| The Pale | |
|---|---|
| Origin | Dublin, Ireland |
| Genres | Rock, Acoustic, Indie |
| Years active | 1990-present |
| Labels | 1969 Records, A&M Records |
| Website | www.thepale.ie |
| Members | |
| Matthew Devereux Shane Wearen Darren Flynn Aidan O'Grady Andy O'Brien |
|
The Pale are an Irish band of varying genres including: eastern European, reggae, ska, bluegrass, world music, and pop. They were formed in Dublin in 1990 with Matthew Devereux on vocals, Shane Wearen on mandolin, Sean Molloy on Bass, and a drum machine. They released an award-winning debut album on A&M Records in 1992 called Here's One We Made Earlier. The debut album and live shows received critical praise internationally. The singles from that debut Dogs With No Tails, Butterfly, and Shut Up Venus did well in both Ireland and the UK.
The highest chart positions came in Turkey, Israel and France, and have given rise to successful cover versions of their songs released in Turkey. As the group have toured they have added and subtracted instruments and players to the line-up. The mainstay of the group has remained the sound conjured up by Matthew and Shane - one of ethnic fusion.
Over the years The Pale have recorded five live sessions for RTE Radio and a further two for BBC radio. They have been featured on a compilation called Ceol 06, which they re-recorded their single Butterfly in their native Irish for Ceol 06. In 2007, they appeared on the successor to Ceol 06 (titled Ceol 07) with an Irish language version of their song Elizabeth In Rags.
As the group have toured they have added and subtracted instruments and players to the line-up. The mainstay of the group has remained to be the unique sound conjured up by Matthew and Shane.
The band's current lineup consists of:
Matthew Devereux - Vocals, Guitar
Shane Wearen - Mandolin, Fiddle, Bouzouki
Darren Flynn - Bass Guitar
Aidan O'Grady - Drums
Andy O'Brien - Keyboards
The Pale - Brief Biog [1]
The Pale hail from Dublin and formed in 1990. The Pale had a unique and unusual style from the very beginning. The vocal, mandolin, drum machine, bass, and acoustic guitar lineup of The Pale had a very individual approach to songwriting, to say the least . That year The Pale recorded a mini album called "Why Go Bald?" which grabbed the attention of both the public and record companies alike. On receiving modest funding from U2 manager Paul McGuinness The Pale recorded a mini album called "The Happy Ring House". Both titles for the The Pale records were taken from famous neon signs in Dublin. The Pale played with determination to promote both of these early records and soon grew into an act with a good live reputation.
In 1992 The Pale released an award-winning debut album called "Here's one we made earlier" on A&M Records. This debut full length album was an essentially compilation of the "Why Go Bald?"and "The Happy Ring House" mini albums. The debut album and conseqeunt international live shows were warmly received. Three singles from this debut soon followed "Dogs With No Tails" "Butterfly" and "Shut Up Venus". The song "Dogs With No Tails" had another lease of life in 2001 when a Turkish Ska band called Athena released a version which became a hit for a second time in Turkey. "Butterfly" also lived another day recently when it appeared in Irish as "Féileacán" on the "Ceol '06" Compilation .
The music The Pale produce together is often both accessible and difficult to describe. Some new descriptive terms have been invented over the years just to try describe the band such as "Punkranian""Polk" and "Zoukibilly". You will certainly remember the sound of The Pale, once you hear it.
Over the years The Pale have collaborated with a great number of different musicians with their main strength been a willingness to think outside the box.. Fast forward to the present day and The Pale are still very much an active and productive band. The last album The Pale they recorded was called "The Contents Of a Shipwreck" and was released on 1969 Records in 2007. Two singles have been released from this album "Elizabeth in Rags" and "The New Resistance". "Elizabeth in Rags" has also appeared in Irish as "Elizabeth Sna Bratóga! " on the "Ceol '07" Compilation .
Here is what some reviews had to say about "The Contents of a Shipwreck"...
"The Contents Of A Shipwreck is a welcome return by an oft missed, much needed band" John Brereton
"File under Welcome Back" Jackie Hayden
"As comebacks go, then, The Contents Of A Shipwreck is one of constant, delightful surprise" Eamon de Paor
"The Pale are back with a new album that adds even more to their reputation" Stephen Rapid
A brand new single entitled "Chocolate Factory" b/w “Lady Gregory” has recently been released as a free download from www.thepale.ie and www.myspace.com/thepaleie. Classic Pale, in both its quirkiness and pop sensibility. The track is also available in limited CD format from the shop on the 1969 Record site (www.1969records.com) and through Road Records. This single is taken from the new forthcoming Pale album "Proper Order" which is due for release in early May 2008. The Pale also plan a second single before the release of the new album.
Here is what Hot Press Magazine had to say about the new single...
The Pale "Chocolate Factory" (1969 Records) "An exotic Mediterranean flavour permeates this catchy little acoustic ditty from the always-enjoyable Pale. After a well-received return last year with "The Contents Of A Shipwreck", it seems yet more new material is in the works - and if this single is anything to go by, we could be in the middle of something of a golden age for Pale fanatics" Stephen Errity, Hot Press
Here is what 1969 Records had to say about The Pale recently...
"There are also rumours of a collection of Pale music and tracks for later on in the year. As anyone who has seen the recent live shows will know, there is still a great affection for earlier tracks and notwithstanding the long unavailability of these tracks on CD, this is something that the band are hoping to address in the coming months, as well as including some rare material" Daragh Bohan, 1969 Records.