Coordinates	28°36′36″N77°13′48″N
Name	Neil Finn
Background	solo_singer
Birth name	Cornelius Mullane Finn
Alias	Neil Finn
Born	May 27, 1958Te Awamutu, New Zealand
Instrument	Vocals, guitar, ukulele, mandolin, keyboards, bass guitar, drums
Genre	Pop, rock
Occupation	Musician, songwriter
Years active	1976–present
Label	Columbia
Associated acts	After Hours, Split Enz, Crowded House, Finn Brothers, The Mullanes, Flight of the Conchords, 7 Worlds Collide, Pajama Club
Website	}}

Neil (christened Cornelius) Mullane Finn, OBE (born 27 May 1958) is a New Zealand Pop recording artist. Along with his brother Tim Finn, he was the co-frontman for Split Enz and is now frontman for Crowded House. He has also recorded several successful solo albums and assembled diverse musicians for the 7 Worlds Collide projects.

Finn rose to prominence in the late 1970s after replacing singer songwriter Phil Judd in his brother Tim Finn's band Split Enz. With the group, Finn wrote the hits "One Step Ahead", "History Never Repeats", "I Got You" and "Message to My Girl", among others. Finn rose from prominence to international fame after Split Enz broke up in 1984. While his brother Tim Finn left for England, Neil was the founder of Crowded House with Split Enz's final drummer Paul Hester in 1985. The group achieved international success in 1987 when they released the single "Don't Dream It's Over" written by Neil. He ended Crowded House in 1996 to embark upon what was to become a moderately successful solo career, and has released two albums with his brother Tim under the title the Finn Brothers. In 2006, following the death of Hester, Finn reformed Crowded House (adding Beck's former drummer Matt Sherrod) and released the first studio album in over thirteen years, ''Time on Earth'', and the band began a world tour. In 2010, Finn commenced another world tour with Crowded House in support of their 2010 release, ''Intriguer''.

Biography

Early years / Split Enz

Born Cornelius Mullane Finn in Te Awamutu, New Zealand, Neil later stated, "I was christened Cornelius, and dropped it at an early age thinking it was a bit corny", in an interview with Australian television host Andrew Denton in 1995. He attended Sacred Heart boarding school and Te Awamutu College. He decided to become a musician at the age of 12 and throughout his school years performed in prisons and hospitals as well as at home gatherings.

Neil finished school in 1975. A year later he formed a group known as After Hours with Mark Hough, Geoff Chunn and Alan Brown. Not long after the band's debut performance, Neil was invited to London to join Split Enz, the band formed by his elder brother Tim. By 1980, he was sharing lead singer duties. He wrote their first international hit "I Got You" and contributed significantly to all their later albums, even briefly assuming leadership of the band after Tim left in 1984, soon before its breakup.

Crowded House

After the breakup of Split Enz in 1984. Finn formed a new band called The Mullanes (Mullane being both his middle name and his mother's maiden name) with Split Enz drummer Paul Hester, guitarist Craig Hooper of The Reels and bassist Nick Seymour (younger brother of Hunters & Collectors leader Mark Seymour), whom Neil had met on the final Split Enz tour. Hooper left just before they recorded their first album, at which time the band was renamed Crowded House, inspired by the rental home they shared while recording in Los Angeles.

Crowded House went on to enormous success worldwide, in particular with two major hits: "Don't Dream It's Over" (US #2, 1987) and "Weather With You" (UK #7, 1992). Both Neil and his brother Tim were invested as Officers of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) for services to New Zealand music in the 1993 Queen's Birthday Honours List. After releasing four albums, ''Crowded House'', ''Temple of Low Men'', ''Woodface'', and ''Together Alone'', the group broke up in 1996, and followed this action by releasing a greatest hits album ''Recurring Dream''. Following this, Neil went solo. Later the album ''Afterglow'' was released, which contained Crowded House tracks not previously found on any of the band's albums.

In January 2007, it was announced that Crowded House were reforming with Neil, Nick Seymour, Mark Hart and new drummer Matt Sherrod (following the suicide of Paul Hester in 2005). The group's new album ''Time on Earth'' was released in June 2007; in the pre-release build up, they headlined a show at Coachella in April 2007, then commenced a world tour. In March 2009, Neil joined brother Tim on stage with son Liam Finn at Melbourne's charity Sound Relief concert at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in support of the 2009 Victorian Bushfires.

Solo work

Finn has recorded two solo albums to date: ''Try Whistling This'' (1998) and ''One Nil'' (2001). (''One Nil'' was released in the US and Canada – remixed, reordered and renamed ''One All'' – in 2002.) In addition, he and brother Tim have collaborated on two Finn Brothers albums, ''Finn'' (1995) and ''Everyone Is Here (2004).''

In 2001, he released a live album/DVD (''7 Worlds Collide'') consisting of songs recorded at St James Theatre in Auckland, New Zealand with the likes of Lisa Germano, Sebastian Steinberg (Soul Coughing), Ed O'Brien and Phil Selway (Radiohead), Johnny Marr (The Smiths), Eddie Vedder (Pearl Jam), Paul Jeffrey, Tim Finn, and Betchadupa. Finn was additionally heavily involved in creating the 2001 soundtrack for the motion picture ''Rain''.

Finn has contributed solo music to various film and TV soundtracks including ''Rain'', ''Boston Legal'', ''Boston Public'', ''The Waiting Game'', ''Antz'', and ''Sports Night''.

Collaborations

The Dixie Chicks release ''Taking The Long Way'' has a song co-written with Finn, entitled "Silent House". It deals with people suffering from Alzheimers disease, slowly finding that familiar faces and items long cherished are slipping away from their memory. Neil Finn was also featured as a backing vocalist on the Sheryl Crow song, "Everyday is a Winding Road" from her self-titled second album, released in 1997. He also produced the song "Greenstone" from Emma Paki's debut album "Oxygen Of Love". Finn has also produced and recorded with various New Zealand acts such as Bic Runga, The Mutton Birds and Dave Dobbyn.

In 2006, Neil and Tim Finn were both honoured by a slew of women re-recording and re-interpreting a selection of their songs with the album ''She Will Have Her Way'' which featured artists performing Neil Finn's songs such as Kasey Chambers, Clare Bowditch, Boh Runga with her band Stellar*, Renée Geyer, Brooke Fraser, Holly Throsby, Sarah Blasko, Amiel and Natalie Imbruglia.

Neil played solo at New Zealand WOMAD 2008 festival, filling in at short notice for another performer who had become unwell.

In December 2008 several of the ''7 Worlds Collide'' lineup reconvened in Auckland, New Zealand to record The Sun Came Out, a charity album for Oxfam to be released 29 September 2009. It was recorded in Finn's own Roundhead Studios and will feature all-new material, with singing and songwriting contributions divided amongst the group. Most of the original members of Crowded House have returned, along with several new additions including Jeff Tweedy and three other members of Wilco, Scottish singer-songwriter KT Tunstall, and notable New Zealand songwriters Don McGlashan and Bic Runga. As in 2001 the group gave a series of live performances, though at three nights the run was shorter and the venue was more intimate.

Finn had a cameo appearance acting role on the BBC Radio Show ''Flight of the Conchords''.

Finn appeared on fellow musician Missy Higgins' CD, ''On a Clear Night'' (2007). He played electric guitar for the song "Peachy", and sang backing vocals on "Going North".

Charity work

In 1986 Finn performed with ''The Rock Party'' a charity project initiated by The National Campaign Against Drug Abuse (NCADA), which included many Australasian musicians such as Reg Mombassa from Mental As Anything, Eddie Rayner, Tim Finn, Nick Seymour and Paul Hester of Crowded House, Geoff Stapleton, Mark Callaghan and Robbie James of GANGgajang, Mary Azzopardi of Rockmelons, Andrew Barnum of The Vitabeats, Lissa Barnum, Michael Barclay, Peter Blakely, Deborah Conway, Jenny Morris, Danny De Costa, Greg Herbert (The Promise), Spencer P Jones, Sean Kelly (Models), John Kennedy, Paul Kelly, Martin Plaza (Mental as Anything), Robert Susz (Dynamic Hepnotics) and Rick Swinn (The Venetians). The Rock Party released a 12" single "Everything To Live For", which was produced by Joe Wissert, Phil Rigger and Phil Beazley.

In February 2007, Neil Finn performed with his son Elroy and Jimmy Barnes at a charity benefit concert for cerebral palsy. The event was held at the Roxburgh Hall, Stowe School, Stowe in Buckinghamshire, UK. The benefit was in aid of he UK charity Scope (formerly "The Spastics Society"), England's largest charity working for people living with cerebral palsy and their families.

