Tim Wheeler

Name, where are you from?
Tim Wheeler from Downpatrick, Northern Ireland

Describe your style in three words?
Lazy, occasionally neat.

What’s the best gig you’ve ever been to?
Nirvana, The Breeders and Teenage Fanclub in Belfast in 1992. Nirvana were at their peak, all three bands were great, and we got Kurt and Dave’s autographs that night. Nirvana opened with 'Aneurysm' after walking onstage to Tori Amos’ version of 'Smells Like Teen Spirit'.

If you could be on the line up with any two bands in history?
Thin Lizzy with the 1976 lineup that gave us the Live And Dangerous album. My favourite song from that album is 'Cowboy Song'.
The Clash are the other band I wish I’d seen. For them, I’ll go with their version of 'I Fought The Law'.

Which subcultures have influenced you?
Grunge Rock, Punk Rock, Beat writers and the US Muay Thai community.

If you could spend an hour with anyone from history?
I’d like to survive at least an hour of one of Jack Kerouac and Neal Cassidy’s road trips that became part of On The Road.

Of all the venues you’ve played, which is your favourite?
I loved playing the Astoria in London. It was sadly demolished to make way for Crossrail, but Ash managed to rack up 22 gigs there.

Your greatest unsung hero or heroine in music?
A NY singer-songwriter called James Levy. If you listen to his song 'Rotten Love' you’ll understand.

Ash return in 2018 with their 7th studio album 'Islands' featuring new tracks 'Annabel', 'Buzzkill' and 'Confessions I The Pool'. Hailing from Northern Ireland the band exploded onto the scene in 1996 with their debut LP '1977' standing out against the Britpop dominated musical landscape of the period.