Relish are a
Northern Irish rock band composed of brothers Ken (vocals and guitar) and Carl (drums, keyboards and vocals) Papenfus, and until 2013 Darren Campbell (bass and vocals). They have released three albums: 2001's "''Wildflowers''" (Platinum), "''Karma Calling''" (Gold) in 2003 (both of these were on the
EMI Ireland label), and ''"Connected"'' in 2011. "Wildflowers , Karma Calling was released as a double album package by Universal Records (Ireland) in 2015.
The band are perhaps best known for the songs "Rainbow Zephyr" and "You I'm Thinking Of", from their debut album, ''Wildflowers''. The former (a big Irish radio hit in its own right) was covered by
Westlife with slightly changed lyrics and released as a single "
Hey Whatever
"Hey Whatever" is a song by Irish boy band Westlife. It was released on 15 September 2003 as the lead single from their fourth studio album, ''Turnaround (Westlife album), Turnaround'' (2003). The song is a re-written version of "Rainbow Zephyr" ...
", which went on to become an international hit.
''Relish'' were fully formed by the mid 1990s when bass player Darren Campbell teamed up with the brothers. The band signed to EMI in 1998 and immediately caught the attention of famed producer
John Leckie (
The Stone Roses,
Radiohead
Radiohead are an English rock band formed in Abingdon, Oxfordshire, in 1985. The band consists of Thom Yorke (vocals, guitar, piano, keyboards); brothers Jonny Greenwood (lead guitar, keyboards, other instruments) and Colin Greenwood (bass) ...
).
Fans of the band include
Brian May of
Queen and Larry Mullen Jr of
U2.
History
Upbringing
The Papenfus brothers are sons of South African jazz singer Jane Londis (of Golden City Dixies fame) and doctor of psychology, author and percussionist Stan Papenfus. Their parents fled South Africa whose apartheid system deemed their inter-racial marriage illegal and settled in
Belfast,
Northern Ireland in the early 1970s. The Papenfus' sons early musical upbringing was augmented by their parents record collection of jazz, gospel + world music and 1960s rock; their only possession brought from South Africa.
Early bands and Relish formation
Pre-''Relish'' musical outfits included ''50/50'' (half cover versions/half original) with Steafán Hanvey and grunge + funk metal band ''The Id''. Darren Campbell joined the band and ''Relish'' was formed from the ashes of ''The Id'' after the departure of keyboard player, and vocalist Brendan Kelly. Reduced to a 3 piece outfit, all members took up vocal duties with Ken reluctantly assuming lead vocals and named themselves ''Relish'' in 1995.
After three years of consistent demoing, gigging and building relationships with labels, one demo struck a chord that had record labels visiting the ''Relish'' rehearsal room in their home town of
Downpatrick.
Releases
EMI years
Wildflowers
Following a series of auditions in the Papenfus' living room in front of a bemused number of record company A&R personnel, the band signed to EMI Ireland in 1998 and began work on their debut album ''"Wildflowers"'' with acclaimed producer
John Leckie (
Stone Roses,
Radiohead
Radiohead are an English rock band formed in Abingdon, Oxfordshire, in 1985. The band consists of Thom Yorke (vocals, guitar, piano, keyboards); brothers Jonny Greenwood (lead guitar, keyboards, other instruments) and Colin Greenwood (bass) ...
), in UK studios
Rockfield, Air and
Abbey Road Studios
Abbey Road Studios (formerly EMI Recording Studios) is a recording studio at 3 Abbey Road, St John's Wood, City of Westminster, London, England. It was established in November 1931 by the Gramophone Company, a predecessor of British music c ...
. Al Clay (
Stereophonics
Stereophonics are a Welsh rock band formed in 1992 in the village of Cwmaman in the Cynon Valley, Wales. The band consists of Kelly Jones (lead vocals, lead guitar, keyboards), Richard Jones (bass guitar, harmonica, backing vocals), Adam Zind ...
,
Pixies) was commissioned to produce and mix the next phase of recording at BJG and Windmill Lane studios in Ireland. The 2001 release debuted at No 6 in the Irish charts and was well received in both the UK and Ireland. It spawned a top 10 and two top 30 singles, and a No1 in the airplay charts in Japan with ''"You I'm Thinking Of"'' The album, and particularly its lead singles, ''"Let It Fly"'' and ''"Rainbow Zephyr"'', brimmed over with direct soul and gospel influences, soft in tone but with a clear rock edge.
