BBC South East

Headquarters	Tunbridge Wells
Broadcast area	East Sussex, Kent, Brighton & Hove, Surrey(part) West Sussex(part)
Nation	BBC English Regions
TV transmitters	Bluebell Hill Dover Heathfield Whitehawk
Radio stations in this area	BBC Radio Kent BBC Surrey BBC Sussex
Key people	Mick Rawsthorne (Head of Regional & Local Programmes) Quentin Smith

BBC South East is the BBC English Region serving East Sussex, Kent, Brighton & Hove and parts of Surrey and West Sussex.

The BBC region was created in September 2001 by the joining of the Heathfield transmitter (formerly part of the BBC South region) with the Bluebell Hill and Dover transmitters (from the former BBC London and South East region) to form a new regional TV service. Unlike ITV Meridian, it does not serve South Essex (received from a Bluebell Hill overlap), this area being part of the BBC London region instead.

Services[link]

Television[link]

BBC South East's television output consists of the flagship regional news service South East Today and the topical magazine programme Inside Out. A 20-minute opt-out during Sunday Politics is produced by an independent production company from an office in Brighton. A late night football magazine show Late Kick Off is co-produced with BBC London.

Radio[link]

The region is the controlling centre for BBC Radio Kent, BBC Surrey and BBC Sussex.

Radio Kent carries local programming between 6am and 7pm from the Tunbridge Wells studio, then simulcasts networked programming along with stations in the BBC South and South East regions until 1am every night. BBC Sussex and BBC Surrey each carry three hours a day of local programming for each county from 6am to 9am, sharing the remainder of their output between 9am and 7pm, then joining with other stations in the BBC South and BBC South East regions at 7pm.

Online and Interactive[link]

BBC South East also produces regional news & local radio pages for Ceefax, BBC Red Button and BBC Local websites for each county.

History[link]

Prior to 2001, London and the South East had been considered part of the same editorial region by the BBC, and as a result a single regional service, including news programmes London Plus (1984-1989) and Newsroom South East (1989-2001), had covered the larger editorial area. London had not been afforded the same 'regional' status as the other BBC regions as the bulk of the national content was produced in the capital. This was reflected in the fact that for many years there were no specialist presenters for the region, with national presenters being used. As a result, the region had fewer local bulletins, with local news being read from the Nationwide studio during the regional opt-outs. This was slightly addressed with the creation of London Plus, but the large region and fewer regional operatives meant the service was still far from ideal.

The size of the region was scaled back in stages, starting in 1993 when the Heathfield transmitter serving East Sussex was switched from BBC South East to BBC South, reducing the region to just London, Kent and the surrounding area. On 16 October 2000, the areas around Oxford were transferred from BBC South East to a new, special opt out from BBC South's South Today.

Following the BBC's South East Review of 2001, the London and South East arrangements changed, with BBC London split off as a separate entity and Heathfield viewers rejoining Bluebell Hill and Dover in a new smaller BBC South East region, launched on 3 September 2001.

Following digital switchover in the south on 7th March 2012, the Whitehawk transmitter in Brighton transferred from the BBC South region to BBC South East. The network has been broadcasting around the fringes of Brighton and Hove prior to switchover and has always been part of the region's remit since 2001; BBC South East now broadcasts terrestrially to the whole city extending along the coast as far as Worthing.

Studios[link]

The Great Hall, Tunbridge Wells

The regional broadcasting centre is based in Tunbridge Wells, Kent with local radio studios and television bureaux located in Brighton and Guildford and smaller offices in Hastings, Chatham and Dover. BBC South East is the only one of the BBC regions not based in a major city.

The Tunbridge Wells studios are located within The Great Hall within the town, an historic building which was previously used as public rooms, photography studios, a performance venue, a cinema, a dancing school and until 1980, a nightclub called Carriages. In 1980, the building was severely damaged by fire which nearly caused irreparable damage. It was renovated and bought and now contains an arcade of shops, a hidden car park and the headquarters of BBC South East and BBC Radio Kent. The studios, as is now the trend with most modern developments, can be viewed by the public through tours or through the display windows into the offices from the public areas. The complex also contains a BBC Shop alongside the operations.

See Also[link]

BBC portal

• BBC Oxford News
• BBC London

External links[link]

• BBC Local News at BBC Online
• BBC South East Today at BBC Online

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Look up southeast in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

Southeast or south east is the ordinal direction halfway between east and south, the opposite of northwest.

