Mellow Candle were a

progressive Progressive may refer to: Politics * Progressivism, a political philosophy in support of social reform ** Progressivism in the United States, the political philosophy in the American context * Progressive realism, an American foreign policy par ...

folk rock Folk rock is a hybrid music genre that combines the elements of folk music, folk and rock music, rock music, which arose in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom in the mid-1960s. In the U.S., folk rock emerged from the American fo ...

band. Principally Irish, the members were also young, Clodagh Simonds being only 15 and

Alison Bools Alison O'Donnell (born 5 October 1952) is an Irish musician, solo and band singer-songwriter. Born Alison Bools in Dublin to an English mother and Irish father, raised in Dalkey and educated at Holy Child Killiney. Biography Childhood O'D ...

(later O'Donnell) and Maria White 16, and still at school, at the time of their first single, "Feelin' High", released in 1968 on

Simon Napier-Bell Simon Robert Napier-Bell (born 22 April 1939) is an English record producer, music manager, author and journalist. At different times, he has managed artists as diverse as the Yardbirds, John's Children, Marc Bolan, Japan, London, Ultravox, B ...

's SNB Records. By 1972, the lineup had expanded to include Dave Williams on guitar, Frank Boylan on bass, and William Murray on drums. With this lineup in place, the band released their only album, ''

Swaddling Songs ''Swaddling Songs'' is the only studio album released by Irish progressive folk band Mellow Candle. The album is noted for its multi layered vocal harmonies and complex arrangements. Over time, the album has been regarded a classic of the pro ...

'' (

Deram Records Deram Records was a subsidiary record label of Decca Records established in the United Kingdom in 1966. At the time, U.K. Decca was a different company from the Decca label in the United States, which was owned by MCA Inc. Deram recordings ...

), which was commercially unsuccessful at the time. Over the years, however, the lone album by the band has received considerable critical acclaim and original vinyl copies are now very valuable. Boylan was later replaced by Steve Borrill (ex- Spirogyra), but shortly afterwards the band split up.

After Mellow Candle

After the band's dissolution, Simonds worked with

Thin Lizzy Thin Lizzy are an Irish hard rock band formed in Dublin in 1969. Their music reflects a wide range of influences, including blues, soul music, psychedelic rock and traditional Irish folk music, but is generally classified as hard rock or s ...

, Jade Warrior, and

Mike Oldfield Mike may refer to: Animals * Mike (cat), cat and guardian of the British Museum * Mike the Headless Chicken, chicken that lived for 18 months after his head had been cut off * Mike (chimpanzee), a chimpanzee featured in several books and document ...

. Boylan played with

Gary Moore Robert William Gary Moore (4 April 19526 February 2011) was a Northern Irish musician. Over the course of his career he played in various groups and performed a range of music including blues, blues rock, hard rock, heavy metal, and jazz ...

, while Murray contributed to albums by

Kevin Ayers Kevin Ayers (16 August 1944 – 18 February 2013) was an English singer-songwriter who was active in the English psychedelic music movement. Ayers was a founding member of the psychedelic band Soft Machine in the mid-1960s, and was closely ass ...

Amazing Blondel Amazing Blondel are an England, English acoustic progressive folk band, containing Eddie Baird, John Gladwin, and Terry Wincott. They released a number of LPs for Island Records in the early 1970s. They are sometimes categorised as psychedelic ...

, and

Paul Kossoff Paul Francis Kossoff (14 September 1950 – 19 March 1976) was an English guitarist, mainly known as the co-founder and guitarist for the rock band Free. He was ranked number 51 in ''Rolling Stone''s list of the "100 Greatest Guitarists of All ...

. In 1991, "Silver Song" was covered by

All About Eve ''All About Eve'' is a 1950 American Drama (film and television), drama film written and directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz, and produced by Darryl F. Zanuck. It is based on the 1946 short story "The Wisdom of Eve" by Mary Orr, although Orr does ...

as a

B-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph records and cassettes; these terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or record company ...

to some versions of their single, " Farewell Mr. Sorrow". 1996 saw the release of ''The Virgin Prophet'', a collection of previously unreleased material by the band, including early versions of many of the songs later released on ''Swaddling Songs''. Some of these sessions featured Richard Coughlan of Caravan on drums, although his sessions do not feature on ''The Virgin Prophet''. In 1996, Simonds recorded ''Six Elementary Songs'', released in 1997 on the Tokyo-based Evangel Records. In 1999, Simonds recorded a version of

Syd Barrett Roger Keith "Syd" Barrett (6 January 1946 – 7 July 2006) was an English singer, songwriter, and musician who co-founded the rock band Pink Floyd in 1965. Barrett was their original frontman and primary songwriter, becoming known for his ...