''
Karma Calling
''Karma Calling'' was released in 2003 debuting at No. 8 in the Irish charts. Produced by Al Clay it achieved a No11 Irish hit single with Father, Brother, Lover and Son''. During this period live slots included appearances at Scotland's
T in the Park, the
V Festival, Japan's
Summer Sonic Festival, and by personal invitation by
U2's
Larry Mullen Jr. at Ireland's
Slane Castle.
Post EMI years
Connected
On 19 November 2010 Relish performed their first live gig in five years. It was a charity fund raiser for Brendan Kelly, former band member and ex lead vocalist of ''The Id''.
In October 2011 a new album called ''"Connected"'' received a low key UK + Ireland release on their own label ''Zephyr Sounds'' licensed to US label
Rock Ridge Music
Rock Ridge Music is an independent record label and artist management company based in Nashville, Tennessee. Founded in 2004, it has signed, managed, and/or promoted artists including Reel Big Fish, Sister Hazel, Rachel Platten, Matthew Perryman ...
/ADA Warners (which included radio hits "Something To Believe In", "Connected" and "Together You") to positive reviews. Written, recorded, engineered, produced and mixed (almost entirely) by the Papenfus brothers, it was a heavily revised version of "Three Times"; a Japanese only release through CCRE Entertainment in 2009.
''Wildflowers , Karma Calling''
''Wildflowers , Karma Calling'' was released as a double album package in Ireland only by Universal Records (Ireland) in 2015. It was released with the inclusion of the bonus track and hit single "Got It Made".
Side projects
Session work
Andrew Strong
Carl Papenfus appeared on drums with
Andrew Strong
Andrew Strong (born 14 November 1973) is an Irish singer and the son of Irish musician and singing coach Robert (Rob) Strong. He grew up in Omagh, County Tyrone, Northern Ireland, (where his father lived while performing with showbands), and Naas ...
at Rockpalast, Bonn in 1995
Players
After parting ways with EMI in 2005, Relish took a hiatus with individual members enjoying other musical projects, most notably the Papenfus brothers collaboration with Damon Minchella (
Ocean Colour Scene),
Steve White, (
Paul Weller),
Mick Talbot (
Style Council
The Style Council were a British band formed in late 1982 by Paul Weller, the former singer, songwriter and guitarist with the punk rock/ new wave/mod revival band the Jam, and keyboardist Mick Talbot, previously a member of Dexys Midnight Run ...
) in "supergroup"
The Players album "From the Six Corners" (2005) supported by a European tour including an appearance at the
Glastonbury Festival
Glastonbury Festival (formally Glastonbury Festival of Contemporary Performing Arts and known colloquially as Glasto) is a five-day festival of contemporary performing arts that takes place in Pilton, Somerset, England. In addition to contemp ...
.
=Juno Falls (V2), Paul Brady, Lesley Roy (Jive), Hal, The Answer, Steafan Hanvey
=
Carl appeared as drummer on several projects including "Weightless" (2005) by
Juno Falls
Juno Falls are a folk pop band from Dublin, Ireland.
History
After forming in 2003, the group signed a publishing deal with Sony Music Publishing
Sony Music Publishing (formerly Sony/ATV Music Publishing) is the largest music publisher i ...
(
V2), "The Paul Brady Songbook" (2002) by
Paul Brady, "Unbeautiful" by
Lesley Roy (
Jive) in 2008, "The Time The Hour" (2012) by
Hal
HAL may refer to:
Aviation
* Halali Airport (IATA airport code: HAL) Halali, Oshikoto, Namibia
* Hawaiian Airlines (ICAO airline code: HAL)
* HAL Airport, Bangalore, India
* Hindustan Aeronautics Limited an Indian aerospace manufacturer of fight ...
, "Nuclear Family" (2013) and "Honeymoon Junkies" (2006) by Steafán Hanvey and toured Europe with
The Answer filling in for injured drummer James Heatley on a leg of their support tour with
AC/DC
AC/DC (stylised as ACϟDC) are an Australian Rock music, rock band formed in Sydney in 1973 by Scottish-born brothers Malcolm Young, Malcolm and Angus Young. Their music has been variously described as hard rock, blues rock, and Heavy metal ...
documented on the accompanying DVD of their live album "412 Days of Rock 'n’ Roll." (2011)
=Paul Weller, Julian Joseph
=
Ken guested on guitar with
Paul Weller live and on television and is featured on the live dvd "
Studio 150
''Studio 150'' is the seventh album by British artist Paul Weller. It comprises covers of songs by a variety of artists, and showcases Weller's myriad musical influences. It was named after the small Amsterdam studio in which it was recorded. It ...
