Hazel O'Connor
Encyclopedia
Hazel O'Connor is an English
singer-songwriter
and actress. She is the daughter of a soldier
from Galway
who settled in England
after World War II
to work in a car plant. She became famous in the early 1980s with hit single
s "Eighth Day", "D-Days" and "Will You", as well as starring in the film Breaking Glass
.
debut in Girls Come First, a 1975 film.
She became prominent as an actress five years later in 1980 when playing the role of Kate in the critically acclaimed film
Breaking Glass
, and its accompanying soundtrack
.
O'Connor then donated her songwriting talents to Greenpeace First International Record Project
released worldwide in 1985 as a response to the French bombing and subsequent sinking of the Rainbow Warrior
. Her duet song Push and Shove with Chris Thompson
leads off the second act of the album and accompanying video.
In 1989, in the programme introduction note for a gig
at the Santa Monica
venue "At My Place", in Los Angeles
, she wrote:
Her performance as Kate won her the Variety Club of Great Britain Award for 'Best Film Actor' and BAFTA nominations for 'Best Newcomer' and 'Best Film Score.' The album of the same name went double platinum, reaching number 5 in the UK Albums Chart
with a 28 week stay and produced several hit singles
, the most successful being the haunting "Will You", and "Eighth Day". When O'Connor toured the UK in support of Breaking Glass the album, she selected as her opening act a then-unknown local group from Birmingham
called Duran Duran
. It was the band's first opportunity to play to large audiences throughout the UK and gave them the exposure they needed to secure a recording contract (with EMI
).
Subsequent albums for O'Connor include Sons and Lovers (which featured the hit single "D Days"), Cover Plus, Smile, Private Wars and Five in the Morning. "D Days" was inspired by a trip to a night club in London's West End where O'Connor met a lot of bizarre looking people. O'Connor made a cameo appearance in the 1983 Eurythmics
video, "Who's That Girl?
", alongside other stars of the time: Bananarama
, Cheryl Baker
and Jay Aston
of Bucks Fizz
, Kate Garner
of Haysi Fantayzee
and gender-bending pop star Marilyn.
During the 1980s she was popular in Hungary and performed a live concert in Budapest in 1985. Some members of the crowd had to be restrained as she politely told them that she had other material apart from the songs from Breaking Glass.
She has made numerous TV
appearances, starring in Jangles on British television and in 1986 playing the lead role of Vivienne in Fighting Back as well as singing the theme tune. She also played a singer in an episode of Prospects on Channel 4
in 1986 resulting in the release of two spin off singles alongside former Breaking Glass actor Gary Olsen
.
Her theatre work included One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
at the Royal Exchange, Manchester
, Nightshoot at the Tricycle Theatre, London
, Girlfriends at the Playhouse, London, Swing Out Sister, her own production, at the Riverside Studio, London, The Raven Beckons at the Riverbank Theatre, Dublin and The Cuchulain Cycle at the Riverside Studio, London.
In 1997 she recorded the studio
album
, Five in the Morning with record producer
, co-writer and guitarist
, Gerard Kiely. The album included "Na Na Na", which generated a lot of airplay in the UK
, especially in Scotland
. A live album
, Live in Berlin, followed.
The turn of the century saw O'Connor tell her life story in an autobiographical
touring show entitled Beyond Breaking Glass, with harpist, Cormac De Barra
. The show was a hit at the Edinburgh fringe festival and toured the UK, the Netherlands
(twice), Australia
and Canada
.
In 2002 she signed to Invisible Hands Music, which triggered a run of new releases and deluxe re-issues of her 1990s work. A commercially available reincarnation of the previously mail-order Beyond the Breaking Glass was followed by a previously unreleased acoustic concert, Acoustically Yours. In 2003 Five In The Morning and Live In Berlin were repackaged with new photos and liner notes.
In 2003 Invisible Hands Music released O'Connor's first-ever official best of compilation
, A Singular Collection, which brought together her early hits from the Albion days, mid career work at RCA, and the best of the latter, DIY era. To add something new to the best of compilation, O'Connor recorded a cover
of her friend George Michael
's hit, "One More Try", with a band
that included drummer
Carlos Hercules, who at the time was playing for Annie Lennox
and Beverly Knight. Hercules joined George Michael's band in 2006. The track was released as a single, and generated extensive airplay and renewed interest in O'Connor - the following year saw her perform at the Glastonbury Festival
.
