Ash Reveal Long Lost Track “Bittersweet Blue” Ahead Of 1977 30th Anniversary Reissue

Ash have revealed a long lost track, “Bittersweet Blue,” ahead of a special 30th anniversary edition of their debut album 1977, due out on 16th October through BMG. Ash’s world tour in support of the reissue is also on sale now.

“Bittersweet Blue” was written before the Rockfield sessions that produced 1977, and Ash performed it live supporting Therapy? at The Point Depot in December 1995. The song was recorded in early January 1996, but Ash ultimately left it off the album in favour of other tracks that would go on to make 1977 a number one record.

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The song became a firm favourite within the band, so much so that Ash started playing it live before it even had finished lyrics, with singer and guitarist Tim Wheeler improvising the words in the moment. For years, “Bittersweet Blue” existed mostly as Ash folklore, the kind of song only a handful of dedicated bootleggers would have heard.

Now Ash have finally released it properly, with the track arriving as a 7″ single alongside a brand new video.

Ash drummer Rick McMurray explains how the track came back from the dead. “After we began to play ‘Bittersweet Blue’ live, it was probably the best part of 20 years before that song was mentioned again, when our back catalogue moved to a new home to be digitised. “

“That’s when we discovered there were some missing master tapes. Fast forward a decade, and as we prepared the 30th anniversary package, our resident super sleuth Tim Wheeler resolved the mystery. It turned out the tapes had simply been mislabelled all those years ago.”

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“Even then, what we actually had was a usable drum take, bass, some rhythm guitars, a scratchy vocal, and not much else. Not even lyrics. So Tim got in touch with his teenage self, wrote new lyrics, and resurrected this long lost treasure.”

“We shot the video back in the rehearsal space from our formative years too, the same room where we played the song for the first time all those years ago. Thirty years in the making, this is ‘Bittersweet Blue’, and we think it’s turned out pretty damn good.”

1977 was originally released in 1996, and went straight to number one, launching Ash from teenage upstarts into Britpop era icons. Three decades on, the 30th anniversary edition celebrates an Ash album defined by breakneck energy, razor sharp hooks, and anthems including “Girl From Mars,” “Goldfinger,” “Kung Fu,” and “Oh Yeah.”

The reissue will be available as a 2LP EcoRecord Green and Black “InkPlosion” vinyl in a gatefold sleeve, a 2CD digisleeve with booklet, and digitally. Pre-orders and pre-saves for the new Ash collection are available now.

The digital and 2CD edition features the original twelve track Ash album in full on Disc 1, still sounding as urgent and melodic as ever, alongside four additional tracks: “Bittersweet Blue,” “Oh Yeah (2026 Version),” “Girl From Mars (Demo 2026 Mix),” and “Gone The Dream (Acoustic 2026 Mix).”

Disc 2 captures a live set originally recorded at STABAL Studios in 2021, with Ash performing 1977 in full alongside fan favourites including “Coasting,” “Sneaker,” “American Devil,” and “Silver Surfer.”

The 2LP edition presents the original Ash album on LP1, remastered in 2022, with a specially curated collection of B-sides on LP2, remastered for 2026. Standout tracks include “Day Of The Triffids,” “Luther Ingo’s Star Cruiser,” “Astra Conversations With Toulouse Lautrec,” “Cantina Band,” “Sneaker,” and “T Rex,” with two tracks, “Get Ready” and “Does Your Mother Know,” making their vinyl debut for Ash.

2LP GREEN & BLACK ‘INKPLOSION’ GATEFOLD VINYL
LP 1 – Original Album (2022 Remaster)

Side A

Lose Control
Goldfinger
Girl from Mars
I’d Give You Anything
Gone the Dream
Kung Fu

Side B

Oh Yeah
Let It Flow
Innocent Smile
Angel Interceptor
Lost in You
Darkside Lightside

LP 2 – B-sides (2026 Remaster)

Side A

Day Of The Triffids
Luther Ingo’s Star Cruiser
Astra Conversations With Toulouse Lautrec
Cantina Band
5am Eternal
Gimme Some Truth

Side B

I Need Somebody
Sneaker
Get Ready*
T Rex
Everywhere Is All Around
Does Your Mother Know*

*Have never been previously available on vinyl

The full tracklisting for the digital and 2CD edition of 1977 is as follows:

1. Lose Control
2. Goldfinger
3. Girl from Mars
4. I’d Give You Anything
5. Gone the Dream
6. Kung Fu
7. Oh Yeah
8. Let It Flow
9. Innocent Smile
10. Angel Interceptor
11. Lost in You
12. Darkside Lightside
13. Bittersweet Blue
14. Oh Yeah (2026 version)
15. Girl From Mars (Demo 2026 Mix)
16. Gone The Dream (Acoustic 2026 Mix)

Alongside the reissue, Ash are adding more dates to their global 1977 tour, which kicks off in September and runs through Australia, New Zealand, Southeast Asia, Japan and Europe before Ash wrap up in the UK and Ireland in December. Tickets and more information are available on the band’s website.

The full list of Ash tour dates is below:

17th Sept – Unit, Tokyo (JP) – SOLD OUT
18th Sept – Quattro, Tokyo (JP) – SOLD OUT
19th Sept – Meta Valley, Osaka (JP) – SOLD OUT
21st Sept – Foo Chow Hall, Singapore (SG)
23rd Sept – Hong Kong Portal, Hong Kong (HK)
10th Nov – De Helling, Utrecht (NL)
11th Nov – Gebaude 9, Cologne (DE)
12th Nov – Hole44, Berlin (DE) – SOLD OUT
15th Nov – Effenaar (Small Room), Eindhoven (NL) – SOLD OUT
25th Nov – Electric Ballroom, London (UK)
26th Nov – Electric, Bristol (UK)
28th Nov – Spiegeltent, Limerick (IE)
29th Nov – Cyprus Avenue, Cork (IE)
1st Dec – Arena, Torquay (UK) – SOLD OUT
2nd Dec – O2 Guildhall, Southampton (UK)
4th Dec – Tramshed, Cardiff (UK) – SOLD OUT
5th Dec – UEA, Norwich (UK)
6th Dec – Rock City, Nottingham (UK)
8th Dec – Albert Hall, Manchester (UK)
9th Dec – Olympia, Dublin (IE) – SOLD OUT
10th Dec – Ulster Hall, Belfast (UK) – SOLD OUT
12th Dec – Northumbria SU, Newcastle (UK) – SOLD OUT
13th Dec – Barrowlands, Glasgow (UK) – SOLD OUT
15th Dec – O2 Institute, Birmingham (UK)
16th Dec – O2 Academy, Leeds (UK)
17th Dec – Roundhouse, London (UK) – SOLD OUT

With “Bittersweet Blue” finally seeing the light of day and a run of major shows still to come, thirty years on, Ash’s 1977 still has plenty of stories left to tell for the band.