Personal life

Finn married Sharon Dawn Johnson, on 13 February 1982. The song "I Love You Dawn", available on ''Afterglow'' (an album of unreleased Crowded House tracks and B-sides) was penned in her honour. Sharon creates chandeliers in her workshop in Auckland, many of which featured on stage in the 2004–05 tours promoting the ''Everyone Is Here'' album. She has appeared on backing vocals on various albums such as ''Crowded House'' and Alex Lloyd's ''Watching Angels Mend'' She also features prominently on the new 7 Worlds Collide project, co-writing (and sharing lead vocal) the track 'Little By Little' with her husband and sings on the track 'Isolation' on the new Crowded House album, Intriguer.

They have two sons, Liam Mullane Finn (born 1983) (Split Enz's "Our Day" was written about his birth) and Elroy Timothy Finn (born 1989). Both sons are multi-instrumentalists, like their father, and often perform alongside him on tour and in the recording studio. Liam had his own band, Betchadupa, originally based in Auckland, then London before releasing a solo album, ''I'll Be Lightning'' in 2008. He also plays in Crowded House's touring band lineup. Elroy Finn is also following in his father and brother's musical footsteps as drummer for the psychobilly band The Tricks and has been filling in on drums for Cut Off Your Hands.

Recent work

Both Tim and Neil Finn share the stage and have released an album under the name The Finn Brothers. They have also performed with Neil Finn's son Liam Finn.

Neil Finn solo discography

''This discography relates to solo releases by Neil Finn only. See Split Enz discography, Crowded House discography and The Finn Brothers' discography for other related works.''

Albums

{| cellpadding=1 cellspacing=1 border=0 style="text-align:center;" |- style="background:#daa; width:800em; text-align:center; text-size:14px;" ! style="width:150em;"| Album ! style="width:400em;"|Release ! style="width:100em;"|Charts ! style="width:150em;"|Singles |- style="background:#efefdd;" |bgcolor="" align=center width=110| ''Try Whistling This'' |align=left| 1998

Debut studio release

| style="text-align:left; font-size:8pt; padding:4pt; line-height:1.25em;"|

#1 (AUS)

#1 (NZ)

#5 (UK)

#18 (NOR)

#88 (NL)

#19 (US Heat)

| colspan="2" style="text-align:left; font-size:8pt; padding:4pt; line-height:1.25em;"|

"Sinner"

"She Will Have Her Way"

"Last One Standing"

|- style="background:#dedecc;" |align=center width=110 bgcolor=""| ''Sessions at West 54th'' |align=left| 2000

Part of the US television series Sessions at West 54th.

| style="text-align:left; font-size:8pt; padding:4pt; line-height:1.25em;"|   | colspan="2" style="text-align:left; font-size:8pt; padding:4pt; line-height:1.25em;"|   |- style="background:#efefdd;" |align=center width=110 bgcolor=""| ''One Nil'' |align=left| 2001

Second studio release

Released with the title ''One All'' in the United States in 2002.

| style="text-align:left; font-size:8pt; padding:4pt; line-height:1.25em;"|

#1 (NZ)

#9 (AUS)

#14 (UK)

#26 (US Heat)

| colspan="2" style="text-align:left; font-size:8pt; padding:4pt; line-height:1.25em;"|

"Rest of the Day Off"

"Wherever You Are"

"Last to Know"

"Hole In the Ice"

|- style="background:#dedecc;" |align=center width=110 bgcolor=""| ''7 Worlds Collide'' |align=left| 2001 Features guest musicians including Eddie Vedder of Pearl Jam, Lisa Germano, Sebastian Steinberg, Johnny Marr, Tim Finn, Betchadupa and New Zealand originated musicians and members of UK band Radiohead. | style="text-align:left; font-size:8pt; padding:4pt; line-height:1.25em;"|

#5 (NZ)

#140 (UK)

#45 (US Heat)

| colspan="2" style="text-align:left; font-size:8pt; padding:4pt; line-height:1.25em;"|

"There Is a Light That Never Goes Out"

|- style="background:#efefdd;" |align=center width=110 bgcolor=""| ''The Sun Came Out'' |align=left| 2009 Features guest musicians including Lisa Germano, Sebastian Steinberg, Johnny Marr, Tim Finn, Liam Finn, Elroy Finn, Sharon Finn, Ed O'Brien & Phil Selway of Radiohead, Jeff Tweedy, John Stirratt, Glenn Kotche & Pat Sansone of Wilco, KT Tunstall, Bic Runga, Don McGlashan, Nile Marr, Spencer Tweedy. | style="text-align:left; font-size:8pt; padding:4pt; line-height:1.25em;"|

#2 (NZ)

#39 (AUS)

#58 (UK)

| colspan="2" style="text-align:left; font-size:8pt; padding:4pt; line-height:1.25em;"| |}

Singles

{| cellpadding="1" cellspacing="1" border="0" style="width:700px; text-align:center;" |- style="background:#daa; text-align:center; text-size:14px;" ! style="text-align:left; vertical-align:bottom;" rowspan="2"|Date ! style="vertical-align:bottom; text-align:left; width:250px;" rowspan="2"|Single ! style="vertical-align:bottom; text-align:left; width:130px;" rowspan="2"|Album ! style="vertical-align:bottom; text-align:center; width:130px;" colspan="3"|Charts |- style="background:#e1adad; text-align:center; text-size:14px;" ! style="text-align:center; vertical-align:top;"|NZ ! style="text-align:center; vertical-align:top;"|AU ! style="text-align:center; vertical-align:top;"|UK |- style="background:#f0f8ff;" | style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top;"|1996-06 | style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top;"| "Message to My Girl" ''(ENZSO with Neil Finn)'' | style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top;"| ''ENZSO'' | style="text-align:center; vertical-align:top;"| – | style="text-align:center; vertical-align:top;"| 56 | style="text-align:center; vertical-align:top;"| – |- style="background:#efefef;" | style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top;"|1998-06-14 | style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top;"|"Sinner" | style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top;"| ''Try Whistling This'' | style="text-align:center; vertical-align:top;"| – | style="text-align:center; vertical-align:top;"| 40 | style="text-align:center; vertical-align:top;"| 39 |- style="background:#f0f8ff;" | style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top;"|1998-06-21 | style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top;"| "She Will Have Her Way" | style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top;"| ''Try Whistling This'' | style="text-align:center; vertical-align:top;"| 19 | style="text-align:center; vertical-align:top;"| 61 | style="text-align:center; vertical-align:top;"| 26 |- style="background:#efefef; vertical-align:top;" | style="text-align:left; "|1999-02 | style="text-align:left; "| "Last One Standing" | style="text-align:left; "| ''Try Whistling This'' | style="text-align:center; "| – | style="text-align:center; "| – | style="text-align:center; "| – |- style="background:#f0f8ff; vertical-align:top;" | style="text-align:left; "|1999-06-27 | style="text-align:left; "| "I Can See Clearly Now" | style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top;"| | style="text-align:center; "| 16 | style="text-align:center; "| 88 | style="text-align:center; "| – |- style="background:#efefef; vertical-align:top;" | style="text-align:left; "|1999-10-03 | style="text-align:left; "| "Can You Hear Us" | style="text-align:left; "| | style="text-align:center; "| 1 | style="text-align:center; "| – | style="text-align:center; "| – |- style="background:#f0f8ff; vertical-align:top;" | style="text-align:left; "|2001-03-25 | style="text-align:left; "| "Rest of the Day Off" | style="text-align:left; "| ''One Nil'' | style="text-align:center; "| 29 | style="text-align:center; "| 77 | style="text-align:center; "| – |- style="background:#efefef; vertical-align:top;" | style="text-align:left; "|2001–04 | style="text-align:left; "| "Wherever You Are" | style="text-align:left; "| ''One Nil'' | style="text-align:center; "| – | style="text-align:center; "| – | style="text-align:center; "| 32 |- style="background:#f0f8ff; vertical-align:top;" | style="text-align:left; "|2001-07-24 | style="text-align:left; "| "Last to Know" | style="text-align:left; "| ''One Nil'' | style="text-align:center; "| – | style="text-align:center; "| – | style="text-align:center; "| – |- style="background:#efefef; vertical-align:top;" | style="text-align:left; "|2001–09 | style="text-align:left; "| "Hole In the Ice" | style="text-align:left; "| ''One Nil'' | style="text-align:center; "| – | style="text-align:center; "| – | style="text-align:center; "| 43 |- style="background:#f0f8ff; vertical-align:top;" | style="text-align:left; "|2001–11 | style="text-align:left; "| "There Is a Light That Never Goes Out" | style="text-align:left; "| ''7 Worlds Collide'' | style="text-align:center; "| – | style="text-align:center; "| – | style="text-align:center; "| – |}

