8 December 1966 – 26 July 2023
The artist and musician on his long friendship with an extraordinary vocalist whose courage helped so many raised in Catholic Ireland
I first crossed paths with Sinéad at some point in 1985, when she had just collaborated with The Edge from U2 on a song called Heroine. She came to a party at his house and when she walked into the room, wearing this long cape, it was like a beautiful apparition. Everything stopped. She had a presence that was not just about her beauty. It was deeper than that. And then I heard her sing and it was like: “Wow!”
I didn’t see her for a good while after that. Then, in 1993, I was working with the director Jim Sheridan on the soundtrack for his film about the Guildford Four, In the Name of the Father. Both myself and Bono had recorded versions of the song You Made Me the Thief of Your Heart for the film, but Jim thought they were both too dark. He decided he wanted a woman to sing it and I suggested Sinéad.