Ash share Isle of Wight Festival memories before 2026 performance

Speaking to the County Press ahead of their performance, Tim Wheeler, Mark Hamilton and Rick McMurray told us about the perks of being on first.

“It’s a fun slot to do,” singer Tim said.

“There’s a bit of mystery of what it will be like.

“Will the crowd be there?

“It’s kind of nice there’s no one on before us as we get to set up.”

Ash’s performance opened up the stage that will host acts including The Cure, Teddy Swims and Calvin Harris, but the band are no strangers to Seaclose Park, even being on the bill in 2002 for the very first revived edition of the event.

“It was still quite small that year,” Tim said.

“We’ve been back quite a few times over the year and seen it get bigger and bigger.”

Regarding Isle of Wight memories, Rick, the group’s drummer, recalled announcing on stage that the band would no longer release any more albums, only singles.

“We did stick with it for a while but then we came back with our next album,” he said.

“Thanks to the Isle of Wight, I’ve got to see Bruce Springsteen and Fleetwood Mac,” Tim added. 

“I’ve never caught them anywhere else, so that was really cool.”

The band also played Ventnor Winter Gardens on their A-Z tour as the stop for "V".

This year’s festival season for Ash ranges from the heavy metal of Download, to a gig on the Shetland Islands, but as long as the weather is on their side, they don’t mind.

“You spend so much of the rest of your year just inside a windowless room playing instruments, it’s nice to see a little bit of sun and get a bit of vitamin D,” Rick joked.

2026 marks 30 years of Ash’s seminal album 1977, and to celebrate, they are reissuing the classic record, as well as hitting the road for a world tour.

“We care about fans so we’ve worked hard to make sure it’s really good,” Tim said.

Bassist Mark promised a ‘long lost song’ will feature on the re-release, alongside live recordings, all of which will come out in October.

Ash being interviewed by Jake Curran (Image: Paul Blackley)

One stop on the tour is in Southampton on Wednesday, December 2, where the group will take to the stage at the O2 Guildhall.

“This tour feels as big, if not bigger than the original 1977 tour,” Rick said,

“It’s great coming back to a lot of the venues we used to play,” Tim added.

“One of our first ever gigs in England was in Southampton, at Joiners.

“It was the night Kurt Cobain died. That was a heart breaking night for us. 

“Our press agency was also Nirvana’s. We will always remember Southampton from that night.”

Ash’s Main Stage performance brought the hits, along with the sun, and it’s easy to see why they keep returning to Seaclose Park.

The Isle of Wight Festival will run until Sunday, June 21, with performances on the way from The Cure, Sex Pistols featuring Frank Carter and The Kooks.