A 1975 Tax Exile to Connecticut, Wishbone Ash frontman Andy Powell Made it Home

By Carl Wiser 

Connecticut isn't the logical place to relocate when you're looking to save on taxes, but that's exactly what Andy Powell did. Along with his bandmates in Wishbone Ash, Powell moved from London to Westport in 1975, and he's been a Nutmegger ever since. 

In the '70s, high earners in England were taxed around 83%. Rock stars with any business acumen got out — The Rolling Stones album title Exile On Main Street is a reference to their tax exile status when they fled to France. 

Wishbone Ash, formed in 1969, was selling well over 100,000 copies of every album they released. Rather than enrich the coffers of the monarchy, they moved to secluded Westport, where they lived while recording their 1976 album Locked In and its fittingly titled follow-up, New England.

The band is known for their twin lead guitar sound, which at the time was Andy Powell and Laurie Wisefield, and is now Powell and the Finnish axeman Muddy Manninen.

Powell formed Wishbone Ash with bass player Martin Turner, guitarist Ted Turner (the Turners are not related), and drummer Steve Upton. Andy is the only remaining original member, although Martin is still active (mostly in England) with his group Martin Turner's Wishbone Ash. Their 1972 album Argus, featuring the songs "Blowin' Free," "The King Will Come" and "Jail Bait," is their most enduring, with many of these tracks still showing up on the set list. Named Album of the Year by readers of the popular British music magazines Melody Maker and NME, the songs were built for size. Says Powell: "We needed simpler music, we needed bigger themes to really push our music across in these bigger venues that we were playing."

As America took to Wishbone Ash, the band took to America. Their first US tour found them opening for The Who, and they later toured with Aerosmith, ZZ Top, and the Steve Miller Band. They had an American manager (Miles Copeland), an American record label (MCA), and and increasingly fervent American fan base. "The States kind of beckoned at that point, and I really fell in love with it," says Andy. "I was a child of the '50s, so I was indoctrinated with American culture in the UK as a kid. So for me it was coming to the promised land."

The move to Connecticut was unusual — most British tax exiles preferred the sunshine and blondes of Southern California — but Andy was already married (and still is — to the same woman), and he prefers our more adventurous climate. "California might have been a bit warmer, but I like the proximity to New York, and New England felt like home to me," he says. "So it made a lot of sense, and it still does. I like it."

The relocation was supposed to last a year, but that one year became two, then three. Proximity to New York meant they could record in the best studios with the top producers. Tom Dowd produced the Locked In album, but Bill Scymzyck, who produced their 1974 set There's the Rub, was Powell's favorite. "He wasn't so rigid," says Andy. "He allowed us to record the guitars in bathrooms if we wanted to. he allowed experimentation with solo work, he was not afraid to edit music, and the twin lead guitar thing, he was thrilled to be able to do that. I think he always wanted to work with a British band. Our album There's The Rub was produced by Bill and the very day that we finished recording that album, the Eagles came in the same studio and they recorded Hotel California, which is a fabulous album. And I think you can hear quite a bit of string guitar work on that album. I like to think there's a little bit of influence in there somewhere."

Andy remained rooted in Connecticut, but one by one his bandmates returned to England, and by the mid-'90s he was the last original Ash. 

The music never stopped. In 2011, Wishbone Ash released the album Elegant Stealth, with production and lyrics by Powell. Standout tracks include "Searching For Satellites," which is about far-flung connections in the Internet age, and "Heavy Weather," which deals with global warming. Says Andy: "Anyone who doesn't see the climate change that's going on around the world through our dependence on an oil based technology and fuel probably has their head in the sand."

Wishbone Ash will be touring the world for the next few months. Their only Connecticut appearance is on Tuesday, March 5, at Bridge Street Live in Collinsville. Attendance will be measured in three digits rather than five, but Andy sees the advantages of downsizing. "It took a long time," he says. "But at the end of the '70s I sat down and realized, you know, this is a good thing we've got going, we could do something amazing here. But there's a feeling you want to be your own man and you want to really start listening to your heart, which is the reason you got into music in the first place. I realized that instead of chasing these huge dreams, life needed to be lived much more on a daily basis and a good day was something to cherish. I started to get much more focused on the here and now. So I do remember a period of change, and it was good to do that. Many, many players and bands moved away from that grandiose idea and started to get back with the program which was basically focusing back on the music, and that's what I certainly did."

This will be Wishbone Ash's third stop at Bridge Street Live. "Their shows here are always a hit," says Entertainment Director Pat Ryan. "It's a perfect room for this show: up close, rock and roll. The past shows have all been very memorable and I'm sure the crowds would agree, the band doesn't hold back here. I think having a great venue and treating the artists like gold goes a long way, and they don't forget it."

Showtime is 8:00 p.m., but the restaurant is open at 5:00, with a full dinner menu available in the main room and the lounge. Tickets are $25 for general admission and $35 reserved. Here's the link for more info:
http://www.41bridgestreet.com/calendar/index.php?id=149

Carl Wiser runs the website Songfacts.com. His full interview with Andy Powell is here:
http://www.songfacts.com/blog/interviews/andy_powell_of_wishbone_ash/