Andrea Corr | |
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.jpg) Corr performing in Birmingham in 2024 | |
| Background information | |
| Born | Andrea Jane Corr (1974-05-17)17 May 1974 (age 51) Dundalk,County Louth, Ireland |
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| Instruments |
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| Years active | 1990–present |
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| Member of | The Corrs |
Andrea Jane Corr (born 17 May 1974) is an Irish musician and actress. Corr debuted in 1990 as the lead singer of theCelticfolk rock andpop rock groupthe Corrs along with her three elder siblingsCaroline,Sharon andJim. Aside from singing lead vocals, Corr plays thetin whistle, the ukulele and the piano.[1]
With the others, Corr has released sevenstudio albums, twocompilation albums, oneremix album and twolive albums. Corr has also pursued a solo career, releasing her debut album,Ten Feet High, in 2007.[2][3] The album moved away from the sound of the Corrs and features adance-pop sound.[4] Her next album, released on 30 May 2011, was entirely made up of covers of songs that were important to her when younger.
Corr is involved in charitable activities. She has played charity concerts to raise money for the Pavarotti & Friends Liberian Children's Village,Freeman Hospital inNewcastle upon Tyne, England, the victims of theOmagh bombing in Northern Ireland andthe Prince's Trust in 2004.[5][6][7][8] She is an ambassador for theNelson Mandela's "46664" campaign, raising awareness towards AIDS in Africa.[9] During the EdinburghLive 8 on 2 July 2005 The Corrs performed "When the Stars Go Blue" alongside Bono to promote theMake Poverty History campaign.[10] Along with her siblings, she was appointed an honoraryM.B.E. in 2005 byQueen Elizabeth II for her contribution to music and charity.[11]
Andrea Corr was born to Gerry Corr, a supervisor of a payroll unit of the IrishElectricity Supply Board (the E.S.B.), and his wife, Jean, ahousewife. She is the youngest of the five Corr children.[12] Older brother Gerard was killed when he was only three years old in a road accident before she and her sister Caroline were born. Andrea discussed the devastating death withRyan Tubridy onThe Late Late Show aired byRTÉ Entertainment.[13]
The family was raised inDundalk, Ireland.[14] Gerry and Jean had their own band, Sound Affair, which played songs byABBA,The Eagles, and other bands in local pubs inDundalk, where they would often bring along their children.[15][16]
With the encouragement of her parents, Andrea took up the tin whistle and was taught the piano by her father. Throughout their teenage years, she and her siblings would often practice in Jim's bedroom at a house he had rented. Andrea sang lead vocals, Sharon played the violin and both Caroline and Jim played keyboards.[17] Andrea took part in school plays at her school, Dundalk'sDun Lughaidh Convent.[18]
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In 1990, Corr and her siblings formed a quartet called The Corrs.[19] Their career launched in 1991 when they auditioned for the filmThe Commitments in which Andrea gained a speaking role as Sharon Rabbitte.[20]John Hughes noticed the quartet when they auditioned for the movie, and agreed to become their manager.[21] The Corrs signed withAtlantic Records in 1995 and travelled to North America to record their debut albumForgiven, Not Forgotten. The album featured six instrumental selections among its Celtic-influenced tracks. When released, it was successful in Ireland, Australia, Japan, and Spain. The album reachedplatinum status in the United Kingdom and Australia, and quadruple platinum in Ireland, which made it one of the most popular debuts by an Irish group.[22][23][24][25]
Following on from the success of their debut album, they releasedTalk on Corners andIn Blue in 1997 and 2000 respectively.[26] OriginallyTalk on Corners met with lukewarm success, until a remix version was released, when it topped the charts in many countries, and reached platinum status in the United Kingdom and Australia.[27][28]In Blue moved towards mainstreampop, placing heavy emphasis on electronicsynthesisers. It was successful, and was No. 1 in its first sales week in the UK, Ireland, Australia, Germany, Switzerland, and Austria and debuted at No. 2 in France and Norway. It climbed to the top position during its second week in Sweden and Spain.[29]
During the production ofIn Blue, their mother, Jean, died while waiting for alung transplant in theFreeman Hospital inNewcastle, UK.[30] She was laid to rest at St. Patrick's cemetery in Dundalk.Bono,Larry Mullen,Brian Kennedy andPaul Brady were among the attendees.[31] "No More Cry", written by Andrea and Caroline Corr for the album, was dedicated to their father hoping to help with his grief.[32]
In 2003, Andrea recorded "Time Enough For Tears", a song written byBono andGavin Friday for the filmIn America.[33] This track was featured on The Corrs' 2004 albumBorrowed Heaven.[34]Borrowed Heaven was dedicated to their late mother, Jean, and their father, Gerry.[35] The band also dedicated their 2005 tribute albumHome to their deceased mother.[36] The band covered many traditional Irish songs taken from their mother's songbook to commemorate their 15 years as a band.[37][38][39]
In an interview withChris Evans in June 2015, Andrea confirmed thatThe Corrs were working on a new album and would play theBBC Radio 2 'Live in Hyde Park' festival.[40] Their sixth studio album,White Light,[41] was released on 27 November 2015, and was accompanied by a world tour.
