will be the band's only London headlining show before next year - i.e. the FINAL chance to hear the full length Life Begins set performed in the capital.

SEP 30 2010

Martin Turner's Wishbone Ash delighted an enthusiastic audience at the Assembly, Leamington Spa last night, as they unveiled a revamped set list for the second leg of the Life Begins tour.

No less than seven different songs were included, along with many of the favourites from the first leg of the tour. Of these songs, six had never been played on stage by MTWA, and of those four had never been played onstage by any Wishbone Ash line-up previously!

The opening night set list ran as follows:

The King Will Come; Errors of My Way; Rock 'n' Roll Widow; Haunting Me; Fire Sign; Prelude; In The Skin; Way Of The World

Lost Cause in Paradise; Ballad of the Beacon; Ships in the Sky; Broken Down House; FUBB; Warrior; Throw Down The Sword; Blowin' Free; Living Proof; Jailbait

SEP 24 2010

We are pleased to announce that our revamped You Tube channel has now been launched. Aside from a selection of classic Wishbone Ash and Martin Turner's Wishbone Ash clips from the archives, we are also pleased to present some brand new live clips as well as, for the first time, some behind the scenes footage. 

MTWA have allowed first time "fly on the wall" access to a rehearsal session as they gear up for the second leg of the Life Begins tour. One track is already live on the channel, while others will appear over the coming days. 

DISCLAIMER: Rehearsal clips are not finished performances, but instead provide an insight into songs at an early, raw rehearsal stage, allowing fans the chance to see how the band work out parts and arrangements in rehearsal. The sound on these clips will be unmixed with levels set for rehearsal rather than performance purposes. As such they are not a representation of the band's concert sound. The You Tube channel is a work in progress and new material will now be added on a regular basis. The aim is to bring the fans a greater level of behind the scenes access and we will be uploading further rehearsal footage, messages from the band, interviews, video Q&As, reports from the road, etc, over the coming weeks. The channel can be accessed via our Multimedia page or directly by clicking on the You Tube icon above. Please take the time to subscribe to the channel, where you may leave your comments and feedback about the clips. Enjoy...

AUG 25 2010

Martin Turner is to be interviewed by BBC Coventry, ahead of the 2nd leg of MTWA's Life Begins tour, which opens at the Assembly in Leamington Spa (a prestigious venue which has played host to many big name acts since its opening in 2008) on 29 September.

The interview will be broadcast around midday on Sunday 19 September.

AUG 15 2010

We are delighted to announce that Martin Turner's Wishbone Ash's High Voltage appearance made number 17 in Planet Rock radio's "Best Festival Band 2010" listeners poll - coming in above some high profile competition. Thanks to all who voted in the poll. 

AUG 11 2010

We are pleased to announce that a triple bill of Argent, Martin Turner's Wishbone Ash and Curved Air will be appearing at the HMV Forum, Kentish Town, London on 13 December 2010

AUG 2 2010

The latest Wishbone Ash anthology from Universal Music, Sometime World: An MCA Travelogue, is reviewed in the August 2010 issue of Guitar Techniques, where it receives a five star rating and is voted Album Of The Month. Check out the review:

In case you haven't already guessed, this double CD features much of the best of the early stuff from Wishbone Ash in those heady days of Gibson guitars, Rickenbacker basses and tons of Orange equipment, oh yes, and sitting on the floor at the Lyceum in London (whose idea was it to take out all the seats and water down the beer anyway?). There are lots of obvious inclusions here and a few surprises like a live version of "The King Will Come" rather than the regularArgus version. CD1 is the original band whilst CD2 continues from There's The Rub album where Laurie Wisefield replaced Ted Turner on guitar. He also sings lead vocal on "Goodbye Baby Hello Friend". The very last two tracks feature John Wetton replacing Martin Turner on lead vocals and bass from their Number The Brave album. There's a great choice of material here from a band specialising in heavy/progressive harmony guitar.

JULY 31 2010

Check out the following reviews of Martin Turner's Wishbone Ash's appearance at High Voltage.

Classic Rock website

Get Ready to Rock website

JULY 31 2010

Planet Rock radio is running a poll for Best Festival Act 2010. We would like to ask all MTWA fans to vote for Martin Turner's Wishbone Ash's High Voltage appearance.

