"Candy" is a song by

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, released as the fourth single from their album ''

Free All Angels ''Free All Angels'' is the third studio album to be recorded by Northern Irish Rock music, rock band Ash (band), Ash. It was released on 23 April 2001 through Infectious Records and Home Grown. Due to the mixed reaction to the band's second stu ...

'' on 1 October 2001. It was released as a single CD (released on 2CD formats, the first of which being an enhanced CD) as a 7-inch vinyl (which was limited edition and came with a numbered picture gatefold sleeve), as well as on DVD format. Candy performed only slightly better than previous single "Sometimes", reaching number 20 on the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

and number 25 in Ireland. "Candy" sees Ash experiment with new territory in an emotion filled track. It samples

The Walker Brothers The Walker Brothers were an United States, American pop music, pop musical ensemble, group of the 1960s and 1970s which included Noel Scott Engel (eventually known professionally as Scott Walker (singer), Scott Walker), John Walker (musician), Jo ...

track "

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". Wheeler has said about the sample: "It's on a song called 'Candy' that we rewrote about four times 'Cos we couldn't get it right. We tried some samples and that fitted perfectly. It lifted the song up and we danced around the studio for two days seriously drunk". The sample on "Candy" is one of the reasons "Free All Angels" was delayed, due to legal issues. Mark Hamilton claims "Candy" is his favourite track on the album. Although the song featured in the band's set lists early on in the "Free All Angels" tour, it was quickly dropped and rarely performed since (one of those occasions being the "

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" DVD. The song can also be found on the "Intergalactic Sonic 7″s" hits collection. Candy also appears on the b-side of Ash's rare 2003 " I'm On Drugs EP. The song is covered by the death metal band Ten Masked Men, who won an XFM competition to appear on the EP.

B-Sides

The first b-side on CD1 is "Waterfall". "Waterfall" is one of Ash's earliest recorded songs, and appears on the "Shed" and " Pipe Smokin' Brick" demo tapes, as well as in Ash's early set lists. The track was re-recorded for re-release on the single. "Nocturne" is a gentle love song written by Hamilton and Wheeler as the second b-side on the CD1 version of the single. It also appeared on the " Cosmic Debris" b-sides collection in 2002. Continuing the single's theme with slow-paced, love song b-sides, "Stay In Love Forever" appears as the first b-side on the CD2 addition of the single. This song also appears on the " Cosmic Debris" collection due to its apparent fan popularity. Finally, "The Sweetness of Death by the Obsidian Knife" appears on CD2 of "Candy". Similarly to the title track, it uses a full orchestra for the song. The song is split into two parts, the first being a quite fast-paced acoustic track, and the second being a slow lament with a backing orchestra. It can also be found on the " Cosmic Debris" disc. The band wrote and recorded a French language version of the song for inclusion on some European releases.

Music video

The video for "Candy" is extremely tongue in cheek, and stars "cameos" from various celebrities such as

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and

George Michael George Michael (born Georgios Kyriacos Panayiotou; 25 June 1963 – 25 December 2016) was an English singer and songwriter. He is considered one of the most significant cultural icons of the MTV generation and is one of the best-selling musici ...

. Similar to the film "

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", the video is set at a glitzy wedding reception, and stars the band (in suits) playing at the reception. It also stars Tim Wheeler's attempts to seduce the clumsy waitress (presumably the Candy of the song) via some pyrotechnics by the band. It was directed by Jeff Thomas in the

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, near

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. "Candy" was also released as a DVD. The DVD featured the single, a stills gallery, lyrics and an Ash discography. It also starred Ash's second 20-minute short, "Episode 3: We're Sorry, Miss Jackson". The CD2 version of the CD contained Version 1.2 of the " Ash Video Mixer" software.

Track listing

All tracks written and composed by Tim Wheeler; except where indicated. CD one (Enhanced) #"Candy (Remix)" #"Waterfall" #"Nocturne" (Hamilton/Wheeler) #"Candy (Video)" CD two #"Candy (Album Version)" #"Stay In Love Forever" #"The Sweetness of Death by the Obsidian Knife" DVD #"Candy" (DVD Audio) #Episode 3: ''We're Sorry, Miss. Jackson'' #Stills Gallery #Discography #Lyrics 7-inch #"Candy (Remix)" #"Waterfall" #"Nocturne" (Hamilton/Wheeler) #"Stay In Love Forever" Promo CD #"Candy (Remix)" #"Candy (Radio Edit)" Maxi-single #Candy (French Version) #Candy (Album Version) # Jesus Says ( Hedrock Valley Beats Lightyear 12-inch Mix) #

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Charts

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Candy (Ash Song) 2000 songs 2001 singles Ash (band) songs Songs written by Tim Wheeler Songs with lyrics by Hal David Songs with music by Burt Bacharach Infectious Records singles