Thirty years. That’s how long Ash’s debut album ‘1977’ has been rattling speakers, fueling teenage road trips, and reminding anyone within earshot that Britpop had some serious teeth. To mark the occasion, the Belfast-born trio are doing it properly — a deluxe 30th Anniversary Edition drops October 16th via BMG, and they’re hitting the road for a massive global run that stretches from Australia to Belfast and everywhere in between.
The Album That Started It All
Originally released in 1996, ‘1977’ went straight to #1 and went platinum — not bad for a bunch of teenagers from Northern Ireland. The record gave us Girl From Mars, Goldfinger, Kung Fu, and Oh Yeah, and it still sounds like it was recorded last week (in the best possible way). Three decades on, the hooks are just as sharp, the energy just as relentless.
The Anniversary Edition comes in three formats: a 2LP EcoRecord Green & Black ‘InkPlosion’ vinyl in a gatefold sleeve, a 2CD Digisleeve with booklet, and digital. Pre-order and pre-save are open now.
What’s Inside
The 2CD and digital edition leads with the original 12-track album (2022 remaster), then goes deep with four bonus tracks — including the near-mythical Bittersweet Blue, a 2026 version of Oh Yeah, a demo mix of Girl From Mars, and an acoustic take on Gone The Dream. Disc 2 is a full live set recorded at STABAL Studios in 2021, featuring the complete album plus fan favourites like Coasting, American Devil, and Silver Surfer.
The vinyl heads in a different direction — LP1 carries the original album, while LP2 serves up a curated B-sides collection from the era, including tracks like Day Of The Triffids, Luther Ingo’s Star Cruiser, and T Rex. Two of those — Get Ready and Does Your Mother Know — have never been on vinyl before. Ever.
The World Tour
The global run kicks off in June with UK festival appearances at Download and Isle of Wight, then heads to Australia, New Zealand, and Southeast Asia through September, before a full European and UK/Ireland headline run closes things out in December. Japanese dates are still to be confirmed.
Presale opens May 12th. General sale May 15th.
- 14th June — Download Festival (UK)
- 19th June — Isle of Wight Festival (UK)
- 30th July — Y Not Festival, Pikehall, Derbyshire (UK)
- 31st July — Kendal Calling, Hackthorpe (UK)
- 4th Sept — Rosemount, Perth (AUS)
- 5th Sept — Freo Social, Fremantle (AUS)
- 8th Sept — Lion Arts Factory, Adelaide (AUS)
- 10th Sept — The Tivoli, Brisbane (AUS)
- 11th Sept — Northcote Theatre, Melbourne (AUS)
- 12th Sept — Metro Theatre, Sydney (AUS)
- 14th Sept — Tuning Fork, Auckland (NZ)
- 15th Sept — San Fran, Wellington (NZ)
- 21st Sept — Hard Rock Cafe, Singapore (SG)
- 23rd Sept — Hong Kong Portal, Hong Kong (HK)
- 10th Nov — De Helling, Utrecht (NL)
- 11th Nov — Gebäude 9, Cologne (DE)
- 12th Nov — Hole44, Berlin (DE)
- 15th Nov — Effenaar (Small Room), Eindhoven (NL)
- 1st Dec — Arena, Torquay (UK)
- 2nd Dec — O2 Guildhall, Southampton (UK)
- 4th Dec — Tramshed, Cardiff (UK)
- 5th Dec — UEA, Norwich (UK)
- 6th Dec — Rock City, Nottingham (UK)
- 8th Dec — Albert Hall, Manchester (UK)
- 9th Dec — Olympia, Dublin (IE)
- 10th Dec — Ulster Hall, Belfast (UK)
- 12th Dec — Boilershop, Newcastle (UK)
- 13th Dec — Barrowlands, Glasgow (UK)
- 15th Dec — O2 Institute, Birmingham (UK)
- 16th Dec — O2 Academy, Leeds (UK)
- 17th Dec — Roundhouse, London (UK)
Tickets & info at Ash’s official website | Pre-order ‘1977’ 30th Anniversary Edition
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