1977

1977 is the debut studio album by Ash, the Northern Irish band who had already caught attention with the mini-album Trailer in 1994. It came out on 6 May 1996 and was recorded with producer Owen Morris at Rockfield Studios in Wales earlier that year. Three earlier singles, "Kung Fu", "Girl from Mars" and "Angel Interceptor", were carried over onto it, with "Goldfinger" and "Oh Yeah" following as further singles.

Britpop, power pop and garage rock all get used to describe it, and critics drew comparisons with the Buzzcocks, Dinosaur Jr. and Sonic Youth. Reviewers praised how catchy it was. It reached number one in the UK, and "Goldfinger" was the biggest single, peaking at number five. Kerrang!, NME and Melody Maker all placed it on their best-of-the-year lists, and it later went platinum in the UK. For anyone who loves bright, noisy guitar pop, it is a natural place to start with Ash.