Andrea Jane Corr MBE (born 17 May 1974) is an Irish singer and actress. Corr debuted in 1990 as the lead singer of the Celtic folk rock and pop rock group the Corrs along with her three siblings Caroline, Sharon, and Jim. As a band they are notable for their hit singles, including their debut "Runaway", and chart-topping "Breathless", and perhaps even more so for their live performances. Aside from singing lead vocals Corr plays the tin whistle and the piano.
Andrea Jane CorrWith the others, Corr has released five studio albums, two compilation albums, one remix album and two live albums. The Corrs are currently on hiatus because Sharon, Jim and Caroline are raising their children, while Andrea is pursuing a solo career, releasing her debut album, Ten Feet High, in 2007. The album moved away from the folk-rock genre of the Corrs and features a darker edgier dance-pop sound.
Corr is involved in charitable activities. She has 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 and The Prince's Trust in 2004. She is an ambassador for the Nelson Mandela's "46664" campaign, raising awareness towards AIDS in Africa. During the Edinburgh Live 8 on 2 July 2005 the Corrs performed "When the Stars Go Blue" alongside Bono to promote the Make Poverty History campaign. As a result, she received an honorary MBE for her contribution to music and charity in 2005.
Andrea Jane Corr Simply Sexy PhotoPersonal life
Andrea Corr is married to Brett Desmond, son of billionaire Dermot Desmond. They married in St Joseph's Church in Miltown Malbay, County Clare, Ireland on 21st August 2009.
Solo career
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 by Nellee Hooper, who has worked with Gwen Stefani and Madonna; Bono was an executive producer. Her first single, "Shame on You (to Keep My Love from Me)" was an up-tempo pop song about men and women going to war and leaving behind partners they may never see again. 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". Losing Today's David Adair gave the song a strong review, writing that Corr's vocals were "crisp and uplifting". Liverpool's Daily Post gave the song a three-star rating, commenting that it was "deceptively upbeat", which masked its "heavier message about conscription and war".
On 10 April 2009 Andrea announced On Claudia Winkleman's BBC Radio 2 show she would be releasing a second album of old songs and covers, she also spoke of her disappointment and how 'gutted' she had been when her 2007 album Ten Feet High had failed to gain commercial success. She also spoke at length of her experiences while acting in the play Dancing At Lughnasa and how it has given her hope for upcoming projects, including a second solo album of 'old songs':
I loved the play; I saw its original production when I was a teenager so I really worked hard on it and tried to dispel any prejudices that might be there. I'm sensitive about the idea of a singer-turned-actress, it could give across the impression that a celebrity gets bored and goes "hey, what'll I do" and that's really not where I'm coming from, I'm very passionate about this and I have been for a lot of years. It's a totally different experience, this is the real thing. Fortunately everybody (in the play) is incredibly talented (and) really lovely people too and it has been an incredible learning experience for me.
It's not my responsibility to draw (the audience) in, I just have to play the character. The way I would perform songs was always about the lyrics and always about trying to speak to everybody and make them watch and believe what I'm saying and I suppose I'm essentially doing that here but I'm not looking at the audience I'm obviously looking at the other actors.
I'm really happy to do this. I feel rejuvenated by it, I feel excited again. You're very much alive, you're very much in the moment, so I feel I'm really living.
After I released my solo record I felt really disappointed, I believed in the record I made but if you don't have the back-up of your record company investing and marketing it. It's a really tough job and because I wrote the whole thing I really believed in this record, as did Nellee Hooper, I was jaded and disappointed. Last year I decided I'm not doing music until I'm excited again, then this came along and also I did end up making another record which I'll release at some point. It's just being mastered, it's a lovely album; I didn't write this one, this is old songs and I have to sort out my situation- I don't want the same problem as before. I think everybody's enjoyed doing their own thing. Sharon and Caroline are young mothers, they have young children. Our mother and father were really were great parents and they hope to be as good a mother as mine, but Sharon's making her own record and will hopefully release it at some point. But we (the band) never finished, we'll keep it open.'
Acting career
Andrea Corr entered the film industry in 1991 with Alan Parker's film, The Commitments where she had a speaking part as Sharon Rabbitte. In 1996, Parker was directing the film version of the rock opera Evita which starred Madonna. He was so keen on having Andrea in the film that he cast her as Juan Peron's mistress. Corr provided the singing voice for Kayley in Warner Brothers' first fully animated film, 1998's The Quest for Camelot.
Corr resumed her acting career in 2003 where she was cast as Anne in The Boys from County Clare. The film was not a commercial success, but she won the Film Discovery Jury Award for Best Actress in the U.S. Comedy Arts Festival and was nominated for Best Actress in the IFTA Awards. During the Corrs' hiatus she was featured in the 2005 film The Bridge and the 2006 film Broken Thread. Corr appeared as Christina in the play Dancing at Lughnasa staged at The Old Vic theatre in London from February until May 2009 .
Charitable activities
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 the Omagh bombing in Northern Ireland, and The Prince's Trust in 2004. They are also ambassadors for the Nelson Mandela's "46664" campaign, where they performed live to raise awareness towards AIDS in Africa. During the Edinburgh Live 8 on 2 July 2005 the Corrs performed "When the Stars Go Blue" alongside Bono to promote the Make Poverty History campaign. In recognition for their charity performances, the Corrs were made Honorary Members of the Order of the British Empire in 2005 by Queen Elizabeth II.
Corr also partook in a tribute single to the late member of The Dubliners Ronnie Drew. Called "The Ballad of Ronnie Drew." The song was released on 19 February 2008 and was performed by a number of famous Irish musicians. This included members of U2, Sinead O'Connor Christy Dignam of Aslan, Robert Hunter of the Grateful 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 of Def Leppard The Dubliners themselves and The 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 The Irish Cancer Society at the request of Drew himself. The song was performed live on The Late Late Show aired by RTE Entertainment on 22 February with Ronnie Drew in attendance as an audience member, and entered the Irish Single Charts at #2.
| Andrea Corr |
|---|
Andrea Corr performing at Glastonbury 1999. |
| Background information |
| Birth name | Andrea Jane Corr |
| Born | 17 May 1974 (1974-05-17) (age 35) |
| Origin | Dundalk, County Louth, Ireland |
| Genres | Pop, Rock, Celtic |
| Occupations | Singer-songwriter, Actor |
| Instruments | Tin whistle, vocals, piano |
| Years active | 1990-present |
| Labels | 143 Records (until 2002), Lava Records (until 2002), Atlantic Records, Warner Music Group |
| Associated acts | The Corrs |
| Website | www.AndreaCorr.co.uk |
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