Other contributions

As performer

''Live at the World Café: Vol. 15 - Handcrafted'' (2002, World Café) – "Driving Me Mad"

''107.1 KGSR Radio Austin - Broadcasts Vol.10'' (2002) – "Private Universe"

''Andrew Denton Breakfast Show Musical Challenge'' (2000) – "Billie Jean"

''Andrew Denton's Musical Challenge V.2: Even More Challenged'' (2001) – "Sexual Healing"

''Through Space To Your Place'' (2001) – "Norwegian Wood"

''Maybe This Christmas'' (2002) – "Sweet Secret Peace"

''Antz Soundtrack'' (1998) – "I Can See Clearly Now"

As producer

"No Commotion" (1983, single) - Karen Ansell

''Greenstone'' (1994, album) - Emma Paki

''Twist'' (1994, album) - Dave Dobbyn

''Nature'' (1995, album) - The Mutton Birds

''Moana and The Moahunters'' (1998, album) - Moana and The Moahunters

''Brand New'' (1999, album) (as executive producer) - The Stereo Bus

''Soul Lost Companion'' (1999, album) - Mark Lizotte

As session musician

''Just Drove Thru Town'' (1979, album) - Citizen Band

''Sing'' (1984, album) - Big Choir

"Everything To Live For" (1986, maxi-single) - The Rock Party

''Rikki & Pete'' (1988, soundtrack)

References

Chunn, Mike, ''Stranger Than Fiction: The Life and Times of Split Enz'', GP Publications, 1992. ISBN 1-86956-050-7

Bourke, Chris, ''Something So Strong'', Macmillan Australia, 1997, ISBN 0-7329-0886-8

Twomey, Chris & Doole, Kerry, ''Crowded House: Private Universe'', Omnibus Pr, 1998, ISBN 0-7119-4816-X

Dix, John, ''Stranded in Paradise: New Zealand Rock and Roll, 1955 to the Modern Era'', Penguin Books, 2005, ISBN 0-14-301953-8

External links

Neil Finn on Myspace.com

Neil Finn: Songwriter

Category:1958 births Category:Living people Category:Crowded House members Category:New Zealand expatriates in Australia Category:New Zealand expatriates in the United States Category:New Zealand guitarists Category:New Zealand pop singers Category:New Zealand Roman Catholics Category:New Zealand songwriters Category:New Zealand people of Irish descent Category:Officers of the Order of the British Empire Category:People from the Waikato Region Category:Split Enz members

ca:Neil Finn cy:Neil Finn de:Neil Finn es:Neil Finn fr:Neil Finn it:Neil Finn nl:Neil Finn pl:Neil Finn pt:Neil Finn simple:Neil Finn sv:Neil Finn

Coordinates	28°36′36″N77°13′48″N
name	Janis Ian
background	solo_singer
birth name	Janis Eddy Fink
born	April 07, 1951New York City, New YorkUnited States
genre	Folk, Contemporary music
occupation	Musician, Songwriter, Author
years active	1965–present
label	Rude Girl RecordsColumbia RecordsVerve RecordsWindham Hill Records
website	http://www.janisian.com/
notable instruments	}}

Janis Ian (born Janis Eddy Fink, April 7, 1951) is an American songwriter, singer, musician, columnist, and science fiction author. Ian first entered the folk music scene while still a teenager in the mid-sixties; most active musically in that decade and the 1970s, she has continued recording into the 21st century. In 1975, Ian won a Grammy Award for her song, "At Seventeen".

Biography

Childhood

Born to a Jewish family in New York City, she was primarily raised in New Jersey, initially on a farm, and attended East Orange High School and the New York City High School of Music & Art. Her parents, Victor (a music teacher) and Pearl, ran a summer camp in upstate New York, and, in that Cold War era, were frequently under government surveillance because of their left-wing politics. (Ian would allude to these years later in her song "God and the FBI"). Young Janis admired the work of folk pioneers such as Joan Baez and Odetta. Starting with piano lessons at the age of 6 or 7, by the time she hit her teens, Ian had learned the organ, harpsichord, French horn, flute and guitar. At the age of twelve, Ian wrote her first song, "Hair of Spun Gold," which was subsequently published in the folk publication ''Broadside'' and was later recorded for her debut album. In 1964, she legally changed her name to Janis Ian, using as her new last name her brother Eric's middle name.

Music career

At the age of thirteen, Ian wrote and sang her first hit single, "Society's Child (Baby I've Been Thinking)", about an interracial romance forbidden by a girl's mother and frowned upon by her peers and teachers: the girl ultimately decides to end the relationship, claiming the societal norms of the day have left her no other choice. Produced by George "Shadow" Morton and released three times between 1965 and 1967, "Society's Child" finally became a national hit upon its third release, after Leonard Bernstein featured it in a TV special titled ''Inside Pop: The Rock Revolution''. The song's lyrical content was taboo for some radio stations, and they withdrew or banned it from their playlists accordingly; in her 2008 autobiography ''Society's Child'', Ian recalls receiving hate mail and death threats as a response to the song, and mentions that a radio station in Atlanta that played it was burned down. In the summer of 1967, "Society's Child" reached #14 on the Billboard Hot 100, the single having sold 600,000 copies, and the album 350,000.

Ian relates on her website that, although the song was originally intended for Atlantic and the label paid for her recording session, the label subsequently returned the master to her and quietly refused to release it. Years later, Ian says, Atlantic's president at the time, Jerry Wexler, publicly apologized to her for this. The single and Ian's 1967 eponymous debut album were finally released on Verve Forecast; her album was also a hit, reaching #12. In 2001, "Society's Child" was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame, which honors recordings considered timeless and important to music history. Her early music was compiled on a double CD entitled ''Society's Child: The Verve Recordings'' in 1995.

Her most successful single in the United States was "At Seventeen", released in 1975, a bittersweet commentary on adolescent cruelty, the illusion of popularity, and teenage angst, as reflected upon from the perspective of a 24-year-old. "At Seventeen" was a smash, receiving tremendous acclaim from critics and record buyers alike — it charted at #3 on the Billboard Hot 100 and hit #1 on the Adult Contemporary chart. It won the 1975 Grammy Award for Best Pop Vocal Performance - Female beating out Linda Ronstadt, who was nominated for her ''Heart Like a Wheel'' album; Olivia Newton-John; and Helen Reddy. Ian performed "At Seventeen" as a musical guest on the debut of ''Saturday Night Live'' on October 11, 1975. The song's album, ''Between the Lines'', was also a smash and hit #1 on Billboard's Album chart. It was quickly certified Gold and later earned a 'Platinum' certification for sales of over one million copies sold in the US. Another measure of her success is anecdotal: on Valentine's Day 1977, Ian received 461 Valentine cards, having indicated in the lyrics to "At Seventeen" that she never received any as a teenager.

"Fly Too High" (1979), produced by disco producer Giorgio Moroder, was her contribution to the soundtrack of the Jodie Foster film ''Foxes'', also featured on Ian's 1979 album ''Night Rains''. It earned her a Grammy nomination and became a hit single in many countries, including South Africa, Belgium. Australia, Israel, and the Netherlands.

Another country where Ian has achieved a high level of popularity is Japan. She had two top 10 singles on the Japanese Oricon charts, "Love Is Blind" in 1976, and "You Are Love" in 1980; and her album ''Aftertones'' topped Oricon's album chart in October 1976. "You Are Love (Toujours Gai Mon Cher)" is the theme song of Kinji Fukasaku's 1980 movie ''Virus'', which was the most expensive Japanese film ever made at the time. Ian has cut several other singles specifically for the Japanese market, including 1998's "The Last Great Place". Even now, she's still regarded as the Godmother of Japanese singer-songwriters, and has a thriving career there and in Europe.

By contrast, in the U.S., Ian made the pop charts only once more after "At Seventeen" ("Under the Covers", #71 in 1981), though she had several more songs reach the Adult Contemporary singles chart through 1980 (all failing to make the Top 20, however). She walked away from her CBS contract in 1982, while it still had three albums to go. Ian deliberately spent much of the 1980s and early 1990s without a record deal. During the 1982–1992 period she continued to write songs, which were covered by the likes of Amy Grant and Bette Midler. She also studied under acting coach Stella Adler and struck up a close friendship with her, which continued until the latter's death in 1992.

Ian finally became one of the first "indie artists," resurfacing in 1993, with the worldwide release of ''Breaking Silence'' and its title song about incest. She also came out as a lesbian with that release. She also, in 1993, made her ''The Howard Stern Show'' appearance, where she performed a "new" version of "At Seventeen" about Jerry Seinfeld. Since then Ian has released several albums.