In 2017 they released their latest album to dateJupiter Calling, produced by T-Bone Burnett.
While her siblings were on hiatus to raise their families, Andrea launched a solo career. She released her first album,Ten Feet High, on 25 June 2007. It was produced byNellee Hooper, who has worked withGwen Stefani andMadonna;Bono was an executive producer.[42] Her first single, "Shame on You" was an up-tempopop song about men and women going to war and leaving behind partners they may never see again.[43] It received positive reviews from music critics; IndieLondon described the song as a "slick package" that was "polished, well produced and with a message that's difficult to ignore".[43]Losing Today's David Adair gave the song a strong review, writing that Corr's vocals were "crisp and uplifting".[44]Liverpool'sDaily Post gave the song a three-star rating, commenting that it was "deceptively upbeat", which masked its "heavier message about conscription and war".[45]
In 2011 she released her second solo albumLifelines. This album contains covers of song by the likes John Lennon, Donna Summer, The Velvet Underground and more.
In 2020 she released an EP calledChristmas Songs.The EP contains 4 classical Christmas songs and one original song titled Begin Again.
In 2025, Corr participated in thesixth series ofThe Masked Singer as "Snail". She was eliminated in the sixth episode alongsideGrayson Perry as "Kingfisher".
Andrea Corr entered the film industry in 1991 withAlan Parker's filmThe Commitments, in which she had a speaking part as Sharon Rabbitte.[20] In 1996, Parker was directing the film version of the rock operaEvita which starredMadonna. He was so keen on having Corr in the film that he cast her asJuan Peron's mistress, where she performed part of "Hello and Goodbye".[46] Corr provided the singing voice for Kayley, oppositeBryan White (Garrett) inWarner Brothers' first fully animated film, 1998'sThe Quest for Camelot.[47]
Corr resumed her acting career in 2003 where she was cast as Anne inThe Boys from County Clare.[48] The film was not a commercial success, but she won theFilm Discovery Jury Award for Best Actress in theUS Comedy Arts Festival and was nominated for Best Actress in theIFTA Awards. During the Corrs' hiatus she was featured in the 2005 filmThe Bridge and the 2006 filmBroken Thread.[49] Corr appeared as Christina in the playDancing at Lughnasa staged at TheOld Vic theatre in London from February until May 2009.[50]
She played the title role inJane Eyre byAlan Stanford at theGate Theatre in Dublin which opened on 9 November 2010.[51]
In 2018 she wrote and released a book, titledBarefoot Pilgrimage. In this she writes about her youth, the warmth of her family, and about The Corrs.[52]
Andrea Corr and her siblings have played charity concerts to raise money for the Pavarotti & Friends Liberian Children's Village, Freeman Hospital in Newcastle, the victims of theOmagh bombing in Northern Ireland, andThe Prince's Trust in 2004.[5][7][8][53] They are also ambassadors for theNelson Mandela's "46664" campaign, where they performed live to raise awareness towards AIDS in Africa.[54] During the EdinburghLive 8 on 2 July 2005 The Corrs performed "When the Stars Go Blue" alongside Bono to promote theMake Poverty History campaign.[10] In recognition for their charity performances, The Corrs were made Honorary Members of theOrder of the British Empire in 2005 byQueen Elizabeth II.[55]
Corr also partook in atribute single to the late member ofThe Dubliners, Ronnie Drew, called "The Ballad of Ronnie Drew."[56] The song was released on 19 February 2008 and was performed by a number of famous Irish musicians. This included members ofU2,Sinéad O'Connor, Christy Dignam ofAslan, Robert Hunter of theGrateful Dead, who wrote the song,Kíla,Christy Moore,Moya Brennan,Shane MacGowan,Bob Geldof,Damien Dempsey,Gavin Friday, Iona Green, Jerry Fish,Paul Brady,Paddy Casey, Mick Pyro,Mundy,Chris de Burgh,Ronan Keating,Jack L,Eleanor Shanley,Mary Black,Declan O'Rourke,Mary Coughlan,Joe Elliott ofDef Leppard, The Dubliners themselves andThe Chieftains.The single was written to originally include Ronnie himself but was changed to be a tribute to him as his health was declining. Proceeds from sale of the single went to The Irish Cancer Society at the request of Drew himself. The song was performed live onThe Late Late Show aired byRTÉ Entertainment[57] on 22 February with Ronnie Drew in attendance as an audience member, and entered the Irish Single Charts at No. 2.