June 2005 saw the UK release of Hidden Heart, produced by Martin Rushent
and including duets
with Moya Brennan
and Rob Reynolds; with 2008 seeing the CD
re-issue of her 1984 album, Smile.
In 2008 O'Connor performed for the second time at the Glastonbury Festival
playing an acoustic set on the Avalon stage.
In 2009 O'Connor performed as part of the '1980s Here and Now' tour at many venues including Wembley Arena, for which she received positive reviews. She continued to tour extensively with her own solo projects, 'Beyond the Breaking Glass' and 'Bluja Project'. In 2009 she was awarded her own star on Coventry's 'Walk of Fame'.
In September 2010, O'Connor performed in France with The Bluja Project featuring Clare Hirst and Sarah Fisher, and in Ireland in October with Cormac De Barra. She then performed 'Breaking Glass Live' throughout England, cluminating in a show at the Leicester Square Theatre in London
on 5 December 2010.
magazine. The actor David Rappaport
was Best man
, and Dave Wakeling
from The Beat
gave O'Connor away. They divorced in 2000.
O'Connor currently divides her time between living in Ireland
and France
.
Also featured on:
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
singer-songwriter
Singer-songwriter
Singer-songwriters are musicians who write, compose and sing their own musical material including lyrics and melodies. As opposed to contemporary popular music singers who write their own songs, the term singer-songwriter describes a distinct form of artistry, closely associated with the...
and actress. She is the daughter of a soldier
Soldier
A soldier is a member of the land component of national armed forces; whereas a soldier hired for service in a foreign army would be termed a mercenary...
from Galway
Galway
Galway or City of Galway is a city in County Galway, Republic of Ireland. It is the sixth largest and the fastest-growing city in Ireland. It is also the third largest city within the Republic and the only city in the Province of Connacht. Located on the west coast of Ireland, it sits on the...
who settled in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
after World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
to work in a car plant. She became famous in the early 1980s with hit single
Hit single
A hit single is a recorded song or instrumental released as a single that has become very popular. Although it is sometimes used to describe any widely-played or big-selling song, the term "hit" is usually reserved for a single that has appeared in an official music chart through repeated radio...
s "Eighth Day", "D-Days" and "Will You", as well as starring in the film Breaking Glass
Breaking Glass
Breaking Glass is a 1980 British film starring Hazel O'Connor, Phil Daniels and Jonathan Pryce. The film was co-produced by Dodi Fayed and written and directed by Brian Gibson. The film was screened out of competition at the 1980 Cannes Film Festival....
.
Career
O'Connor had her filmFilm
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
debut in Girls Come First, a 1975 film.
She became prominent as an actress five years later in 1980 when playing the role of Kate in the critically acclaimed film
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
Breaking Glass
Breaking Glass
Breaking Glass is a 1980 British film starring Hazel O'Connor, Phil Daniels and Jonathan Pryce. The film was co-produced by Dodi Fayed and written and directed by Brian Gibson. The film was screened out of competition at the 1980 Cannes Film Festival....
, and its accompanying soundtrack
Soundtrack
A soundtrack can be recorded music accompanying and synchronized to the images of a motion picture, book, television program or video game; a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured in the soundtrack of a film or TV show; or the physical area of a film that contains the...
.
O'Connor then donated her songwriting talents to Greenpeace First International Record Project
Greenpeace
Greenpeace is a non-governmental environmental organization with offices in over forty countries and with an international coordinating body in Amsterdam, The Netherlands...
released worldwide in 1985 as a response to the French bombing and subsequent sinking of the Rainbow Warrior
Rainbow Warrior
-Vessels:*Rainbow Warrior , a former fishing trawler, acquired by Greenpeace in 1978.**Sinking of the Rainbow Warrior, by French intelligence operatives in 1985....
. Her duet song Push and Shove with Chris Thompson
Chris Thompson
Chris Thompson, also known as Chris Hamlet Thompson is an English singer and guitarist known both for his work with Manfred Mann's Earth Band and for his solo accomplishments.- Biography :...
leads off the second act of the album and accompanying video.
