BBC Radio 2

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INTERVIEWER: We have The Corrs with us tonight. You’re looking well.
ALL: Thank you.
SHARON: You too.
INTERVIEWER: It’s been a hell of a year, though – isn’t it?
ANDREA: Yeah, it’s been pretty hectic, um. As usual, God, yeah. We’re looking forward to the break now because it’s been hard to remember all that we’ve done. It’s been pretty intense.
INTERVIEWER: We’re looking forward to Christmas Eve because, well it’s the first chance we get to hear the concert that you recorded with the BBC Concert Orchestra at the Riverside studios. And it’s not your first time with an orchestra – but come on, frankly, what’s it like playing with an orchestra?
CAROLINE: You know it’s really daunting actually, I think, you know because you’ve got so much to think
about – so much more to think about when you’re doing it. When we did the Unplugged, we did about a week of
rehearsal, or maybe a little bit more than that. And then spent what was it – a day recording it. And we always
thought, you know, it’s great to do a record in one day, which is fantastic. But it is hard because you have to
think about the orchestra. You have to think about so many things about timing because, you know we’re so
used to playing ourselves on our own, but then when you bring an entire orchestra – you have to think about, ‘Is
this actually going to gel or not?’ Beginnings, endings – so it’s a lot more, more things to think about. So in that
way, yeah, it’s difficult, but ah, we still love doing it. It’s amazing to do it. It feels great.
INTERVIEWER: This is Caroline talking with her voice, by the way. And you seem to run the gig, cause you’re on the drums, and so…
CAROLINE: Well that’s what I say, but no one agrees with me (laughing.)
INTERVIEWER: Well you certainly start it off.
CAROLINE: I start it off, but that’s about it, yeah.
INTERVIEWER: So it’s down to you.
CAROLINE: Well if I don’t come in basically nobody else does, so that would be a problem. But other than
that, I just keep up with everybody else (laughing.)
INTERVIEWER: It sounded like you had a good time on the night, cause I was there for the first 10 minutes.
You just look like you were having a ball.
SHARON: Then you left (laughing.) It was that bad (more laughing.)
JIM: We certainly did. We had a great time. I mean it’s a novelty for us to be doing it with an orchestra. We did it once before. And it was kind of like throwing ourselves into the deep end. But we enlisted the services of a
great producer, Mitchell Froom, who’s worked with Crowded House and Suzanne Vega before. And he was
just perfect for that kind of a vibe. And, ah, it was wonderful. It’s wonderful to hear the songs, organic in a
sense. And, of course, with the orchestra it just gives us a whole new meaning to the whole thing.
INTERVIEWER: What’s it like actually playing to different audiences? Because you played to the Pope. You
played to the Queen. Played to Bill Clinton. That’s just three names, you know you can probably drop many
more. Did different audiences in different parts of the world take the music differently?
ANDREA: Countries are diverse in their reactions rather than, ah, taking it differently. You know, I mean I think
that wonderful thing about music and about our music is that it seems to affect people of many different cultures –
I mean from Ireland to Japan, which was quite a shock to us to see the response when we visit these places. And
of course, you know, if you play for the Pope, it’s a lot more timid. He’s not exactly jumping up and down.
(laughter.) It would be a problem if he was. But, ah, you know and Clinton – those things they’re quite, they’re
quite formal affairs. Ah, but you know it’s quite amazing to be playing in front of people like that. And Nelson
Mandela when we played for him as well, you know, you’re really aware of such powerful people, brilliant brains
– watching your music and also appreciating the power of music to get real issues through to people. So, you
know, it’s amazing to stand on the stage and know that you’re playing to these people. I mean the greatest
pleasure, really, is playing to your fans. And that’s from all around the world, and just knowing that their getting
special night out, and that in turn makes it, you know, very special to you.
INTERVIEWER: Yeah. If you look at it on paper – if The Corrs did a Jimi Hendrix song, it would raise an
eyebrow, or two. And you do “Little Wing.” And it was the part of the show where everybody just sort of held
their breath.
JIM: You know, we fell in love with that song – not, not from listening to the Jimi Hendrix version, but from
listening to the Sting version. We absolutely loved it, and we, we just started to play it around the piano, initially.