Southeast, south east, or Southeastern may also refer to:

Places[link]

• South-East District, Botswana
• Southeast Region, Brazil
• South-East Region, Ireland
• South East England
• South East San Diego, United States
• South-East, Russian SFSR (1920–1924), a former administrative division
• South East District, Singapore
• South East London (disambiguation)
• Southeast, New York, United States
• Southeast, Washington, D.C., United States
• Southeastern, Pennsylvania, United States
• Southeastern Vietnam, or Ä?ông Nam Bá»™
• Southeast Township, Indiana, United States
• Southeastern United States
• South East Scotland
• South East Asia

Schools[link]

• Southeastern University (disambiguation)
  • Southeastern University (Washington, D.C.)
• Southeastern Louisiana University
• Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary, North Carolina
• Southeastern University of the Assemblies of God, Florida

Rail transport[link]

• South Eastern Railway (India), an Indian railway zone
• Southeastern (train operating company), a British train company, in service from 2006 through the present
• South Eastern Trains, a British train company, in public ownership, that provided train services from 2003 to 2006
• Connex South Eastern, a British train company in service from 1996 to 2003
• South Eastern Railway (UK), a British railway company formed in 1836

Other uses[link]

• South East Motor Corporation

See also[link]

• Sud-Est (disambiguation)

This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the same title. If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article.

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (August 2011)

Brian Francis Connolly (5 October 1945 – 9 February 1997) ^[1] was a Scottish musician, best known as the lead singer of the British rock band, Sweet.

Early life[link]

Brian Connolly was born in 1945 in Govanhill, Glasgow, (some early Sweet biographies claim he was born in 1949). Whilst the true identity of Brian's father was never made public, his mother was a teenage waitress named Frances Connolly who left him in a Glasgow hospital as an infant whilst possibly suffering effects of meningitis. He was fostered, aged two, by Jim and Helen McManus of Blantyre and took their family name. In his earliest years Connolly was also affectionately known as "snowball" referring to his almost white blonde hair. In a radio interview, Connolly reported that singing was a large part of growing up since there was no television, and that he was regularly called upon to sing for family and friends. Connolly has credited the Everly Brothers as being his earliest musical influence. When Brian was aged about eighteen he inadvertently discovered his lineage and reverted to the name Connolly. Numerous sources have incorrectly asserted that he was a half brother of the late actor Mark McManus (who found fame in the title role of detective series "Taggart") but they were not related. Mark "Taggart" McManus was actually the nephew of Brian's foster father.

Early music career and Sweet[link]

At the age of twelve Connolly moved to Harefield, Middlesex, where Connolly played in a number of local bands before eventually replacing singer Ian Gillan (later of Deep Purple and Black Sabbath fame) in a band called Wainwright's Gentlemen, which included drummer Mick Tucker. Tucker and Connolly left Wainwright's Gentlemen in early 1968 and recruited guitarist Frank Torpey, and bassist Steve Priest, naming their new band The Sweetshop.

On the eve of releasing their debut single, Slow Motion, in July 1968, the band shortened their name to The Sweet. They recorded a further three unsuccessful singles; Andy Scott joined the line-up in late 1970, just before the release of their first hit single "Funny, Funny". After this, Connolly was propelled into the limelight, with many appearances on Top of the Pops, with the other members of the Sweet. A flood of very successful singles would follow and both The Sweet and Connolly became instantly recognisable around the world with Brian enjoying a large fan base.

In 1974 Connolly was badly beaten up after leaving a nightclub in Uxbridge where he received several kicks to his throat which resulted in him being unable to sing for some time and losing some of his vocal range permanently. This event also meant the band missed out on supporting The Who at Charlton Athletic Football Ground. Several songs on the Sweet Fanny Adams had to be sung by other members of the band.

As time progressed issues between Connolly and other members of Sweet developed and he would find the band excluding him from decisions. Brian developed a significant alcohol problem in the mid-1970s. During 1977, when no tours were undertaken and two of Sweet's most successful albums were recorded, the power struggle within to run the band became even more apparent. Brian's alcohol abuse further compromised his role with the band as his voice began showing the impact in recordings and on stage during Sweet's 1978 US tour. He played his last British show with the classic Sweet line-up at Hammersmith Odeon, London on 24 February 1978. His final live performance with the band was in July 1978 in Florida, USA when they supported Alice Cooper. His departure was not made public until March 1979.

