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.
Early life and education
He was born in
Bridgwater
Bridgwater is a large historic market town and civil parish in Somerset, England. Its population currently stands at around 41,276 as of 2022. Bridgwater is at the edge of the Somerset Levels, in level and well-wooded country. The town lies alon ...
but moved to
Barnstaple
Barnstaple ( or ) is a river-port town in North Devon, England, at the River Taw's lowest crossing point before the Bristol Channel. From the 14th century, it was licensed to export wool and won great wealth. Later it imported Irish wool, bu ...
when he was 12. He was the first student to gain an A-Level in art at Barnstaple Grammar School, before moving to
Plymouth
Plymouth () is a port city and unitary authority in South West England. It is located on the south coast of Devon, approximately south-west of Exeter and south-west of London. It is bordered by Cornwall to the west and south-west.
Plymouth ...
to study illustration (NDD Honours). From 1963 to 1966 he studied
industrial design
Industrial design is a process of design applied to physical Product (business), products that are to be manufactured by mass production. It is the creative act of determining and defining a product's form and features, which takes place in advan ...
at the
Royal College of Art
The Royal College of Art (RCA) is a public research university in London, United Kingdom, with campuses in South Kensington, Battersea and White City. It is the only entirely postgraduate art and design university in the United Kingdom. It offe ...
.
Career
Musician
He joined The Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band in 1963 leaving in 1968 and rejoining in 2006. Ash was also a member of
Bob Kerr's Whoopee Band
Bob Kerr's Whoopee Band, also billed as Bob Kerr and His Whoopee Band, is a jazz band which started in 1967 and continues to perform today. It was an offshoot of the eclectic Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band, and shared many similarities with other outfits ...
recording with the band on their eponymous LP.
Credited as Sam Spoons, Martin appeared on all the early Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band singles and highly popular debut album ''Gorilla'' (1967). He was co writer and arranger of ''Jazz, Delicious Hot, Disgusting Cold'' which formed part of the ''
Guest House Paradiso
''Guest House Paradiso'' is a 1999 British slapstick film, slapstick black comedy film written by and starring comic duo Rik Mayall and Ade Edmondson, Adrian Edmondson, who also directed in his film directorial debut.
The film is a Spin-off (med ...
'' (1999) film soundtrack.
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.
Artist and lecturer
Martin worked as a senior art lecturer at
Chelsea School of Art
Chelsea College of Arts is a constituent college of the University of the Arts London based in London, United Kingdom, and is a leading British art and design institution with an international reputation.
It offers further and higher educat ...
from 1972 until retirement.
A posthumous solo art exhibition, which Ash had been working on, was presented by White Moose gallery at Tapeley Park in
Instow
Instow is a village in north Devon, England. It is on the estuary where the rivers Taw and Torridge meet, between the villages of Westleigh and Yelland and on the opposite bank to Appledore. There is an electoral ward with the same name. The w ...
, from 14 October to 16 October 2018, titled ''KerbArt : A Solo Exhibition by Martin Ash (AKA Sam Spoons)''.
Death
Ash died on 27 September 2018 following a five year battle with cancer, aged 76. His funeral was held, at