On 10 October 2010, Corr, amongst others, contributed to theKirsty MacColl tribute concert held atShepherd's Bush Empire to commemorate MacColl's birthday and raise money for charity. She also wrote and sang the song "Oh Brother" on the albumMusic of Ireland – Welcome Home.
On 30 November 2012, Corr lent her support toKate Winslet's Golden Hat Foundation together withTim Janis,Sarah McLachlan,Loreena McKennitt,Hayley Westenra, performing on "The American Christmas Carol" concert inCarnegie Hall.[58][59]
Corr married Brett Desmond on 21 August 2009.[60][61] In November 2011, Corr's pregnancy was announced.[62][63][64][65] Corr gave birth to a daughter on 28 April 2012,[66] and a son on 4 January 2014.[67]
 | This section of abiography of a living personneeds additionalcitations forverification. Please help by addingreliable sources.Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced orpoorly sourcedmust be removed immediately from the article and its talk page, especially if potentiallylibelous. Find sources: "Andrea Corr" – news ·newspapers ·books ·scholar ·JSTOR(May 2018) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
| Title | Album details | Peak chart positions | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| IRE | IRE Indie | AUS [68] | FRA | GER | NLD | SPA | SWI | UK | ||
| Ten Feet High |
| 24 | – | 98 | 128 | 86 | 84 | 9 | 42 | 38 |
| Lifelines |
| 40 | 9 | – | – | – | – | – | – | 48 |
| The Christmas Album |
| 72 [70] | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 32 |
| Title | Details |
|---|---|
| Christmas Songs |
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| Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Album | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| IRE | SPA | UK | |||
| "All I Have to Do Is Dream"(withLaurent Voulzy) | 2006 | – | – | – | La Septième Vague |
| "Shame on You" | 2007 | 43 | 20 | 108 | Ten Feet High |
| "Champagne from a Straw" | – | – | – | ||
| "Tinseltown in the Rain"[71] | 2011 | – | – | – | Lifelines |
| "Pale Blue Eyes" / "Blue Bayou" | – | – | – | ||
| This section of abiography of a living personneeds additionalcitations forverification. Please help by addingreliable sources.Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced orpoorly sourcedmust be removed immediately from the article and its talk page, especially if potentiallylibelous. Find sources: "Andrea Corr" – news ·newspapers ·books ·scholar ·JSTOR(May 2018) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
| Year | Title | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 1991 | The Commitments | Sharon Rabbitte[20] |
| 1996 | Evita | Juan Peron's mistress[46] |
| 1998 | Quest for Camelot | Kayley (singing voice)[47] |
| 2003 | The Boys from County Clare | Anne[48] |
| 2005 | The Bridge | Mary |
| 2006 | Broken Thread | Lily |
| 2009 | Pictures | Donna |
| Year | Title | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 2010 | Jane EyreTheGate Theatre | Jane Eyre |
| 2009 | Dancing at LughnasaTheOld Vic theatre | Christina "Chris" Mundy |
| International | |
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| National | |
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