's setting of the

James Joyce James Augustine Aloysius Joyce (2 February 1882 – 13 January 1941) was an Irish novelist, poet, and literary critic. He contributed to the Modernism, modernist avant-garde movement and is regarded as one of the most influential and important ...

poem "Golden Hair" for Russell Mills' album, ''Pearl and Umbra''. 2006-7 saw the participation of Simonds in a musical project called

Fovea Hex Fovea Hex is an Irish experimental band, formed in 2005 by Clodagh Simonds. As a performing unit, Fovea Hex usually consists of Clodagh Simonds, Laura Sheeran, Cora Venus Lunny, Michael Begg and Colin Potter, with either Julia Kent, Kate Ellis ...

, alongside

Brian Eno Brian Peter George St John le Baptiste de la Salle Eno (; born Brian Peter George Eno, 15 May 1948) is a British musician, composer, record producer and visual artist best known for his contributions to ambient music and work in rock, pop an ...

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, film composer

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, Andrew McKenzie of the

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, Colin Potter (of Nurse With Wound),

Robert Fripp Robert Fripp (born 16 May 1946) is a British musician, songwriter, record producer, and author, best known as the guitarist, founder and longest-lasting member of the progressive rock band King Crimson. He has worked extensively as a session ...

, Percy Jones, and others. The project was favourably reviewed by

Pitchfork Media ''Pitchfork'' (formerly ''Pitchfork Media'') is an American online music publication (currently owned by Condé Nast) that was launched in 1995 by writer Ryan Schreiber as an independent music blog. Schreiber started Pitchfork while working ...

.Pitchforkmedia.com/Allure
Also in 2006, Simonds performed a version of "Idumaea" for

Current 93 Current 93 are an English experimental music group, working since the early 1980s in folk-based musical forms. The band was founded in 1982 by David Tibet, who has been Current 93's only constant member. Background Tibet has been the only cons ...

's album ''Black Ships Ate The Sky'', and a version of "Cockles and Mussels" for

Matmos Matmos is an experimental electronic music duo originally from San Francisco but now residing in Baltimore. M. C. (Martin) Schmidt and Drew Daniel are the core members, but they frequently include other artists on their records and in their per ...

's EP "For

Alan Turing Alan Mathison Turing (; 23 June 1912 – 7 June 1954) was an English mathematician, computer scientist, logician, cryptanalyst, philosopher, and theoretical biologist. Turing was highly influential in the development of theoretical c ...

". In 2006, O'Donnell was reunited with Dave Williams and Frank Boylan on the album ''Mise Agus Ise''. She followed this with the 2008 EP ''The Fabric of Folk'' on Static Caravan (a collaboration with English folk/rock band The Owl Service), and her debut solo album, ''Hey Hey Hippy Witch'', released at the end of 2009 on Floating World.

Discography

; Albums * ''

'' (1972) * ''The Virgin Prophet'' (rec. 1969-1971, rel. 1996) ; Singles * "Feeling High" / "Tea With The Sun" (1968) * "Dan The Wing" / "Silversong" (1972)

References

External links

Mellow Candle - comprehensive history extracted from Irish Folk, Trad and Blues - A Secret Historyjanetrecords.com
(Clodagh Simonds' website)
Alison O'Donnell's website

Swaddling Songs at 50 , The Lyric Feature
50 year anniversary documentary celebrating Mellow Candle, on

RTÉ lyric fm RTÉ Lyric FM (stylised as RTÉ lyric fm) is an Irish classical-music and arts radio station, owned and operated by RTÉ. The station, which is based in Limerick, was launched in 1999 and is available on FM throughout Ireland (in some areas ...

(June 2022). {{Authority control Psychedelic folk groups Irish folk musical groups Irish rock music groups Musical groups from Dublin (city) Deram Records artists People from Killiney