Ash take the Kendal Calling festival stage disguised as their own tribute band

Rock trio Ash, made up of vocalist and guitarist Tim Wheeler, bassist Mark Hamilton and drummer Rick McMurray, surprised fans at Kendal Calling festival by taking the stage disguised as their own tribute band. A set billed as coming from Cumbria act "RehAsh" turned out to be Ash themselves, performing at the Tim Peaks Diner stage run by the Charlatans' Tim Burgess, working through fan favorites including "Kung Fu," "Girl From Mars" and "Burn Baby Burn."

McMurray was the only member who knew about the ruse in advance. "We go way back with Tim Burgess; our paths have crossed so many times over the years," he said of the invitation to play the secret set. He and Burgess had also quietly arranged a second surprise: mid-set, the band was presented with a gold disc for 1996 single "Girl From Mars," which requires UK sales of 400,000 units, including streaming data, as tracked by the British Phonographic Industry. "As luck would have it, it has lined up perfectly with 'Girl From Mars' going gold, our first single to do so," McMurray said, noting the ceremony fell during the song's 31st anniversary week.

Burgess described how the tribute-band bit came together. "I've known Ash since forever and it's always good to see them," he said, recalling that the RehAsh idea emerged once they started planning the secret set. "Rick mentioned the gold discs for 'Girl From Mars' and asked if I would present them," Burgess added, confirming that Wheeler and Hamilton had no idea the honor was coming.

"Girl From Mars" featured on Ash's debut album, "1977," and became the band's first UK Top 40 hit, peaking at No. 11. Wheeler wrote the song at 16, and the band performed it on "Top of the Pops" in the mid-1990s.

The Kendal Calling appearance comes as Ash mark "1977"'s 30th anniversary with a reissue, a livestreamed concert and a run of new tour dates that begin next month across Australia, New Zealand and Southeast Asia before heading to Europe and the UK in November and December. The band's most recent studio album was 2025's "Ad Astra," their ninth, following 2023's "Race the Night"; last year Wheeler also joined Coldplay onstage for "Clocks" during their Wembley Stadium shows.