Together we managed to get Wishbone Ash's Live Dates into Planet Rock's Best Live Albums poll recently. Let's pull together again and get MTWA into the chart for Best Festival Act 2010. 

JULY 26 2010

A packed audience at the Prog Stage witnessed the historic reunion of Martin Turner and Ted Turner, commemorating the 40th anniversary of the formation of Wishbone Ash.

Ted joined the band on stage for the Argus finale of "Blowin' Free" before taking centre stage to sing "Why Don't We" and "Jailbait".

Many thousands supported MTWA's 70 minute set and, despite competition from the Classic and Metal stages, MTWA had the largest crowd at the time. Many famous faces could be seen in the audience checking the band out.

Also in attendance were Laurie Wisefield and Claire Hamill - Claire joining the band for the tail end of "Jailbait".

Later in the day, Ted Turner performed a solo set in the VIP tent.

MTWA were on site for the duration of the two-day festival and spent much time meeting friends old and new - amongst the audience and also in the artists enclosure. Martin in particular enjoyed catching up with ZZ Top - old friends of Wishbone Ash from the early 1970's (ZZ opened for WA on many US shows).

MTWA wishes to extend its thanks to everyone involved in High Voltage - the organisers, the technical and backstage staff, the other bands and of course the audience - for making the festival such an overwhelming success.

JULY 23 2010

Classic Rock magazine's Dave Ling was at Liscombe Park studios yesterday to chat with Martin Turner's Wishbone Ash and Uriah Heep in advance of their appearances at High Voltage. Both bands were at the studios rehearsing their respective sets - MTWA performing Argus (with guest Ted Turner), Uriah Heep playing Demons and Wizards.

JULY 20 2010

We can now confirm that Martin Turner's Wishbone Ash will be appearing on the Prog Stage at 1.10pm on Sunday 25 July.

JULY 17 2010

Earlier this week, Martin Turner recorded an interview for Planet Rock radio in advance of MTWA's forthcoming appearance at the High Voltage festival next weekend.

The interview will be broadcast at 6pm on Sat 17 July. It can then be heard for a limited time on the listen again page.

JULY 7 2010

As Martin Turner's Wishbone Ash (featuring a special guest appearance from Ted Turner) prepare to perform the entire Argus album at the High Voltage festival in Victoria Park, London on 25 July 2010, Classic Rock magazine have published a brand new interview with Martin on their website. Read Martin's thoughts about Wishbone Ash's seminal 1972 album, including some tongue in cheek comments about his choirboy past!

JUNE 30 2010

As Martin Turner continues to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the formation of Wishbone Ash, we are pleased to announce that additional shows in Germany, Poland, Holland and the UK have been added to MTWA's 2010 Life Begins tour.

JUNE 28 2010

Our auction in aid of Cancer Research UK has now reached its conclusion and we are pleased to announce the winner of our High Voltage bundle.

The lucky winner is Melody Oakley, who secures the package with her generous winning bid of £750 for the High Voltage bundle, which includes VIP tickets to this years premier classic rock festival where Martin Turner's Wishbone Ash (featuring special guest Ted Turner) appear on a bill which also features ELP, Asia, Uriah Heep, Focus, Magnum, ZZ Top, UFO, Heaven and Hell, Foreigner, Gary Moore, Marillion and other top division acts.

The bundle also includes a range of MTWA and classic WA memorabilia as well an invitation to attend an MTWA recording session at a to be agreed date in the future.

We offer Melody our congratulations and thank everyone who participated in our two Cancer Research UK auctions.

JUNE 18 2010

We recommend that Wishbone Ash fans buy the latest edition of Classic Rockmagazine, which includes an interview with Ted Turner in which he talks about his forthcoming solo album Eclektic Value, his plans to join Martin Turner's Wishbone Ash at the forthcoming High Voltage festival, and comments about his ex-band mates .

Ted's new CD is now scheduled for release on 30 June 2010. Those who have signed up to Ted's Pledge campaign will have already heard a selection of tracks in advance of the general release. Details of the pledge campaign can be found atTed's website.