Ian's most recent album, ''Folk Is The New Black'', was released jointly by the Rude Girl and Cooking Vinyl labels in 2006. It is the first in over twenty years where she did all the songwriting herself.

She still tours and has a devoted fan base. Her autobiography, "Society's Child," was released by Penguin in mid-2008 to critical acclaim.

Other artists have recorded Ian's compositions, most notably Roberta Flack, who had a hit in 1973 with Ian's song "Jesse", also recorded by Joan Baez and Dottie West; Ian's own version is featured on her 1974 album ''Stars'' (the title song of which has also been oft-covered, including versions by Cher, Nina Simone and Barbara Cook). Other artists who have recorded or performed songs written or co-written by Janis Ian include Amy Grant, Jeanette Dimech, Sheena Easton, Michele Pillar, Mel Torme, Michelle Wright, Bette Midler ("Some People's Lives," a song written by Ian and her then-partner Kye Fleming, became the title song of her 1990 album), Jann Arden, and Japanese singer Shiina Ringo (covered Ian's breakthrough Japanese hit, "Love Is Blind").

Criticism of the RIAA

She is an outspoken critic of the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), a record industry organization which she sees as acting against the interests of musicians and consumers. As such, she has willingly released several of her songs for free download from her website. Along with science fiction author Eric Flint, she has argued that their experience provides conclusive evidence that free downloads dramatically increased hard-copy sales, contrary to the claims of RIAA and NARAS. Ian's signature tune "At Seventeen" sold over two million singles in the United States alone yet was never certified.

"I've been surprised at how few people are willing to get annoyed with me over it," she laughs. "There was a little backlash here and there. I was scheduled to appear on a panel somewhere and somebody from a record company said if I was there they would boycott it. But that's been pretty much it. In general the entire reaction has been favorable. I hear from a lot of people in my industry who don't want to be quoted, but say 'yeah, we're aware of this and we'd like to see a change too.'"

Writing and editing

In addition to being an award-winning singer-songwriter, Ian writes science fiction. A long-time reader of the genre, she got into science fiction fandom in 2001, attending the Millennium Philcon. Her short stories have been published in anthologies, and she co-edited, with Mike Resnick, the anthology ''Stars: Original Stories Based on the Songs of Janis Ian'', published in 2003 (ISBN 978-0-7564-0177-1). She also occasionally attends science fiction conventions.

Ian has been a regular columnist for, and still contributes to the LGBT news magazine, ''The Advocate''. She has a selection of her columns available on her website. She also contributed a column to ''Performing Songwriter'' magazine from 1995 through 2003.

On July 24, 2008, Janis Ian released her autobiography ''Society's Child'' (published by Penguin Tarcher) to much critical acclaim. An accompanying double CD, ''The Autobiography Collection'', has also been released with many of Ian's best loved songs.

Personal life

Ian married Portuguese filmmaker Tino Sargo in 1978; they divorced in 1983. Details of Sargo's physical and emotional abuse were discussed in Ian's autobiography, ''Society's Child''. After moving to Nashville, she met Patricia Snyder in 1989. Ian has a stepdaughter by Snyder, and two grandchildren. Snyder and Ian were married in Toronto on August 27, 2003.

Ian is also a pilot, and has her own light plane.

Ian's mother, Pearl, was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 1975. To deal with her disease, Ian and her brother convinced Pearl to pursue her lifelong dream of going to college. Pearl eventually enrolled in Goddard College's adult education program, ultimately graduating with a Master's degree. After Pearl's death, Ian decided to auction off merchandise and raise money to endow a scholarship at Goddard specifically for older continuing education students. This began what became the Pearl Foundation, which funds scholarships at other colleges including Warren Wilson. .

Discography

Albums

''Janis Ian'' (1967) #29 US (Verve)

''For All the Seasons of Your Mind'' (1967) #179 US (Verve)

''The Secret Life of J. Eddy Fink'' (1968) (Verve)

''Who Really Cares'' (1969) (Verve)

''Present Company'' (1971) #223 US (Capitol)

''Stars'' (1974) #83 US, #63 (Columbia)

''Between the Lines'' (1975) #1 US, #22 Japan (Columbia, Festival)

''Aftertones'' (1976) #12 US, #1 Japan (Columbia)

''Miracle Row'' (1977) #45 US, #26 Japan (Columbia)

''Janis Ian'' (1978) (Columbia)

''Night Rains'' (1979) (Columbia)

''Restless Eyes'' (1981) #156 US (Columbia)

''Uncle Wonderful'' (1983) (Festival) (Australia only)

''Breaking Silence'' (1993) (Morgan Creek)

''Simon Renshaw Presents: Janis Ian Shares Your Pain'' (1995) (not released until 12.09)

''Revenge'' (1995) (Beacon)

''Hunger'' (1997) (Windham Hill)

''god & the fbi'' (2000) (Windham Hill)

''god & the fbi'' (3 Bonus Tracks) (2000) (JVC Japan)

''Lost Cuts 1'' (2001) (Rude Girl)

''Billie's Bones'' (2004) (Oh Boy, Rude Girl Cooking Vinyl US)

''Breaking Silence'' (Bonus Track) (2003) (Rude Girl, Cooking Vinyl UK)

''Hunger'' (Bonus Track) (2003) (Festival, Cooking Vinyl UK)

''Stars'' (Bonus Track) (2004) (Festival, Cooking Vinyl)

''Between the Lines'' (Bonus Track) (2004) (Festival, Cooking Vinyl UK)

''Aftertones'' (Bonus Track) (2004) (Festival, Cooking Vinyl UK)

''Miracle Row'' (Bonus Track) (2004) (Festival, Cooking Vinyl UK)

''Janis Ian (1978)'' (Bonus Track) (2004) (Festival, Cooking Vinyl UK)

''Night Rains'' (Bonus Track) (2004) (Festival, Cooking Vinyl UK)

''Billie's Bones'' (Bonus Track) (2004) (JVC Japan)

''Folk is the New Black'' (2006) (Rude Girl)

''Folk is the New Black'' (With DVD) (2006) (Evasound)

''Revenge'' (Bonus Track) (2006) (Cooking Vinyl UK 2003) (WEA)

Compilation albums

''Remember'' (1978) (JVC Japan)

''The Best of Janis Ian'' (1980) (CBS)

''My Favourites'' (1980) (CBS)

''Stars/Night Rains'' (Double Album) (1987) (CBS)

''At Seventeen'' (1990) (CBS)

''Up 'Til Now'' (1992) (Sony)

''Society's Child: The Verve Recordings'' (1995) (Polydor)

''Live on the Test 1976'' (1995) (BBC World Wide)

''Unreleased 1: Mary's Eyes'' (1998) (Rude Girl)

''The Bottom Line Encore Collection'' (1999) (Velvet)

''The Best of Janis Ian'' (2002) (Festival)

''Live: Working Without a Net'' (2003) (Rude Girl)

''Souvenirs: Best of 1972-1981 (US CD)'' (2004) (Rude Girl)

''Souvenirs: Best of 1972-1981 (Japan CD)'' (2004) (JVC Japan)

''Souvenirs: Best of 1972-1981 (CD/DVD)'' (2006) (Evasound)

''Unreleased 2: Take No Prisoners'' (2006) (Rude Girl)

''Unreleased 3: Society's Child'' (2006) (Rude Girl)

''Ultimate Best'' (2007) (JVC Victory)

''Best of Janis Ian: Autobiography Collection'' (2008) (Rude Girl)

''The Essential Janis Ian'' (2009)

Various artists

Singles

Year	Title	!align="center" width="40"	!align="center" width="40"	!align="center" width="40"	!align="center" width="40"	!align="center" width="40"
	align="left"

DVDs

''Live at Club Cafe'' (2005) (Rude Girl)

''Janismania'' (2005) (Rude Girl)

''Through the Years: A Retrospective'' (2007) (Rude Girl)

''Janis Ian '79: Live in Japan & Australia'' (2008) (Rude Girl)

Bibliography

''Who Really Cares: Poems From Childhood and Early Youth'' 1969 (2002 re-release) ISBN 978-1-930709-37-9

''Songbook '' 1999 ISBN 978-0-7692-0148-1

''Stars: Original Stories Based on the Songs of Janis Ian'' 2003 ISBN 978-0-7564-0177-1 (ed., with Mike Resnick)

"Prayerville" 2003 (in ''Women Writing Science Fiction As Men'', ed. Mike Resnick and Martin H. Greenberg ISBN 978-0-7564-0148-1)

