The Northern Irish band Ash, formed in 1992 by Tim Wheeler and Mark Hamilton, have managed to chart thirty-one times in the UK Top 100. After their punk-pop beginnings, the quartet entered the Britpop movement with the prominent guitars and catchy melodies of their mini-album Trailer (1994). In 1996, the band's masterpiece 1977 sent four tracks into the Top 20, including "Girl from Mars" (#11), "Goldfinger" (#5) and "Oh Yeah" (#6). Subsequent albums Nu-Clear Sounds (1998), Free All Angels (2001), Meltdown (2004) and Twilight of the Innocents (2007) attempt to renew the state of grace of a band in need of American recognition. In 2009, Ash, once again a trio, changed its formula and recorded twenty-six tracks released in fortnightly instalments, all collected on the compilations A-Z, Vol. 1 and A-2, Vol. 2 (2010). 2015 saw a return to album format with the release of Kablammo! the first without a single in the charts. Nevertheless, the power pop trio continue to attract large audiences to their live shows, and follow up with the albums Islands (2018), Race the Night (2023) and Ad Astra (2025), featuring the collaboration of Blur guitarist Graham Coxon on two tracks.