In 1989, in the programme introduction note for a gig
Concert
A concert is a live performance before an audience. The performance may be by a single musician, sometimes then called a recital, or by a musical ensemble, such as an orchestra, a choir, or a musical band...
at the Santa Monica
Santa Mônica
Santa Mônica is a town and municipality in the state of Paraná in the Southern Region of Brazil.-References:...
venue "At My Place", in Los Angeles
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
, she wrote:
Her performance as Kate won her the Variety Club of Great Britain Award for 'Best Film Actor' and BAFTA nominations for 'Best Newcomer' and 'Best Film Score.' The album of the same name went double platinum, reaching number 5 in the UK Albums Chart
UK Albums Chart
The UK Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales in the United Kingdom. It is compiled every week by The Official Charts Company and broadcast on a Sunday on BBC Radio 1 , and published in Music Week magazine and on the OCC website .To qualify for the UK albums chart...
with a 28 week stay and produced several hit singles
Single (music)
In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...
, the most successful being the haunting "Will You", and "Eighth Day". When O'Connor toured the UK in support of Breaking Glass the album, she selected as her opening act a then-unknown local group from Birmingham
Birmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
called Duran Duran
Duran Duran
Duran Duran are an English band, formed in Birmingham in 1978. They were one of the most successful bands of the 1980s and a leading band in the MTV-driven "Second British Invasion" of the United States...
. It was the band's first opportunity to play to large audiences throughout the UK and gave them the exposure they needed to secure a recording contract (with EMI
EMI
The EMI Group, also known as EMI Music or simply EMI, is a multinational music company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the fourth-largest business group and family of record labels in the recording industry and one of the "big four" record companies. EMI Group also has a major...
).
Subsequent albums for O'Connor include Sons and Lovers (which featured the hit single "D Days"), Cover Plus, Smile, Private Wars and Five in the Morning. "D Days" was inspired by a trip to a night club in London's West End where O'Connor met a lot of bizarre looking people. O'Connor made a cameo appearance in the 1983 Eurythmics
Eurythmics
Eurythmics were a British pop rock duo, formed in 1980, currently disbanded, but known to reunite from time to time. Consisting of members Annie Lennox and David A...
video, "Who's That Girl?
Who's That Girl? (Eurythmics song)
"Who's That Girl?" is a song recorded by British pop duo Eurythmics. It was written by Eurythmics members Annie Lennox and David A. Stewart and produced by Stewart...
", alongside other stars of the time: Bananarama
Bananarama
Bananarama are an English female pop duo who have had success on the pop and dance charts since 1982. Rather than relying on a two part harmony, the duo generally sings in unison, as do their background vocalists. Although there have been line-up changes, the group enjoyed their most popular...
, Cheryl Baker
Cheryl Baker
Cheryl Baker is an English television presenter and singer. She is most famous for being a member of 1980s pop group Bucks Fizz, and has performed for the UK in the Eurovision Song Contest twice, winning it the second time.-Early career:After leaving school and a series of secretarial jobs, Cheryl...
and Jay Aston
Jay Aston
Jay Hilda Aston is a singer, dancer, and occasional songwriter who was formerly with the British pop group, Bucks Fizz. She was the youngest member of the group's original line-up, being just 19 at the Eurovision Song Contest....
of Bucks Fizz
Bucks Fizz (band)
Bucks Fizz are an English pop group who achieved success in the 1980s, most notably for winning the 1981 Eurovision Song Contest with the song "Making Your Mind Up". The group was formed in January 1981 specifically for the contest and comprised four vocalists: Bobby G, Cheryl Baker, Mike Nolan and...
, Kate Garner
Kate Garner
Kate Garner is an English singer and photographer. Garner was one third of the trio of 1980s avant-garde, new wave pop project called Haysi Fantayzee, the other members being Jeremy Healy and Paul Caplin...
of Haysi Fantayzee
Haysi Fantayzee
Haysi Fantayzee were a British New Wave band of the early 1980s. Allmusic journalist Andy Kellman notes "Haysi Fantayzee was a quirky pop group, known most for its colourful thrift shop image and successful debut single, "John Wayne Is Big Leggy", which was released in 1982.-Career:Haysi Fantayzee...
and gender-bending pop star Marilyn.
During the 1980s she was popular in Hungary and performed a live concert in Budapest in 1985. Some members of the crowd had to be restrained as she politely told them that she had other material apart from the songs from Breaking Glass.
She has made numerous TV
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
appearances, starring in Jangles on British television and in 1986 playing the lead role of Vivienne in Fighting Back as well as singing the theme tune. She also played a singer in an episode of Prospects on Channel 4
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...
in 1986 resulting in the release of two spin off singles alongside former Breaking Glass actor Gary Olsen
Gary Olsen
Gary Olsen was an English actor.Olsen was born in London and lived with an aunt and uncle, after losing both his parents at an early age. He attended the Archbishop Tenison's Church of England School in Kennington...
.
