Martin Ash
Martin Ash was a British performer, percussionist, artist and art lecturer better known to many by his stage name Sam Spoons, the percussionist of The Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band.[1]
Early life and education
He was born[when?] in Bridgwater but moved to Barnstaple when he was 12. He was the first student to gain an A-Level in art at Barnstaple Grammar School, before moving to Plymouth to study illustration (NDD Honours). From 1963 to 1966 he studied industrial design at the Royal College of Art.[2]
Career
Musician
He joined The Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band in 1963 leaving in 1968 and rejoining in 2006.[2] Ash was also a member of Bob Kerr's Whoopee Band recording with the band on their eponymous LP.[3]
Credited as Sam Spoons, Martin appeared on all the early Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band singles and highly popular debut album Gorilla (1967).[2] He was co writer and arranger of Jazz, Delicious Hot, Disgusting Cold which formed part of the Guest House Paradiso (1999) film soundtrack.[4]
In 2006 Martin Ash and other surviving members of The Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band reunited - along with Stephen Fry, Ade Edmondson and Phill Jupitus - for a reunion tour.[5]
Artist and lecturer
Martin worked as a senior art lecturer at Chelsea School of Art from 1972 until retirement.[1]
A posthumous solo art exhibition, which Ash had been working on, was presented by White Moose gallery at Tapeley Park in Instow, from 14 October to 16 October 2018, titled KerbArt : A Solo Exhibition by Martin Ash (AKA Sam Spoons).[6][1]
Death
Ash died on 27 September 2018 following a five year battle with cancer, aged 76. His funeral as held, at North Devon Crematorium in Barnstaple, on 16 October, with collections for North Devon Hospice and Over and Above.[1]
References
- ^ a b c d Gussin, Tony (9 October 2018). "Former Bonzo Sam Spoons takes a bow with posthumous art exhibition". North Devon Gazette. Retrieved 16 April 2021.
- ^ a b c "Spooning with the Bonzos - Record Collector Magazine". Retrieved 16 April 2021.
- ^ Bob Kerr's Whoopee Band, Bob Kerr's Whoopee Band, Whoopee, retrieved 16 April 2021
- ^ Guest House Paradiso (1999) - IMDb, retrieved 16 April 2021
- ^ "Play it again, Sam". Surrey Comet. Retrieved 16 April 2021.
- ^ "KerbArt : A Solo Exhibition by Martin Ash (AKA Sam Spoons) - Barnstaple - Visit North Devon". www.visitdevon.co.uk. Retrieved 16 April 2021.
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