“I guess it’s a real summer song – as soon as you play it, you know it’s going to kick off”: Ash’s Tim Wheeler tells us about the making of their most beloved song

Ash.

In the sweltering summer of 1995, sci-fi-loving, Northern Irish indie-rock trio Ash (Tim Wheeler - vocals and guitar; Mark Hamilton - bass, and drummer Rick McMurray), rocketed to just outside of the UK top ten with their infectious indie/punk-pop anthem Girl from Mars.

Their previous single, Kung Fu, which was a thrilling, two-minute, Ramones-like homage to martial arts movies, had only reached number 57 in the charts, but Girl from Mars took them into the big time, hitting the radio just as Wheeler and Hamilton (who were both 18) were finishing their A-levels.