Theology

Irish singer and songwriter Sinéad O’Connor, full-time maverick and nonconformist, has enjoyed a long career which has made her one of the most influential personalities of modern times. Over 25+ years of dedication to music, she has stood out for her acute insightfulness, her interpretative strength, her rejection of any stereotypes, her relentless defiance, and has forged a new model for women in the world of culture and popular music.

Ever dedicated to the art of music, Sinéad composed and recorded her first single, In Tua Nua’s, at the early age of 14. She published her first album, The Lion and the Cobra, in 1987, to great critical acclaim: “easily one of the most distinctive debut albums of the year,” according to Rolling Stone, which launched two more hits: Mandinga and Troy.

Her second album, I Do Not Want What I Haven’t Got, was published in 1990; thanks to the single Nothing Compares 2 U - a song written by Prince, which became synonymous with Sinéad – it turned into an unprecedented hit record all over the world.

In 1992, horrified by the latest evidence of child abuse within Ireland’s catholic schools, Sinéad tore up a picture of Pope John Paul II during NBC’s television show Saturday Night Live, an act which was severely condemned by the media. The great outrage stirred up by the incident threw her career as an artist and a pop singer off the rails for some time, despite the courage she displayed in talking about what she had done in public. A few years later, her act still makes headline news in the United States.

After this controversy and the launch of Am I Not Your Girl, Sinéad stepped out of the spotlight and sought refuge in Dublin, her hometown, in order to

dedicate herself to her family and, among other activities, the study of bel canto. In 1994 she published Universal Mother, followed by Gospel Oak, which signaled a breakthrough in her approach to artistic creation, with a new acoustic touch. In 2000 came Faith and Courage, a collection of new tracks; in 2002, with the launch of Sean Nós Nua, Sinéad took the critics and the audience by surprise once again for her ability to reinvent herself without acquiescing to musical fads.

Her interest in the rastafari culture brought her to Jamaica, where she recorder Throw Down Your Arms, a tribute to reggae classics, which reached the no.4 spot in the Bill Board Top Reggae Albums chart. In the spring of 2007, Sinéad issued one of her most relevant albums: Theology. In her own words, “Theology is an attempt to create a place of peace in a time of war and to provoke thought. The events of September 11, 2001 contributed to the writing of the songs. The whole world became a very dangerous place on that day. [This record] is a very personal emotional response."

Twenty years after reshaping pop music and culture with her first album, and fifteen after declaring with her deep look and her torn voice, during Saturday Night Live, that we should “fight the real enemy” while singing an a cappella version of Bob Marley’s War, Sinéad O’Connor gets for the first time to the Palau de la Música Catalana to enchant, surprise and captivate us with her voice and the power of her music.
In this special occasion, the artist is going to propose her new work in an acoustic and minimalist fashion, much in our festival’s tradition. We are proud and gratified to present one of the most surprising, genuine and brave personality in the music scene, in her one and only appearance in Spain.

LINEUP:

Sinéad O’Connor, vocals and guitar
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Steve Cooney, guitar
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Kieran Kiely, guitar
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