Her theatre work included One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (play)
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest is a play based on Ken Kesey's 1962 novel of the same name. Dale Wasserman's stage adaptation, with music by Teiji Ito, made its Broadway preview on November 12, 1963, its premiere on November 13, and ran until January 25, 1964 for a total of one preview and 82...
at the Royal Exchange, Manchester
Royal Exchange, Manchester
The Royal Exchange is a grade II listed Victorian building in Manchester, England. It is located in the city centre on the land bounded by St Ann’s Square, Exchange Street, Market Street, Cross Street and Old Bank Street...
, Nightshoot at the Tricycle Theatre, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, Girlfriends at the Playhouse, London, Swing Out Sister, her own production, at the Riverside Studio, London, The Raven Beckons at the Riverbank Theatre, Dublin and The Cuchulain Cycle at the Riverside Studio, London.
In 1997 she recorded the studio
Recording studio
A recording studio is a facility for sound recording and mixing. Ideally both the recording and monitoring spaces are specially designed by an acoustician to achieve optimum acoustic properties...
album
Album
An album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...
, Five in the Morning with record producer
Record producer
A record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
, co-writer and guitarist
Guitarist
A guitarist is a musician who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of instruments such as classical guitars, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themselves on the guitar while singing.- Versatility :The guitarist controls an extremely...
, Gerard Kiely. The album included "Na Na Na", which generated a lot of airplay in the UK
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, especially in Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
. A live album
Live album
A live album is a recording consisting of material recorded during stage performances using remote recording techniques, commonly contrasted with a studio album...
, Live in Berlin, followed.
The turn of the century saw O'Connor tell her life story in an autobiographical
Autobiography
An autobiography is a book about the life of a person, written by that person.-Origin of the term:...
touring show entitled Beyond Breaking Glass, with harpist, Cormac De Barra
Cormac de Barra
Cormac de Barra is a harpist, singer and television presenter and is part of the Moya Brennan Band.-Biography:De Barra comes from a family of traditional musicians and singers from Dublin but with roots in County Cork...
. The show was a hit at the Edinburgh fringe festival and toured the UK, the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
(twice), Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
and Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
.
In 2002 she signed to Invisible Hands Music, which triggered a run of new releases and deluxe re-issues of her 1990s work. A commercially available reincarnation of the previously mail-order Beyond the Breaking Glass was followed by a previously unreleased acoustic concert, Acoustically Yours. In 2003 Five In The Morning and Live In Berlin were repackaged with new photos and liner notes.
In 2003 Invisible Hands Music released O'Connor's first-ever official best of compilation
Compilation album
A compilation album is an album featuring tracks from one or more performers, often culled from a variety of sources The tracks are usually collected according to a common characteristic, such as popularity, genre, source or subject matter...
, A Singular Collection, which brought together her early hits from the Albion days, mid career work at RCA, and the best of the latter, DIY era. To add something new to the best of compilation, O'Connor recorded a cover
Cover version
In popular music, a cover version or cover song, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording of a contemporary or previously recorded, commercially released song or popular song...
of her friend George Michael
George Michael
George Michael is a British musician, singer, songwriter and record producer who rose to fame in the 1980s when he formed the pop duo Wham! with his school friend, Andrew Ridgeley...
's hit, "One More Try", with a band
Band (music)
In music, a musical ensemble or band is a group of musicians that works together to perform music. The following articles concern types of musical bands:* All-female band* Big band* Boy band* Christian band* Church band* Concert band* Cover band...
that included drummer
Drummer
A drummer is a musician who is capable of playing drums, which includes but is not limited to a drum kit and accessory based hardware which includes an assortment of pedals and standing support mechanisms, marching percussion and/or any musical instrument that is struck within the context of a...
Carlos Hercules, who at the time was playing for Annie Lennox
Annie Lennox
Annie Lennox, OBE , born Ann Lennox, is a Scottish singer-songwriter, political activist and philanthropist. After achieving minor success in the late 1970s with The Tourists, with fellow musician David A...
and Beverly Knight. Hercules joined George Michael's band in 2006. The track was released as a single, and generated extensive airplay and renewed interest in O'Connor - the following year saw her perform at the Glastonbury Festival
Glastonbury Festival
The Glastonbury Festival of Contemporary Performing Arts, commonly abbreviated to Glastonbury or even Glasto, is a performing arts festival that takes place near Pilton, Somerset, England, best known for its contemporary music, but also for dance, comedy, theatre, circus, cabaret and other arts.The...
