Interview: Sharon Corr

The Corrs are finally coming back after a ten year hiatus, who initiated conversation?

Caroline. She had been thinking about it for a while. We'd never said never. We hadn't broken up, we just took time out and had some many kids that the time just extended to 10 years. I think it was inevitable but it was Caroline who brought it up. She made a phone call to each of us and asked if we'd be interested in doing this. There was no pressure and we were all totally for it. We had this sense that it was a journey unfinished. We've spent our whole lives making music together, it's just what we do. It was unnatural for us not to do it, but in the intervening years it was natural to have time apart to have our children, do our solo work and have our own careers. It feels like the right time, it is very organic and we got to do it in a really great way, which was totally private and under the radar. We didn't tell anybody we were doing it. We went into a recording studio in London and brought in what we had and felt out whether we still had something together. It was instant, the first day there were two songs in preparations. It was always set in stone, but we just didn't know it. It was very beautiful and it is a very straight path.

Was there any pressure to deliver what fans were waiting for?

Certainly over the years I was extremely aware of how much The Corrs were loved. I knew how much people wanted us to do stuff again. I think from us the only pressure is internally, whatever that is coming out as at the time. The music we've made on this album is very much now. It's our life's journey, our individual feelings and emotions. It is a very emotional album. It's uplifting, determined and painful. It's got a massive emotional journey on it. The only expectation can be to deliver something good, as you've done that before, but what exactly that comes out at is determined by what happens naturally and artistically together.

Would you say your solo career has shaped the recording at all? Or is that a very separate entity to the group?

I see it separate, but it has made me grow in confidence. I experienced a lot being centre stage and having the sole pressure of delivering a good show, rather than four people. I really grew in confidence and learnt a lot. I worked with a lot of American musicians and toured all over the world. Andrea equally has done that in her solo career and acting. We are all bringing what we have learnt over the last 10 years into the studio and we have all grown a lot in that time. We are a lot more open to listening to each other and being aware that there is a lot of magic in us a four. It is not determined by two or three or one, the magic is in the four. It is great as we all really get that. This doesn't happen without one of us.

You've had two solo albums already. Is your solo career currently on hold?

I'm not making plans in that area at all. I possibly do want to do one in the future, but that isn't part of my thinking at the moment. I either completely invest in this or I am not. I am really lucky to get to do this. It's incredible. To have been able to do both is incredible. I want to give this my all, so I won't spend time thinking what is next. I am living in this moment. I think we will go on to do another album as the music is there. Wherever this journey takes me, I am on it for the ride.

What can expect from the album?

We really do believe in creating a really high quality of music. We are not lazy. We will go back to something if it is not right or hitting where it should hit. It is a deeply emotional album. You can feel the maturity and experience in the album. You can feel joy and relief through the music on the album, even through the heartache. It is all of human experience is sitting on there in every track. It is actually really interesting, and I am not just saying that because we wrote it. I do actually find every topic on the album incredibly interesting. The subjects are quite deep. They range from the story of Ellis Island in New York, of migrants coming in and dreaming of a better life - especially the Irish getting away from the famine. That is so relevant to today and what is going on around the world. People having to leave their countries and seeking asylum, just because of what is happening in their own country. It is incredibly relevant. There is another song called Do What I Like, which is just pure escapism as we need to. We need to not be thinking too much all the time and to get away from negativity, in order to be positive. I think it is very beautiful musically.

How did you decide on the single Bring On The Night?

It always felt like an incredibly strong track. It sounds like us, but it sounds like us now. It sounds like you are taking on the world. It is very resilient, resistant, determined, positive and yet fragile. The record company loved it. So they were behind it and were behind it, so it just felt right.

Is there a song you are most excited, or even nervous, for people to hear?

We've done a number of little showcases and I have seen responses to certain songs. Some of them are very deep, like the song Ellis Island, which has a very deep response with people and it has reduced people to tears. It goes down to three part vocals at the end, just a cappella. That is lovely and there is a beautiful feel of America and Ireland in the music. You feel the mixture and there is something incredibly historical and evocative, while also very now. Music has always reflected history and defined history. A lot of the pieces from the American Civil War were Irish pieces, like Minstrel Boy and Johnny Goes Marching Home. There are some pieces that can make you feel the sense of humanity. The world is struggling quite majorly at the moment, we may not be feeling it in some parts of the world but some are struggling so badly. That one is one that really gets people.

You are currently building up to your first headline tour in a decade, what are you most excited about?

Just being with the audience again. What an amazing buzz. When you go out on stage people want you to do well. It is a really positive thing. I am looking forward to playing the new material. I am looking forward to the old material and reinterpreting some of it. We are becoming more experimental with different things. We did an acoustic version of Dreams recently that took on a whole new level. You can feel what we've learnt coming into the music. I am excited to have that great communion with an awesome. I am excited to get out there and have each other, which is really nice.