''Society's Child: My Autobiography'', 2008, Tarcher/Penguin; ISBN 1-58542-675-X; ISBN 978-1-58542-675-1

References

External links

Official website

Janis Ian's Pearl Foundation

Janis Ian at the Internet Speculative Fiction Database

Janis Ian archive at ''NPR Music''

Janis Ian interview on Slashdot, 2002

2006 interview

Category:1951 births Category:Living people Category:20th-century women writers Category:21st-century women writers Category:American child singers Category:American female guitarists Category:American female singers Category:American folk guitarists Category:American folk singers Category:American Jews Category:American memoirists Category:American science fiction writers Category:American women writers Category:Grammy Award winners Category:Jewish American musicians Category:Jewish composers and songwriters Category:Lesbian musicians Category:Lesbian writers Category:LGBT Jews Category:LGBT musicians from the United States Category:LGBT writers from the United States--> Category:Magazine writers Category:People from Essex County, New Jersey Category:Science fiction fans

da:Janis Ian de:Janis Ian fr:Janis Ian ko:재니스 이언 he:ג'ניס איאן nl:Janis Ian ja:ジャニス・イアン pl:Janis Ian pt:Janis Ian simple:Janis Ian sv:Janis Ian uk:Дженіс Йен zh:珍妮斯·艾恩

Eddie Rayner (born Anthony Edward Charles Rayner on 19 November 1952), is a New Zealand musician who has played in bands such as Split Enz, Space Waltz, Crowded House, The Makers and 801.

He has also released two solo albums. The first, ''Horse'', was an instrumental offering released in 1995, recorded entirely at Rayner's home studio in Melbourne, Australia. The second was entitled ''Play it Straight'', a play on a Philip Judd Split Enz song called ''Play it Strange'' that was a particular favourite of Rayner's during the mid- to late-1970s. The song never made an album, but was played live when Judd rejoined the band in 1977. ''Play it Straight'' consisted of re-arranged and re-recorded versions of material gleaned from other New Zealand composers.

Rayner's keyboard talents were a notable part of the Split Enz sound. Paul McCartney caught one of their shows in 1979 and became a fan of the band, eventually inviting Rayner to play keyboards on his 1986 album, ''Press to Play''. Rayner has also produced material for many artists including Models, Margaret Urlich, Margot Smith, and The Exponents, as well as two ENZSO concerts with Split Enz, Dame Kiri Te Kanawa and the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra.

During the late 90's Eddie Rayner decided to take the Split Enz songs to an orchestral setting. This sparked the idea for the Enzso project. Along with his synth, the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra, some Newland Singers and some of his old mates from Split Enz, he created orchestral versions for Split Enz songs. The project ended between late 1999 and early 2000.

Recently he has acted as Musical Director for the show ''New Zealand Idol'', and participated in reunions of Split Enz and Space Waltz. He is currently a member of the 1960's cover band The Con-Rays.

Gear

During the career of Split Enz, Eddie used a wide, changing array of keyboards. Mainstays during the Enz days were a Yamaha CP-80, a Yamaha CS-80, and a Prophet 5. When he played keyboards for Crowded House on tour during the late 1980's, he was seen to be using a Yamaha DX7 and a Yamaha Clavinova of some type. Lately, when touring with the Enz, Eddie used a Yamaha Motif and a Clavia Nord Wave.

See also

Grand Central Band

External links

Myspace page

References

Chunn, Mike, ''Stranger Than Fiction: The Life and Times of Split Enz'', GP Publications, 1992. ISBN 1-86956-050-7

Bourke, Chris, ''Something So Strong'', Macmillan Australia, 1997, ISBN 0-7329-0886-8

Dix, John, ''Stranded in Paradise: New Zealand Rock and Roll, 1955 to the Modern Era'', Penguin Books, 2005, ISBN 0-14-301953-8

Eddie Rayner Bio

Enzso project

Eddie Rayner's Official Website

Category:1952 births Category:Living people Category:Crowded House members Category:New Zealand musicians Category:Split Enz members Category:New Zealand Idol Category:People from Wellington City

pt:Eddie Rayner sv:Eddie Rayner

Coordinates	28°36′36″N77°13′48″N
Name	Sinéad O'Connor
Background	solo_singer
Birth name	Sinéad Marie Bernadette O'Connor
Origin	Glenageary, County Dublin, Ireland
Birth date	December 08, 1966
Genre	Alternative rock, pop rock, folk rock
Occupation	Singer-songwriter, musician, priest
Years active	1986–present
Instrument	Vocals, guitar, piano, keyboards, percussion, low whistle
First album	''The Lion and the Cobra'' (1987)
Notable songs	"Nothing Compares 2 U" (1990)
Label	Ensign, Vanguard, Chocolate and Vanilla
Website	Official website }}

Sinéad Marie Bernadette O'Connor (; born 8 December 1966) is an Irish singer-songwriter. She rose to fame in the late 1980s with her debut album ''The Lion and the Cobra'' and achieved worldwide success in 1990 with a cover of the song "Nothing Compares 2 U".

Since then, she has occasionally encountered controversy, partly due to her forthright statements and gestures, ordination as a priest despite being female with a Roman Catholic background, and expressed strong views on organized religion, women's rights, war, and child abuse while still maintaining a singing career.

Her body of work includes a number of collaborations with other artists and appearances at charity fundraising concerts, in addition to her own solo albums.

Early life

Sinéad O'Connor was born in Glenageary in County Dublin and was named after Sinéad de Valera, wife of Irish President Éamon de Valera and mother of the doctor presiding over the delivery, and Saint Bernadette of Lourdes. She is the middle of five children, sister to Joseph, Eimear, John, and Eoin. Joseph O'Connor is a novelist.

Her parents are Sean O'Connor, a structural engineer later turned barrister, and Marie O'Connor. The couple married young and had a troubled relationship, separating when Sinéad was eight. The three eldest children went to live with their mother, where O'Connor claims they were subjected to frequent physical abuse. Her song "Fire on Babylon" is about the effects of her own child abuse, and she has consistently advocated on behalf of abused children. Sean O'Connor's efforts to secure custody of his children in a country which routinely gave custody to the mother and prohibited divorce motivated him to become chairman of the Divorce Action Group and a prominent public spokesman. At one point, he even debated his own wife on the subject on a radio show.

In 1979, O'Connor left her mother and went to live with her father and his new wife. However, her shoplifting and truancy led to her being placed in a Magdalene Asylum at age 15, the Grianán Training Centre run by the Sisters of Our Lady of Charity. In some ways, she thrived there, especially in writing and music, but she also chafed under the imposed conformity. Unruly students there were sometimes sent to sleep in the adjoining nursing home, an experience of which she later commented, "I have never — and probably will never — experience such panic and terror and agony over anything."

One of the volunteers at Grianán was the sister of Paul Byrne, drummer for the band In Tua Nua, who heard O'Connor singing "Evergreen" by Barbra Streisand. She recorded a song with them called "Take My Hand" but they felt that at 15, she was too young to join the band.

In 1983, her father sent her to Newtown School, an exclusive Quaker boarding school in Waterford, an institution with a much more permissive atmosphere than Grianan. With the help and encouragement of her Irish language teacher, Joseph Falvey, she recorded a four-song demo, with two covers and two of her own songs which later appeared on her first album.

Through an ad she placed in ''Hot Press'' in mid-1984, she met Columb Farrelly. Together they recruited a few other members and formed a band called Ton Ton Macoute, named for the Haitian zombies. The band moved to Waterford briefly while O'Connor attended Newtown, but she soon dropped out of school and followed them to Dublin, where their performances received positive reviews. Their sound was inspired by Farrelly's interest in witchcraft, mysticism, and world music, though most observers thought O'Connor's singing and stage presence was the band's driving force.

On 10 February 1985, O'Connor's mother was killed in a car accident, which despite their strained relationship devastated her. Soon afterward she left the band, which stayed together despite O'Connor's statements to the contrary in later interviews, and moved to London.

Musical career

1980s

O'Connor's time as singer for Ton Ton Macoute brought her to the attention of the music industry, and she was eventually signed by Ensign Records. She also acquired an experienced manager, Fachtna O'Ceallaigh, former head of U2's Mother Records. Soon after she was signed, she embarked on her first major project, providing the vocals for the song "Heroine", which she cowrote with U2's guitarist The Edge for the soundtrack to the film ''Captive''. O'Ceallaigh, who had been fired by U2 for complaining about them in an interview, was outspoken with his comments about music and politics, and O'Connor began to adopt the same habits; she defended the actions of the IRA and said U2's music was "bombastic".

