Ash have shared a new double A-side single with contributions from Blur‘s Graham Coxon. Check them out below, along with new details of intimate UK in-store gigs.
Shared today (September 2), the new singles are called ‘Which One Do You Want’ and ‘Fun People’, and both arrive as the latest to be previewed from the band’s forthcoming album ‘Ad Astra’. The record is set to arrive on October 3 via Fierce Panda, and is available to pre-order here.
Both new singles offer a different angle to Ash’s distinctive sound, and look to push their musical direction into new avenues for their ninth studio album. ‘Which One Do You Want?’ has a more stripped-back, uplifting feel, while ‘Fun People’ is the more intense counterpart – arriving with brazen guitar riffs and swaggering vocal melodies from frontman Tim Wheeler.
For the latter, Ash recruited Blur guitarist Graham Coxon; with him adding both guitar and vocal contributions to the new single. He will also be joining the band at their two shows at Scala on September 9 and 10.
Describing ‘Which One Do You Want?’drummer Rick McMurray explained that the track is one of the oldest on the album, dating back “to the New York days”.
“So what’s the deal; why has it taken so long to find a home? Listening to it in isolation, it’s the perfect pop song. It swoops, it soars, it sings of desire. But it didn’t fit with the last record, and it didn’t fit with what we thought at the time was the next record.”
“I wouldn’t say it’s the reason why we paused for thought and decided to make a different record to the one we started out to make, but I reckon with hindsight, it could be seen as the hinge around which every album we release this decade rotates,” he added.
As for ‘Fun People’, the sticksman added: “It’s been a while since Tim came to us with the most bonkers riff and declared it to be a pop song but I’m very happy he did. Polyrhythmic chromatic riffs might be more the sort of thing you’d associate with Devo but somehow he’s managed to marry it with massive hooks.”
He continued: “This ain’t your average Ash track. And what better way to underline that than to get guitar wizard Graham Coxon seething all over it? His unique sensibilities lend themselves so well to the angular er, angles of this song, as do his vocals.”
Check out ‘Which One Do You Want?’ above, and ‘Fun People’ below.
‘Ad Astra’ will serve as the follow-up to Ash’s 2023 album ‘Race The Night’. So far, they’ve released surprise single ‘Jump In The Line’ – their take on the Harry Belafonte classic – and ‘Give Me Back My World’.
To celebrate the upcoming release, have added more live shows and intimate in-store performances to their itinerary. These include slots in Brighton, London, Leicester, Nottingham, Kingston, Liverpool and Edinburgh next month.
Before then, the band have their two aforementioned dates at London’s Scala, before they head off to Japan to play shows in Osaka, Nagoya, Sendai and more. They will head back to the UK and Ireland for more shows in November, before finally closing out with a headline leg in the UK in February 2026.
Visit here for tickets and find a list of upcoming shows below.
Ash’s newly-announced in-store performances are:
OCTOBER
3 – Resident, Brighton, UK – SOLD OUT
4 – Rough Trade East, London, UK – SOLD OUT
5 – 2FunkyCafe (Truck Outstore), Leicester, UK
7 – Rough Trade, Nottingham, UK – SOLD OUT
8 – Circuit (Banquet Outstore), Kingston, UK – SOLD OUT
9 – Baltic Jacaranda, Liverpool, UK
10 – Liquid Rooms (Assai Outstore), Edinburgh, UK
Ash’s headline live shows are:
SEPTEMBER 2025
9 – Scala, London, UK
10 – Scala, London, UK
26 – Visor Festival, Valencia, Spain
OCTOBER 2025
14 – Zepp, Fukuoka, Japan
16 – Zepp, Osaka, Japan
17 – Zepp, Nagoya, Japan
20 –Gigs, Sendai, Japan
21 – KT Zepp, Yokohama, Japan
NOVEMBER 2025
14 – Shiiine On Weekender, Minehead, UK
15 – Wedgewood Rooms, Portsmouth, UK
16 – Sin City, Swansea, UK
18 – Boiler Shop, Newcastle, UK
19 – New Century Hall, Manchester, UK
20 – SWG3 Galvanizers, Glasgow, UK
22 – Bootleg Social, Blackpool, UK
23 – The Foundry, Sheffield, UK
25 – O2 Academy, Oxford, UK
DECEMBER 2025
5 – Mike The Pies, Listowel, Ireland
6 – Spirit Store, Dundalk, Ireland
7 – Róisín Dubh, Galway, Ireland
9 – Cyprus Avenue, Cork, Ireland
10 – Dolans Warehouse, Limerick, Ireland
11 – The Academy, Dublin, Ireland
13 – Ulster Hall, Belfast, UK
FEBRUARY 2026
6 –The Forum, Tunbridge Wells, UK
7 – Junction, Cambridge, UK
8 – The Craufurd Arms, Milton Keynes, UK
10 – Phoenix, Exeter, UK
11 – The Trinity Centre, Bristol, UK
13 – Grand Central Dome, Liverpool, UK
14 – The Sugarmill, Stoke-On-Trent, UK
15 – The Welly, Hull, UK
17 – Epic Studios, Norwich, UK
18 – Chinnerys, Southend, UK
19 – O2 Academy, Birmingham, UK
Last month, Ash played a number of live dates where they supported the Manic Street Preachers, The Darkness and Richard Ashcroft.
‘ The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties ’
‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.nme.com ’
