After Dinner Speakers: The Corrs, Dr. & The Medics, Nicholas Witchell

The Corrs are an Irish quartet composed of three sisters and a brother. Jim, Andrea, Caroline and Sharon Corr formed the band in 1990, fusing modern rock and traditional Irish music. Jim plays guitars and keyboards, Sharon plays the violin, Caroline plays the drums and Bodhran, and Andrea plays the tin whistle and is the lead singer. The Corrs grew up in Dundalk, Ireland, situated 50 miles north of Dublin right on the border of Ireland and Northern Ireland. Shortly after forming, John Hughes, their future manager, discovered them while looking for musicians to take part in Alan Parker's film, The Commitments. The group became friends with John and accepted his invitation to perform in Dublin for part of a special Commitments live concert. Not much later, the Corrs were lucky enough to have the U.S. Ambassador to Ireland, Jean Kennedy Smith, hear them in a small club in Dublin. Smith then invited the group to play in Boston as part of a World Cup celebration. The band signed with Atlantic Records, and released their debut in 1995, Forgiven Not Forgotten (143/Lava/Atlantic). It sold more than eight million copies in Ireland and Australia, went gold in France, Canada, Norway, and Japan, and double-platinum in Spain and Denmark. On their premier tour, they played with Celine Dion, toured across Europe, Australia and Southeast Asia, appeared at the Odense Festival of Denmark in front of 35,000 and at London's Fishbury park with Sting and the Chieftans in front of 50,000. Their sophomore effort, 1997's Talk on Corners (143/Lava/Atlantic), incorporates a more melancholy and adventurous tint to their musical palette. The Corrs contributed a track ("Dreams") to the Fleetwood Mac Rumours tribute album and signed on to play several dates on the summer '98 Guinness Fleadh festival. In early 1999 the Corrs released Talk on Corners Special Edition, a remixed version of their second album.