Sinead O'Connor: preparing to play Dublin Castle.
Sinéad O'Connor is, as they say, back. Following the well-received 2005 reggae album Throw Down Your Arms, she returns with a new double album, Theology, and a headline gig in Dublin Castle on May 6th. The new album features nine new songs and some intriguing covers (including Curtis Mayfield's We People Who Are Darker Than Blue), with each song presented in both acoustic and full-band versions.
How did the double album come about? "It was accidental. I've always wanted to do an acoustic album because I usually do an acoustic set at the end of my gigs and the audience go mad. After I had done the acoustic songs, Ron Tom got in touch, so I went to London to record some demos with him. The only songs I had were the songs off Theology. I remember saying to him that we'd do a future album together and he nearly cried. He really wanted to record the Theology songs. So I thought, let's do both. I liked the symbolism of it, the different slants on theology."
She was "enormously gratified" by the positive reaction to Throw Down your Arms. "I always wanted to do a reggae album and it was great that people liked it. The process of making it was very inspirational in terms of coming up with the songs for Theology."
Despite her experience, O'Connor still gets nervous before gigs. "Most musicians are stark raving mad and I'm no exception, I think you have to be. For gigs you create a character to protect yourself. I try to wear something comfortable because if I wear something I don't normally wear just for a gig that makes me more nervous. When I'm singing I pretend I'm in the bathroom, or in a studio and that calms me down. I spend most of my gigs with my eyes closed. Strange things happen when you open your eyes. I made eye contact with this woman's husband at a gig one time and I think she thought I was trying to pull him."
This week sees her rehearsing in London. "Normally I spend six weeks or so in rehearsals but this time around I only have a week. There are six others in the band and I can't afford to bring them all to Dublin for six weeks. I don't sell millions of albums any more. I also don't like being away from my kids for that long. So that's stressing me out a bit and worrying whether I will remember the words of songs. I'm excited about the rehearsals because it's a chance to meet up with old mates like John Reynolds [her first husband and father of eldest son Jake] who I've been playing with for years. I don't feel so lonesome being away when he's around."
Sinéad gave birth to her fourth child, Yeshua, at Christmas, so the prospect of a world tour is not something she relishes. "You can't bring them with you because it's no life for a child. I do the tour in bits and pieces, about 10 days a month. It's absolutely horrible to leave them, but they understand this is how Mammy pays the bills." The Dublin Castle gig promises performances of some old hits as well as the new songs. Is it a chore to revisit old highlights? "Not at all. I still love performing songs like The Emperor's New Clothes and Fire on Babylon. And of course that song I won't mention." Did anyone say Nothing Compares 2 U?
Sinéad O'Connor, Heineken Green Energy Festival, Dublin Castle Sunday May 6th with support from Kila and Delorentos. See www.mcd.ie