SHARON: We actually recorded it with the Chieftans, cause we did another song with them. And actually,
Paddy came up with the traditional line in it. Which I think really adds to it – I think it makes it very beautiful,
makes it very…it’s a really, really haunting song. And each time it’s been done, it’s been done quite differently.
Like obviously the Hendrix version is the original, and it’s great. But’s is a very kind of rocking, soulful version.
And then Sting’s again is different. So I mean, that’s beautiful, and then with us and then the Irish kind of input
into it – it’s a very haunting, very beautiful song.
INTERVIEWER: Cause there’s no point in going and copying something, is there? You’ve got to put your own
tilt on it.
SHARON: No, no. Especially if it’s that good.
JIM: Sometimes when a song is that good, you’re nearly afraid to tread on it. You know there are certain songs
that you just cannot improve on. And I think we found that out when we covered different songs in the past that
you just have to remain as close to the original as possible. Because, ah, we kind of did that with “Old Town”
with a Phil Lynott – a Thin Lizzy song. We kept very close because, you know, we couldn’t envisage where to
take that – what other direction to take it other than where it was at in the first place. So we just did our version.
SHARON: The interesting thing about “Old Town” was we discovered when we did our first Unplugged session
that the guy who scored the music for us which was Fiachra Trench – he actually did the original scoring on the
original version. So it was absolutely brilliant to have the original scorer in and scoring it for us again. I mean the
trumpet solo was fantastic in it. That’s brilliant.
INTERVIEWER: One of the things that always goes down well, and if your sort of trying to write the music out
and say “what’s gong to work on a live gig?” Um, “Toss The Feathers” always goes down really well and it’s
probably the most traditional thing you do.
CAROLINE: We’ll probably never stop playing that one. (all laugh.) We’ll be 60 or 70 playing it.
INTERVIEWER: Part of the show rocks, too. A lot of people might be quite surprised. But, um, the famous
quote from Bono – he saw Garbage one night. He said, “They were quite loud.” Garbage are a loud band. And
two nights later he came to see The Corrs and he said, “They were even louder!” And he couldn’t believe it.
CAROLINE: Yeah, I think it’s a lot more rockier on stage, when we get it all together on stage, it’s a bit of a
different show. And it’s different than the records. I think when you do records, it’s a sheen of it that you don’t
feel. And I think the energy off stage is much much different and much louder, yeah.
INTERVIEWER: So, um, who learns the instruments? And was there any particular order? Cause Jim, you’re
traditionally on guitar, but we see you playing keyboards as well.
JIM: Well we all, we all gravitated towards, um…we loved piano for a start. Our Dad taught us how to play
piano – all of us. But then Sharon gravitated towards the violin and joined orchestras. Caroline came to drums
much later through a boyfriend who taught her how to play initially. And then she basically taught herself. I think
it was very obvious from, you know when Andrea was able to speak – that she was going to be a singer, cause
she just, she loves music so much and, you know we couldn’t get her away from the record player. In fact, she
destroyed all my, all my albums from overplaying them. But it was very obvious from an early day that she was
going to be the lead singer. And I was taught guitar when I was about 12 by a next-door neighbor. So that’s
kind of the way, it just kind of fell into place, you know?
INTERVIEWER: Yeah. So when you’re writing an album, do you actually sit down and say, “Right, we’re
writing an album now. Shut the door, we’re going to write a song”? Or does somebody come up with an idea
and then you just work on it?
SHARON: We’ll usually kind of leave it fairly natural, I mean you can’t really shut the door and come up with the goods. Music doesn’t work that way cause it’s so inspirational. And it’s usually you’re caught in a moment and you have to grab that moment and make the most of it. So if you hear a tune in your head, or if you’re inspired by something. And the way we write is, um, we all come together eventually on all of the songs. But it can be two of us, it can just be one of us that will come up with the bones of a song, and then we’d all work in it. So it’s good for us because we all write so it’s not all left down to just one person to come up with the whole album so we usually end up with enough work for the album.
INTERVIEWER: Cause you seem to have gone your own way, all the time. You seem to have created your own place in the market. Imagine pop idol, right? We’ve got a guy who’s singing and he’s playing the guitar. You’ve got a girl with a fiddle. You’ve got a girl with a tin whistle. And another girl playing drums.
