At the record label Chrysalis in New York, we had a Wednesday marketing meeting every week. I was a young executive and the president came in and said, “I just came back from England and we signed a super talent.” I think she was 19 – it was Sinéad. This was before she shaved her head. When we heard [debut album] The Lion and the Cobra it was one of the greatest meetings I’ve ever attended – it was staggering, this record. It came out and we promoted it in a very unorthodox way. The key was getting it to go up the American college media charts, which it did and we took it to No 1. There were remixes of Mandinka and various other records – we had an MC Lyte version of I Want Your (Hands on Me).
Sinéad was terrific, so smart. And you could see at that young age she was very torn about stardom and recognition. The first day she landed, we decided to have dinner. We were going downtown, and I don’t know who made the decision to have a limousine but she wouldn’t get in. She wanted to go in a van. And then we got to Tower Records – the buzz was already out about Sinéad and a DJ was playing the record. She got very upset and said to me, “If there was a hole in the ground, I would crawl into it right now. Please tell him to take it off.” And I said to her very nicely, “It’s a homage. It’s respect.” She said, “Please, I don’t want to hear it. Please, please, please.” And we left. That was the contradiction of fame and recognition.
