Celebrating Shuhada Sadaqat aka Sinéad O'Connor, 8th December 1966 to 26th July 2023.
So much has been written about her in the hours since her passing, that I feel that there's nothing meaningful that I can add, other than she was an inspiration, fierce and defiant and passionate in the face of criticism, abuse and attack. I was heartbroken as she endured so many tragedies and low points and I hope she is now at rest, in peace, in power.
Although she changed her name several times, most recently in 2019, she continued to perform as Sinéad O'Connor. I only have a smattering of songs across her long and varied career, which is represented by the possibly more obscure choices on this selection. Twelve songs, half and half solo and collaborations, just over an hour and ending with an epic 13-minute remix of Fire On Babylon.
I have the album version of Nothing Compares 2 U (and a pretty dire Art Of Compilation remix from 1991), but I've included a 2019 performance on Irish TV which is the 'newest' song on this selection. The oldest - Heroine with The Edge from U2 - predates her debut album and appeared on the soundtrack to 1986 film Captive.
Shuhada Sadaqat has departed, but Sinéad O'Connor will live on through her music and the comfort, power and joy it's brought to so many.
1) What Your Soul Sings (Album Version): Massive Attack ft. Sinéad O'Connor (2003)
2) I Am Stretched On Your Grave (Apple Brightness Mix By Super DJ Dmitry & Jungle DJ Towa Towa) (Cover of 17th century Irish poem): Sinéad O'Connor (1990)
3) The Value Of Ignorance: Sinéad O'Connor (1990)
4) I Would Die 4 U (Cover of Prince & The Revolution): Radio Riddler ft. Sinéad O'Connor (2014)
5) Dense Water, Deeper Down: Sinéad O'Connor (2014)
6) Empire: Bomb The Bass ft. Sinéad O'Connor & Benjamin Zephaniah (1995)
7) Heroine (Theme From 'Captive'): The Edge & Michael Brook ft. Sinéad O'Connor (1986)
8) I Want Your (Hands On Me) (Street Mix By Audio Two): Sinéad O'Connor ft. MC Lyte (1988)
9) Very Far From Home: Sinéad O'Connor (2012)
10) Nothing Compares 2 U (Live @ The Late Late Show, RTÉ One) (Cover of The Family): Sinéad O'Connor (2019)
11) Kindgom Of Rain: The The ft. Sinéad O'Connor (1989)
12) Fire On Babylon (Remix By John Reynolds): Sinéad O'Connor ft. Abdel Ali Slimani (1994)
1986: Captive OST: 7
1988: I Want Your (Hands On Me) EP: 8
1989: Mind Bomb: 11
1990: The Emperor's New Clothes EP: 2
1990: Three Babies EP: 3
1994: Thank You For Hearing Me EP: 12
1995: Clear: 6
2003: 100th Window: 1
2012: How About I Be Me (And You Be You)?: 9
2014: I'm Not Bossy, I'm The Boss: 5
2014: Purple Reggae: 4
2019: Live On The Late Late Show: 10
I know I was very taken back in the day when 'the lion and the cobra' came out and was kicking myself i didn't see her libve in those formative years. A quick look on setlist says she played Bristol in 1987 supporting INXS... I would imagine at the time i would have wanted to see her but not the Hutchence mob.. :)
ReplyDeleteYeah, although in retrospect I would have enjoyed them both. I first saw Sinéad in the video for Private Revolution by World Party and she made an immediate and lasting impression. I loved Mandinka and the subsequent singles but didn't actually buy the album so Kingdom Of Rain on The The's Mind Bomb was probably the next song featuring Sinéad in my collection. Even to the last show in 2019, she was a phenomenal performer, I too wish I'd experienced it in person.
DeleteThat Reynolds remix featuring Sinéad's epic vocals & Abdel Ali Slimani is 27' well spent (I say 27' as you have to listen to it 2ce in a row!:-) A stellar piece that I return to every couple of years or so. Rest In Power indeed. Had forgotten about 'Empire' & until now had no idea about her contribution to The The, despite owning the album! - 1 (notable?) omission is Marxman's "Ship Ahoy" with it's Brizzle connection. https://www.discogs.com/release/37316-Marxman-Ship-Ahoy. Nice selection in memoriam Kahyem - shame it is due to this sad news.
ReplyDeleteanwe
You're not wrong, anwe, 13 and a half minutes still feels too short! Yeah, lots of glaring omissions even with my limited collection of Sinéad solo and collaborations: Ship Ahoy, Visions Of You (with Jah Wobble), Glacier (with John Grant), All Kinds Of Everything (with Terry Hall)... it could easily have been a 3-hour selection! Thanks for the prompt about Abdel Ali Slimani, I should have included him in the track listing...duly corrected!
DeleteI think we all "feel that there's nothing meaningful (we) can add" when someone like Sinéad dies, given the professional obituaries that come from far and wide... but I don't think that should stop us. It's important to pay tribute, and our little voices are just as important (perhaps more so) than the big, famous ones. Well done (as always) on getting your tribute together so quickly, K.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Rol. I felt a bit of fraud in that I have a limited collection of Sinéad's music and none of her key albums, but I thought that she was a phenomenal presence as an artist, performer and activist. That she was subject to extreme personal tragedy, unbelievable levels of misogyny, abuse and hatred was an uncomfortable mirror on the society we exist in. I've been wrestling with the uncomfortable acknowledgement that I could have supported her more whilst alive by actually buying her records. But, as you say, it's important to pay tribute to artists who have meant something to you.
DeleteI didn't have a large collection of songs to choose from but I find when creating tribute selections that the songs and sequence happen very quickly and intuitively. The final three were in my mind even before the songs that preceded them.