from=December 15th 1997
Interviewer-Richard Allinson
Richard: We've got a studio full tonight, the Corr family are with us, that's,
Sharon and Andrea Caroline and Jim, welcome boys and girls...
All: Hi!
Richard: Em, I’m amazed we squeezed you all in actually....
Andrea: Well we're small
Richard: Petite...what is the background to the Corr family, are there any other
brothers and sisters wanting to muscle in on this action or is it just you four?
Jim: No, it's just us, we've been together as a band for about eight years, we
formed when we first auditioned for the 'Commitments' film I suppose music is very much in
our family 'cos our parent's played for quite a while...so we're carrying on the tradition
Richard: OK, 'cos you mentioned the Commitments film, we'll talk about that a
little later but you broke through, I think it was a couple of years ago with 'Forgiven
Not Forgotten' cos time flies when you're having fun...eh, it went like a squillion times
platinum back home in Ireland, it was also an enormous hit in Australia. I think you've
done two million copies altogether on that, is that right? Something like that...
Sharon: Yeah
Richard: You're counting...could you put your finger on why it should do so well
for you right on the other side of the planet?
Sharon: Oh dear! There's a difficult question (laughing)
Richard: They get easier later
Sharon: And I always get to answer them!
Richard: This is Sharon talking with her voice now..
Sharon: Em..ah, well obviously I mean we made the effort to go all the way over
there to promote the album, y'know which helps and em, I think that 'em...radio's not very
streamlined in Australia, DJ's can play whatever they want to play so they really really
took to the Corrs, and there was no kindof, massive like....what was happenin' here at the
time was the big Brtipop thing, and that wasn't happenin' in Australia obviously, because
it's not British pop, but em, so they just really really took to us. And then there also
is the Irish emigrants an all that sort of thing as well
Richard: Yes, we haven't really heard of Ozpop yet have we?
Sharon: Ozpop? no
Richard: Maybe it's coming. How about the States 'cos East coast cities have a
strong Irish root, Boston and New York but has it been easy to break across the rest of
America because not only is it a large country but theres a lot of time, it demands a lot
of time to go around and tour and promote..and tour...how’s that been for you?
Caroline: I mean, we've eh, it's actually been very good for us..We've been over
there quite a lot and sold quite a lot of records there but I mean it's all relative to
Europe as well, we've sold a lot more, much more outside, I suppose in Europe and
Australia...but still there’s a kindof like an undercurrent of Corrs fans out there
which is great y'know....
Jim: We've sold about a half a million records there, I think that this time round
on this album, which hasn't been released yet, on March. We're obviously hopin' to do a
lot better
Richard: Okey doke! Let's hear some music then, what are you gonna play for us
Andrea: We'll play, em, "Only When I Sleep" first
Jim: This was the first single off Talk On Corners
They play "Only When I Sleep" in the studio
Richard: That's the Corrs on Radio 2 doing it live Sharon and Andrea and Caroline
and Jim Only When I Sleep which is a track from the new album called Talk On Corners which
is doing good business for you at the moment...I think Jim, I suspect Jim would like it to
do better...
Jim: The album Talk On Corners?
Richard: Yeah
Jim: Actually we're off to a flying start, we’ve already sold over 600,000
copies and that's within three weeks or so. I mean it’s just exploded in Spain for
us, obviously in Australia it's taken off very well, Ireland and also here we managed to
get up to number 7 in the English charts, we couldn't believe it, it was a shock for us to
debut at No.7 here. We're just delighted and hopefully it's onward and upward
Richard: I bet Spain was a shock as well
Jim: It certainly was
Sharon: Oh, Spain’s gone crazy now..I mean we sold a helluva lot the first
time around, and Forgiven Not Forgotten..a year and a half after it was released, it
suddenly took off and we were..all of a sudden recording the second album and going back
to Spain to promote the first one. So it was wild, so then this one, we hit gold within
the first day of sales in Spain, so it's gone crazy now..
Richard: So Sharon, you've got quite a sexy lookin fiddle there, have you alway's
played that or do you sortof swap instruments..
Sharon: Oh, this one?
Richard: Yeah
Sharon: Em, no I haven't always played this one, I have my own old acoustic but
it's much easier, this is an electric fiddle, so it's fidget with the pick-up inside, so
let's just say it's much more reliable..
Richard: It's rockier..
Sharon: It's rockier as well, it's black y'know..
Richard: And Caroline what's that, you've got the bodhran there..
Caroline: Yes
Richard: Is that the only instrument you play or?
Caroline: No, I play drums as well
Richard: The whole kit?
