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Sharon Corr

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Sharon Corr
MBE
Corr performing in 2024
Corr performing in 2024
Background information
Birth nameSharon Helga Corr
Born (1970-03-24) 24 March 1970 (age 54)
OriginDundalk, Louth, Ireland
Genres
Occupations
  • Musician
  • television personality
Instruments
  • Violin
  • vocals
  • piano
  • guitar
Years active1990–present
LabelsRhino
Warner Bros.
Spouse
Robert Gavin Bonnar
​
​
(m. 2001; sep. 2019)​
Websitewww.sharoncorr.com

Sharon Helga Corr, MBE (born 24 March 1970), is an Irish singer-songwriter, musician, and television personality. She is best known as a member of the pop-rock band The Corrs, which she co-founded in 1990 with her elder brother Jim and younger sisters Caroline and Andrea. She plays the violin, piano and guitar, and sings backing vocals. She began learning the violin when she was six years old. She has played in national youth orchestras and is qualified to teach the violin[citation needed].

The Corr siblings were appointed honorary MBEs in 2005 by Queen Elizabeth II in recognition of both their musical talent and their charitable work raising money for the Freeman Hospital in Newcastle upon Tyne, victims of the Omagh Bombing, and other charities. On 22 March 2019, Corr was awarded an honorary doctorate (DUniv) by the Open University,[1] in recognition of her "exceptional contribution to education and culture". The ceremony took place at the Barbican Centre, London.

In 2012, Corr was revealed as one of the coaches on the first series of the RTÉ talent show The Voice of Ireland.[2]

Career

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2009–2012: Dream of You

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In July 2009, Corr was voted into first place in the Ms Twitter UK competition.[3]

On 15 July 2009, Corr appeared on This Morning, having been booked by host Phillip Schofield via Twitter, to confirm the release of a new solo single and album. Her début single, "It's Not a Dream", was released on 29 August in Ireland and 31 August in the UK, with appearances at Isle of Wight, Glastonbury, and a number of other European music festivals. The album, Dream of You, was released on 13 September 2010 and comprises a number of self-penned tracks and select covers with Corr playing violin throughout. She was joined by longtime Corrs' sidemen Anthony (Anto) Drennan on lead guitar, Keith Duffy on bass, and Jason Duffy on drums, with orchestral arrangements by Fiachra Trench, a collaborator on four Corrs' albums.

Corr embarked on the Dream of You Tour on 19 August 2011 in Aberdeen and continued through the UK and Europe, with an Australian leg added in January 2012. While on the tour she introduced a newly written track, "Edge of Nowhere", which will be included on her second album.

2012–present: The Voice of Ireland, The Same Sun and The Fool and the Scorpion

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Corr was a coach on the first and second series of the RTÉ talent show The Voice of Ireland.[4]

In an interview with the Maitland Mercury in February 2012, Corr revealed that she is piecing together her second solo record.[5]

Corr finished writing the album in March 2012 and she said it may be called Catch the Moon. The title comes from the idea "of when somebody comes into your life and they utterly change yours, that you would go to any lengths for them... so you would catch the moon."[6] However, on 21 August 2013 it was announced that the new album would be titled The Same Sun. The lead single from the album, "Take a Minute", peaked at No. 11 on the Irish charts and No. 20 in the France charts. Corr also embarked on The Same Sun Tour in late 2013, touring in The Netherlands, Germany, Brazil, and Indonesia. She performed in Indonesia at Jakarta Convention Center (JCC), Jakarta, Indonesia, on 24 September 2013 (WIB) as a special guest. She was also joined on tour by Yovie Widianto who was a special guest in Madrid, Spain, in November 2013. The tour continued throughout the United States during January and February 2014.

In 2015, The Corrs reunited, releasing the albums White Light. That album was followed up by Jupiter Calling in 2017.