CAROLINE: They probably thought it won’t work. (laughter)
INTERVIEWER: Exactly. And nobody seems to making the music you’re making and having the success you’re having with it.
JIM: Well we’re just doing something that we love. We love writing. Um, I don’t think we’re following any
particular trends. If you’re capable of carving a unique niche for yourself, you know, it can stand the test of time.
That’s what I think we’ve managed to do.
SHARON: It’s difficult originally because we were quite different. It was difficult for people to understand why it
would work. And in the shops they never knew what section to put us in. We were constantly going to record
stores in America, and we’d find us hidden behind in the folk section somewhere in the bowels of the store, you
know? They just didn’t know, but yet we’re pop. We have a traditional Irish influence. And that was more
difficult to break. But then with any kind of new act that’s original, they’re always more difficult to break, but they
do have a tendency when they break to really take on. It just took us a while, you know? So 11 years, overnight
success.
INTERVIEWER: Long night?
SHARON: Yeah.

(Record plays: “What Can I Do?”)

INTERVIEWER: That’s the remix of “What Can I Do?” with The Corrs on late-night Radio 2. And I say remix cause the album track stood out so much with those vocals at the start. The “do do’s.” What’s it like when you send a song away to be remixed? Is it like one of you babies going away and you feel quite precious about it?
ANDREA: I think initially when we started off in the band, we were much more precious. And then, then I think
we realized that, you know, we ourselves and we know very much. You know, we write together, we play
together. It’s very, very subjective – the opinions can become that way. You know, and to send it off and see
somebody else’s slant on it – yes, it’s a bit unnerving initially. But then when it comes back, I mean particularly
“What Can I Do?” – the remix that, uh, Tin Tin Out did – we were thrilled with it. We loved the guitar riff. And
we thought it just gave it a whole new vibe. So I think initially, yeah you’re a bit scared about what they’ll so, but
then of course you don’t need to be cause you don’t need to accept it. You just say, “No, it’s not working”,
which we have done on occasion. But, um, that one was good.
CAROLINE: Yeah, I think Tin Tin Out on that one were very creative. Sometimes you can get a remix back and it’s quite similar to what you’ve done yourself. And you get a bit disappointed. But I think on that particular one – it was extremely creative what they did. So it was something new.
INTERVIEWER: Don’t you ever get the temptation to do it yourself sometimes? Go back in and play with it
afterwards?
ANDREA: Well I think Jim probably has at times. You know, but um, not us, you know. I wouldn’t have. I
mean that’s why a producer is very, very important. I think we realized that more because we did an awful lot of
“In Blue” ourselves and that puts it in your hands. The responsibility is for how many number of people that are in
the studio. And objectivity is hard to find. You know, and you find that you’ve got a track that is laden with all
the stuff that you like and you don’t know what to get rid of. So you kind of need one head that goes, “Get rid of
it. You know, we’re losing the song here.” But, you know so in that way, yeah we have gone in ourselves and
gone, you know, “Take this out, take that out.” You know and sometimes it’s been a bit, “Don’t want to.” But
you have to it for the song to be better.
INTERVIEWER: Just one thing. It’s been three albums now.
JIM: Three studio albums.
SHARON: Three studio.
INTERVIEWER: Three studio albums, and the “Best Of” collection with the two new songs on it.
JIM: And an “Unplugged” album as well.
INTERVIEWER: And an “Unplugged” album as well.
SHARON: Get your facts right (laughter.)
INTERVIEWER: So it’s a handful of albums, then.
SHARON: A couple.
JIM: A good load.
INTERVIEWER: So basically you’ve sold about 20, just over 26 million albums now.
JIM: We would have done with the “Best Of” album just coming up to, ah, I think we’re at two million on the
“Best Of” album. So that brings us to a total of 26 million, yeah.
INTERVIEWER: What’s the view like from up there? (laughter.) You make it sound easy.
SHARON: It’s heady.
INTERVIEWER: It’s heady.