Things were contentious in the studio as well. She was paired with veteran producer Mick Glossop, whom she later publicly derided. They had differing visions regarding her debut album and four months of recordings were scrapped. During this time she became pregnant by her session drummer John Reynolds (who went on to drum with the band Transvision Vamp). Thanks largely to O'Ceallaigh's persuasion, the record company allowed O'Connor, 20 years old and by then seven months pregnant, to produce her own album.

''The Lion and the Cobra'' was not embraced by the pop mainstream on a large-scale basis, but the album did eventually hit gold record status and earned a Best Female Rock Vocal Performance Grammy nomination. The single "Mandinka" was a big college radio hit in the United States, and "I Want Your (Hands on Me)" received both college and urban play in a remixed form that featured rapper MC Lyte. In her first US network television appearance, O'Connor sang "Mandinka" on ''Late Night with David Letterman'' in 1988. The single "Troy" was also released as a single in the UK and Ireland. A club mix of "Troy" would become a major US dance hit in 2002.

1990s

O'Connor's first two albums (1987's ''The Lion and the Cobra'' and 1990's ''I Do Not Want What I Haven't Got'') gained considerable attention and mostly positive reviews. She was praised for her voice and her original songs. She was also noted for her appearance: her trademark shaved head, often angry expression, and sometimes shapeless or unusual clothing.

In 1989 O'Connor joined The The frontman Matt Johnson as a guest vocalist on the band's album ''Mind Bomb'', which spawned the duet "Kingdom of Rain."

The album ''I Do Not Want What I Haven't Got'' featured Marco Pirroni and Kevin Mooney, of Adam and the Ants fame, and contained her international breakthrough hit "Nothing Compares 2 U", a song written by Prince and originally recorded and released by a side project of his, The Family. Aided by a memorable and well received video by John Maybury which consisted almost solely of O'Connor's face as she performed the song, it became a massive international hit, reaching #1 in several countries. In Ireland it hit the top spot in July 1990 and remained there for 11 weeks; it is the eighth most successful single of the decade there. It had similar success in the UK, charting at #1 for 4 weeks, and in Germany (#1 for 11 weeks). In Australia, it reached #1 on the Top 100. It also claimed the #1 spot on the Hot 100 chart in the USA. She also received Grammy nominations including Record of the Year and Best Female Pop Vocal Performance. She eventually won the Grammy for Best Alternative Music Performance, but boycotted the award show.

Public Enemy's Hank Shocklee remixed the album's next single, "The Emperor's New Clothes," for a 12-inch that was coupled with the Celtic funk of "I Am Stretched On Your Grave." Pre-dating but included on ''I Do Not Want What I Haven't Got'' was also "Jump in the River," which originally appeared on the ''Married to the Mob'' soundtrack; the 12-inch version of the single had included a remix featuring performance artist Karen Finley. Also in 1990, O'Connor starred in a small independent Irish movie ''Hush-a-Bye Baby'' directed in Derry by Margo Harkin.

In 1990, she joined many other guests for former Pink Floyd member Roger Waters' massive performance of ''The Wall'' in Berlin. (In 1996, she would guest on ''Broken China'', a solo album by Richard Wright of Pink Floyd.) In 1991, her take on Elton John's "Sacrifice" was acclaimed as one of the best efforts on the tribute album ''Two Rooms: Celebrating the Songs of Elton John & Bernie Taupin''.

In 1990, she contributed a cover of "You Do Something to Me" to the Cole Porter tribute/AIDS fundraising album ''Red Hot + Blue'' produced by the Red Hot Organization. In 1998, she worked again with the Red Hot Organization to co-produce and perform on ''Red Hot + Rhapsody''. ''Red Hot + Blue'' was followed by the release of ''Am I Not Your Girl?'', an album of standards and torch songs that she had listened to while growing up. Also in 1992, she contributed backing vocals on the track "Come Talk To Me", and shared vocals on the single "Blood of Eden" from the studio album ''Us'' by Peter Gabriel.

Also in 1990, she was criticized after she announced that she would not perform if the United States national anthem was played before one of her concerts. Frank Sinatra threatened to "kick her ass". After receiving 4 Grammy Award nominations she withdrew her name from consideration.

After spending nine years dividing her time between London and Los Angeles, O'Connor returned to her home town of Dublin in late 1992 to live near her sister and focus on raising her son Jake, then six years old. She spent the following months studying Bel Canto singing with teacher Frank Merriman at the Parnell School of Music. In an interview with ''The Guardian'' published 3 May 1993 she reported that her singing lessons with Merriman were the only therapy she was receiving, describing Merriman as "the most amazing teacher in the universe."

The 1993 soundtrack to the film ''In the Name of the Father'' featured "You Made Me the Thief of Your Heart," with significant contributions from U2 frontman Bono.

The more conventional ''Universal Mother'' (1994) did not succeed in restoring her mass appeal. She toured with Lollapalooza in 1995, but dropped out when she became pregnant. The ''Gospel Oak'' EP followed in 1997, and featured songs based in an acoustic setting. It too, did not recapture previous album successes.

In 1994, she appeared in ''A Celebration: The Music of Pete Townshend and The Who'', also known as ''Daltrey Sings Townshend''. This was a two-night concert at Carnegie Hall produced by Roger Daltrey of The Who in celebration of his 50th birthday. A CD and a VHS video of the concert were issued in 1994, followed by a DVD in 1998.

She appeared in Neil Jordan's ''The Butcher Boy'' in 1997, playing the Virgin Mary.

2000s

''Faith and Courage'' was released in 2000, including the single "No Man's Woman," and featured contributions from Wyclef Jean of the Fugees and Dave Stewart of Eurythmics. On the eve of its release, O'Connor came out as a lesbian, and then retracted the statement.

Her 2002 album, ''Sean-Nós Nua'', marked a departure in that O'Connor interpreted or, in her own words, "sexed up" traditional Irish folk songs, including several in the Irish language. In ''Sean-Nós Nua'', she covered a well-known Canadian folk song, Peggy Gordon, interpreted as a song of lesbian, rather than heterosexual, love. In her documentary, ''Song of Hearts Desire'', she stated that her inspiration for the song was her friend, a lesbian who sang the song to lament the loss of her partner.

In 2003, she contributed a track to the Dolly Parton tribute album ''Just Because I'm a Woman'', a cover of Parton's "Dagger Through the Heart". That same year, she released a double album, ''She Who Dwells in the Secret Place of the Most High Shall Abide Under the Shadow of the Almighty''. The album contained one disc of demos and previously unreleased tracks and one disc of a live concert recording. Directly after the album's release, O'Connor announced her retirement from music. ''Collaborations'', a compilation album of guest appearances, was released in 2005 - featuring tracks recorded with Peter Gabriel, Massive Attack, Jah Wobble, Terry Hall, Moby, Bomb The Bass, The Edge, U2, and The The.

Ultimately, after a brief period of inactivity and a bout with fibromyalgia, her retirement proved to be short-lived - O'Connor stated in an interview with ''Harp'' that she only intended to retire from making mainstream pop/rock music, and after dealing with her fibromyalgia, chose to move into other musical styles. The reggae album ''Throw Down Your Arms'' appeared in late 2005 and was greeted with positive reviews. It was based on the Rastafarian culture and lifestyle, O'Connor having spent time in Jamaica in 2004. She performed the single "Throw Down Your Arms" on ''The Late Late Show'' in November. She also made comments critical of the war in Iraq and the role played in it by Ireland's Shannon Airport.

On 8 November 2006, O'Connor performed seven songs from her upcoming album ''Theology'' at The Sugar Club in Dublin. Thirty fans were given the opportunity to win pairs of tickets to attend along with music industry critics. The performance was released in 2008 as Live in The Sugar Club CD/DVD sold exclusively on her website.

O'Connor released two songs from her album ''Theology'' to download for free from her official website: "If You Had a Vineyard" and "Jeremiah (Something Beautiful)". The album, a collection of covered and original Rastafari spiritual songs, was released in June 2007. The first single from the album, the Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber classic "I Don't Know How to Love Him", was released on 30 April 2007. To promote the album, O'Connor toured extensively in Europe and North America. She also appeared on two tracks of the new Ian Brown album ''The World Is Yours'', including the anti-war single "Illegal Attacks".

She toured Europe during 2008 and 2009, performing mainly ''Theology'' material in an intimate, acoustic setting. She also performed "Troy" live for the first time since 1990, along with "Nothing Compares 2 U" and "Dark I Am Yet Lovely" as part of the Night of the Proms concert series in Antwerps, Belgium.

''I Do Not Want What I Haven't Got'' was reissued in 2009 with an accompanying bonus disc containing B-sides and previously unreleased material.

