from=5th January 1998
His sisters get all the glances, but Jim cares not a fig, since The Corrs now straddle the UK album charts with their butter-wouldn't-melt Celtpop. "Beauty's not important," they tell quivering David Quantick.
"Corr Blimey - we get that one a lot," says Andrea Corr.
"Pop sensations," says Caroline Corr.
"Pop sensitivity," Sharon Corr says. "We're still trying to figure that one
out."
Jim Corr is silent, as a man with three sisters is prone to be.
The Corrs all look alike and are gorgeous. They are three sisters - Caroline (drums),
Sharon (violin) and the youngest, Andrea, who is the singer - and one brother, the
understandably stoical Jim (guitars). From Dundalk in County Louth with musical parents,
The Corrs were not however, an all-singing Celtic family like the more traditional Clannad
or the terrifying roadkill-meets-Riverdance Kelly Family.
Their first outing as a group was an audition for, perhaps inevitably, The Commitments.
Andrea landed a small part in the film; the rest of The Corrs can be seen with her in the
video, The Making Of The Commitments. Musical advisor on the Commitments was one John
Hughes, a close friend of Riverdance supremo Bill Whelan. Hughes became their manager and
helped them become a proper group.
Hughes, a large man with murderer's cropped grey hair, is not overly reverential towards
his band. "For The Commitments audition," he says cruelly, "Jim had on this
appalling red jacket and he had a terrible haircut."
Jim, an uneffusive man whose oddest habit is always being the last person to get up when
everyone leaves, protests feebly. "It was the 80's" he says hopelessly.
"Everyone looked like that."
Hughes encouraged The Corrs and they began to create their distinctive half-Irish-West
Coast pop sound.
"I've known them right from the start and they've developed and changed over the
years," Bill Whelan says, "But you listen to their earliest demos and it's all
there."
The Corrs became a proper band, while Andrea's movie career lurched forward when she
appeared as Juan Peron's mistress in Evita, where she was pulled out of bed by Madonna.
The Corrs played in Dublin and Boston, and signed to Atlantic Records in 1995. They
recorded their debut album Forgiven But Not Forgotten, which sold two million copies.
Now they are stars all over the world except Britain, which is showing signs of
succumbing. The Corrs' latest album, Talk On Corners, features full-on LA songwriter
contributions while The Chieftains turn up to gurgle their way through a version of Jimi
Hendrix's Little Wing. The album is rockier than it's predecessor, but it's breezy
harmonies and strong melodies remain as radio friendly as before. In the nicest possible
way, The Corrs are the anti-Pogues.
Today The Corrs are rehearsing for a world tour in The Factory, a huge old dockside
warehouse which, not unusually for Dublin, belongs to U2. The four of them are spread
around a large room in stage formation. At the back Caroline drums in gloves, like martial
arts-style Karen Carpenter. Sharon plays a calm and serene violin. Jim a serious, almost
frowning acoustic. Andrea grins as she sings.
Sharonpicks up a fax.
"We've gone silver in the UK," she announces. "How many is that?"
No-one seems to know, but it's good news.
While half the world bows at the attractive multiple knee of The Corrs, the UK is
resistant still.
Sitting in a quiet corner owned by U2, Andrea Corr lists the amount of plays The Corrs
have received on Radio One.
"None," she says.
"Which is funny," says Sharon. "Because so many other radio stations are
playing us."
"If you want to write in the article a particular plea..." Andrea says, and the
Corr sisters launch into a not unappealing mass keening.
"Please, Radio One!" they wail, only half joking, "Play our song! Give us a
hand!"
Jim's explanation for The Corrs' lack of success in the UK is typically prosaic. "We
started to take off in certain different territories and we had to go there," he
says. "I think we felt that we didn't concentrate sufficiently on England and we're
certainly making an effort this time."
"When we started , the thing was the techno craze and Britpop and we didn't fit
in," Sharon says. "Timing is a huge factor in a band's career."
IMAGE TOO FOR MOST OF US, the idea of Irish singing families is tied up
with foaming mugs of Guinness by a big peat fire of a wintren eve, or something. In actual
fact, The Corrs landed their big break after playing on a battleship in America.
"I think we suffered from the idea of family band, Irish family band... what category
does a record shop put us in? OK, they can go with the traditional music," says
Sharon If you're not recognised by folk and you're not recognised by pop then where are
you?"
She smiles. "But it's not so much of a problem now. We've reached Number 7 in the
album charts in England which is like saying, We're not folk!"
Not folk, but kin.
"People do think we live in a big house together playing around the fire, with cows
in the kitchen and stuff," Andrea sighs.
"But it's just the way it happened" Jim says, sanely. "I played in bands,
Sharon played classical violin, Caroline studied piano and Andrea was in a few
plays..."
"I did drugs," Andrea says unconvincingly. "I was...out there."
"It's good that we started away from each other," Sharon says. "Because you
bring your own influences, rather than being brought up musically in this cocoon. It was
good for us to be ourselves and then to be the family thing."
"Like the Carpenters," says Andrea. "I heard that when Richard got a
girlfriend, Richard and Karen and the girlfriend were staying in the house and they put
their parents up in a hotel and the parents were really angry. They were like, This
stranger has been put up in your house and you're sticking your parents up in a
hotel."
The Corrs are not The Carpenters. They are, however, hugely attractive. Men and women are
stopped in their tracks by the beauty of these people. Is there anyone more attractive in
pop?
The Corrs go embarrassed.
"Oh God, absolutely everyone," Andrea says, obviously forgetting Space and Jimmy
Nail.
"Jewel," Caroline says. "She's gorgeous, isn't she?
She's got something."
"We can't compare ourselves to other people," Sharon says. "And beauty's
not really that important."
Indeed not. The Corrs are affable, funny, and talented people who remain entirely
unannoyed by everything. Well, almost everything.
"Sibling quartet!" Andrea says. "I hate that!"
"It sounds like chicken livers," adds Sharon.
"Giblet quartet," Andrea says, and The Corrs all laugh, attractively.