One Dove
Encyclopedia
One Dove was a Scottish
alternative dance
music group active in the early 1990s, consisting of Dot Allison
, Ian Carmichael
and Jim McKinven, a former member of Altered Images
.
-based label Soma in October 1991. It was a significant club hit and brought them a deal with the Junior Boy's Own
label. Changing their name to avoid confusion with a similarly named group, in 1992 JBO issued a new recording of "Fallen", produced by Andrew Weatherall
, which brought the group to greater attention from the British music press. The single was withdrawn one week after release however, due to an unlicensed sampling of a harmonica from a Supertramp
song. Further critical acclaim followed with the release of the 12" single "(The Transient) Truth".
At this stage, One Dove were still primarily a club-oriented group, but for the single "Breakdown", an attempt was made to make their music more radio-friendly by including commercial mixes by William Orbit
and Stephen Hague
. With this increasingly commercial sound, the band became a favourite with publications such as Select
and Q
, and were often favourably compared with Saint Etienne
, another female-fronted group who were having success with pop-dance crossover recordings.
In 1993, One Dove released their one and only album, Morning Dove White
, which included the Weatherall version of "Fallen" (minus the Supertramp sample) together with 12" mixes of "Breakdown" and "White Love". The album was originally set for release in 1992 but was delayed for a full year through disputes between the band and their new record company - London Records had taken over the Boy's Own label. The band were unhappy about the commercialisation of their sound, and the disputes were only resolved when the band agreed to release singles mixed by Stephen Hague, if they could work with him in the studio during the remix sessions.
The album was preceded by the single "White Love", and a further track from the album, "Why Don't You Take Me", was subsequently released as a single for the Christmas
market. For the B-sides of the "Why Don't You Take Me" single (which included a reworking of Dolly Parton
's song "Jolene"), the group expanded to a five-piece with the addition of Ed Higgins on percussion and Colin McIlroy on guitar, and showcased a more heavily dub
-influenced sound. This line-up later went into the studio to begin work on a second album, but frustrated by record industry politics, split up midway through the sessions.
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
alternative dance
Alternative dance
Alternative dance or indie dance is a musical genre that mixes rock subgenres with electronic dance music...
music group active in the early 1990s, consisting of Dot Allison
Dot Allison
Dot Allison is a Scottish singer and songwriter, who has made significant inroads in electronic music circles, most notably as a result of her tenure fronting the band One Dove in the early 1990s...
, Ian Carmichael
Ian Carmichael (musician)
Ian Carmichael is a Scottish sound engineer, born in Glasgow. He started his career as a live sound engineer, before building his own recording studio in Glasgow in 1986. His most notable productions are for Glasgow indie band The Orchids, before he started his own band, One Dove, in 1991, with...
and Jim McKinven, a former member of Altered Images
Altered Images
Altered Images were an early 1980s Scottish New Wave / post-punk band. Led by lead singer Clare Grogan, the band branched into mainstream pop music, and had a string of chart hits between 1981 and 1983.-Early career:...
.
History
Originally called Dove, the group released its debut single, "Fallen", on the GlasgowGlasgow
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
-based label Soma in October 1991. It was a significant club hit and brought them a deal with the Junior Boy's Own
Junior Boy's Own
Junior Boy's Own is a London, UK-based record labelTerry Farley joined Andrew Weatherall, Cymon Eckel, Pete Heller and Steven Hall to form Boy's Own Recordings , then in 1992 Terry Farley and Steven Hall began Junior Recordings Ltd., which started to use the label Junior Boy's Own. The label is...
label. Changing their name to avoid confusion with a similarly named group, in 1992 JBO issued a new recording of "Fallen", produced by Andrew Weatherall
Andrew Weatherall
Andrew Weatherall is a DJ, producer, and remixer.Andrew, Terry Farley, Cymon Eckel and Steve Mayes started Boy's Own initially as a fanzine commenting on fashion, records, football, and other issues...
