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Dublin group Mellow Candle
specialised in imaginative psychedelic folk and had two
excellent female singers in their line-up. At the time they
recorded their first single, Clodagh Simonds was just 15, and
Feeling High, despite being distributed by CBS failed to create
much impact. The "SNB" label disappeared soon afterwards, and it
wasn't until the 18th April 1971 that they signed to Decca's
Deram label with a new bassist Frank Boylan from the The
Creatures and Glaswegian drummer William Murray. Relocating to
London, Swaddling Songs was recorded at Decca's studios in
Tollington Park and the band then settled in Hampstead, making
only occasional trips back to Ireland. The sheer quality of
their performance on Swaddling Songs makes it perplexing that
the band didn't get more recognition at the time. Originals now
command a price from £350 upwards and it is the most expensive
vinyl L.P. on Deram.
Swaddling Songs,
Mellow Candle’s classic debut album has achieved ‘Holy
Grail’ status and created a myth around an obscure Irish band.
Originals currently sell for around $3000. It was one of most
expensive vinyl LPs to emerge from Decca’s subsidiary Deram
label, home to a number of highly innovative and experimental
bands in the early seventies. The material
covered both ballad and rock domains equally well, ranking with
the best Fairport Convention, Pentangle and Renaissance albums,
at the top of the folk-rock genre. Though usually categorized
under folk-rock, it is more closely aligned to deftly crafted
early 70s UK pop, with considerable appeal to progressive rock
fans. The album is rich and varied, a truly sonic marvel of
beauty. The music is loaded with catchy melodies, offbeat
rhythms, and unexpected accentuation. The quality of the
songs is exceptional, the lyrics marrying the mystical imagery
of the period with that of the Catholic upbringing of the girls.
Among the gentler, reflective tracks, ‘Reverend Sisters’,
Messenger Birds and ‘Silversong’ stand out, while ‘Dan the
Wing’, ‘Buy or Beware’ and ‘Boulders on my Grave’ are
breathtaking up-tempo
pieces delivered with great flair. The music is laced with
Clodagh and Alison's celestial vocals and zigzag harmonies.
Comparisons with Maddy Prior and Sandy Denny are inevitable, but
these two girls sing with an individual brilliance and
frequently stunning harmonies, which makes such comparisons
pointless. The
sheer quality of the performance on this record makes it
perplexing that the band didn’t attract more recognition at the
time. The group displays a
prodigious degree of natural talent for songwriting,
harmonizing, and arrangement, however, there is also a raw,
energetic, and unpolished quality to the album.
After its discovery in the 1990s leading to numerous reissues,
the album garnered a global cult following.
Collectors’ kudos given to Swaddling Songs and
Kissing Spell’s The Virgin Prophet compilation,
featuring unreleased and demo recordings, suggests that the
influence of this body of work finally has been recognised. Over
the years a number of artists, amongst them All About Eve,
October Project and Stephen Malkmus have demonstrated this.
Mellow Candle started life in Dublin with three pre-teens
around a school piano. Their raw talent was recognised by the
nuns and they were encouraged to practise and perform at the
Holy Child School. Frustrated by not being able to gain
recognition outside the convent walls, Clodagh sent a demo tape
to Radio Luxembourg DJ, Colin Nicol. He passed the recording to
a producer. They recorded their first single when Clodagh
Simonds was just 15 and Alison Williams (now
O’Donnell) 16 years old. The girls, together with third original
member, Maria White, recorded a single for Simon
Napier Bell and David Hemmings’ SNB label in London entitled
Feeling High, with a 22-piece orchestra and Cliff
Richards’ backing singers The Breakaways. Despite being
distributed by CBS, the track failed to create much impact and
the SNB label disappeared. Alison and Clodagh‘s parents steered
the girls in different directions, but less than two years later
Dave Williams, a Trinity College student who had played
with a number of bands including Tina and the Mexicans,
and bass player Pat Morris joined the band. Managed by
Brian Tuite and Ted Carroll, they made their live
debut at Liberty Hall supporting The Chieftains.
