Ash Beetson ~ Bass/backing vocals

You could say I’m a bit of a late starter to the music scene, and have come a long way since singing karaoke in the mid 1990s - usually Wet Wet Wet or George Michael!  Started learning the acoustic guitar in 2000 aged 27, and by the end of that year I was regularly taking the guitar to my local pub, giving the villagers a bit of free entertainment.

By 2003, my urge to get some paid gigs could not be contained any longer, and formed “Basically Acoustic”, with Chris Warren who I’d been jamming with regularly for 18 months or so.  As a duo I was playing the acoustic and singing, while Chris was playing the bass and providing some back-up vocals.  The format lasted for 18 months or so until we decided to get a little bit more adventurous.  Chris, who is really a lead guitarist, started playing his electric, I started playing the bass, and then a drum machine was introduced to give the full band sound.

We were no longer “Basically Acoustic”, and the name changed to “Malice” as by this time there were half a dozen Paul Weller / Jam numbers in the set as this suited my vocals.  Mid 2007 I met Tony at jam night and asked if he would be interested in playing drums for us as we were getting bored of the drum machine.  After three rehearsals, we started gigging together and the drum machine sold on e-bay.  Enough said!

Tony then asked if I would be interested in playing the odd gig with the Lord Lucan band if Fred couldn’t make it.  Chris needed a break from gigging so I grabbed the list, learnt the songs, and tried to do as good a job as possible.  I’m still trying, but that’s half the fun! 

> back to the band