After Sweet[link]

Leaving Sweet in March 1979, Connolly did an interview with German music magazine Bravo saying he was taking time off to be with his family and considering a new musical direction (countrified rock.) By mid to late 1979 he had recorded a few new tracks at Chipping Norton Recording Studios, in Oxfordshire, with the assistance of friend and producer Mick Angus. One of the tracks "Take Away The Music" was rerecorded the following year, with then Polydor producer Pip Williams, out at the Marquee Studios, in London. It was issued as Connolly's first solo single during 1980, by Polydor.

Also in 1979 was Connolly's first major appearance since leaving the Sweet, at the Bravo Super Disco '79 event, held at the Olympic Stadium in Munich. 10,000 people heard Connolly perform a sneak peek of his first solo Polydor single: "Take Away The Music". This single is also included on the Polydor Germany "High Life" compilation album from 1980.

Over the next three years Connolly released a handful of singles ("Take Away The Music", "Don't You Know A Lady", and "Hypnotized" which was written by Joe Lynn Turner) but these did not chart. The first two singles were released by Polydor because Connolly was still signed to the label. Interestingly, the second Brian Connolly single "Don't You Know a Lady", which was composed by Roger Greenaway, was also recorded by British four-piece band Brooks shortly after Brian Connolly's release. Again, the track failed to make an impact.

In 1981, Connolly was admitted to hospital with bloating, and he sustained multiple heart attacks. His health was permanently affected with some paralysis on his left side which would later develop into a nervous system condition. These problems were most likely related to Connolly's excessive alcohol consumption, coupled with the use of prescription diuretic medicine.^{[citation needed]}

Thus began Brian Connolly's major problems. The British Inland Revenue served Connolly and the other members of the Sweet with a multi-million pound tax assessment for the income earned off their hit records. Connolly sold his house to pay his share of the tax bill. Shortly after, Connolly separated from his first wife Marilyn, divorcing in 1986. His alcohol abuse continued until 1985, when he quit drinking.

In 1982 the Polydor contract had now expired and Connolly signed with French independent label, Carrere Records. Carrere then released the single "Hypnotized". A Fandango cover, the track was released in Europe with wide distribution by RCA. During this time that Connolly recorded a dozen or so new tracks, most unreleased or demos. The original plan was to have a completed album out by August 1983.

During January 1983, Connolly supported Pat Benatar for three shows including one at Hammersmith Odeon, London. Connolly's Encore, included most of the members of Verity (fronted by ex-Argent guitarist John Verity) and Terry Uttley, bass player from Smokie. Songs played included "Windy City", "Fox on the Run", "Hypnotized" and new numbers, "Sick and Tired", "Red Hair Rage" and "Burning The Candle". These three tracks are available on a bootleg 7" single and CD. The band and Connolly also played two other dates for the Benatar tour in Birmingham and Newcastle.

New Sweet and reunions[link]

From early 1984 onwards, despite recurring ill health, Connolly toured the UK and Europe with his band, now under the name of The New Sweet. His most successful concerts were in West Germany every year, before and after Germany's reunification. He visited other countries including Denmark, and he also continued to perform on and off in the UK.

During 1987, Connolly would meet up again with Frank Torpey, who was the original Sweet lead guitarist from 1968 to 1969. Frank Torpey later explained in interviews that Brian Connolly was trying to get a German recording deal. The two got on very well and Torpey subsequently invited Connolly to go into the recording studio with him, as an informal project. After much trepidation and as always, running very late, Connolly turned up and the track "Sharontina" was recorded. However, this recording would not be released until 1998, when Frank Torpey's 1998 CD album, "Sweeter", became available.

In 1988, Connolly reunited in Los Angeles, California, with former band members Mick Tucker, Steve Priest and Andy Scott, to rework studio versions of "Action" and "The Ballroom Blitz". This was to be trial to see if a full reunion and new album could be arranged. This was for America's MCA Records. Connolly arrived having had troubles with a local rental car and getting lost on the way to the studio. This Mike Chapman-produced reunion foundered quickly due to problems with Brian's voice, and Brian went back to performing with his band, "The New Sweet".

During 1990 Connolly reunited with the original Sweet line-up, for the promotion of a music video documentary in London at Tower Records and again there were rumours of a full band reunion which, ultimately, came to naught.

