Ashley Thomas (born 4 February 1985), also known by his stage name Bashy, is an English musician and actor, from Hammersmith, London, England.

Biography

Early life
Thomas was born in Hammersmith, West London. He attended St Mary's of the Angels RC Primary School. At age eleven, his family moved to Kensal Rise, northwest London and he attended the Cardinal Hinsley High School. He is of Jamaican, Dominican and Ghanaian descent.

He also attended the BRIT School for performing Arts where he was a theatre student. The school boasts former students such as Amy Winehouse, Leona Lewis, Adele & Jessie J.


Working life
During the release of the Chupa Chups Mixtape he was still a struggling independent musician, so worked for Royal Mail as a postman. He worked there for a year to save money then left to pursue his music career full-time. The money he saved was soon spent, as his music career did not take off as he envisaged, it was during this period that he decided to become a bus driver. He drove the 114, 183 and 292 buses for 2 years. He has been very open about time as a bus driver, in order to promote the idea that working is better for young people than a life of crime and violence.