Sharon released her third solo album, The Fool and the Scorpion on 24 September 2021. Promo for this album started in May with the announcement of a solo residency at Sala Clamores in Madrid, Spain. In May and June 2022, Sharon will embark on a UK tour supporting Jeff Beck, following her Spain and France gigs in January 2022.

Personal life

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In 2001, Corr married Belfast barrister[7] Robert Gavin Bonnar in Cratloe Church, County Clare.[8] In a performance for BBC Radio 2, she stated, before performing the song, that she walked up the aisle to "Along with the Girls", a traditional instrumental track that featured on the Corrs' first album, Forgiven, Not Forgotten. The couple met when she was shooting the video for "Runaway". They had their first child, son Cathal ("Cal") Robert Gerard, on 31 March 2006, and their second child, daughter Flori Jean Elizabeth, on 18 July 2007.[9] The couple split in October 2019.[10] After having children, she battled with social anxiety disorder and wrote about her anxiety problems on her solo album.[11]

Other recordings

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As well as "No Frontiers" with Caroline Corr, Sharon sings "Dimming of the Day" and the demo version of "Goodbye". In 1999 she recorded violin parts for the Jean Michel Jarre track "Rendez-vous à Paris", which was released in 2000 on the album Métamorphoses.

She also recorded two tracks in 2008 with the Welsh operatic singer Bryn Terfel, and "Amarrado a Ti" with the Spanish singer Alex Ubago in 2009.

Discography

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See also: The Corrs discography

Studio albums

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Title Album details Peak chart positions
IRE AUS FR NZ SP UK
Dream of You 22 67 100 15 67 37
The Same Sun
  • Released: 16 September 2013
  • Label: BobbyJean
  • Formats: CD, digital download
 — — — — — 104
The Fool and the Scorpion
  • Released: 24 September 2021
  • Label: EastWest
  • Formats: CD, vinyl, digital download
 — — — — 55 —

Singles

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Year Single Peak chart positions Album
IRE UK
2009 "Me and My Teddy Bear" — — Bandaged Together
"It's Not a Dream" 29 167 Dream of You
2010 "Everybody's Got to Learn Sometime" — —
"So Long Ago" — —
2011 "Over It" — —
2013 "Take a Minute" 11 — The Same Sun
2014 "We Could Be Lovers" — —
2021 "The Fool and the Scorpion" — — The Fool and the Scorpion

Guest appearances

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References

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  1. ^ "Sharon Corr receives honorary doctorate from The Open University". the Open University. the Open University. 22 March 2019. Retrieved 25 March 2019.
  2. ^ "Sharon Corr to judge for The Voice". Herald.ie.
  3. ^ "Ms Twitter UK Hall of Fame".
  4. ^ Finn, Melanie (28 October 2011). "Bressie's in the hotseat in search for the Voice". Evening Herald. Retrieved 28 October 2011.
  5. ^ Milligan, Nick (26 February 2012). "Sharon Corr lives to make music". Maitland Mercury. Retrieved 15 March 2012.[permanent dead link‍]
  6. ^ "Sharon Corr: Rock chick and yummy mummy". The Belfast Telegraph. 6 March 2012. Retrieved 15 March 2012.
  7. ^ "Gavin Bonnar, LLB, BL". JAMS International. Archived from the original on 5 March 2014.
  8. ^ Coleman, Maureen (28 May 2012). "Sharon Corr Judges The Voice". Culture Northern Ireland.
  9. ^ "The Corr's Main Frame". Archived from the original on 27 September 2007.
  10. ^ "Sharon Corr 'splits' from husband Gavin Bonnar after 18 years". Evoke.ie. 26 October 2019.
  11. ^ "Sharon Corr reveals battle with anxiety: 'I needed to break down and be vulnerable'". goss.ie. 20 September 2014. Archived from the original on 15 July 2015.
  12. ^ "It's Reality – UK & Ireland Release Dates For Sharon Corr's Debut Album". Sharon Corr Official Website. Archived from the original on 18 July 2010. Retrieved 15 July 2010.
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