As Lilly Allen bleats on about the damage illegal file sharing is doing to the music industry, a number of bands have resolved to embrace the all-encompassing rise of the internet and find new ways of bringing their music to fans.

While Radiohead gave In Rainbows away for free, and Idlewild got their followers to pay for their new record in advance, Northern Irish rockers Ash have gone even further to the leftfield by deciding to ditch making albums altogether.

The A to Z project is an ambitious venture that will see Ash release 26 singles over 52 weeks (True Love got things started on October 12) and the releases are being supported by a 26-date small venue tour, which calls in on the Peel on November 2.

Drummer Rick McMurray says that, 17 years into Ash’s career, the A to Z concept has re-energised the band.

“Creatively, it has been really good for us,” he says.

“You can get stuck in a rut doing an album but, with these singles, there is no musical agenda.

“When the last album was done and dusted [2007’s Twilight of the Innocents] we were unsigned and wanted to do something different.

“We have started our own record label, Atomic Heart, and by putting the singles out ourselves we are totally in control of what we are doing and are doing things on our own terms.”

According to McMurray, the growth of the internet is giving bands a chance to break new ground and he is pleased Ash is leading the charge.

“There is such a crisis in music at the moment and it is time for bands to find their own way of doing things,” he says.

“You have to be creative and that is what we trying to do. Having a new single out every two weeks is like watching your favourite TV series or subscribing to a podcast. There will be certain level of expectation every week.”

Are the band worried that some of their fans may be upset at the prospect of never hearing an Ash LP again?

“At the beginning, I think the fans were a bit hesitant about it but we want to break new ground,” he says.

"'The album' is seen as this sacred thing but people forget it only evolved because someone figured out how to put so much music on a piece of vinyl back in the 50s.

“In a way, it is more exciting than releasing an album every three years because the fans will get a new single every two weeks.

“Now they have got their heads around it, they are really excited.”

The A to Z concept is one that should play to Ash’s strengths as they have built their career off the back of a number of great singles.

McMurray is confident the new songs will sit comfortably alongside the older material, such as Kung Fu, Girl from Mars, and Burn Baby Burn, in the live arena.

“We don’t want to give too much away,” he adds.

“So far we have played about five new songs but, as the campaign progresses, we are going to add more and more.

“By the end of the tour, maybe we will just be playing new stuff.”

Ash play a sold-out show at The Peel, Kingston, on November 2. For more information, visit ash-official.com