R.I.P. Sinead O'Connor
Blessed with a uniquely powerful and unforgettable voice, Irish singer Sinead O’Connor has died at the young age of 56, confirmed to the BBC and Irish network RTE, by longtime friend and fellow musician Bob Geldof.
The statement reads in part, “It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of our beloved Sinead. Her family and friends are devastated and have requested privacy at this very difficult time.” No other details provided, the cause of death is as of now, undetermined.
O’ Connor was well-known, visually by her usually shaved head and wide eyes, and by incidents (some self-inflicted), and opinions outside of her music, that would also help define her career. She would release 10 studio albums, beginning with 1987’s Grammy-nominated breakout “The Lion and the Cobra” and sold millions of 1990’s World #1 single, the Prince-penned, “Nothing Compares 2 U,” which won a 1991 Grammy Award.
Her uncompromising controversies that embodied her true punk spirit, would make her an early victim of cancel culture, irrevocably antagonizing US audiences by famously ripping up a picture of the Pope, getting into a war of words with Frank Sinatra (and later a Miley Cyrus controversy) and boycotting the Grammy Award ceremonies in which she would win.
Sinead Marie Bernadette O’Connor was born on December 8, 1966, in Glenageary, a suburb of Dublin, to father, John, an engineer, and her mother, Johanna, was a dressmaker. She would speak in interviews and in her 2021 memoir, of a traumatic and abusive childhood, and early rebelliousness, which resulted in her being sent to reform schools.
When she was caught at 15 singing Barbra Streisand’s “Evergreen” at a wedding by In Tua Nua drummer Paul Byrne, she would leave boarding school to work as a waitress, performing singing “Kiss-o-grams” in costume on the side, and also was a vocalist in a local group, before being signed as a solo artist to Ensign Records.
After a collaboration with The Edge and duet with The The on “Kingdom of Rain” as well as her debut album, the worldwide breakthrough was her 1990 sophomore album which featured the song that would become her most successful, and the track she’s most associated with.
“Nothing Compares 2 U” was originally written for Prince’s side project, The Family, five years prior to O’Connor’s version, but was masterfully re-arranged by her and producer Nellee (Soul II Soul) Hooper, and the video of which was stark and simplistic, without props or backgrounds, focused on the singer herself to showcase the emotional impact of the song.
She would later accuse Prince of extreme jealousy (probably true) and some abuse and mistreatment when she visited him at his Paisley Park Studios (debatable). Prince would attempt to reclaim his song following, by working it into his own live repertoire, after O’Connor’s massive success.
O'Connor's later albums would explore different music styles including reggae, with 2014’s “I’m Not Bossy, I’m the Boss,” being her final studio release, though she had moved to London to finish a new album and initial worldwide touring plans for 2024-25 were in the making.
As her musical success decreased, erratic behavior, mental health issues, and newsworthy troubled incidents began to feature in headlines and detract from her musical artistry. She would marry four times and son Shane would tragically take his own life in 2022, at the age of 17.
She would also convert to Islam and started using the name Shuhada Sadaqat (among a couple others) in the constant search for her own truth, and is survived by her three remaining children, Jake, Yeshua, and daughter, Roisin and two brothers and a sister.
| John C ([email protected]) ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ twitter.com |
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