In 1993, Sinéad O'Connor was one of the world's most famous and recognisable musicians. Partly due to the huge global success of her cover of Prince's Nothing Compares 2 U - a number one single in at least 20 countries - the Irish singer's second album, I Do Not Want What I Haven't Got, sold more than seven million copies worldwide. But it was her controversial October 3, 1992 appearance on US TV show Saturday Night Live, during which she ripped up a photo of Pope John Paul II as a protest against the Catholic Church, which put her on the cover of newspapers across the planet. Anyone expecting an apology knew nothing about O'Connor.
On a recent appearance on The Michael Anthony Show podcast (not that Michael Anthony, Van Halen fans), Irish rock star Gavin Friday, the former frontman of Dublin post-punks The Virgin Prunes, shared an anecdote which speaks to O'Connor's fearless and indomitable character.
Six months after her provocative SNL appearance, O'Connor joined Friday and Irish songwriter/composter Maurice Seezer to record a song, You Made Me The Thief Of Your Heart, co-written by Friday, Seezer and Friday's best friend, U2 frontman Bono, for the soundtrack to the 1993 film In The Name Of The Father. Before the recording session in Dublin, O'Connor asked Friday if they could go to a bar to discuss the song's lyrics.
