SINÉAD O'CONNOR - FAMOUS BIPOLAR SINGER & SONGWRITER
Born on December 8 1966, Sinead Marrie Bernadette O’Connor is a singer and songwriter of Irish origin. She became famous with her first album The Lion and the Cobra. She was known to be outspoken and expressed her view on religion and politics, views which almost always generated controversy. Her music career began while in Newton School. She drew the attention of the music industry by her performance with the Ton Ton Macoute band. O’Conner worked for a number of record firms, and her music was always a hit. She has eight albums to her credit. O’Conner performed in a number of collaborations with other artists and also in fundraising concerts. She was also noted for her appearance of a shaved head and unusual clothing.
At age 15, O’Conner left her mother to live with her father. She was enrolled in Newton School where together with some of her colleagues formed the Ton Ton Macoute band. O’Connor got signed by Ensign Records where she had her first manager. She wrote the soundtrack for the film Captive. She became pregnant whils there and was fired for speaking ill of Ensign. After she was fired, the company allowed her to record her own album. Her first two albums did well and won her fame. She also gave a cover to Cole Porter as a tribute to the AIDS money collection album called as ‘Red Hot + Blue’.
O’Conner returned to Dublin after 9 years in London and Los Angeles where she spent most of her time taking care of her six year old son. She studied under Frank Merimman Bel Canto singing during this time. She made a track for the album which was ‘Just Because I’m a Woman’, which was the Dolly Parton tribute album. She also released a double album, after which she retired briefly. She came back into music with a new style.
O’Conner was known to have suffered depression during her life. At the age of 37, she was diagnosed with bipolar disorder. She confirmed during an interview on the Oprah Winfrey show that she attempted suicide on her 33rd birthday. She said she had had suicide thoughts since she was 23. O’Conner also admitted hearing voices often, telling her to do something bad to herself. She said the voices got so loud she took herself to hospital. She was put on antidepressants, which brought some relief to her. These all confirmed that she had bipolar disorder.
Staying with her father at 15, she committed a series of shoplifting and truancy, leading to her being placed in an asylum. She spent her time there writing music. O’Conner was also outspoken with no regard to who she was addressing or what issue she was addressing. She was also often aggressive and wore an angry face during performances. These may be symptoms of the bipolar disorder she suffered.
O’Conner married John Reynolds with whom she had a child. The marriage ended in a divorce and she later married Nicholas Sommerlad. Prior to her first marriage, she dated Anthony Kiedis of Red Hot Chilli Peppers.