MAY 6 2010

Here is the first media review of the new Universal 2CD collection Sometime World: An MCA Travelogue. We will keep you posted with all press reviews as they arrive...

Widely respected and celebrated, Wishbone Ash are not only one of the most successful rock bands but also one of its most intelligent, continually creating challenging, evocative, harmonic hard rock with vital vocal sweetening. This new double-disc set - compiled with co-operation and approval of key members to mark the band's 40th anniversary - is a chronological keepsake of their MCA label tenure, which ran from their self-titled 1970 debut album to 1981's Number the Brave, and included their 1972 breakthrough album Argus, whence came some of this pimer's most potent pieces - "Sometime World", "Blowin' Free", "Warrior" and "Throw Down the Sword"

Alan Jones,

Music Week

MAY 5 2010

Ever wanted greater access to your musical heroes than the standard concert ticket allows?

How about being a “fly on the wall” at a recording session?

How would you like to venture backstage at the UK’s leading classic rock festival?

Most music fans can only ever dream of such access. Access that “Money Can’t Buy”.

However, here at www.wishboneash.co.uk we are about to make these dreams become reality through our special charity auction in aid of Cancer Research UK.

Cancer Research UK is a cancer research and awareness charity in the United Kingdom (registered charity number 1089464). Its aim is to reduce the number of deaths from cancer. As the world's leading cancer charity, it carries out groundbreaking research into the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of the disease. It also provides information on cancer and runs campaigns aimed at raising awareness of the disease and influencing public policy. Cancer Research UK's work is entirely funded by the public. It raises money through donations, legacies, community fundraising, events, retail and corporate partnerships.

9 year-old Amy Bannister's recent "Throw Down the Sword" single in aid of Cancer Research UK has been an inspiration behind this auction and the funds raised from though the auction will be added to Amy's appeal.

Exclusive to www.wishboneash.co.uk, we have a bumper prize bundle of items that “Money Can’t Buy”. The prize offers unprecedented access and include:

• a pair of weekend VIP tickets to the High Voltage Festival held on 24/25 July 2010 at Victoria Park, London, where Martin Turner’s Wishbone Ash (with special guest Ted Turner) will appear alongside a host of the biggest rock acts in the business such as ELP, ZZ Top, Foreigner, Uriah Heep, Asia, Steve Hackett, Focus, Magnum, Joe Bonamassa, Gary Moore, UFO, Saxon, Argent, Bachman-Turner, Marillion, Heaven and Hell and many more yet to be announced. This is the pre-eminent event on the 2010 rock calendar. The VIP tickets on their own have a face value of £580, but as we can offer backstage passes and meet and greets with some of the bands, the level of access we are providing simply cannot be bought on the open market. Special thanks to Classic Rock and Mean Fiddler for supplying this prize.

• the chance to visit Martin Turner’s Wishbone Ash in the recording studio. This truly is a once-in-a-lifetime experience to take a behind the scenes glimpse at how the modern, professional recording process really works. This is the very first time such access has been allowed, including access to the control room, live rooms, green room and studio lounges. Photo opportunities will also be included.

• A selection of historic original 1970’s vintage Wishbone Ash tour posters, signed by Martin Turner. These long out of print posters are now extremely rare and collectable.

• Martin Turner’s Wishbone Ash merchandising – signed poster, t-shirt, CD (exact list of items to be confirmed)

All you have to do to place a bid is send an e-mail by clicking here. In the body of the mail you should state your full name and also the name of the person who will be attending the event with you, your full postal address and a daytime phone number. In the subject line you should enter "AUCTION VOLTAGE" followed by the amount you wish to bid - e.g. "AUCTION VOLTAGE £800".

Highest bid to date is £750.

Any advances must be received by midday UK time on 27 June 2010.

As we edge nearer the closing date of 27 June 2010, regular updates of latest bids received will be made here.

MAY 4 2010

Ted Turner and Martin Turner are delighted to announce that they will reunite as part of the celebrations of Wishbone Ash's 40th anniversary. Ted will join Martin at the climax of the Argus set and for the encores, after which Ted will take center stage playing a selection of new songs.

