Sharon Corr will support Ronan Keating at Newcastle Entertainment Centre on February 11. Tickets through Ticketek.MUSIC is more than just melody and harmony for Sharon Corr.
‘‘Music is the ultimate therapy, you don’t need to pay a psychologist,’’ Corr told LIVE over the phone from her native Ireland.
‘‘When I write a song I can take all my troubles out on it. If I’m sad, if I’m frustrated, if I’m lonely, if I’m whatever, you know, pissed off. I’ve always found music always makes me feel better. If I feel bad and I go to the piano, I feel better afterwards.’’
Sharon gained fame alongside her siblings Andrea, Caroline and Jim as a member of the Irish singing family The Corrs, who hit the world music charts in the mid-1990s. Sharon played violin and sang, as well as writing hits including So Young.
The band released a string of successful albums including Forgiven Not Forgotten, Talk On Corners, In Blue and Home. Hit singles included Runaway, Love To Love You, Breathless, Radio and I Never Loved You Anyway.
In 2006 The Corrs went on a hiatus, but nothing could stop Sharon making music.
‘‘When The Corrs came off the road one thing I decided to do was not to stop writing because, you know, you get really rusty if you stop. The thing is to keep going.
‘‘I didn’t want to find myself a year down the line writing really crap songs so I kept writing and that instinct totally led me to writing an album,’’ she told LIVE.
‘‘It was a very organic process for me. I suppose it was always in the back of my mind that I would [record a solo album] one day. But I wouldn’t say I planned it, it just kind of happened.’’
Corr recorded and released her debut solo album Dream Of You in 2010 and threw herself into performing as a solo artist.
Not one to take things slowly (‘‘I have a tendency to throw myself into the deep end’’), Corr’s first solo gig was the UK’s Isle of Wight Festival.
‘‘I do remember hyperventilating beforehand. But I had two lovely backing vocalists with me going, OK, breathe, breathe,’’ Corr said with a laugh.
‘‘But as soon as I got out there I was like, yeah, I know this, I like this, this is fun. But before, yeah, I was totally terrified.’’
Even now, with a string of solo shows under her belt and appearances on Irish television show The Voice, Corr admits she still feels the jitters.
‘‘There’s always a healthy fear there. If you go out there blase going I can do this in my sleep, I don’t think you’re trying hard enough. I think out of respect for an audience you do have nerves because you want to please them and want more than anything for them to be moved by what they are hearing.’’
Corr isn’t afraid to pour herself into her songs to have the desired effect on the audience, describing the songs as ‘‘very personal’’, both musically and lyrically.
She also readily admits that love features heavily in her songs – but it’s not just romantic love and it’s not all rosy.
‘‘Love kind of makes the world tick. It’s Not A Dream on the album is about appreciating being loved and about having somebody to hold your hand to face the world, because this world is a tough place.
‘‘I wrote the song to never forget to appreciate what I have, to remind me that it is really special what I have – to battle the world with somebody,’’ she explained.
‘‘But there’s other songs on the album like Love Me Better which says you need to try harder, you’re pissing me off, so that was an angry song. Dream of You is actually about the love of my unborn child. Butterflies on the album is about my love of music and my love of performance – it’s about the butterflies in my tummy before I get on stage. It’s about that communion with the audience which is just unbelievable.
‘‘So it’s different versions of love and all the things that I think make people tick.’’
Though she wrote songs for The Corrs, Sharon said it was a different experience writing for her solo record.
‘‘I’m working with a lot of writers now. When I wrote [The Corrs hit] So Young I wrote it on my own in a hotel room in Dublin. I was very self-nurturing in a way and I used to protect myself all the time, but now I just throw myself out there and see what comes.
‘‘I think I’m on a bigger journey musically than perhaps I was.’’
Apart from her commitments with The Voice, writing and demo’ing a new album, let alone her personal life which includes being a mother of two, Corr is taking on the support slot for fellow Irishman Ronan Keating’s Australian tour.
After years of meeting in green rooms and passing in corridors, the two will play cities and regional centres, including a Newcastle show on February 11.
Corr said her performance would highlight her solo work but also include hits by The Corrs, including Radio and So Young, as well as a cover of a song by her idol Joni Mitchell.
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