2010s

In January 2010, O'Connor performed a duet with R&B; singer Mary J. Blige produced by former A Tribe Called Quest member Ali Shaheed Muhammad entitled "This Is To Mother You". The proceeds of the song's sales were donated to the organization GEMS (Girls Educational and Mentoring Services).

O'Connor announced she was working with Marco Pirroni and John Reynolds on recording a new album, described as "a guitar based electric album (..) with songs about love". The forthcoming album, entitled ''Home'', will be released on 5 September.

Controversy

''Saturday Night Live'' performance

On 3 October 1992, O'Connor appeared on ''Saturday Night Live'' as a musical guest. She sang an a cappella version of Bob Marley's "War", which she intended as a protest over the sexual abuse in the Roman Catholic Church, by changing the lyric "racism" to "child abuse." She then presented a photo of Pope John Paul II to the camera while singing the word "evil", after which she tore the photo into pieces, said "Fight the real enemy", and threw the pieces towards the camera.

''Saturday Night Live'' had no foreknowledge of O'Connor's plan; during the dress rehearsal she held up a photo of a refugee child. NBC Vice President of Late Night Rick Ludwin recalled that when he saw O'Connor's action he "literally jumped out of [his] chair." ''SNL'' writer Paula Pell recalled personnel in the control booth discussing the cameras cutting away from the singer. The audience was completely silent, with no booing or applause; executive producer Lorne Michaels recalled that "the air went out the studio". Michaels, who ordered that the applause sign not be used, described the incident as "on a certain level, a betrayal", but also "a serious expression of belief."

A nationwide audience saw O'Connor's live performance, which the ''New York Daily News''s cover called a "HOLY TERROR". NBC received more than 500 calls on Sunday and 400 more on Monday, with all but seven criticizing O'Connor; the network received 4,400 calls in total. Contrary to rumor, NBC was not fined by the Federal Communications Commission for O'Connor's act; the FCC has no regulatory power over blasphemy. NBC did not edit the performance out of the West coast tape-delayed broadcast that night, but reruns of the episode use footage from the dress rehearsal. On 24 April 2010, MSNBC aired the live version during an interview with O'Connor on ''The Rachel Maddow Show''. In 1993 issue of The Irish Times O'Connor wrote a public letter where she asked people to "stop hurting" her.

As part of ''SNL'''s apology to the audience, during his opening monologue the following week, host Joe Pesci held up the photo, explaining that he had taped it back together. Pesci also said that if it had been his show, "I would have gave her such a smack."

In a 2002 interview with Salon, when asked if she would change anything about the ''SNL'' appearance, O'Connor replied, "Hell, no!" In 2010, TV Guide Network listed the incident at No. 24 on their list of ''25 Biggest TV Blunders''.

Madonna's reaction

On Madonna's next appearance on ''SNL'' (on an episode hosted by Harvey Keitel), after singing "Bad Girl", she held up a photo of Joey Buttafuoco and, saying "fight the real enemy," tore it up. Madonna also roundly attacked O'Connor in the press for the incident, telling the Irish Times: "I think there is a better way to present her ideas rather than ripping up an image that means a lot to other people." She added, "If she is against the Roman Catholic Church and she has a problem with them, I think she should talk about it." The New York Times called it "professional jealousy" and wrote that: "After Madonna had herself gowned, harnessed, strapped down and fully stripped to promote her album ''Erotica'' and her book ''Sex'', O'Connor stole the spotlight with one photograph of a fully clothed man. But the other vilification that descended on O'Connor showed she had struck a nerve." Bob Guccione, Jr. in a 1993 SPIN editorial was adamant in his defense of O'Connor, writing, "...Madonna savaged her in the press, obviously to fuel publicity for ''Sex'' and sales of her new album, ''Erotica'' .... But when the Sinead controversy threatened to siphon some of the attention from the impending release of ''Sex'', Madonna conveniently found religion again..." In November 1991, a year prior to the incident, O'Connor had told Spin Magazine: "Madonna is probably the hugest role model for women in America. There's a woman who people look up to as being a woman who campaigns for women's rights. A woman who in an abusive way towards me, said that I look like I had a run in with a lawnmower and that I was about as sexy as a Venetian blind. Now there's the woman that America looks up to as being a campaigner for women, slagging off another woman..."

Bob Dylan tribute performance

Two weeks after the ''Saturday Night Live'' appearance, she was set to perform "I Believe in You" at the Bob Dylan 30th Anniversary tribute concert in Madison Square Garden. She was greeted by a thundering mixture of cheers and jeers. During the booing, Kris Kristofferson told her not to "let the bastards get you down," to which she replied, "I'm not down." The noise eventually became so loud that O'Connor saw no point in starting the scheduled song. She called for the keyboard player to stop and the microphone to be turned up, and then screamed over the audience with an improvised, shouted rendition of "War". This time, she sang the song, stopping just after the part in which the lyrics talk about child abuse, emphasizing the point of her previous action. She then looked straight to the audience for a second and left the stage. Kristofferson then comforted her, as she cried.

Garden State Arts Center performance

On 24 August 1990, O'Connor was scheduled to perform at the then-Garden State (now PNC Bank) Arts Center in Holmdel, New Jersey. The practice of the venue was to play a recording of the American national anthem before the show began. O'Connor, who said she was unaware of this practice until shortly before the show was to begin, refused to go on if the anthem was played. Venue officials acquiesced to her demand and omitted the anthem, and so O'Connor performed, but they later permanently banned her.

O'Connor said that she had a policy of not having the national anthem of any country played before her concerts, explaining that these were often written and composed during wars and amounted to nationalist tirades. She pointed out that she meant "no disrespect," but added that she "will not go on stage after the national anthem of a country which imposes censorship on artists. It's hypocritical and racist."

The incident made tabloid headlines, and O'Connor drew tabloid-derived criticism. Her songs were banned from some radio stations.

''After Dark'' appearance

In January 1995 O'Connor "was so interested in a (television) discussion about abuse and the Catholic church that she rang in to ask if she could appear. They sent a taxi to her home". The ''Evening Standard'' wrote that ''After Dark ''"made a brief reappearance last Saturday night when, true to its unpredictable form, Sinéad O'Connor walked on to the set 10 minutes before closedown". Host Helena Kennedy described the event:

::''On that occasion, former taoiseach, Garret FitzGerald, was sharing the sofas with a Dominican monk and a representative of the Catholic church. “While we were on the air, Sinéad O’Connor called in,”'' says Kennedy. ''“Then I got a message in my earpiece to say she had just turned up at the studio. Sinéad came on and argued that abuse in families was coded in by the church because it refused to accept the accounts of women and children,” says Kennedy.

Personal life

While she initially chose her bald look as a statement against the traditional view of women, years later, O'Connor said she had tried to grow her hair back; after being asked if she was Enya, O'Connor shaved it off again. "I don't feel like me unless I have my hair shaved. So even when I'm an old lady, I'm going to have it."

Romantic and family life

She has been married three times. Her first marriage was to music producer John Reynolds, who co-produced several of her albums, including ''Universal Mother''. They have one child together. They split up on good terms and Reynolds continues to work as her producer and drummer. Her second marriage was to journalist Nicholas Sommerlad in 2002. For a period during 2006 and early 2007, she had a relationship with Frank Bonadio, the father of her fourth child (see below) O'Connor acknowledged to Paul Martin in the ''Irish Daily Mirror'' that the two had separated as of the weekend of 17 February 2007, citing difficulties between Bonadio and his former wife, singer Mary Coughlan. O'Connor married long time friend and collaborator Steve Cooney on 22 July 2010.

She has four children: a son, Jake Reynolds, by her first husband; a daughter, Brigidine Róisíne Waters, born 6 March 1996, by ''The Irish Times'' columnist John Waters; another son, Shane, born 10 March 2004, whose father is Irish folk musician and record producer Dónal Lunny; and her fourth child, Yeshua Francis Neil, born on 19 December 2006 whose father is her former partner Frank Bonadio.

Sexuality

In a 2000 interview in ''Curve'', O'Connor outed herself as a lesbian, "I'm a dyke ... although I haven't been very open about that and throughout most of my life I've gone out with blokes because I haven't necessarily been terribly comfortable about being a big lesbian mule. But I actually am a dyke." However, soon after in an interview in ''The Independent'', she stated, "I believe it was overcompensating of me to declare myself a lesbian. It was not a publicity stunt. I was trying to make someone else feel better. And have subsequently caused pain for myself. I am not in a box of any description." In a magazine article and in a programme on RTÉ (''Ryan Confidential'', broadcast on RTÉ on 29 May 2003), she stated that while most of her sexual relationships had been with men, she has had three relationships with women. In a May 2005 issue of ''Entertainment Weekly'', she stated, "I'm three-quarters heterosexual, a quarter gay. I lean a bit more towards the hairy blokes".

