Sharon Corr
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2014}}
{{Use Hiberno-English|date=November 2013}}
{{Infobox musical artist
| image = The Corrs live at the NEC Arena, Birmingham 14th November 2024 (54144142469).jpg
| caption = Corr performing in 2024
| name = Sharon Corr
| honorific_suffix = {{post-nominals|country=GBR|size=100%|MBE}}
| background = solo_singer
| birth_name = Sharon Helga Corr
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|df=yes|1970|3|24}}
| origin = Dundalk, Louth, Ireland
| spouse = {{marriage|Robert Gavin Bonnar|2001|2019|end=separated}}
| genre = {{hlist|Pop|rock|celtic}}
| occupation = {{hlist|Musician|television personality}}
| instrument = {{hlist|Violin|vocals|piano|guitar}}
| years_active = 1990–present
| associated_acts = The Corrs
| label = {{hlist|Rhino|Warner Bros.}}
| current_member_of = The Corrs
| website = {{URL|sharoncorr.com}}
}}
Sharon Helga Corr (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|date=October 2021}}.
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,{{cite web |title=Sharon Corr receives honorary doctorate from The Open University |url=http://www.open.ac.uk/republic-of-ireland/news/sharon-corr-receives-honorary-doctorate-open-university |website=the Open University |publisher=the Open University |access-date=25 March 2019|date=22 March 2019 }} 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.{{cite web|url=http://www.herald.ie/entertainment/around-town/sharon-corr-to-judge-for-the-voice-2898083.html|title=Sharon Corr to judge for The Voice|work=Herald.ie}}
Career
=2009–2012: ''Dream of You''=
In July 2009, Corr was voted into first place in the Ms Twitter UK competition.{{cite web|url=http://tweeterwall.mallplace.com/ukwomen07072009|title=Ms Twitter UK Hall of Fame}}
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''=
Corr was a coach on the first and second series of the RTÉ talent show The Voice of Ireland.{{cite news|url=http://www.herald.ie/entertainment/tv-radio/bressies-in-the-hotseat-in-search-for-the-voice-2919863.html|title=Bressie's in the hotseat in search for the Voice|date=28 October 2011|access-date=28 October 2011|last=Finn|first=Melanie|work=Evening Herald}}
In an interview with the Maitland Mercury in February 2012, Corr revealed that she is piecing together her second solo record.{{cite news|url=http://www.maitlandmercury.com.au/news/local/news/general/sharon-corr-lives-to-make-music/2433009.aspx?storypage=0|title=Sharon Corr lives to make music|date=26 February 2012|access-date=15 March 2012|last=Milligan|first=Nick|work=Maitland Mercury}}{{dead link|date=December 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}
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."{{cite news|url=http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/woman/life/sharon-corr-rock-chick-and-yummy-mummy-16127159.html|title=Sharon Corr: Rock chick and yummy mummy|date=6 March 2012|access-date=15 March 2012|work=The Belfast Telegraph}} 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
In 2001, Corr married Belfast barrister{{cite web|url=http://www.jamsinternational.com/panellist/gavin-bonnar|title=Gavin Bonnar, LLB, BL|publisher=JAMS International|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140305200331/http://www.jamsinternational.com/panellist/gavin-bonnar|archive-date=5 March 2014|df=dmy-all}} Robert Gavin Bonnar in Cratloe Church, County Clare.{{cite web|url=http://www.culturenorthernireland.org/article/4981/sharon|title=Sharon Corr Judges The Voice|first=Maureen|last=Coleman|date=28 May 2012|publisher=Culture Northern Ireland}} 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.{{cite web|url=http://www.thecorrswebsite.com/news/july07/jul26.htm|title=The Corr's Main Frame|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927024654/http://www.thecorrswebsite.com/news/july07/jul26.htm|archive-date=27 September 2007|df=dmy-all}} The couple split in October 2019.