Caroline: Yeah, and piano as well...so
Richard: How about, Andrea's got the tin-whistle and Jim's on guitar, you old
traditionalist you, eh, do you ever swap around a lot? Were you growing up with these
instruments at home I suppose as well
Caroline: It was funny cos we all seemed to take on different instruments, the only
instrument that we all play is the piano actually which our father taught us as kids,
Sharon went on to play classical but we actually went into totally different instruments
which was lucky for the band because otherwise we'd all be playing the same thing.....
Richard: Now there's a strong Irish vein in the music as well on the current album,
but the current album as well is much much rockier. I mean you've got the Chieftains with
you on one of the tracks, you also cover Jimmi Hendrix's Little Wing, just looking at the
tracklisting, it looks like, em, well I was gonna say that old cliché, a veritable galaxy
of talent but I mean, it covers the whole board doesn't it? Is this what's in your record
collection at home, Jim?
Jim: Pretty much so, certainly on the David Foster front we listened to and loved
his music for years, actually not knowing it was him..
Richard: So he produced a lot of this album?
Jim: He produced about em, five tracks on it I think...but we also had absolutely
loved what Glen Ballard did with Alanis Morisette and Jagged Little Pill. And we were
really hoping to get him on board and he was sent our tape by the record company,
absolutley loved it and he actually turned down the Rolling Stones. He's got such a tight
schedule...he turned down working with the Rolling Stones to work with us...I mean we
could not believe that he did that but he did..
Richard: Neither could the Stones! "We don't believe you turned us down"
(laughing)
Jim: We also got to work with some other great artists like Oliver Lieber who's
absolutely brilliant and he produced Only When I Sleep...
Richard: That's Gerry Liebers' son?
Jim: That's right
Richard: From the famous Lieber & Stoller thing 'cos Billy Steinberg has worked
with Madonna and you worked with him and Ric Nowells has worked with Belinda Carlisle, has
there come a time, cos presumably when you were much younger and you were just starting
out you were knocking on people's doors saying 'come and hear us and listen to our
songs'...does there come a particular time when people start ringing you up and say 'we
really want you to work with us'
Sharon: Oh, God...
Jim: That's sorta happened now hasn't it
Andrea: Really?? (laughing) Yeah, I mean I suppose people were really
enthusiastic to work with us on this album after having already worked with David Foster
on the first one, y'know it came a helluva lot easier to find people or
whatever...em...yeah, I mean I suppose that did happen yeah
Richard: You're allowed to say no...
Andrea: Oh I know!...Cos I'm tryin to remember what actually did happen people did
actually ask could they work with us so..it's actually the truth..I wouldn't lie to you
Richard: Yeah, right OK! We've got the Corrs with us on Radio 2 tonight...you're
gonna play some music for us, what is this one?
Jim: This is actually our second single, it's actually just been released..
Richard: No it's not...
Jim: Is it not released yet?
Richard: ..we're gonna do "No Good For Me"
Jim: OH! I'm sorry! (Everyone laughs)
Richard: So this isn't the second single?
Jim: No, it’s not..we're gonna play..
Sharon: A track off the album..."No Good For Me"
They play "No Good For Me" in the studio
Andrea: Oh God..You'll have to excuse the post-tour voice, we've just done four
nights in a row of so much touring
Richard: I was gonna say....
Sharon: ...and I've just realised my voice is gone! And yours is going
Andrea: I use-to be pure (laughs)
Caroline: Another thing Andrea...why do you take your clothes off when you sing?
Richard: 'Cos I get hot!
Jim: Oh it's that, it's not nerves?
Caroline: But that sounds awful...weird (Everyone laughs)
Andrea: By the way, I have not taken off my clothes. I merely took off my
cardigan..listeners
Richard: That's right and then she put it on at the end of the first song and then
she started singing...
Andrea: I am underneath my cardigan wearing a Nun's habit..
Jim: It's the DJ that's naked
Richard: Nah, it's the theatre of the mind that we're playing to...
Andrea: Yeah you're playing up on this!
Richard: The Corrs are with us in the studio tonight and...
Jim: ..Put your clothes back on..
Richard: ..and take that lampshade off your head as well. You were talking about
touring a lot, and you have done touring a lot and you put yourselves in hospital
virtually about a year or two ago didn't you? Just non-stop touring and you drag yourself
out of bed with the flu and do Wembley and then go home again...