In 1971 they signed to Deram, recording their seminal album at
Decca’s Tollington Park studio with new bassist, Frank Boylan,
formerly of The Creatures, and Kevin Ayers’ Glaswegian
drummer, William Murray. Thin Lizzy manager Ted
Carroll then relocated the new line-up to London. For
several years the band struggled to make a living despite
appearances at concerts in the U.K. and Ireland at major venues
such as Liberty Hall, The Mansion House, The Headland Festival
at the R.D.S with Alan Price, Georgie Fame and Arthur Brown’s
Kingdom Come, The National Stadium and Slatterys in Dublin. The
band also performed at festivals around the country, including
the Wexford Festival with Fairport Convention and Tír na nÓg,
where John Peel noted, ‘The seeds of something promising are
there’. Between 1969 and 1972 they performed with many artists
including Genesis, Thin Lizzy, Donovan, The Chieftains, Steeleye
Span, Andy Irvine and Donal Lunny. The album, released in
1972, did not fare well. There was little promotion by the
record company and Ted Carroll’s considerable efforts to gain
work were hampered by the fact that the band’s specialization in
imaginative and original progressive folk-rock was deemed too
esoteric and non-mainstream for many promoters and agents. Their
glorious fusion of traditional and contemporary folk-rock was
dubbed a ‘tax loss’ by the NME. Disillusioned and dispirited,
the group persevered for a while but they were unable to avoid
the inevitable break-up. Frank Boylan decided to return
to Dublin and was replaced
by ex Spirogyra bassist Steve Borrill. They changed their
name briefly to Grace Before Space before
permanently disbanding in 1973.
Clodagh
Simonds
remained in London for a time, contributing to Thin Lizzy’s
Shades of a Blue Orphanage, three Mike Oldfield
albums: Hergest Ridge, Ommadawn and Amarok,
and working with Jade Warrior. William Murray put in a
stint with Sandy Denny and Richard and Linda
Thompson’s Sour Grapes before moving to America, where he
and Clodagh formed The Same with Stephen Bray (one
of Madonna’s drummers) and Carter Burwell
(soundtrack composer for the Coen Bros). The group secured a
residency at CBGB'S in 1982. Murray relocated to Dallas working
as a fashion photographer, and ultimately to Dublin, where,
sadly, he died in 1998, just a year after his arrival. In 1986
Clodagh returned to London, becoming one of Richard Branson's
personal assistants. She then moved to Ballydehob in Ireland,
releasing Six Elementary Songs in 1997. She currently
lives in Dublin and is working on a series of three EPs,
collectively entitled Neither Speak Nor Remain Silent, to
be released jointly by Janet Records and Die Stadt. Clodagh’s
songs are offered up by a host of innovative artists, including
Brian Eno, Cora Venus Lunny, Carter Burwell and Robert Fripp,
under the name Fovea Hex. Back in Dublin, Frank Boylan
played for a time with the Gary Moore Band. Aside from
playing music, his main interests lie in computing and sound. He
is currently with Cover Story and is the bassist in
Dublin singer/songwriter, Michele Ann Kelly’s band. Alison
O’Donnell and Dave Williams headed off to South
Africa where they formed traditional/contemporary folk group
Flibbertigibbet, releasing an album entitled Whistling
Jigs to the Moon in 1978. Dave became a music producer and
head of light music with the South African Broadcasting
Corporation in Cape Town. He has also worked with young
producers and musicians, most notably writing, playing and
producing the MP3 hit Sheriff Bush and Deputy Blair by
the Nukular Stompers. He plays fiddle, mandolin, electric guitar
and contributes vocals to contemporary folk band Shanty. In
Johannesburg, Alison O’Donnell gained experience as a
session singer on recordings of local singer/songwriters and
bands, most notably with Terry Dempsey’s (Daydreamer) Plastik
Mak, Ellamental, and in advertising, theatre and cabaret. She
returned to London in 1986 and spent some years in public sector
administration before relocating to Brussels in 1997. Together
with the respected Flemish guitarist Philip Masure, she
set up the traditional and contemporary band Éishtlinn,
releasing the album éist linn in 2001. She also worked as
a voice coach before returning to live in Dublin where she sings
and plays bodhran in sessions and gigs. She has recently written
a book about her grandmother who was also a singer, both of them
featuring in a BBC documentary, and recorded an album or
original music with Isabel Ní Chuireáin entitled Mise agus
Ise. Alison is a member of the Michele Ann Kelly Band
and the singers clubs, The Góilín and the Howth Singing
Circle.
www.alisonodonnell.com
www.janetrecords.com
www.backstage.co.za/shanty |
