April 3rd 2026
Backstage at The Green Hotel, Kinross
Having seen the real Wishbone Ash (i.e. the one with Andy Powell) a few months back, I thought it only fair I take the time to drop in and see what his former bandmate (and, now avowed enemy) Martin Turner was doing with his time.
Having been legally prevented by Powell from calling his band "Martin Turner's Wishbone Ash", the bassist now hits the boards under the moniker "Martin Turner Ex-Wishbone Ash".
And, maybe it was because I was at one of my semi-regular stamping grounds, rather than the sweaty crush of The Derby Flowerpot, that I found I marginally enjoyed Martin's gig more.
This was also due, in no small way to the vocals. As I have said before, whilst Andy Powell remains a fine, fine singer, he chooses to sing all the songs solo, rather than utilising the other musicians to add harmonies. Harmonies which, were of course, an integral part of the original group's sound.
And, whilst Martin's voice does not appear to have worn as well as Andy's (we heard some serious wobbles during Lay Down The Sword and Blowin' Free, this evening), all three of his guys add harmonies at various points, where required. And it made a huge difference.
The tour was billed as the "Two Eras Tour 2026 - Performing Music from the Wishbone Ash Mk.1 and Mk.2 Eras".
Although, in truth, we got precious little from the Mk.2 line-up. Just three tunes in fact, the pick of the trio being that bass-heavy chunk of instrumental bonkers FUBB.
Although I did rather enjoy guitarist Danny Willson's take on You See Red from the No Smoke Without Fire album.
Set list
Time Was
Blind Eye
Errors of My Way
The Pilgrim
Warrior
Throw Down The Sword
Doctor
Phoenix
Interval
The King Will Come
Lady Jay
Front Page News
FUBB
You See Red
Written In The Stars
Blowin' Free
Encore
Jailbait
