from=20th March 1998
By Fraser Middleton
THE CORRS are still hoping to hit the big time in Britain - despite notching up album sales in excess of three million!
The problem for the Irish quartet is simply that they remain something of a cult success in the UK.
Meanwhile, the rest of the world has warmed to the charms of their infectious mixture of modern pop and traditional folk.
There are encouragng signs, however, that the Dundalk family affair of sultry Corr sisters Sharon, Andrea and Caroline, plus brother Jim - who play at the Royal Concert Hall tonight - are starting to make serious inroads in the UK and the quartets second album, Talk On Corners, recently registered in the top 10.
A major factor behind that improved performance is undoubtabely their decision to beef up the sound on the follow-up to their 1995 debut album, Forgiven Not Forgotten.
"The root aspects of our music haven't changed, but we've expanded our sound in general," explains Sharon who combines vocals with violin.
"It was a natural progression for us after being on the road for two years when the live sound is naturally heavier than what you acheive in the studio.
"I'm glad we did take a step towards being a lot more guitar orientated, because there was a real danger of being stuck with a middle-of -the-road label, which is not something that we set out to acheive.
"It seems to have paid off for us, although we're striving to become a household name in Britain.
"We maybe didn't spend enough time here when the first album came out because we were making such a name in the rest of Europe and America. "But we're going to really give it our best shot in the UK over the next year. A lot of success is due to the timing of a band and we just didn't really fit anywhere when the first album came out amid Britpop fever."
The Corrs' first outing as a group came when they auditioned for a part in the Commitments in 1990. Andrea gained a small part in Alan Parker's film and she also joined forces with him again to appear with Madonna as Juan Peron's mistress in Evita.
But although acting is a sideline, Andrea is just as commited to the Corrs' cause as anyone.
"Being in a family makes us very strong-willed as a unit and we've always hd a real belief in ourselves about the music," explains Sharon. "Of course, we also fight like cat and dog sometimes, but it's forgotten the next day. Well, most of the time.!"
Thanks to Danny Anderson for supplying this material!