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The tragic passing of Irish singer-songwriter Sinead O'Connor took the world by storm earlier this week. Fellow Irish musicians Bono and The Edge of U2 have paid tribute to the late singer.
In an Instagram post shared to U2's social media accounts, the band posted three pictures — one of O'Connor solo, one with O'Connor and The Edge, and one with O'Connor and Bono — with a caption that blended borrows from one of her songs, “Heroine.”
The caption reads: “Touch these eyes with a broken smile, Touch my mouth with your furrowed brow, Lift my heart, heal my shame, Lead me into rest again .. Heroine.. Rest In Peace Sinéad.”
There's a complicated history between U2 and O'Connor. While “Heroine” was a collaborative effort between O'Connor and The Edge, and she has written a song with Bono. However, she criticized their infamous Songs of Innocence release on iTunes — comparing it to terrorism.
Nevertheless, on Bono's 60th birthday in 2020, he shared 60 letters to artists who “saved his life.” Included in that list was O'Connor. More specifically, Bono named “You Made Me the Thief of Your Heart” — the song he collaborated with her on for the film In the Name of the Father.
In the letter, he wrote: “I heard your voice first as a teenager, maybe you were 15 or 16. It was a demo of a song called TAKE MY HAND from Steve Wickham’s newly formed band In Tua Nua and I felt I had stumbled upon a new land with its own unique voice.”
He continued, “I was as impressed as everyone else with all the great singing and the songs along the way, but the next time I was moved like this was at a solo show here in Dublin where you sang ‘[You Made Me the] Thief [of Your Heart]' and you stole my heart all over again. The song was written quickly by me, Gavin Friday, and the Man Seezer for the award-winning In the Name of the Father starring Daniel Day-Lewis. Jim Sheridan said something like ‘Even though it’s In the Name of the Father, it’s all about the mother. A man can’t sing this song. Mother Ireland needs a woman’s voice.'”
“It was recorded in STS studios [in] Dublin with great sensitivity by Tim Simenon…you lit candles,” he concluded.
Whatever scars there may have been must have been healed at some point between O'Connor and U2's members. Either way, it was still a touching tribute to the Irish legend.
Sinead O'Connor tragically passed away on July 26, 2023. The cause of death was unknown. She was 56 years old.
