Three teenagers were spotted climbing on to the stage at Lancaster's Sugarhouse last Friday, causing serious damage to a number of comfy, pop sensibilities.

Next big thing Ash were loud, proud and supremely confident in their rush for the big time, thrashing out songs from their debut album '1977'.

The album title refers to the year these three Irish poppets were born, the very same year punk rock redefined music and the role of the safety pin from nappies to nasal adornment.

And, although everyone these days wants a sniff at the great swindle, Ash played with enough brash, anarchic energy to force even the lamest onlooker into rowdy stomp.

The highlight of the night was 'Goldfinger', the song that got them that vital foot in the door to the Radio One play-list.

Casual and melodic yet 'in yer face', the track owes more than a nod to the grunge style, as did a number of their songs. At other times the beat-out baselines came straight from the head-crunching punk era that marked their infancy. An impressive all-round performance that was well received although many of their songs fused into a wall of sound that made them unlikely successors to the catchy 'Goldfinger'.

Perhaps their next album will be called '1996' - the year Irish eyes were smiling as 'Ash made it big.

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.