The Corrs are an Irish family band that combine pop rock with traditional Irish themes within their music. The group consists of the Corr siblings, Andrea (lead vocals, tin whistle, ukulele), Sharon (violin, keyboards, vocals), Caroline (drums, percussion, piano, bodhran, vocals) and Jim (guitar, piano, keyboards, vocals). They are from Dundalk, County Louth, Ireland. Their career took off in 1991 when they auditioned for the film The Commitments. Jim, Sharon and Caroline each had small parts as musicians, while Andrea had a speaking part as Sharon Rabbitte. John Hughes noticed them when they auditioned for the film and agreed to become their manager.
The Corrs played live for Jason Foster and he agreed to sign them to Atlantic Records. They extended their stay in the US for over five months to record their debut album, Forgiven Not Forgotten. It featured six instrumental selections among its Celtic-influenced tracks. The album sold well in Ireland, Australia, Canada, Japan, Norway and Spain. Major success in the US and the UK, however, was not immediately forthcoming. Eventually, the album reached Platinum status in the UK and Australia, and 4× Platinum in Ireland, making it one of the most successful debuts by an Irish group.
The Corrs’ next album, 1997’s Talk on Corners, was produced by Glen Ballard, who was respected for his collaboration with Alanis Morissette. It was successful in Ireland and the UK and entered the Australian album charts at number 3. Fleetwood Mac drummer Mick Fleetwood joined the band at their concert in the Royal Albert Hall in March 1998 during their performance of “Dreams”, which the band had recently contributed to the album Legacy: A Tribute to Fleetwood Mac’s Rumours. The cover would become the Corrs’ first top forty hit in the UK, after it peaked at number six. The following month, Talk on Corners was reissued in numerous territories with “Dreams” included as a bonus track, and the album finally peaked at number one in the UK in June 1998, its 35th week on the chart.
The remix of “Runaway” became their highest-peaking single yet, after it peaked at number two behind Britney Spears’ “Baby One More Time”. “Dreams”, “So Young” and “What Can I Do” have all been certified silver by the BPI for sales in excess of 200,000 copies each, while “Runaway” has been certified gold for sales of over 400,000 copies. As of 2017, “What Can I Do” has sold 351,000 copies in the UK.
In Blue, their third studio album was, released in 2000 which saw the band become known in the United States. The title of the album comes from a lyric in the song “Give Me a Reason”. As well as the UK number one single “Breathless”, the album also contains new versions of “Radio” and “At Your Side”, which had appeared on their previous album The Corrs Unplugged. Unlike their previous albums, In Blue moved towards mainstream pop. In Blue hit number one in its first sales week in, Ireland, Australia, Germany, Switzerland, Austria, the UK and debuted at No. 2 in France and Norway. It climbed to the top spot during its second week in Sweden and Spain.
The Corrs collaborated with Robert Lange to produce a mainstream hit single, “Breathless”, which reached number 20 in the Billboard, number seven in Australia, number three in Ireland and New Zealand, and topped the charts in the UK.
In 2003, Andrea Corr recorded “Time Enough for Tears”, written by Bono and Gavin Friday for the film In America. This track was featured on The Corrs’ 2004 album, Borrowed Heaven. Recorded over an 18-month period in Dublin and Los Angeles, Borrowed Heaven was produced by Olle Romo. The album marked The Corrs’ return to the folk rock genre with a slightly heavier emphasis on guitars. Nevertheless, the album was not as successful as their predecessors, but at least successful enough to enter at No.2 in both the UK and Germany and reach silver status in the UK as well as gold in Germany. Jason Duffy temporarily joined the band as drummer, filling in for Caroline while she was pregnant with her second child and unable to tour. Borrowed Heaven was dedicated to the band’s parents.
In June 2015, Andrea announced that the Corrs would perform at Live in Hyde Park on 13 November and were in the process of making a new record. On 17 September 2015, the band confirmed their sixth studio album, White Light, which was released on 27 November 2015 and was accompanied by a European Tour, which took place in 2016. According to an interview, released by Jim to Music Radar, the band had already completed the recording for their seventh studio album, Jupiter Calling. Produced by T Bone Burnett, it was released in November 2017, and was preceded by a concert at the Royal Albert Hall in London.
