BLOWN AWAY: The Corrs gave their fans the gig of their lives at their sell-out Whitla Hall concerts in Belfast recently.
from=SUNDAY WORLD,DECEMBER 14, 1997
BLOWN AWAY: The Corrs gave their fans the gig of their lives at their sell-out Whitla
Hall concerts in Belfast recently.
By Ivan Martin
THE CORRS at the Whitla Hall was one of those shows where the band and the audience
were made for each other. The crowd awaited the arrival of their heroes with an expectancy
and impatience that bordered on anxiety.
Once they arrived the crowd went bananas. The band looked nervously at each other and
began to play. The applause after the first number was deafening. The band began to relax.
They knew they were on a winner. But then so were the audience. They sang and danced along
and were generally enthused by the whole thing.
I looked around and wondered what special something The Corrs have to make an audience go
crazy. What ingredient is it that enables them to sell out two nights at one of Belfast's
premier concert venues in a matter of two hours?
Sure they are marketable. They look good. But it's the brilliance of their music that
makes this band.
It is a wonderful marriage of traditional rhythms and rock riffs. 'Forgiven Not Forgotten'
broke the ice for them. The acid test was following it up. That hurdle has been
successfully negotiated by 'Talk On Corners'. It once again captures the mood of todays
contemporary market without surrendering the distinctive Irishness of the product.
The bottom line though is that the audience can identify with the songs because they deal
with subjects that are part of their lives. The principal one is relationships. I'll bet
there was hardly a person in the hall who did not think of themselves as being the person
in the middle of 'I never loved you anyway'. And as for 'Only when I sleep', who hasn't
been down that road?
The Corrs girls have managed to retain the look of being the sort anyone could have a yarn
with. If you met them in the lift you wouldn't get tongue tied and talk about the weather.
Andrea, the lead singer and whistle player is increasingly establishing herself as the
band's tour de force. She had an excellent gig at the Whitla Hall, despite the fact that
she was nervous to the point of trembling.
I found this amazing for someone who has been in The Commitments and in just her second
film role ended up playing opposite Madonna. She is turning into a prolific song writer
too. Indeed the future's so bright I just gotta wear shades, to steal a line from the
song.
Indeed the future for The Corrs looks positively rosy. They have already established a
firm fan base from extensive touring. Europe is already under their spell. They have
broken the ice Down Under and in Japan and America is tailor made for their charms.
To be fair I had no great expectations of The Corrs concert. But they sparkled, worked the
crowd well and my goodness are easy on the eye. So Jim, Caroline, Sharon and Andrea take a
bow. 1998 is about to be taken by storm. Well that's the 'Talk On Corners' anyhow!