{{cite web|url=https://evoke.ie/2019/10/26/showbiz/gossip/sharon-corr-marriage-gavin-bonnar|title=Sharon Corr 'splits' from husband Gavin Bonnar after 18 years|date=26 October 2019 |publisher=Evoke.ie}} After having children, she battled with social anxiety disorder and wrote about her anxiety problems on her solo album.{{cite web|url=http://www.goss.ie/2014/09/sharon-corr-reveals-battle-with-anxiety-i-needed-to-break-down-and-be-vulnerable/|title=Sharon Corr reveals battle with anxiety: 'I needed to break down and be vulnerable'|date=20 Sep 2014|publisher=goss.ie|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150715225552/http://www.goss.ie/2014/09/sharon-corr-reveals-battle-with-anxiety-i-needed-to-break-down-and-be-vulnerable/|archive-date=15 July 2015|df=dmy-all}}
Other recordings
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
{{see also|The Corrs discography}}
=Studio albums=
| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center;" border="1" |
| rowspan="2" style="width:10em;"| Title
! rowspan="2" style="width:17em;"| Album details ! colspan="6"| Peak chart positions |
|---|
| style="width:3em;font-size:85%;"| IRE
! style="width:3em;font-size:85%;"| AUS ! style="width:3em;font-size:85%;"| FR ! style="width:3em;font-size:85%;"| NZ ! style="width:3em;font-size:85%;"| SP ! style="width:3em;font-size:85%;"| UK |
| scope="row" | Dream of You
|
| 22 || 67 || 100 || 15 || 67 || 37 |
| scope="row" | The Same Sun
|
| — || — || — || — || — || 104 |
| scope="row" | The Fool and the Scorpion
|
| — || — || — || — || 55 || — |
=Singles=
| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center;" border="1" | |
| rowspan="2"| Year
! rowspan="2" style="width:18em;"| Single ! colspan="2"| Peak chart positions ! rowspan="2"| Album | |
|---|---|
| style="width:3em;font-size:85%;"| IRE
! style="width:3em;font-size:85%;"| UK | |
| rowspan="2"| 2009
! scope="row"| "Me and My Teddy Bear" | — | —
| Bandaged Together |
| scope="row"| "It's Not a Dream"
| 29 || 167 | rowspan="4"| Dream of You | |
| rowspan="2"| 2010
! scope="row"| "Everybody's Got to Learn Sometime" | — | — |
| scope="row"| "So Long Ago"
| — || — | |
| 2011
! scope="row"| "Over It" | — | — |
| 2013
! scope="row"| "Take a Minute" | 11 | —
| rowspan="2"|The Same Sun |
| 2014
! scope="row"| "We Could Be Lovers" | — | — |
| 2021
! scope="row"| "The Fool and the Scorpion" | — | —
| The Fool and the Scorpion |
=Guest appearances=
- 1999: "Rendez-vous à Paris" (Jean Michel Jarre)
- 2008: "First Love – Songs from the British Isles" (Bryn Terfel)
- 2009: "Amarrado a Tí" (Alex Ubago)
- 2015: "Black Is the Colour" (Damien Leith)
- 2022: "A Christmas Childhood" (Patrick Kavanagh)
- 2023: "Go With The Flow" (The High Kings)
References
{{reflist}}
External links
{{commons category}}
- [http://www.sharoncorr.com SharonCorr.com] – Sharon Corr official website
- [https://www.youtube.com/SharonCorrOfficial Sharon Corr] on YouTube
- [https://twitter.com/sharon_corr Sharon Corr] on Twitter
- [http://www.thecorrswebsite.com The Corrs Official Website] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050302034453/http://www.thecorrswebsite.com/ |date=2 March 2005 }}
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20090207190142/http://mb.corrsonline.com/ Corrsonline MB]
- [http://www.disfrutaloscorrs.es disfrutaloscorrs.es] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110610154657/http://www.disfrutaloscorrs.es/ |date=10 June 2011 }}
{{Sharon Corr}}
{{The Corrs}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Corr, Sharon}}
Category:21st-century Irish women singers
Category:Irish women violinists
Category:Musicians from County Louth
Category:Former Roman Catholics
Category:Honorary members of the Order of the British Empire
Category:21st-century Irish violinists
Category:20th-century Irish violinists