Formation and rise to fame (1969–1980) , US, in 1972 Wishbone Ash was formed in October 1969 by bass guitarist
Martin Turner and drummer Steve Upton. When Tanglewood's original guitarist, Martin's brother Glenn Turner, left the trio and returned to his native
Devon, their manager,
Miles Copeland III, advertised for a guitar player and also for a keyboard player. After an extensive search for a guitarist, the band could not decide between the final two candidates,
Andy Powell and
Ted Turner (no relation to Martin). It was suggested that they try both guitar players "just to see what it sounds like". Differing from the twin lead sound of
Southern rock pioneer
The Allman Brothers Band, Wishbone Ash included strong elements of
progressive rock, and also of
folk and
classical music. After the band members wrote several suggested band names on two sheets of paper, Martin Turner picked one word from each list – 'Wishbone' and 'Ash'. In early 1970, the band secured an opening spot for
Deep Purple. Its guitarist,
Ritchie Blackmore, later recommended Wishbone Ash to producer
Derek Lawrence, as well as helping them secure a record deal with
Decca/
MCA Records. The band's debut album,
Wishbone Ash, was released in December 1970. One year later, the group released
Pilgrimage and the band peaked commercially in 1972 with
Argus, their highest placed entry in the
UK Albums Chart (#3). In the meantime, previously booked concerts were covered by the Powell/Upton/Crompton/Pyle lineup, including a show in May 1987 in
Sun City in
South Africa, where the band had been advised that they would be playing to a 50/50 multi-racial audience. But when this did not occur, the band returned to the UK and wrote to the
United Nations expressing their regret at playing the show and their support of the anti-apartheid cause. The court ruled in favour of Andy Powell with the comprehensive judgement forming a clear history of the band since its inception. On 19 February 2014 the 24th studio album
Blue Horizon was released. The reviews for this album were generally very positive. As of 2014 this line-up of the band, having been together since 2007, became the longest-lasting line-up of Wishbone Ash in the group's history and on 16 May 2015 they recorded a live to vinyl album at
Metropolis Studios. On 21–23 May 2015 Wishbone Ash recorded the DVD
Live in Paris at in France. The performance included additional percussion and guitar contributions from Andy's son Aynsley Powell. In May 2017 it was announced that Mark Abrahams, a long time Wishbone Ash fan, would be joining to cover guitar duties. Abrahams is a guitarist who previously owned Vision Guitars, a guitar shop in
Castleford,
West Yorkshire, England. On 24 September 2019 it was announced that Wishbone Ash were signed to
Steamhammer/SPV and released
Coat of Arms, their first studio album in six years, on 28 February 2020. The album's lead single, "We Stand as One", was premiered on to the band's 50th anniversary in autumn 2019 and had been released on 10 January 2020. The second single "Back in the Day" was released on 7 February 2020. The album cover was created by a heraldry artist Olaf Keller in the Regal Coat of Arms design studio. For some dates on their 2021 tour, drummer Windsor McGilvray subbed for Joe Crabtree, then
Mike Sturgis rejoined the band in place of Crabtree, after which Mike Truscott became Wishbone Ash's official drummer in February 2022. In August 2023 the band announced the release of a live album,
Live Dates Live. In January 2026 drummer McGilvray replaced Mike Truscott. ==Martin Turner ex Wishbone Ash==