"Angel Interceptor" is a song by

Ash Ash or ashes are the solid remnants of fires. Specifically, ''ash'' refers to all non-aqueous, non- gaseous residues that remain after something burns. In analytical chemistry, to analyse the mineral and metal content of chemical samples, ash ...

, released as the third single from their album ''

1977 Events January * January 8 – Three bombs explode in Moscow within 37 minutes, killing seven. The bombings are attributed to an Armenian separatist group. * January 10 – Mount Nyiragongo erupts in eastern Zaire (now the Democratic R ...

'' on 9 October 1995. It was released as a single CD, a 7" vinyl, and as a cassette. The song was written by Rick McMurray and

Tim Wheeler Timothy James Arthur Wheeler (born 4 January 1977) is a Northern Irish singer, songwriter, and musician for the alternative rock band Ash. He has written nearly all of Ash's notable works, such as " Oh Yeah", "Shining Light", " Girl from Mars" ...

and produced by

Owen Morris Owen Morris (born in Caernarfon, Wales) is a Welsh record producer who has worked with rock bands including Oasis (band), Oasis, the Fratellis, Ash (band), Ash, The View (band), the View, Loso and the Verve. Biography Morris started working in t ...

. This song is meant to be one of the reasons Ash believed they needed a fourth, female member. Originally, the track's high-pitched backing vocals were performed by drummer Rick McMurray, but the band were unsatisfied with them. The title of the song is a reference to fictional aircraft featured in the 1960s sci-fi series ''

Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons ''Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons'', often shortened to ''Captain Scarlet'', is a British science fiction television series created by Gerry and Sylvia Anderson and filmed by their production company Century 21 Productions for distributor I ...

''.

B-sides

"Angel Interceptor" was released with two B-sides. "5am Eternal" is thought to be one of Ash's stranger songs. It starts with wind-up toy noises, and consists of lyrics, with blurry vocals, centred on strange sound effects, with synthesizer effects as well. "

Gimme Some Truth "Gimme Some Truth" (originally spelled "Give Me Some Truth") is a protest song written and performed by John Lennon. It was first released on his 1971 album ''Imagine (John Lennon album), Imagine''. "Gimme Some Truth" contains various politica ...

" is a cover of the

electro-pop Electropop is a hybrid music genre combining elements of electronic and pop genres. Writer Hollin Jones has described it as a variant of synth-pop with heavy emphasis on its electronic sound. The genre was developed in the 1980s and saw a re ...

version of the John Lennon song from his ''Imagine'' album, originally performed by John Lennon & the Plastic Ono Band. The Japanese version of the single contained 5 B-sides: " Girl from Mars" and "Cantina Band" from the "Girl from Mars" single, "

Kung Fu Chinese martial arts, often called by the umbrella terms kung fu (; ), kuoshu () or wushu (), are multiple fighting styles that have developed over the centuries in Greater China. These fighting styles are often classified according to common ...

" and "Luther Ingo's Star Cruiser" from the "Kung Fu" single, and "Gimme Some Truth" from the "Angel Interceptor" single. The Japanese release was sold with picture sleeves, lyrics and an obi-strip.

Music video

The video for the song was directed by Ash themselves, who put a high level of input into the video. It mainly consists of them playing in a yellow room, and occasionally messing about with stuff in the room. References to angels and rockets are occasionally made, such as a silhouette of an angel on a book at the start, and Tim reads a book on astrophysics.

Release and reception

"Angel Interceptor" was quite successful for Ash, giving them their second top 20 hit, reaching number 14 on the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

. The single became Ash's second ''

NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming, and culture website and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a 'rock inkie', the NME would become a magazine that ended up as a f ...

'' Single of the Week. The song can also be found on Ash's greatest hits collection, ''

Intergalactic Sonic 7″s ''Intergalactic Sonic 7″s'' is a singles collection, released by punk-influenced band Ash on 9 September 2002. It is available in two formats, with and without the bonus disc, ''Cosmic Debris''. These are both available on CD and vinyl. It w ...

'', and a live version of the song can be found on the ''

Tokyo Blitz Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and List of cities in Japan, largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, ...

'' DVD.

Track listing

;UK CD / 7" / Cassette # "Angel Interceptor" (McMurray/Wheeler) # "5am Eternal" (Wheeler) # "

" (

John Lennon John Winston Ono Lennon (born John Winston Lennon; 9 October 19408 December 1980) was an English singer, songwriter, musician and peace activist who achieved worldwide fame as founder, co-songwriter, co-lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of ...

) ;Japanese CD # "Angel Interceptor" (McMurray/Wheeler) # " Girl from Mars" (Wheeler) # "

" (Wheeler) # "

" (

) #" Cantina Band" (

John Williams John Towner Williams (born February 8, 1932)Nylund, Rob (15 November 2022)Classic Connection review ''WBOI'' ("For the second time this year, the Fort Wayne Philharmonic honored American composer, conductor, and arranger John Williams, who wa ...

) # "Luther Ingo's Star Cruiser" (Hamilton/Wheeler)

References

{{Reflist 1995 songs 1995 singles Ash (band) songs Songs written by Tim Wheeler Songs written by Rick McMurray Infectious Records singles