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Sinéad O'Connor was born into a turbulent
household in Dublin, Ireland on December 8th, 1966. Divorce and unrest took
their toll, and by her teens she had been expelled from Catholic school,
then sent to a reformatory for shoplifting. Throughout, her one solace was
music. She happened to be singing at a relative's wedding when the drummer
from the well-known Irish rock band In Tua Nua heard her, and recruited her
as a songwriter for the band. She showed a knack for both composition and
singing.
Sinéad quickly gained local notoriety throughout the coffeehouse circuit of
Dublin. Meanwhile, she enrolled at the Dublin College of Music, where she
studied piano and voice. In 1985, she signed a contract with Ensign records,
and promptly moved to London to record her first album, The Lion and the
Cobra. A critical success, the record also scored an alternative radio hit,
"Mandinka."
Everyone wants what she's got:
It was her sophomore album, I Do Not Want What I Haven't Got, that propelled
O'Connor into the international spotlight in 1990. The success began with
the release of an entrancing single, her cover version of "Nothing Compares
2 U" by Prince. It stormed the charts, and when the album was finally
released, it went straight to number one, eventually reaching that spot in
17 countries.
Upon reaching the big-time, O'Connor immediately displayed a penchant for
causing controversy. She was quoted in the press speaking in support of the
IRA terrorist organization, and against her popular countrymen U2. She also
declared that she would not perform if the "Star-Spangled Banner" preceded
one of her shows, and declined a spot on Saturday Night Live in protest of
the misogynistic material of the host, comedian Andrew Dice Clay. To cap off
a year of success and controversy, Sinéad refused to accept her four 1991
Grammy nominations.
Controversial O'Connor:
The title of her 1992 follow-up record, Am I Not Your Girl?, is perhaps a
mocking appeal to the backlash against her. Unfortunately, the album's
success was quickly overshadowed by O'Connor's infamous act of tearing up a
picture of Pope John Paul II on Saturday Night Live. This time, the backlash
was insurmountable, as she was booed offstage at a subsequent Bob Dylan
tribute concert.
Sinéad then returned to Dublin, and spent a couple of years studying Opera
and dabbling in theatre, playing Ophelia in a production of Hamlet. She
toured with Peter Gabriel's summer WOMAD (World Of Music, Arts & Dance)
festival, and finally returned to the music scene with 1994's Universal
Mother. It earned good reviews but bad sales.
Following another few years of down time, during which she had her second
child Roisin, a daughter, (her first was a son, Jake), and studied for the
priesthood, Sinéad released Gospel Oak in 1997. It was well received enough
to finally overcome her stigma. When she toured with the 1998 Lilith Fair
Festival for women in rock, she was received as something of an elder
stateswoman of independent-minded female songwriters.
kiss her, she's irish
In 1999 Sinéad was ordained in the Latin Tridentine Church. The following
year, she released another album, Faith & Courage, which she followed up
with a collection of Irish folk songs called Sean-Nós Nua. Despite her
increasing productivity, Sinéad decided she was tired of the celebrity life,
and in April 2003, announced her retirement from the music business.
Sinéad currently lives in Dublin with her husband, Nick Sommerlad, and is
currently pregnant with their first child (the other two kids were fathered
by two different men). The jury is still out on whether or not she is likely
to return to making music. |
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SINEAD O'CONNOR PICTURES |
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