Sinéad O'Connor was born in Dublin and sang from a very early age, learning the guitar and starting to write songs while still at school. At just 14 she joined the Irish band In Tua Nua, co-writing their debut single 'Take My Hand,' which was a hit in 1984. She went on to join the short-lived Ton Ton Macoute, who significantly auditioned for the independent label Ensign Records. Though the group was to split, Sinéad had made an impact and was signed to Ensign as a solo artist in 1985, moving to London to work on her debut album.
'The Lion and the Cobra', both written and produced by Sinéad, was released in 1987, and was an immediate hit with critics and the public alike. Sinéad undertook a year-long tour throughout the UK, Europe and the United States. One concert, in London's Dominion Theatre in June 1988, was filmed by John Maybury and released the following year on video as 'The Value of Ignorance.' 1989 also saw her acting debut in the film 'Hush-A-Bye-Baby'.
March 1990 saw the release of Sinéad's second album, 'I Do Not Want What I Haven't Got,' including the Prince song 'Nothing Compares 2 U' that was to catapult her to new heights of fame. The single, accompanied by a stunningly compelling video, again directed by Maybury, topped the charts in 17 countries and earned her three MTV Awards. Sinéad again took to the road for a major world tour in 1990, with concerts filmed in Brussels and Rotterdam providing material for the live video 'The Year of the Horse.' That year also saw her contribute to the 'Red Hot and Blue' AIDS benefit album and play an Amnesty International concert in Chile. Following a spell living in Los Angeles in 1991, she released the single 'My Special Child' in aid of the Kurdish Refugee Appeal and performed a concert for the same cause at The Hague.
Sinéad undertook an ambitious recording project for her next album, recording 'Am I Not Your Girl' in New York City with a 47-piece orchestra. The album, including the first single, 'Success Has Made a Failure of Our Home,' was a collection of cover versions produced by Sinéad with Phil Ramone. The sessions for the album (released September 1992) were filmed by a documentary crew, ultimately becoming a 40-minute TV special entitled 'Coffee and Cigarettes.' The album also produced a second single, in Sinead's haunting interpretation of the classic song 'Don't Cry for Me Argentina'. The next two years saw Sinéad undertake a number of side projects, recording the track 'Be Still' for the Peace Together Project, appearing at the Dublin Peace Rally and guesting on Peter Gabriel's WOMAD world tour. In addition, she took time out to enroll at the Parnell School of Music in Dublin for singing and piano lessons. 1993 saw her first venture into film music, recording 'You Made Me the Thief of Your Heart' as the closing soundtrack to for 'In the Name of the Father,' followed soon afterwards by the opening music for BBC film 'Oh Mary This London.'
Sinéad O'Connor's final album on Ensign/Chrysalis was the well-received 'Universal Mother' in September 1994, its ten new tracks and two covers produced by her along with John Reynolds, Tim Simenon and Phil Coulter.
By the time of the 'Gospel Oak' EP in 1997, Sinéad had transcended her reputation as a forthright political critic, which in some quarters overshadowed the music. The release of "So Far... The Best Of," a collection of her best known songs to date gave cause to reflect on her career and the strength of the work she had produced. Sinéad was rightly recognised as a singer of immense talent and relevance, at the forefront of the movement of edgy female singer-songwriters. This was reflected in her appearance at the 1998 Lilith Fair. 1998 also saw a return to the big screen, with her portrayal of the Virgin Mary in the film of 'The Butcher Boy.'
The following year, Sinéad joined Thomas Dolby and the Coldcut production team for the world's first internet single, 'Them Belly Full (But We Hungry)', recorded simultaneously at three different locations in aid of the charity War Child.
Signing to Atlantic Records in 2000, Sinéad assembled a world-class production team including Brian Eno, John Reynolds, Wyclef Jean, Destiny's Child producer Jerry "Te Bass" Duplessis and Adrian Sherwood to work on the album 'Faith and Courage'. Among the many guest musicians were long-time Lee Scratch Perry collaborators Junior Delgado and Little Roy, Jah Wobble, Dave Stewart, Chucho Merchán and Aswad bassist Carlton Ogilvie.
Working with talented artists has been a feature of Sinéad's career. As well as inviting contributions from musicians of all genres for her own albums, she has memorably guested on the others recordings. Highlights over the years include her appearances with Jah Wobble, The Chieftains, Shane McGowan, The The, Bomb The Bass, Afro-Celt Sound System and Luka Bloom. This year (2002), she sang on the track 'Harbour' on Moby's album '18' and has provided vocals for several tracks on the forthcoming Massive Attack release.
