THEIR story reads like a work of fiction - three mates from Northern Ireland who formed a band, left school and almost immediately found themselves on a world tour and headlining at Glastonbury.

On Sunday, Ash will celebrate the 20th anniversary of the release of their debut album, 1977, with a show at the Ritz in Manchester.

Drummer Rick McMurray recalls the band’s early days with affection.

“We’d released our first single Kung Fu and done a few shows during the easter holidays. Then in the summer of 95 we left school and released Girl From Mars which got a lot of airplay,” he said.

“Then we did Glastonbury a couple of days later and for the rest of that year we were on our first world tour. We did Japan, Australia, Europe, America and then we went straight to the studio to try and complete our debut album. It was a whirlwind.”

Still teenagers, that first tour saw Ash taking to the rock and roll lifestyle with gusto.

“It was a pretty crazy time,” said Rick. “We hadn’t toured too much so we were still learning our craft. We just about managed it.

“I don’t think we have any regrets from those times even though it was kind of weird.

“We’d just left school and we were touring the world whereas everyone we went to school with was going to university. But they were probably doing the same as we were doing after the gigs. in terms of the drinking and the partying

“It was a pretty rapid learning curve. I do vividly remember playing Vancouver in 1995 and the beers started flowing the minute we got to the venue. I was almost falling off the drum stool by the time we went on and I thought then ‘right I can’t do that any more’. So I did learn something.

“I also learned how to play catch-up after the gig as well!”

The band’s debut album 1977 firmly established their credentials and Rick admits it has been an interesting experience playing it live 20 years on.

“Last summer was the 20th anniversary of Girl From Mars which was the first time people started looking back and it was a really bizarre feeling.

“That’s a song we’ve played at pretty much every show we’ve ever done and like a number of songs on 1977 they have have grown with us. You don’t really feel the passing of time as they been there for all our adult lives.

“The first time we played the whole of 1977 live was a couple of years ago and that brought back the intensity of the studio and writing process.”

Ash have just completed a US tour showcasing 1977.

“The first few times we did it, it did feel weird. An album has a different flow to what live set would normally be. We’ve done it enough times to get used to it and it feels pretty natural now.

“I also think that in the intervening 20 years we’ve learned how to play it like it should be done. At the start we just tried to play everything as fast as humanly possible. With experience, we’ve learned a little restraint goes a long way.”

Ash, Manchester Ritz, Sunday, December 11. Details from 0844 477 2000