(2004)" by
Paul Weller whilst also appearing on the aforementioned Steafán Hanvey albums.
Ken also took the lead role in
Julian Joseph's jazz opera
Tristan and Isolde that was premiered in London's
Royal Opera House.
=Sing Street (soundtrack)
=
During 2014/15, Ken and Carl Papenfus co-wrote and performed as guitarist and drummer respectively on the soundtrack of the
John Carney movie
Sing Street, which was later nominated for a Golden Globe on release in 2017 and to be performed as a stage version on Broadway
Sinead O'Connor
During 2014 and 2015, Ken and Carl Papenfus performed as guitarist and drummer respectively in
Sinead O'Connor's band extensively touring Europe, the USA, Australia and South America and later in 2015 produced and performed her cover version of
Blind Willie Johnson
Blind Willie Johnson (January 25, 1897 – September 18, 1945) was an American gospel blues singer, guitarist and evangelist. His landmark recordings completed between 1927 and 1930—thirty songs in total—display a combination of powerful "ch ...
's classic "Trouble Soon Be Over"
for the album "The Songs of Blind Willie Johnson" which received two Grammy nominations.
67 Management
The Papenfus brothers went on to form a music management company, 67 Management, managing
Sinead O'Connor who they've represented since early 2019
Production
The Answer,
Marilyn Bane,
Sinead O'Connor,
Grainne Duffy
The Papenfus brothers first collaboration with
The Answer was in producing their first effort ''Breakdown Honey'' (2002).
Ken and Carl Papenfus wrote and produced several songs for Marilyn Bane, runner up in Ireland's talent show "
You're a Star
''You're a Star'' is an Irish music competition series broadcast by RTÉ One from 2002 to 2008. Produced by the broadcaster and Screentime ShinAwiL, the series was similar to formats such as ''Idol'' and ''The X Factor''.
For its first three se ...
" (Irish X Factor) in 2007.
Ken and Carl Papenfus produced and solely performed on
Sinead O'Connor's cover version of
Blind Willie Johnson
Blind Willie Johnson (January 25, 1897 – September 18, 1945) was an American gospel blues singer, guitarist and evangelist. His landmark recordings completed between 1927 and 1930—thirty songs in total—display a combination of powerful "ch ...
's classic "Trouble Soon Be Over"
for the Grammy nominated album "The Songs of Blind Willie Johnson" also featuring Tom Waits, Blind Boys of Alabama et al.
As recently announced in their blog Ken and Carl just finished producing and performing on "Shine" by
Grainne Duffy. Ken and Carl produced several more songs for
Sinead O'Connor during 2020 including the Van Morrison cover "Who Was That Masked Man" for Hot Press magazine's celebration of his 75th birthday, and also "I'll Be Singing" for the soundtrack of the film "Wild Mountain Thyme" nominated for a Hollywood Music in Media Award
Zephyr Sounds / High Altitude Recordings
In 2013, the distribution end of the Zephyr Sounds label was opened to facilitate artists and labels globally through Ingrooves, Fontana.
Relish released their first single of 2015 "Got It Made" on the Zephyr Sounds imprint via
Universal Records (Ireland) which also appears as a bonus track on the re-release, double package "Wildflowers , Karma Calling". The company changed its name to High Altitude Recordings in 2016.
Style
Because of their varying social and political backgrounds, the band members approach song topics considerately, fashioning socialistic messages in a non-too radical yet left-of-centre style. ''Relish'' are one of the first rock bands since
Thin Lizzy to feature a vocalist who looks as cool as he sings.
Awards
''Relish'' received "Best New Hope" at the Irish
IRMA Awards in 2001
Discography
*''"Wildflowers"'' (2001)
*''"Karma Calling"'' (2003)
*''"Three Times"'' (Japan only) (2009)
*''"Connected"'' (2011)
*"Wildflowers , Karma Calling" (2015)
References
External links
Official SiteZephyr Sounds
{{Authority control
Rock music duos
British musical trios
Musical groups from County Down
Rock music groups from Northern Ireland
Downpatrick