Ted says:- "I am thrilled at the opportunity to join Martin and his excellent band on stage at this high profile festival. Martin and I have never lost contact, and have remained spiritual brothers. 40 years on from the start, we are closer than ever in relation to Wishbone Ash matters. We share common musical and life values and Iknow this will be a very special occasion".

Paul Saunders, Senior VP of 977 Media, Ted Turner's management company, adds, "We see this as an ideal opportunity to raise the profile and awareness of Ted's first solo album Eclektic Value, which sees his long awaited return to the music business. True fans can join Ted on this musical journey through his pledge campaign. Ted is primarily concentrating on his new music, but he remains fiercely proud of the music he and the other original members of Wishbone Ash created.

Martin Turner comments:- "My return to the stage over the last few years has made me realise that musicians need the stage and that gifts such as Ted's should be shared with the world. It's about time Ted took the plunge again and I'm delighted to welcome you back, my old mate. We'll have a ball at the High Voltage Festival."

MAY 4 2010

Universal's forthcoming Wishbone Ash 2CD anthology Sometime World: An MCA Travelogue now has a release date of 24 May 2010.

APRIL15 2010

We are pleased to announce that Ted Turner's new website is now online.

Click here to visit Ted's site, which includes preview tracks from Ted's upcoming solo album as well as a video message from Ted.

Here at www.wishboneash.co.uk we wish Ted and his web team the very best with this new venture.

APRIL 12 2010

We are aware of mounting speculation that Ted will be joining Mart on stage at High Voltage. We are pleased to confirm such speculation. We will be making further comments once precise details are confirmed.

In the meantime please be aware that any disclosures that do not appear on the official MTWA site are unconfirmed and unauthorised.

APRIL 8 2010

Universal Japan will be re-releasing the classic MCA 1970-81 Wishbone Ash back catalogue on on 19 May 2010. The CDs will be SHM (Super High Material) format and will be packaged in miniture LP sleeves.

Of special interest is that this re-issue program includes the first ever CD release of Live Dates Volume II.

These CDs should be available through most worldwide import dealers.

MAR 29 2010

Budding guitar star Amy Bannister has helped raise more than £2,000 for a national cancer charity after inspiring one of her guitar heroes to join her fundraising push.

Amy (9), of Handley Road, New Whittington, raised some of the money by recording her own CD single version of Wishbone Ash's hit "Throw Down The Sword", copies of which were given away in return for charity donations.The rest of the cash was raised by online auctions, including one organised by Martin Turner's Wishbone Ash, which was inspired by Amy's efforts and offered a prize of backstage passes at the band's recent Leicester gig, some memorabilia and a visit to watch them recording in the studio.Amy also joined the band on stage to present a cheque to Cancer Research UK, the charity she chose to support because one of her grandfather's recently died from cancer, while the other is currently battling the disease.

Dad Brian said: "Amy has been working hard but she just takes it all in her stride."She is very proud of what she has done and wants to carry on and make more money for Cancer Research."

Another charity auction is also now taking place, offering a pair of weekend VIP tickets for the High Voltage rock festival in London in July.

People have until June 27 to bid at www.wishboneash.co.uk

MAR 23 2010

We are delighted to announce that original Wishbone Ash guitarist Ted Turner is presently putting the finishing touches to a brand new solo album entitled Eclektic Value.  

www.wishboneash.co.uk fully endorses this release and wishes to congratulate Ted on the production of this new work and his return to the musical arena. We urge all Wishbone Ash fans to support this release, as we do all projects that fall under the broad Wishbone Ash umbrella.  

Ted has already made available details of his plans relating to the album release.Click here for details.  

In addition, Martin Turner and Ted Turner keep open the possibility of future collaboration. We hope to bring you confirmation on this front in the near future.

MAR 20 2010

Blinding lights, billowing dry ice and guitar solos longer than a bendy bus - prog-rock was alive and kicking in Leicester at the weekend, re-animated by founder member of Wishbone Ash, singer and bassist Martin Turner.

Aided by three amply-gifted musicians on drums and the all-important twin-guitars, Turner kept the scores of Wishbone Ash devotees rapt by delving into his former band's 1970s catalogue of songs, many of which have aged well.