.
June 2005 saw the UK release of Hidden Heart, produced by Martin Rushent
Martin Rushent
Martin Rushent was an English record producer, best known for his work with The Human League, The Stranglers and The Buzzcocks.- Early life :Rushent was born on 11 July 1948 in Enfield, Middlesex. His father was a car salesman...
and including duets
Duet (music)
A duet is a musical composition for two performers. In classical music, the term is most often used for a composition for two singers or pianists; with other instruments, the word duo is also often used. A piece performed by two pianists performing together on the same piano is referred to as...
with Moya Brennan
Moya Brennan
Moya Brennan, born Máire Ní Bhraonáin , also known as Máire Brennan , is an Irish folk singer, songwriter, harpist, and philanthropist who began performing professionally in 1970, when her family formed the band Clannad, and is now widely considered as the "First Lady of Celtic Music"...
and Rob Reynolds; with 2008 seeing the CD
Compact Disc
The Compact Disc is an optical disc used to store digital data. It was originally developed to store and playback sound recordings exclusively, but later expanded to encompass data storage , write-once audio and data storage , rewritable media , Video Compact Discs , Super Video Compact Discs ,...
re-issue of her 1984 album, Smile.
In 2008 O'Connor performed for the second time at the Glastonbury Festival
Glastonbury Festival
The Glastonbury Festival of Contemporary Performing Arts, commonly abbreviated to Glastonbury or even Glasto, is a performing arts festival that takes place near Pilton, Somerset, England, best known for its contemporary music, but also for dance, comedy, theatre, circus, cabaret and other arts.The...
playing an acoustic set on the Avalon stage.
In 2009 O'Connor performed as part of the '1980s Here and Now' tour at many venues including Wembley Arena, for which she received positive reviews. She continued to tour extensively with her own solo projects, 'Beyond the Breaking Glass' and 'Bluja Project'. In 2009 she was awarded her own star on Coventry's 'Walk of Fame'.
In September 2010, O'Connor performed in France with The Bluja Project featuring Clare Hirst and Sarah Fisher, and in Ireland in October with Cormac De Barra. She then performed 'Breaking Glass Live' throughout England, cluminating in a show at the Leicester Square Theatre in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
on 5 December 2010.
Personal life
O'Connor married artist Kurt Bippert in 1987. The ceremony took place on Venice Beach, California, and was covered by Hello!Hello!
Hello is a weekly magazine specializing in celebrity news and human-interest stories, published in the United Kingdom since 1988. Hello is sister magazine to ¡Hola!, the Spanish weekly magazine launched in Spain in 1944...
magazine. The actor David Rappaport
David Rappaport
David Stephen Rappaport was an English actor, probably one of the best known dwarf actors in television and film...
was Best man
Groomsman
A groomsman is one of the male attendants to the groom in a wedding ceremony. The term usher is more common in the UK while the term 'groomsman' is considered somewhat lower-middle- class and used by those who have adopted the term from America. Usually the groom selects his closest friends and...
, and Dave Wakeling
Dave Wakeling
Dave Wakeling is an English rock singer, songwriter, and guitarist. He is most famous for singing and writing songs for the 1980s 2-Tone band The Beat and also General Public.-Career:...
from The Beat
The Beat (band)
The Beat are a 2 Tone ska revival band founded in England in 1978. Their songs fuse ska, pop, soul, reggae and punk rock, and their lyrics deal with themes of love, unity and sociopolitical topics....
gave O'Connor away. They divorced in 2000.
- O'Connor used to date Hugh CornwellHugh CornwellHugh Alan Cornwell is an English musician and songwriter, best known for being the vocalist and guitarist for the punk/new wave group, The Stranglers, from 1974 to 1990.-Career:...
and Midge UreMidge UreJames "Midge" Ure, OBE is a Scottish guitarist, singer, keyboard player, and songwriter...
. - O'Connor's brother Neil fronted the punkPunk rockPunk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...
band The Flys, best known for their single "Love and a Molotov Cocktail" - later covered by Hazel O'Connor. - O'Connor is a vegetarian.
O'Connor currently divides her time between living in Ireland
Republic of Ireland
Ireland , described as the Republic of Ireland , is a sovereign state in Europe occupying approximately five-sixths of the island of the same name. Its capital is Dublin. Ireland, which had a population of 4.58 million in 2011, is a constitutional republic governed as a parliamentary democracy,...
and France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
.
