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The Corrs

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The Corrs

The Corrs are a multi-platinum, Grammy-nominated Celtic folk-rock and pop rock group from Dundalk, Republic of Ireland. The members of the band are four siblings - three sisters and one brother - from the Corr family: Sharon, Caroline, Andrea and Jim Corr. The band rose to prominence in the late 1990s, and have since sold over 55 million albums worldwide, and have had numerous number one singles and albums in Europe, Australia, Asia and North America.

Members

All of the Corrs were born in Dundalk, County Louth, the children of musicians Gerry and Jean Corr.

In late 1995, before the start of their first tour, additional musicians Anto Drennan (guitar) and Keith Duffy (bass guitar) were brought in to supplement the band's sound. Their positions became permanent, although they are essentially only sidemen and tend not to appear in the band's promo videos nor make any contribution to the songwriting. However, Drennan has been credited as co-producer on some tracks.

During their Royal Albert Hall concert on St. Patrick's Day, 1998, the guitarist was Conor O'Brady.

From 2004 onwards, with Caroline on 'light duties' or absent, Keith Duffy's brother Jason Duffy joined on percussion, with Kieran Kiely on accordion and keyboards.

While only Jim and Caroline are the only siblings to be credited playing the piano for their tracks, all of the members can play the piano which was taught to them by their father, Gerry Corr.

History

The Corr siblings were exposed to music from their early years. Their main influence was from their parents, Gerry and Jean Corr. They played ballads and folk tunes in local bands, and formed their own band called "Sound Affair". Jean sang and Gerry played the keyboards and they performed covers of songs by various famous bands. Caroline & her siblings were exposed to music from a very young age. Even at this stage little Caroline and her siblings Caroline & her three siblings travelled with Jean and Gerry to gigs in the family estate car.

As they'd approached their teenage years, they worked on vocal harmonies and instrumental skills in Jim's bedroom, a house which he rented around the corner. Jim played the guitar, Andrea was the lead singer, and Sharon and Caroline on the keyboards. They used a drum machine on the keyboards for rhythm.

They rehearsed a lot at Jim's place in his studio furnished with bits and pieces from the kitchen like egg cartons and fruit boxes. For the first couple of years, they spent weekends and nights trying to establish their own unique sound. The sound which they achieved first was a synthesised pop rock and soon other instruments were incorporated. Sharon incorporated the violin and Caroline only used the bodhran for instrumental songs. After, they teamed up with Bill Whelan to achieve the Irish celtic folk-rock sound.

The Corrs were formed to audition for the 1991 film The Commitments. Jim, Sharon, and Caroline had a small part as musicians, while Andrea got a speaking part as Sharon Rabbitte, the sister of the main character. While auditioning for the movie, they were noticed by their future manager, John Hughes.

They first achieved success after performing on The Late Late Show, then hosted by Gay Byrne, in 1993, with their first single "Runaway". However, the band was relatively unknown outside Ireland until 1994, when American ambassador to the country Jean Kennedy Smith invited the group to perform at the 1994 FIFA World Cup in Boston. This performance also led to them becoming the supporting act for Celine Dion on her 1996 world tour. They'd extended their stay in America to search for a record deal. They'd landed one with Atlantic Records and over a period of five months, they'd recorded their first album, Forgiven, Not Forgotten.

Their first album, Forgiven, Not Forgotten, had its greatest success in Australia, Sweden, Spain and Ireland, gaining later success in the UK and in Canada. In 1997 they released Talk On Corners, which was principally popular in Ireland, eventually taking off in Britain, and later other countries. Both have been certified gold in the United States, and In Blue has been certified platinum by the RIAA. In 2004, they released a slightly more guitar orientated album, Borrowed Heaven.

According to the Irish Recorded Music Association, The Corrs have sold over 30 million albums worldwide, not including singles. In January of 2006 and January of 2007, the Irish Singles Chart, and RTE Albums Chart released statements claiming that the band had sold closer to 60 million albums worldwide.

They also recorded Canto Alla Vita with Josh Groban for his self-titled album, and also been involved with a number of collaborations including with Rod Stewart, Alejandro Sanz, Ron Wood from The Rolling Stones, Sheryl Crow on C'mon, C'mon and Bono from U2.

In 2005 the band returned with Home, a traditional Irish album celebrating their roots, many of the songs coming from their late mother's songbook.

The Corrs were made Honorary Members of the Order of the British Empire in 2005 for their outstanding contribution to music and charity work. This was met with some discontent by some in the Republic of Ireland as the Order is, obviously, a British award headed by Queen Elizabeth II.

In July 2005, The Corrs performed at the Edinburgh Live 8 concert featuring Bono on one song.

Hiatus

The Corrs are currently on hiatus to raise their families and explore new options in their careers. However, they have stated innumerable times that they never see themselves quitting. Andrea reassured fans of this in a recent (November, 2006) interview.

  • In March 2006, Sharon Corr gave birth to her first child, Cathal Robert Gerard Bonnar, with husband Gavin Bonnar and is recently reported to be expecting her second.
  • In late 2005, Jim Corr announced his engagement to his girlfriend, former Miss Northern Ireland Gayle Williamson, who gave birth to the couple's first child, Brandon, in May 2006. They have since separated.

During the time when The Corrs had their brief hiatus, they had released another greatest hits album on November 20, 2006 called 'Dreams: The Ultimate Corrs Collection'. The album consists of remixes and songs not found on any of their previous compilation albums.

The album charted at a disappointing #43 in the album chart, possibly as it is the second 'best of' compilation in only 5 years.

Discography

Main article: The Corrs discography

Albums

Compilations

Live Albums

Videos

Trivia

  • The Corrs were occasionally lampooned on the British Saturday morning television program SMTV, where the hosts Ant McPartlin, Declan Donnelly, and Cat Deeley would don long, black wigs and lip gloss and announce to the camera "Hi, we're the beautiful Corrs" in soft Irish accents. Sitting a distance away from them was a man with a paper bag on his head labelled "Jim".
  • The British comedy duo French and Saunders parodied the group with a song "We're The Pretty Face of Cloning (A Hundred More Sisters to Add to the Corrs)". Dawn French played all three sisters, with Jennifer Saunders playing Jim, who tries desperately to get the camera's attention but fails. The Corrs themselves were apparently amused, as they have shown the clip at concerts before the start of their set.
  • Jonathan Ross once referred to Jim Corr as one of the unluckiest men in history (as he cannot "date any of his hot sisters").
  • The Corrs’ uncle Peter Corr was a professional footballer who played for, among others, Everton and Ireland. In 1949 he was a member of the Ireland team that defeated England 2-0 at Goodison Park, Liverpool, becoming the first non-UK team to beat England at home.
  • The fourth issue of Vertigo Comics series Jack of Fables contains a reference to The Corrs. The caption on the last page of the issue says that the title character Jack Horner will "finish escaping all the way to Ireland, where I wind up as the personal boy toy of those three hot fiddle-playing pop star sisters who named themselves after beer." The last part of the sentence is a reference to the Coors Brewing Company.
  • One of the band's songs At Your Side from their 2000 album, In Blue, was recently featured in the trailer for the film The Holiday starring Kate Winslet, Cameron Diaz, Jude Law and Jack Black.
  • Andrea is usually barefoot when she performs on stage. Sometimes Caroline plays barefoot too.
  • On April 11, 2000 The Corrs played after B*Witched at The Royal Albert Hall, London. [1]
  • Sharon met her husband, barrister Gavin Bonnar while shooting for the video of Runaway, their very first single.

See also

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