Mellow Candle

Although they are anything but a household name today, in their time, Irish folk-rock band Mellow Candle were frequently mentioned in the same breath as more enduring names from the Emerald Isle's late-'60s generation of rock bands, such as Steeleye Span, the Chieftains, Thin Lizzy, Horslips, et al. The origins of Mellow Candle can be traced back to 1963, when precocious young ladies Clodagh Simonds, Alison Bools, and Maria White formed a vocal trio named the Gatecrashers while enrolled at Dublin's Holy Child Convent. After several years of impromptu performances, covering hits of the period inside the school walls, 14-year-olds Simonds and Bools (White had already left) sent a demo to Radio Luxembourg DJ Colin Nichol, who in turn brought it to respected producer Simon Napier-Bell, then manager for the likes of the Yardbirds and John's Children, among others. Napier-Bell was duly impressed and soon arranged for a recording session from which emerged the 1968 single "Feeling High" b/w "Tea with the Sun," released through his own short-lived SNB label imprint and credited to the already renamed Mellow Candle. The single's poorly rendered approximation of psychedelic girl group sounds failed to chart, however, and Simonds' parents strategically intervened by shipping her off to school in Italy, while Bools began attending art college back in Ireland and singing with local covers group Blue Tint. This paired her with guitarist and future husband David Williams, so that, with the addition of bassist Pat Morris and Simonds' return from Italy, Mellow Candle were relaunched in 1970, making their debut performance in support of the Chieftains. Numerous concerts and festival appearances alongside fellow rising Irish acts such as Horslips, Taste, and Thin Lizzy helped build the...