Live Review: Ash - Sheffield : The Razor's Edge

Live Review: Ash - Foundry, Sheffield

23rd November 2025
Support: Coach Party

It’s peak gig season, and nostalgia fills the air as Irish rockers Ash continue their Ad Astra tour on a chilly evening at Sheffield's Foundry.

Opening tonight are the Isle of Wight’s Coach Party, playing their final show of this tour. Entering to cheers, they kick things off with melodic guitar riffs that fit perfectly with the mood in the room. They ramp up the pace with slick, speedy bass riffs on the punk‑tinged Parasite before slowing things down for Fake It. With their fast‑paced melodies and early‑noughties indie vibe, they strike a chord with the crowd. Despite all needing microphones during their set, the band make full use of the stage, moving around to connect with fans at the front. For an audience that likely grew up on bands with a similar sound, Coach Party go down a storm and set the stage perfectly for tonight’s headliners.

Photo Credit: Martin Hingley Photography

Ash enter to Zarathustra, the space‑aged opener from Ad Astra, before launching into Fun People (recorded with Graham Coxon) which instantly excites the crowd. Frontman Tim Wheeler beams as he bounces around his mic stand, soaking up the reaction to their new material. But it doesn’t take long before the band dive into their back catalogue, with A Life Less Ordinary, Goldfinger and Wild Surf from their first two albums sparking huge sing‑alongs.

This back catalogue is exactly what many fans came for, and they revel in the trip down memory lane. Tim delivers strong vocals, backed by the crowd throughout, while bassist Mark Hamilton and drummer Rick McMurray flex their skills, demonstrating what over thirty years of playing together can achieve. Ash perform as a tight unit, shifting smoothly from upbeat numbers like Oh Yeah and Hallion to slower tracks such as Shining Light and Deadly Love.

Photo Credit: Martin Hingley Photography

The highlight of the night is the way Ash carefully craft their setlist; opening with newer material, teasing with a few older tracks, then unleashing their biggest hits in the final stretch. After a lively cover of Harry Belafonte’s Jump in the Line, the venue transforms into one massive sing‑along. From Kung Fu to the thumping Orpheus, the energy is relentless. They close the main set with the space‑themed classic Girl From Mars, with fans once again stepping in as Tim’s backing vocalists.

For the encore, Tim returns solo for an acoustic performance of My Favourite Ghost before Mark and Rick rejoin him for two final songs, ending with the generation‑defining Burn Baby Burn. Fans leave the venue exhilarated, having witnessed not only a celebration of Ash’s history but also a confident statement of where the band is heading.