ZEELLEY MOON

Crossover Prog • United Kingdom

From Progarchives.com, the ultimate progressive rock music website

Tour & shows updates
Press & news updates
Forum discussions
Videos (Youtube)
Buy music
Discography
Reviews
Official website

Zeelley Moon biography
Zeelley Moon is the brainchild of British singer-songwriter and keyboard player Pat Molesworth, and was formed in Buckinghamshire, UK, in 2010, though the band's roots go back to 2006. Pat wanted a slightly ambiguous, but interesting and unique two-word band name, and decided that the word 'Moon' sounded good as used after Keith and Paper, and would be ideal with a different, suitably cool first word added in front of it. 'Zeelley' was eventually chosen for this, being an abstract word which Pat had derived from a friend's son-in-law's partner's surname 'Zealy'.

As of May 2021, the band consisted of Pat Molesworth (piano, keyboards and vocals), Tony Dodd (bass), Tony Dubinski (guitars), and Nobby Birch (drums). Previous band members have included Geoff Bolam (guitars), Andy Whitaker (bass), Manna Ash (drums), Chris Garner (bass), Terry Finn (drums), plus various guest backing vocalists.

Pat Molesworth was born just outside Slough, Berkshire in the U.K. and moved around within the Chiltern Hills in Buckinghamshire over the years until 2016, when he moved to the area of South Wales where he'd enjoyed family holidays as a child. He first began writing songs and musical themes when he was a teenager, though he never received any musical education even as a small child. Everything he has ever written has come from sessions of simply sitting at the piano and experimenting.

In 2006 Pat joined bassist Chris Garner, drummer Terry Finn and guitarist Geoff Bolam to form a house band which was initially named Touchwood for events which had been organised by Chris & Terry, and the band gigged in the area around outer London. In 2008 they recorded a live album with the help of Derik Timms of Snakes Alive Music, and they continued to perform regularly at various venues and festivals in Buckinghamshire, Berkshire, Hertfordshire and London until their last live performance in 2009 at the Boxmoor Music Festival in Hemel Hempstead, UK.

Shortly after this, Pat left the band, and in 2010 he formed Zeelley Moon with guitarist Geoff Bolam, drummer Manna Ash and bassist Andy Whitaker, and they again began performing live. In 2011 they recorded three songs: 'Smile', 'Feel so Real' and 'Designer Crime' with Richard Bignell at Area 18 Studios in West London. Although not released at the time, these songs were intended to become part of the eventual debut album, although the recording of that album didn't resume until 2015 due to various delays and line-up...Zeelley Moon is the brainchild of British singer-songwriter and keyboard player Pat Molesworth, and was formed in Buckinghamshire, UK, in 2010, though the band's roots go back to 2006. Pat wanted a slightly ambiguous, but interesting and unique two-word band name, and decided that the word 'Moon' sounded good as used after Keith and Paper, and would be ideal with a different, suitably cool first word added in front of it. 'Zeelley' was eventually chosen for this, being an abstract word which Pat had derived from a friend's son-in-law's partner's surname 'Zealy'.

As of May 2021, the band consisted of Pat Molesworth (piano, keyboards and vocals), Tony Dodd (bass), Tony Dubinski (guitars), and Nobby Birch (drums). Previous band members have included Geoff Bolam (guitars), Andy Whitaker (bass), Manna Ash (drums), Chris Garner (bass), Terry Finn (drums), plus various guest backing vocalists.

Pat Molesworth was born just outside Slough, Berkshire in the U.K. and moved around within the Chiltern Hills in Buckinghamshire over the years until 2016, when he moved to the area of South Wales where he'd enjoyed family holidays as a child. He first began writing songs and musical themes when he was a teenager, though he never received any musical education even as a small child. Everything he has ever written has come from sessions of simply sitting at the piano and experimenting.

In 2006 Pat joined bassist Chris Garner, drummer Terry Finn and guitarist Geoff Bolam to form a house band which was initially named Touchwood for events which had been organised by Chris & Terry, and the band gigged in the area around outer London. In 2008 they recorded a live album with the help of Derik Timms of Snakes Alive Music, and they continued to perform regularly at various venues and festivals in Buckinghamshire, Berkshire, Hertfordshire and London until their last live performance in 2009 at the Boxmoor Music Festival in Hemel Hempstead, UK.

Shortly after this, Pat left the band, and in 2010 he formed Zeelley Moon with guitarist Geoff Bolam, drummer Manna Ash and bassist Andy Whitaker, and they again began performing live. In 2011 they recorded three songs: 'Smile', 'Feel so Real' and 'Designer Crime' with Richard Bignell at Area 18 Studios in West London. Although not released at the time, these songs were intended to become part of the eventual debut album, although the recording of that album didn't resume until 2015 due to various delays and line-up changes.

In 2012 Pat met with bassist Tony Dodd, guitarist Tony Dubinski and drummer Nobby Birch and the first stable line up of Zeelley Moon was formed. They began rehearsals in 2013 and went on to perform live again. New recordings eventually began at Area 18 Studios, West London in 2015, and the last live band performances were in the summer of 2016 before Pat moved to Pembrokeshire in Wales.

Pat continued to work on the album following the move, with contributions being mostly from the band members themselves, but he also drafted in various other musicians as and when required, and the remaining tracks were recorded, mixed, mastered and the final tweaks applied, with the album finally being completed in July 2017. Although Pat has a modest studio at his home in Pembrokeshire - where piano, keyboard, vocals and backing vocals can be recorded - the guitars, bass and drums on the album were mostly recorded at Area 18 Studio in London.

Described as Pink Floyd meets Supertramp, the debut album by Zeelley Moon was first released in July 2017, and then re-released in December of that year with an additional track. Initial response to the album was strong, attracting a number of enthusiastic reviews, with it being particularly appealing to fans of the more melodic styles of rock.

Pat Molesworth's music has been influenced by the weight and melancholy of Pink Floyd, the sophistication of Yes and the tunefulness of Supertramp, as well as bands like Mott the Hoople, elements of Bach, and piano singer-songwriters such as Elton John, Peter Skellern and Beverley Craven. Although they don't consider themselves to be a progressive rock band per se, the self-titled debut album received critical acclaim from the progressive rock community, with the album being widely described as multi-genre.

The band's second album 'The Author and the Dreamer' was released in November 2023, and features Pat Molesworth on Hammond organ, keyboards, arrangements and vocals, Jim Kelleher on guitars & bass, Aled Peter Lloyd on drums, Sarah Mau on cello & violin, Katherine Sparks on flute and Meg Prickett on vocals, with Steve Picking playing bass on tracks 1 & 6. Jim Kelleher had previously gigged with the band on occasions back in the early days.read more