, which brought the group to greater attention from the British music press. The single was withdrawn one week after release however, due to an unlicensed sampling of a harmonica from a Supertramp
Supertramp
Supertramp are a British rock band formed in 1969 under the name Daddy before renaming to Supertramp in early 1970. Though their music was initially categorised as progressive rock, they have since incorporated a combination of traditional rock and art rock into their music...
song. Further critical acclaim followed with the release of the 12" single "(The Transient) Truth".
At this stage, One Dove were still primarily a club-oriented group, but for the single "Breakdown", an attempt was made to make their music more radio-friendly by including commercial mixes by William Orbit
William Orbit
William Orbit is an English musician, composer and record producer, perhaps best known to most for his work on Madonna's album Ray of Light. He has also co-produced several unreleased Madonna songs originally recorded for other albums...
and Stephen Hague
Stephen Hague
Stephen Hague is an American music producer most active with various British acts in the 1980s. He was an influential figure in the synthpop movement.-Early career:...
. With this increasingly commercial sound, the band became a favourite with publications such as Select
Select Magazine
Select was a United Kingdom music magazine of the 1990s which was particularly known for covering Britpop, a term coined in the magazine by Stuart Maconie...
and Q
Q (magazine)
Q is a popular music magazine published monthly in the United Kingdom.Founders Mark Ellen and David Hepworth were dismayed by the music press of the time, which they felt was ignoring a generation of older music buyers who were buying CDs — then still a new technology...
, and were often favourably compared with Saint Etienne
Saint Etienne (band)
Saint Etienne are an English Pop group comprising Sarah Cracknell, Bob Stanley and Pete Wiggs. They are named after the French football team AS Saint-Étienne.-History:Bob Stanley and Pete Wiggs were childhood friends and former music journalists...
, another female-fronted group who were having success with pop-dance crossover recordings.
In 1993, One Dove released their one and only album, Morning Dove White
Morning Dove White
Morning Dove White is the only album from club-oriented Scottish alternative dance act One Dove. The album was released in 1993. The songs "Breakdown", "Fallen", " Truth", "White Love", and "Why Don't You Take Me" were released as singles or 12" singles.The album was originally to have been titled...
, which included the Weatherall version of "Fallen" (minus the Supertramp sample) together with 12" mixes of "Breakdown" and "White Love". The album was originally set for release in 1992 but was delayed for a full year through disputes between the band and their new record company - London Records had taken over the Boy's Own label. The band were unhappy about the commercialisation of their sound, and the disputes were only resolved when the band agreed to release singles mixed by Stephen Hague, if they could work with him in the studio during the remix sessions.
The album was preceded by the single "White Love", and a further track from the album, "Why Don't You Take Me", was subsequently released as a single for the Christmas
Christmas
Christmas or Christmas Day is an annual holiday generally celebrated on December 25 by billions of people around the world. It is a Christian feast that commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ, liturgically closing the Advent season and initiating the season of Christmastide, which lasts twelve days...
market. For the B-sides of the "Why Don't You Take Me" single (which included a reworking of Dolly Parton
Dolly Parton
Dolly Rebecca Parton is an American singer-songwriter, author, multi-instrumentalist, actress and philanthropist, best known for her work in country music. Dolly Parton has appeared in movies like 9 to 5, The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, Steel Magnolias and Straight Talk...
's song "Jolene"), the group expanded to a five-piece with the addition of Ed Higgins on percussion and Colin McIlroy on guitar, and showcased a more heavily dub
Dub music
Dub is a genre of music which grew out of reggae music in the 1960s, and is commonly considered a subgenre, though it has developed to extend beyond the scope of reggae...
-influenced sound. This line-up later went into the studio to begin work on a second album, but frustrated by record industry politics, split up midway through the sessions.
Singles
- "Fallen" (released by Dove, 1991)
- "Fallen" (released by One Dove, 1991)
- "Transient Truth" (1992)
- "White Love" (#43 UK, July 1993)
- "Breakdown" (#24 UK, October 1993)
- "Why Don't You Take Me" (#30 UK, December 1993)
External links
- Morning Dove Web, an unofficial website
- Ian Carmichael, discogs