JANUARY 2001 : THEIR BIGGEST CHART HIT

Lazy lazy posting today.....all lifted straight from wiki:-

"Shining Light" is a song by Ash, which was released as the first single from their album Free All Angels. It was released on 29 January 2001. It was released as a single CD (released on 2CD formats) and as a 7" vinyl (which came with a picture sleeve). It was also Ash's first single to be released as an enhanced CD. "Shining Light" is Ash's biggest selling single to date and one of their most recognisable hits. It reached #8 on the UK Singles Chart.


"Shining Light" was written about Tim Wheeler's now ex-girlfriend Audrey. Wheeler was driving home in his car when the line and tune "Yeah you are a shining light" came into his head. He rushed home and wrote it straight away on an acoustic guitar. The first time the band heard it, they say that they 'knew it was a hit'.


The B-side "Warmer Than Fire" was originally written by Steve Ludwin of Little Hell. The song was intended to be a download only release for fans, but due to its immense popularity it was released on the "Shining Light" single as well as on the Cosmic Debris b-side collection. The song has also been performed several times live in concert. Rumours that Wheeler bought the royalties for the song from Ludwin for £35 have been denied by the band.


"Warmer than Fire" also had its own music video, directed by Darren Tiernan (Wheeler's cousin). It consists of footage of the band messing around in Puerto Banus, Spain, where Free All Angels was being recorded and climaxes in a burning of a piano. The video cost very little and has rarely been seen.


"Gabriel" also appears on CD1 (as well as on the Cosmic Debris collection) and is considered to be quite a retro-sounding Ash track, reminiscent of "Innocent Smile" on 1977.


"Feel No Pain" is the first b-side on CD2, and was one of the leftover tracks from the Free All Angels recording session. The song is mainly about actually writing a song.


"Jesus Says" originally released on the Nu-Clear Sounds appears as a remix entitled the "Hedrock Valley Beats Lightyear 12" mix which appears on CD2.


There are 3 separate edits of "Shining Light." The album version is 5:09 in length and features an extended bridge. The song was edited for radio too at 4:07 with a shortened bridge and guitar solo. The third edit of the song was for the Cosmic Debris collection and is 4:23 in length. The band played the song live according to this edit at many gigs from the Free All Angels tour onwards, however on their latest tour in 2007, the longest version was played.

And being the sad git, here's everything:-

CD1

mp3 : Ash - Shining Light (radio version)
mp3 : Ash - Warmer Than Fire
mp3 : Ash - Gabriel

CD2

mp3 : Ash - Shining Light (album version)
mp3 : Ash - Feel No Pain
mp3 : Ash - Jesus Says (hedrock valley beats lightyear 12" mix)

mp3 : Ash - Shining Light (Cosmic Debris version)

oh and from the bonus CD of Free All Angles

mp3 : Ash - Shining Light (acoustic)

Happy Listening