By July 1990, plans were made for Connolly and his band to tour Australia. A number of dates were planned with the tour starting in Adelaide. This proceeded and took place during November. However, during the very long flight to Australia, Brian Connolly's health had suffered and he was hospitalised in Adelaide Hospital. This was allegedly for dehydration and related problems. The rest of the band played a show in Adelaide without him, so as not to disappoint the waiting fans. After being released from hospital, Connolly joined the rest of the other band members in Melbourne for the first gig, which was at the Pier Hotel, in Frankston. After several other shows, including one at the Dingley Powerhouse, Connolly and his band played the final Australian date of the tour at Melbourne's Greek Theatre. It was felt at the time that Connolly's health was sufficient reason for the tour not to be extended, and some of the later planned dates were abandoned. Brian Connolly went back to England and his band appeared on The Bob Downe Christmas show, on the 18th December 1990.

During the early 1990s Connolly played the European "oldies" circuit and occasional outdoor festivals in Europe with his band. However his plans would suffer a small setback when on 22 March 1992, a heavy duty tape recorder was stolen from the band's van whilst at a gig in the Bristol Hippodrome with Mud. It contained demos of four new songs, totalling about 20 mixes.

Legal problems were still going on in the background over the use of the Sweet name between Connolly and Andy Scott. In something of a truce, both parties agreed to distinguish their group's name to help promoters and fans. The New Sweet became Brian Connolly's Sweet and Andy Scott's version became Andy Scott's Sweet. Without the previous difficulty with Andy Scott, Connolly and his band continued to tour, both in the UK and Europe.

In 1994, in somewhat of a departure and proving he was no stranger to a challenge, Connolly and his band played in Dubai. He appeared at the Galleria Theatre, Hyatt Regency. He also performed in Bahrain.

By this time Connolly had well and truly healed the differences with Steve Priest and Mick Tucker, as shown when he was invited to the wedding of Priest's eldest daughter, Lisa. At the private function, for which Priest specially flew back to England, Steve Priest and Brian Connolly performed together.

In 1995, Connolly released a new album entitled Let's Go. Available on CD, this was backed up at the time with merchandising as well. Also that year, his partner Jean, whom he had met a few years earlier, gave birth to a son. Also in 1995, Connolly performed in Switzerland.

During 1995, Connolly's partner Jean finally managed to track down his missing biological family. It emerged that he had an aunt in Ontario, Canada. She was able to reveal that Connolly's true birth mother had died in 1989. However, she was also able to inform him that he had a living brother and sister. Both flew almost straight away to England to meet Connolly during November 1995, the result giving him some closure to an issue that had haunted him since the age of eighteen.

On 2 November 1996, British TV Network Channel 4 aired a programme "Don't Leave Me This Way", which examined Connolly's time as a pop star with The Sweet and the subsequent decline in the band's popularity, and its impact on Connolly and the other band members. The show revealed Brian's ill health but also that he was continuing with his concert dates at Butlins. Much has been written about the fact he was touring Butlins. In fact his appearances were nothing new. Connolly and his band had appeared at Butlins consistently a number of times on tour during the early 1990s.

Connolly's final concert was at the Bristol Hippodrome on 5 December 1996, with Slade II and John Rossall's Glitter Band Experience.

Death[link]

During January 1997, Connolly had another heart attack and he was hospitalised in Slough. After a week in hospital, he discharged himself, but he had to be readmitted the following week. This time there was little more that could be done. He died late in the evening of 9 February 1997, from renal failure, liver failure and repeated heart attacks, attributed to his previous chronic alcoholism. He was 51.

He was cremated after a ceremony at Most Holy Name Roman Catholic Church at Old Mill Lane, Denham, Buckinghamshire on Monday February 17, 1997 and his ashes were scattered over the water by his adult daughters Nicola and Michelle. He also left an ex-wife, Marilyn, and a two-year-old son called Brian Junior (BJ) by his partner Jean.

Fans then organised a memorial concert for Brian at The Camden Palace, London on Sunday 11 October 1998. Money was raised to pay for a plaque dedicated to Brian at Breakspear Crematorium, Breakspear Road, Ruislip, Middlesex; it was unveiled on 9 February 2000.