Health

On an 4 October 2007 broadcast of ''The Oprah Winfrey Show'', O'Connor disclosed that she had been diagnosed with bipolar disorder four years earlier, and had attempted suicide on her 33rd birthday on 8 December 1999.

Religion

In the late 1990s, Bishop Michael Cox of the Irish Orthodox Catholic and Apostolic Church (an Independent Catholic group not in communion with the Roman Catholic Church) ordained Sinéad as a priest. The Roman Catholic Church considers ordination of women to be either invalid, impossible, or both and asserts that a person attempting the sacrament of ordination upon a woman incurs excommunication. The bishop had contacted her to offer ordination following her appearance on the RTÉ's ''Late Late Show,'' during which she told the presenter, Gay Byrne, that had she not been a singer, she would have wished to have been a Catholic priest. After her ordination, she indicated that she wished to be called ''Mother Bernadette Mary.'' In an October 2002 interview with Salon.com, she credited her Christian faith in giving her the strength to live through and then overcome her child abuse.

On 26 March 2010, O'Connor appeared on ''Anderson Cooper 360°'' to speak out about the Catholic sexual abuse scandal in Ireland. On 28 March 2010, she had an opinion piece published in the Sunday Edition of the Washington Post where she wrote about the Catholic sex abuse scandal and her time in a Magdalene laundry as a teenager. She wrote an article for the ''Sunday Independent'' newspaper of 17 July 2011 in response to the sexual abuse scandal in Cloyne diocese in which she described the Vatican as "a nest of devils". She wrote that an alternate church might have to be established because "Christ is being murdered by liars" in the Vatican.

Political beliefs

O'Connor is a pacifist and, as such, she supports Ireland's tradition of neutrality in foreign wars.

Discography

1987: ''The Lion and the Cobra''

1990: ''I Do Not Want What I Haven't Got''

1992: ''Am I Not Your Girl?''

1994: ''Universal Mother''

2000: ''Faith and Courage''

2002: ''Sean-Nós Nua''

2005: ''Throw Down Your Arms''

2007: ''Theology''

2011: ''Home''

Quotation

''NME'' - March 1991

References

Further reading

Guterman, Jimmy. ''Sinéad : Her Life and Music''. Warner Books, 1991. ISBN 0-446-39254-5.

Hayes, Dermott. ''Sinéad O'Connor: So Different''. Omnibus, 1991. ISBN 0-7119-2482-1.

External links

Official site

Category:1966 births Category:Living people Category:Bisexual musicians Category:BRIT Award winners Category:Celtic fusion musicians Category:Dance musicians Category:Female guitarists Category:Feminist musicians Category:Grammy Award winners Category:Irish Catholics Category:Irish female singers Category:Irish pop singers Category:Irish singer-songwriters Category:Music from Dublin (city) Category:Chrysalis Records artists Category:LGBT clergy Category:LGBT people from Ireland Category:People from Dublin (city) Category:People with bipolar disorder Category:Irish Christian pacifists Category:English-language singers Category:Irish Christian Universalists Category:Christian Universalist clergy Category:20th-century Christian Universalists Category:21st-century Christian Universalists

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Coordinates	28°36′36″N77°13′48″N
Name	Liam Finn
|caption	Liam Finn at South by Southwest in 2008.
Background	solo_singer
Birth date	September 24, 1983
Instruments	Vocals, guitar, drums, keyboards
Genre	Indie rock, dream pop
Years active	2000–present
Label	Liberation Music (AUS/NZ) Yep Roc Records (USA) Independent Records (Ireland)
Related acts	BetchadupaCrowded House
Past members	}}

Liam Mullane Finn (born 24 September 1983 in Melbourne, Australia) is a New Zealand musician and songwriter. Born in Australia, he moved to New Zealand as a child. He is the son of pop musician Neil Finn (of Split Enz and Crowded House).

Career

Well-known as the frontman of New Zealand band Betchadupa, in 2007 Finn released his solo debut ''I'll Be Lightning'', which draws on his experiences from living in London in recent years. Finn chose to record the album entirely in analogue at his father's recording studio, Roundhead Studios, in Auckland. During concerts, he creates an instrumental layering effect by using a looping effects pedal, the Line6 JM-4 Looper, as well as a Boss Super-Octave 3 to create bass guitar lines; he is also accompanied by backup vocalist and multi-instrumentalist Eliza-Jane Barnes. His first single, "The Struggle," was released 21 February, and he also announced a small number of shows in New Zealand along with a 14-date North American tour. Finn will be touring with his new full band named 'Liam Finn and the Come Agains.' His second album, ''FOMO'', was released in June 2011.

Live shows

Finn has toured the world several times performing with Wilco, Eddie Vedder, Pearl Jam and The Black Keys, as well as at numerous festivals. He has also performed at such famous venues as La Paradiso, Largo, Bowery Ballroom, Scala, The Corner and the steps of the Sydney Opera House among many others.

thumb|right|300px|Liam Finn at age 3 with father Neil Finn (and Eddie Rayner at the keyboard) in April 1987 during one of Crowded House's US tours.In 2008 & 2009, Finn opened for Eddie Vedder's solo tour throughout America. Finn also headlined his first North American tour and head on the road with The Black Keys in November 2008 in the UK and Europe. At the Dutch Crossing Border Festival he met Yuri Landman and borrowed a drum guitar, which he used on stage in Holland and Germany. Afterwards Landman invented a new instrument for him, a 24 string electric cymbalum called the Tafelberg, which he incorporated at his stage performances.

In December 2008 and January 2009, he participated on the recording sessions of the second album of 7 Worlds Collide.

Finn played at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on 14 March 2009 for Sound Relief, a multi-venue rock music concert in support of relief for the Victorian Bushfire Crisis. The event was held simultaneously with a concert at the Sydney Cricket Ground. All the proceeds from the Melbourne Concert will go to the Red Cross Victorian Bushfire relief. Appearing with Finn in Melbourne were Augie March, Bliss N Eso with Paris Wells, Gabriella Cilmi, Hunters & Collectors, Jack Johnson, Kasey Chambers & Shane Nicholson with Troy Cassar-Daley, Kings Of Leon, Jet, Midnight Oil, Paul Kelly, Split Enz and Wolfmother.

In August 2009, Finn performed with a new band called BARB on a small New Zealand tour with a band consisting of Connan Hosford (Connan and the Mockasins), James Milne (Lawrence Arabia), Eliza Jane Barnes, Seamus Ebbs, Jol Mulholland and Wild Bill Rickets. Their album (recorded at Roundhead Studios in Auckland) will be released 24 August 2010.

With Neil Finn and Crowded House

Finn and his father Neil covered The Beatles song "Two of Us" for the European version of the ''I Am Sam'' film soundtrack. Finn also contributed a song, "Lucid Dream", to the soundtrack of 2001 movie ''Rain'', a film that was directed by Christine Jeffs.

After the reunion of the band Crowded House in early 2007, Finn became part of its touring band for the ''Time on Earth'' tour, playing concerts such as Coachella Festival and Live Earth in Sydney. He has appeared with the band occasionally on later tours.

Finn, along with his brother Elroy, performed with Neil during the WOMADelaide 2009 in Botanic Park in Adelaide.

Finn and Neil performed with Pearl Jam's Eddie Vedder during Pearl Jam's Auckland concert at Mount Smart Stadium on 27 November 2009.

They sang the Chris Knox song "Not Given Lightly" dedicating the song to Chris who is recovering from a stroke. On 29 November 2009 Finn and his father also sung together (along with Pearl Jam, Ben Harper and EJ Barnes) at Christchurch's AMI Stadium. They sang "Better Be Home Soon" and the Split Enz classic "I Got You".

References

Discography

Solo

Albums

''I'll Be Lightning'' (2007) – UK #88; USA#13 Heatseekers

''Champagne In Seashells'' EP (2009)

''FOMO'' (2011)

Live albums

Live (in Spaceland) – 22 February 2008, Spaceland Recordings

Live From The Wiltern – (2008) Yep Roc Records

With BARB

Barb, August 2010

External links

Official Website

Liam Finn Myspace

Liberation Music

Category:1983 births Category:Living people Category:New Zealand pop singers Category:New Zealand rock singers Category:New Zealand songwriters Category:New Zealand expatriates in Australia Category:New Zealand expatriates in the United Kingdom Category:New Zealand people of Irish descent

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