Albums
- Breaking Glass (1980) #5 UKUK Albums ChartThe UK Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales in the United Kingdom. It is compiled every week by The Official Charts Company and broadcast on a Sunday on BBC Radio 1 , and published in Music Week magazine and on the OCC website .To qualify for the UK albums chart...
- Sons And Lovers (1980)
- Cover Plus (1981) #32 UK
- Smile (1984)
- Greatest Hits (1984)
- Alive And Kicking In L.A. (1990)
- To Be Freed (1993)
- Over The Moon...Live (1993)
- See The Writing On The Wall (1993)
- Private Wars (1995)
- Live In Berlin (1997)
- 5 In The Morning (1998)
- Beyond the Breaking Glass (2000)
- L.A. Confidential - Live (2000)
- Acoustically Yours (2002)
- Ignite (2002)
- A Singular Collection - The Best Of Hazel O'Connor (2003)
- D-Days (2003)
- Hidden Heart (2005)
- Fighting Back - Live in Brighton (2005)
- Smile 2008 (2008)
- The Bluja Project (2010)
Singles
- "Ee-I-Adio" (1979)
- "Writing On The Wall" (1980)
- "Eighth Day" (1980) #5 UKUK Singles ChartThe UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
- "Give Me an Inch" (1980) #41 UK
- "Time" (1980)
- "D-Days" (1981) #10 UK
- "Will You" (1981) #8 UK
- "Zoo" (1981) (Germany Only)
- "Do What Do You/Waiting" (1981) (Not UK)
- "(Cover Plus) We're All Grown Up" (1981) #41 UK
- "Hanging Around" (1981) #45 UK
- "Calls the Tune" (1982) #60 UK
- "Men of Good Fortune" (1982) (Not UK)
- "That's Life" (1982)
- "Don't Touch Me" (1984)
- "Just Good Friends" (1984)
- "Tell Me a Story Now/The Man I Love" (1984)
- "Cuts Too Deep" (1984)
- "Stranger in a Strange Land" (1985)
- "Why Don't You Answer" (1985)
- "Push and Shove" (1985) with Chris Thompson
- "Fighting Back" (1986)
- "Today Could Be So Good" (1986)
- "We Tried Boy (Didn't We?)" (1986)
- "And I Dream" (1987) with David EasterDavid EasterDavid Easter is an English actor.He is best known for his role as Pete Callan in the television soap opera Family Affairs from 1997 to 2005. He had previously been a regular cast member on Brookside, playing Pat Hancock from 1984 to 1987...
) - "Heat of the Night" (1990)
- "My Friend Jack" (1993)
- "Tell Me Why" (1993)
- "Na, Na, Na" (1998)
- "One More Try" (2004)
- "I'll See You Again" / "Hidden" (2005) with Moya BrennanMoya BrennanMoya Brennan, born Máire Ní Bhraonáin , also known as Máire Brennan , is an Irish folk singer, songwriter, harpist, and philanthropist who began performing professionally in 1970, when her family formed the band Clannad, and is now widely considered as the "First Lady of Celtic Music"...
) - "(World Stops) Spinning Without You" (2010) with The SubterraneansThe SubterraneansThe Subterraneans is a 1958 novella by Beat Generation author Jack Kerouac. It is a semi-fictional account of his short romance with an African American woman named Alene Lee in San Francisco in 1953. In the novel she is renamed "Mardou Fox," and described as a carefree spirit who frequents the...
Also featured on:
- "Let It Be" (Zeebrugge Ferry Disaster charityCharitable organizationA charitable organization is a type of non-profit organization . It differs from other types of NPOs in that it centers on philanthropic goals A charitable organization is a type of non-profit organization (NPO). It differs from other types of NPOs in that it centers on philanthropic goals A...
ensemble) (#1 UK) (1987) - "The Wishing Well" (Great Ormond Street HospitalGreat Ormond Street HospitalGreat Ormond Street Hospital for Children is a children's hospital located in London, United Kingdom...
charity ensemble) (#22 UK) (1987)
Filmography
- Breaking Glass (1980)
- Jangles - O'Connor starred in two episodes, ('Getting It Together' and 'Have A Drink On Me'), of this TV series (1982)
- Car Trouble (1985)
- Fighting Back (1986 TV Series)
- Alive and Kicking in L.A. (1989–1990) Rockumentory
- Hazel O'Connor Live in Brighton (2005 live DVD including interview)
- Beyond The Breaking Glass (A limited release documenting O'Connor's life story in the style of her stage show Beyond The Breaking Glass) (circa 2008)