Band member timeline[link]

Discography[link]

With Sweet[link]

As Brian Connolly[link]

Singles[link]

• "Take Away the Music" (1980) – Polydor Records
• "Don't You Know a Lady" (1980) – Polydor Records
• "Hypnotized" (1982) – Carrere Records, RCA Records

Albums[link]

• Brian Connolly and The Sweet - Greatest Hits (1986) – new recordings of Sweet singles – Success Records
• Let's Go (1995) – Sweet re-recordings and three new post-Sweet tracks – Bam Records
• Take Away the Music (2004) – compilation of solo singles and demos – Malibu Records

Appears on[link]

• Closed (Belgian psychedelic band) - guide vocals on "My Little Girl From Kentucky" and "Spider"
• "Rememer December" by Paper Dolls - backing vocals (1970)
• High Life 20 Original Top Hits (1980) Polydor Germany - Features "Take away the music"
• Sweeter (1998) by Frank Torpey, CD Album - Notable for Brian Connolly's 1987 lead vocal track, "Sharontina" - Frankie Dean Records

Books[link]

• The man who sang Blockbuster (2009) Brian Manly - Published by Somehitwonder Books

References[link]

This article relies on references to primary sources or sources affiliated with the subject, rather than references from independent authors and third-party publications. Please add citations from reliable sources. (September 2008)

External links[link]

• http://thesweet.com/nc.htm (link is broken)
• Biography at Hot Shot Digital

Sinéad O'Connor
Sinéad O'Connor performing live in 2008
Background information
Birth name	Sinéad Marie Bernadette O'Connor
Born	(1966-12-08) 8 December 1966 (age 45)
Origin	Glenageary, County Dublin, Ireland
Genres	Alternative rock, pop rock, folk rock
Occupations	Singer-songwriter, musician, priest
Instruments	Vocals, guitar, piano, keyboards, percussion, low whistle
Years active	1986–present
Labels	Ensign, Vanguard, Chocolate and Vanilla, One Little Indian
Website	Official website

Sinéad Marie Bernadette O'Connor ( /ʃɪˈneɪd oÊ?ˈkÉ’nÉ™r/;^[1] born 8 December 1966) is an Irish singer-songwriter who rose to fame in the late 1980s with her debut album The Lion and the Cobra. O'Connor achieved worldwide success in 1990 with a cover of the song "Nothing Compares 2 U".

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

In addition to her nine solo albums her work includes many singles, songs for films, collaborations with many other artists, and appearances at charity fundraising concerts.

Early life[link]

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.^[2] She is the third 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 denied custody to fathers 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 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, at the age of 15, her shoplifting and truancy led to her being placed in a Magdalene Asylum,^[3] the Grianán Training Centre run by the Sisters of Our Lady of Charity. In some ways, she thrived there, especially in the development of her 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."^[4]

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.^[5]

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.^{[citation needed]}

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.^[2] 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 were the band's strongest features.^[2][6]

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

Musical career[link]

1980s[link]

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 assignment, providing the vocals for the song "Heroine", which she co-wrote 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 views on music and politics, and O'Connor adopted the same habits; she defended the actions of the IRA and said U2's music was "bombastic".^[7]

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'-worth 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). Due largely to O'Ceallaigh's efforts of persuasion, the record company allowed O'Connor, 20 years old and by then seven months pregnant, to produce her own album.^{[citation needed]}

Her first album The Lion and the Cobra was "a sensation" when it was released in 1987^[8] and it reached 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.^[9] 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.^{[citation needed]}

Artists that influenced her at that time were Bob Dylan, David Bowie, Bob Marley, Siouxsie and the Banshees and The Pretenders.^[10]

1990s[link]

Her second album 1990s I Do Not Want What I Haven't Got gained considerable attention and mostly positive reviews : it was rated "second best album of the year" by the NME.^[11] 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."^{[citation needed]}

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.^{[citation needed]}

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.^{[citation needed]}

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".^[7] After receiving 4 Grammy Award nominations she withdrew her name from consideration.^[7]

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.^{[citation needed]} 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."^[13]

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.^{[citation needed]} 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.^{[citation needed]}

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.^{[citation needed]}

2000s[link]

Sinéad O'Connor in Poznań in 2007

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.^{[citation needed]}

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.^[14] 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 also featured on three songs of Massive Attack's album 100th Window before releasing her double album, She Who Dwells in the Secret Place of the Most High Shall Abide Under the Shadow of the Almighty. This compilation 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.^[15] 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.^[16] 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.^{[citation needed]}

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.^[17] The performance was released in 2008 as Live at the Sugar Club deluxe CD/DVD package 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.^[18] 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".^[19]

2010s[link]

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).^[20]

O'Connor announced she was working on recording a new album, entitled Home, to be released in the beginning of 2012.^[21] On October 10, 2011 O'Connor announced that the release date for the album, now entitled How About I Be Me (And You Be You)?, had been set for February 20, 2012.^[22][23], with the first single being "The Wolf is Getting Married".