"Ballad of the Beacon"s lilting warmth and "Rock 'n' Roll Widow"s stomping riffs were early crowd pleasers, and paved the way to the titantic tear-jerker "Everybody Needs a Friend", its mournful solos showcasing the work of Ray Hatfield.

After a quick interval, Turner gained joyous whoops from the crowd by announcing a run-through of Argus, Wishbone Ash's masterpiece, in its entirety.

A live rendition of a concept album about the history of war carries obvious risks, but such was the standard of songs and the easy interplay of the group, it never felt indulgent.

Turner, meanwhile, provided the focus one would expect from an elder statesman of rock.

His vocals were as bruisingly melodic as his basslines, both of which belted out the classic track and set pinnacle "Warrior" with the force it deserved.

After Argus, the fans were treated to an encore of "Living Proof" and "Jail Bait", complete with acrobatic guitar tomfoolery of the highest order.

Alex Scoppie

Leicester Mercury

MARCH 15 2010

On Saturday 13 March 2010 Martin Turner's Wishbone Ash played a specially extended set at Leicester's Y Theatre. A packed venue was treated to nearly two and a half hours of classic Wishbone Ash music featuring the full Life Begins tour set together with the added bonus of a full performance of Argus. Cameras rolled to capture material for the forthcoming DVD.

Set list was as follows:

Set 1: Time and Space; Vas Dis; Ballad of the Beacon; Rock n Roll Widow; Sorrel; Everybody Needs a Friend; Phoenix

Set 2: Lost Cause in Paradise; Errors of my Way; Ships in the Sky; You See Red; Time Was; Sometime World; The King Will Come; Leaf and Stream; Warrior; Throw Down The Sword; Blowin' Free

Encore: Living Proof; Jailbait    

This special event was also the venue for the presentation to Cancer Research UK of a cheque for funds raised to date, through the various online auctions as well as the sales of Amy Bannister's CD recording of "Throw Down The Sword", which had kick started this project. Amy joined MTWA onstage to play this song during the afternoon soundcheck.

Winners of our Leicester bundle auction Mike Eastwood (with his guest Rob Warburton) was also given VIP access during the concert and soundcheck and presented with various prizes including signed memorabilia plus passes to attend a future recording session with MTWA.

Through the various initiatives, a total of £1861 has been raised for Cancer Research UK to date.

This is a great achievment that has delighted everyone involved. However, we do not want it to stop there. In order to raise as much money as possible, we are now extending the deadline for our High Voltage VIP auction to 27 June 2010.

The High Voltage festival is the pre-eminent event on this year's festival calendar with MTWA appearing alongside some of the biggest acts in the rock world - ELP (making a one-off reunion appearance), ZZ Top, Asia, Foreigner, Mott The Hoople, Uriah Heep, Focus, Heaven and Hell, Marillion, Gary Moore, Magnum, UFO, Bachman-Turner, Joe Bonamassa, Argent, Transatlantic and many more.

The VIP tickets on their own have a face value of £580, but as we can offer backstage passes and meet and greets with some of the bands, the level of access we are providing simply cannot be bought on the open market. Special thanks to Classic Rock and Mean Fiddler for supplying this prize. In addition, our High Voltage bundle also includes an invitation to join MTWA in the studio at a future recording session.

Thanks to all who have made this fund-raising project so successful to date.

MARCH 8 2010

Martin Turner's Wishbone Ash is pleased to officially announce that its upcoming show at Leicester Y Theatre on 13 March 2010 will be filmed and recorded.

As previously stated, the band already has footage from last years Southend concert in the can and available for release. However, Martin Turner is delighted with the progress of the band over the time that has passed since those recordings were made and is keen to capture the band's current form, as well as the greater variety of songs that has been added to the set. The additional Leicester recording will supplement the existing Southend recordings and give the band a greater selection of material to include on what promises to be a definitive 40th Anniversary DVD release - the precise format and track selection of which is yet to be confirmed.

For the purpose of the Leicester filming, the band will - for one night only - play a special set featuring material from the Life Begins set in addition to Argus in its entirety. Don't miss this opportunity to be an integral part of the filming and recording process.

The Leicester concert will also be the location of the official presentation of funds to Cancer Research UK in respect of our recent charity auction.