The Corrs

The Corrs are a 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 - Sharon, Caroline, Andrea and Jim Corr. The band rose to prominence in the late 1990s, and have since sold over 55 million albums worldwide. They have had numerous number one singles and albums in Europe, Australia and Asia, and have received multiple Grammy Award nominations.

Members

All of the Corrs were born in Dundalk, County Louth, the children of musicians Gerry and Jean Corr. Their uncle, Peter Corr, was a professional footballer

The members consist of:

Jim Corr (born James Steven Ignatius Corr, on July 31, 1964) is the oldest member of the band. He plays guitar, keyboards/piano and provides backing vocals.
Sharon Corr (born Sharon Helga Corr, on March 24, 1970) plays the violin, and provides backing vocals.
Caroline Corr (born Caroline Georgina Corr, on March 17, 1973) plays drums, bodhrán, tambourine, percussion, piano bongo and provides backing vocals.
Andrea Corr (born Andrea Jane Corr, on May 17, 1974) is the lead singer and plays the tin whistle.
In late 1995, before the start of their first tour, additional musicians Anto Drennan (electric guitar) and Keith Duffy (bass) 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 Jim and Caroline are the only siblings to be credited playing the piano on their albums, all four members can play the piano, which was taught to them by their father.


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. The Corrs children 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 after seeing them play a gig in Dublin. This performance also led to them becoming the supporting act for Celine Dion on her 1996 world tour.[1] 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 60 million records, 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 90 million records 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.


Discography

*Albums
Forgiven, Not Forgotten (September 26, 1995) Atlantic Records/143/Lava#1 IRL, #1 AUS, #2 UK (Gold), #4 ESP, #131 US (Achieved Gold status in UK)
Talk On Corners (October 28, 1997) Atlantic Records/143/Lava #1 IRL, #1 UK, #1 AUS, #3 ESP, #72 US (Achieved 11 x Platinum in the UK)
In Blue (September 12, 2000) Atlantic Records/143/Lava #1 IRL, #1 UK, #1 AUS, #1 ESP, #21 US, #2 FR (Achieved 3 x Platinum in the UK)
Borrowed Heaven (May 31, 2004) Atlantic Records/143/Lava #1 IRL, #2 UK, #2 ESP, #4 AUS, #51 US (Achieved Silver status in the UK)
Home (September 26, 2005)(Europe), (September 28, 2005)(Japan), (February 7, 2006)(U.S.) Atlantic Records #1 IRL, #8 ESP, #14 UK, #5 FR (Achieved Silver status in the UK)

*Compilations
Best of The Corrs (November 5, 2001) Atlantic Records/143/Lava #6 UK, #2 AUS
Dreams: The Ultimate Corrs Collection (November 20, 2006) Atlantic Records #43 UK #5 ESP #1 IRL

*Live albums
The Corrs - Live (1997) (Only released in Japan)
The Corrs Unplugged (November 12, 1999) Atlantic Records/143/Lava (Platinum in UK)
VH1 Presents: The Corrs, Live In Dublin (2002) (Only released in the USA)

Official Website: www.thecorrswebsite.com

**wikipedia.org