JIM: Well, the amount of work that we’ve done to achieve that, that success has been tough at times. But, you
know, it makes it all worthwhile. You know, when you equate that to how other bands have done in similar
position to us, I think we’ve done extremely well.
INTERVIEWER: I’m glad you said that cause there’s still a fraction that reckon you were an overnight success
about two years ago. And it was you, Jim and Sharon that started it all off years ago just playing – was it guitar
and fiddle? In pubs and things.
SHARON: Well we used to do, um, um sort of a sideline gig. We already had the band together and we were
writing and recording music together. But we were pretty short of money. So myself and Jim used to go out and
play in the local pubs around town and get as much money out of them as we could. (Laughs) You know, just to kind of try and fund ourselves. And that was good. It was a very good process for learning a lot of traditional
pieces, which have certainly influenced every one of our albums, you know?
INTERVIEWER: Was there a time when you suddenly woke up one morning and you thought, “Actually, we’ve cracked it. We’ve actually cracked it now.”?
ANDREA: Like gone crazy (laughter) or broken the record industry?
INTERVIEWER: Actually done what you set out to do. And say, “hang on, we’re famous.”?
CAROLINE: No, I don’t think we ever did that. I think we were, especially with “Talk On Corners,” I think
that’s when it, you know, really did well. And um, yeah, we noticed ourselves on MTV more. We noticed
ourselves on different, you know, being played a lot. I don’t think we realized, we were always striving for so
long to get success that we didn’t realize that we’d gotten it when we did have it, I think. And then we look back
and go, “Oh God, that was a good time in our lives, wasn’t it? That was great.” So I think, you know, when you
look back you always go, God, it’s so important to appreciate what you had at the time, and how good it was,
instead of fretting over the silly things. But it’s very difficult to do that because basically for us, we were just
working.
ANDREA: And to work through it. You don’t get to wallow in it. You know, I think the Wembley’s were, you
know that was a very big time for us. You know, and a huge tour of Britain, and you know, winning that Brit
Award. And “Talk On Corners” being album on 98.
INTERVIEWER: It was hardly ever off number 1.
ANDREA: I know, we were struggling to get Britain for so long that was quite, quite hard to believe.
INTERVIEWER: Yeah, we’re a bit slow.
ANDREA: Don’t think it’s that. I think it’s very fast actually.
CAROLINE: Or maybe we were just crap. (laughter.)
ANDREA: I think, no, I think that at times you’re going so fast you miss some things that are going on. I think
that’s probably it. Do you know what I mean? The record business…it moves so fast here, it’s like…pffff. You
know, I don’t recognize some people some weeks and you know, then they’re gone.
INTERVIEWER: About time for another album then.
SHARON: Yeah. (laughter) Exactly. Yeah, we have to go out to the studio fairly soon and record another
album, so. That should be fun.
INTERVIEWER: Have you got the songs already written, or what?
ANDREA: No.
SHARON: No.
ANDREA: No. We’ll have to, we have to start doing in February. Then we’ll start working on that album.
Yeah.
INTERVIEWER: Have you got a title for it?
CAROLINE: Nothing. I mean that’s the thing about us. I mean it always seems to happen. We just sort of jump into the studio and go, (starts talking quickly) “OK, we’ve got to go get a record done!” And it’s like, we seem to do it that way. Um, and it seems to work eventually, but sometimes it just takes us awhile. So ah, we’ll start. Yeah, we’ll definitely start next year. (laughter)
INTERVIEWER: So what are you doing for Christmas? You’re actually taking some time off?
ANDREA: Yeah. We’re gonna go home. Daddy has ordered the turkey and stuff like that so (laughter), we’re gonna go home and have Christmas in the house and um consume some beverages and just have a laugh and ah then…I think we’ll probably straighten up…
CAROLINE: Go our separate ways.
ANDREA: Go on holidays ourselves…for a couple of weeks, and ah (giggles) try and, try and understand what’s it like to live normally for awhile.
INTERVIEWER: Ah, normal’s boring. Stay where you are.
ANDREA: It’s nice to try it out. (laughter.)
INTERVIEWER: It’s good to meet you. Happy Christmas.
SHARON: Thank you, you too.
JIM: (inaudible)
ANDREA: Happy Christmas.