'Nothing Compares 2 U' Singer Sinéad O'Connor Dies Aged 56
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Dublin star Sinéad O’Connor has died at the age of 56, her family have confirmed. After an investigation by the police at her London home, a statement said they were not treating it as suspicious. The singer and activist, born December 8, 1966, as Sinéad Marie Bernadette O’Connor, was most recognised for her musical talent. The song that most remember her for is “Nothing Compares 2 U”, the lead single on her second studio album I Do Not Want What I Haven’t Got, which was released in 1990.
It was at Dublin’s An Grianan Training Centre where O’Connor first started on the path to her music career. Singing a cover of Barbra Streisand’s Evergreen at a wedding, the drummer of In Tua Nua Paul Byrne was impressed at her talent. Inviting her to co-write In Tua Nua single “Take My Hand,” she continued to focus on music, studying at the Dublin College of Music after leaving An Grianan.
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Signing a contract with Ensign Records in 1985 and relocating to London, O’Connor made her debut with U2 guitarist The Edge on the soundtrack of Captive, the 1986 crime thriller. From there, she recorded her first album, The Lion and the Cobra, in 1987, which charted in the top 40 in both the UK and US. Between 1987 and 2014, she recorded and released 14 studio albums.
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From the beginning of her career, O’Connor became a controversial figure, defending the actions of the IRA in interviews after the release of her first album, refusing to perform in New Jersey should “The Star Spangled Banner” play before her appearance, and ripping up a photo of Pope John Paul II on Saturday Night Live.
In 2018, O’Connor converted to Islam, changing her name to Shuhada’ Sadaqat, though she would keep her birth name for when she performed. One of her last performances was a reinterpretation of sci-fi drama series Outlander’s main theme, “The Skye Boat Song,” currently being used in the title sequence for the seventh season of the series.
Irish President Michael D Higgins remembered O’Connor after confirmation of her death. “What Ireland has lost at such a relatively young age is one of our greatest and most gifted composers, songwriters and performers of recent decades, one who had such a unique talent and extraordinary connection with her audience, all of whom held such love and warmth for her.”
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