Andrea: I know it's been serious, but I mean I think it's led to success in the
territories that we've had success in...y'know I mean we spent a year and a half touring
on 'Forgiven Not Forgotten' and the reason we did that was because of demand and
territories that seemed to wake up to our music a bit later than others so, when we think
"Oh, no we'll have a rest", it would take off in Spain or somewhere else and
we'd have to go there... or Australia, Japan etc. So I mean it's crazy, but I mean
it's...it is the...I think that for all of us, we find it the most enjoyable part...I mean
talking and telling people about it is so much or whatever but you actually, to perform
and even as we're doin here acoustically with the raw voices an' all...but there's much
more of a buzz out of that than tryin' to explain what the sound is
Richard: The great thing I have about having guests in the studio is comparing what
you do live to comparing what you do on the CD...and it's em, voices permitting....
Sharon: It's poor in comparison!
Richard: No we love it! That's why we invite you in..but did it all start because I
heard a story that Jim started off in Pubs the old acoustic stuff and then you formed the
band on top of that, is that right?
Jim: It was actually myself and Sharon we had gone through some hard times I
suppose as every band does and we had to make a living so we started playing traditional
Irish music and singing, like, Irish ballads
Caroline: Of course it was only when myself and Andrea joined that we actually
started to take off! (Laughs)
Richard: This is Caroline here...
Jim: No!
Richard: I don't wanna get into a domestic!...don't wanna start one of those (Everyone's
laughing)
Sharon: Are you sure, it makes good radio!
Richard: You went in the Commitments early on, the Alan Parker movie, you must've
been asked this a load..a load of times but what's the story about you and Alan Parker and
that Commitments movie
Andrea: Em..Oh...
Jim: Pregnant pause..
Caroline: Very Pregnant pause!
Andrea: An overdue pause actually..Em..
Richard: Cue Sharon!
Sharon: Sorry..OK...I'm gonna answer this one..Em I can't get my thoughts around a
single thing today..
Richard: Alan Parker came up to you and said "Do you want to be in a
film?"
Sharon: No he didn't do that, no that never happened..Em..no there was open
auditions happening in Dublin for the film. And..Em..Our manager was working on the film,
he wasn't our manager at the time but was about a few days later and he was working on the
film and he'd met Jim and we decided that we would send up photos to it and anyway...so we
went up to the audition and we auditioned in front of Alan Parker and then we read for him
and then we all got small parts in the film. Some of us very small, some of us still
looking for ourselves in the film
Jim: It's getting domestic again!
Sharon: Andrea had a more significant role in the film, she was combing her hair
and saying rude words..
Andrea: ..I said rude lines..it was hard
Richard: Surely not!
Andrea: I know, it was terrible!
Richard: Butter wouldn't melt in your mouth. And you were chucked out of Jonathan
Prices' bed to be replaced by Madonna in the film version of Evita weren't you Andrea..
Andrea: Yes..well then that's another Alan Parker movie, so he remembered my rude
words and in the Commitments..
Richard: ..."chuck her in bed with Jonathan Price that'll do"
Andrea: ..And thought I could go to bed and be chucked out I suppose
Richard: Jim is this democracy in action....
Jim: oh very much so
Richard: ...with you and the three sisters, is it?
Jim: Actually they crack the whip...
Sharon: That was a bit premature I think that's suspect now!
Richard: I hadn't finished the question!
Andrea: That's the beatings...that's what the beatings do
Caroline: Beatings...he's scared!
Richard: So you just played a load of concerts in the UK and you love the live
experience and this album is either rocky or its acoustic or it's traditional irish. What
works best, 'cos you've just sold out lots and lots of small venues and you've also played
big venues as well, which do you prefer? C'mon Caroline, you've been a bit quiet...
Caroline: Oh..I have to say, doing this, the new album has given us a great lease
of life because the songs are very energetic, but I mean we love doin the whole
lot..breaking it down..what we do during our set is we go down to purely acoustic, just
the four of us and then we bring in, everybody the whole band and I jump back onto drums
and we have the whole electric show with traditional rock. Every element is just a
different lease for us on stage and the audience seem to be enjoying it so far
Richard: Ok, let's here some more please...what are we gonna play now? The Corrs
are on Radio 2 and they've got all their instruments with them
Sharon: OK Jim, you can get it right this time!
Jim: This IS our second single
Richard: And this is called?
Jim: "I Never Loved You Anyway"
Sharon: Wait on me, OK? (laughs)
They play "I Never Loved You Anyway" in the studio
Richard: Who did that to you? Who made you that angry to make you write those
lyrics, Andrea?
Andrea: You did!
Richard: Thanks for that..One word is used an awful lot in describing acts when new
albums come out, and em, a lot of people are described as "originally talented"
but I think you girls and boy are just fantastic and thankyou for coming on Radio 2
tonight
All: Thankyou
Richard: Sharon and Andrea and Caroline and Jim are here, the Corrs, thanks it's
been great and good luck and a happy New Year
All: Happy New Year
Special thanks to Andy Prime for supplying this material!