Having planned an extensive tour in support of How About I Be Me (And You Be You)?, O'Connor announced on her website in April 2012 that she was "very unwell" and had suffered a serious breakdown between December 2011 and March 2012.^[24] This resulted in the cancellation of the tour and all other musical activities for the rest of 2012, at least.

The song "Lay Your Head Down", written by Brian Byrne and Glenn Close for the soundtrack of the film Albert Nobbs and performed by O'Connor, was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song.

Controversy[link]

[edit] 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."^[25] 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.^[26]

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.^[27] The audience was completely silent, with no booing or applause;^[28] 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."^[27]

A nationwide audience saw O'Connor's live performance, which the New York Daily News's cover called a "HOLY TERROR".^[27] NBC received more than 500 calls on Sunday^[29] and 400 more on Monday, with all but seven criticizing O'Connor;^[28] the network received 4,400 calls in total.^[30] Contrary to rumour, NBC was not fined by the Federal Communications Commission for O'Connor's act; the FCC has no regulatory power over blasphemy.^[30] NBC did not edit the performance out of the West coast tape-delayed broadcast that night,^[31] but reruns of the episode use footage from the dress rehearsal.^[30] 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. He then tore up another photo - of O'Connor herself - to huge applause. Pesci also said that if it had been his show, "I would have gave her such a smack."^[32]

In a 2002 interview with Salon, when asked if she would change anything about the SNL appearance, O'Connor replied, "Hell, no!"^[33] In 2010, TV Guide Network listed the incident at No. 24 on their list of 25 Biggest TV Blunders.^[34]

Madonna's reaction[link]

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^[35] 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."^[36] 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."^[37] 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..."^[36] 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 for not being sexy".^[38]

Bob Dylan tribute performance[link]

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.^[39] 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."^[40][41] 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.^[42][43]

Garden State Arts Center performance[link]

This biographical section of an article needs additional citations for verification. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately, especially if potentially libelous or harmful. (August 2011)

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 would never appear there again.

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.

[edit] 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".^[44] 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".^[45] 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.^[46]

Personal life[link]

While her shaved head was initially an assertion against traditional views of women, years later, O'Connor said she had begun to grow her hair back, but that 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."^[47]

Romantic and family life[link]

She has been married four 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. O'Connor acknowledged to 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^[48][49] and divorced him in April 2011.^[50]

Her fourth marriage was to Irish therapist Barry Herridge, whom she met through the internet.^[51] They wed on 9 December 2011 in Las Vegas, but 17 days later she announced on her website that their marriage had ended, noting that they "lived together for 7 days only".^[52] The following week, on 3 January 2012, O'Connor issued a further string of internet announcements to the effect that the couple had re-united.^{[53][54][55][56][57][58][59][60]}

Sexuality[link]

In a 2000 interview in Curve, O'Connor commented, "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."^[61] 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".^[62]

Health[link]

On a 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.^[63]

Religion[link]

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 O'Connor 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.^[64] 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.^[64]

In a July 2007 interview with Christianity Today, O'Connor stated that she considers herself a Christian and that she believes in core Christian concepts about the Trinity and Jesus Christ. She said, "I think God saves everybody whether they want to be saved or not. So when we die, we're all going home... I don't think God judges anybody. He loves everybody equally". She also expressed a belief in pantheism, viewing the physical universe as a body with divine "energy".^[65] In an October 2002 interview with Salon.com, she credited her Christian faith in giving her the strength to live through, and then overcome the effects of, her child abuse.^[25]

On 26 March 2010, O'Connor appeared on Anderson Cooper 360° to speak out about the Catholic sexual abuse scandal in Ireland.^[66] 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.^[3] 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 alternative church might have to be established because "Christ is being murdered by liars" in the Vatican.^[67]

Political beliefs[link]

O'Connor is a pacifist and, as such, she supports Ireland's tradition of neutrality in foreign wars.^[25]

Discography[link]

• 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
• 2012: How About I Be Me (And You Be You)?

References[link]

Further reading[link]

• 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[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Sinéad O'Connor

• Official site
• Facebook page
• Sinéad O'Connor at the Internet Movie Database
• Works by or about Sinéad O'Connor in libraries (WorldCat catalog)