SHARON CORR: GLASTO RADIO TRANSCRIPT

Hey everyone - because I am awake at an ungodly hour on Saturdays and I finish work at 8am, I came home and decided to listen to Sharon's Glasto interview. Wow! Am completely in love with her all over again.

I spent far too long on dial up, as well, and can remember the frustration of not being able to download things - so I've spent this morning typing up a transcript of the interview Sharon Corr did on Glastonbury Radio.

It's a fantastic interview - she spends a lot of time talking about Twitter, which music she loves, and what her siblings are up to now.

Sorry about the font and stuff - I just copied and pasted from my Word document. There are a few links throughout - I thought some of you might be interested in them. :-)

If you take the time to read it, leaving a comment would be great - it took a ridiculous amount of time to type this out, and while I'm happy to do it, knowing it's appreciated would be great ;-)

Feel free to repost the transcript elsewhere, but please link back to this blog and Glastonbury Radio as well.


There's no guarantee that this is 100% correct - I've done the best I can, but I've possibly missed or misheard a word here and there. If you spot anything glaring, let me know in the comments.

 

Sharon: Hi, this is Sharon Corr on Glastonbury Radio.

Ross: Yes, welcome to another one! It is The Feel Good Friday Show with me The Hemsworth at the helm. And yes I’m here again, through ‘til 2, with a festival special today, I have to say. Yes – we’ve got all those interviews from Glastonbury Festival taking place today. Well, as many as we can fit into two hours, anyway. And a very, very big special, coming with Sharon Corr.

Sharon from The Corrs did an acoustic set backstage exclusively for us here on Glastonbury Radio, we’ll be playing that at some time between now and 2 o’clock, so stay tuned for that.

I spoke with the beautiful Sharon Corr backstage at the acoustic stage at Glastonbury Festival, got a lovely interview with her as she played three acoustic songs for us exclusively here on Glastonbury Radio backstage.

What I’ve done is I’ve compiled this interview into three parts, so to speak, because there’s an opening song, which is one of the acoustic numbers, then a part of the interview, then another acoustic number, and then the rest of the interview – and then a third acoustic number.

So let’s have twenty minutes with the wonderful Sharon Corr.

ACOUSTIC SONG: Radio, by The Corrs, sung solo by Sharon [acoustic]

Ross: Right, the noise you can hear in the background is Imelda May, who has just finished her set on the acoustic stage, but I’m with the delightful and lovely Sharon Corr. Sharon, welcome to Glastonbury Radio!

Sharon: Thank you! Good to be here.

Ross: Now is this your first time playing Glastonbury Festival?

Sharon: Um, second time! First time as a solo artist, but the last time I played it was obviously with The Corrs, and we headlined in ’99.

Ross: How did you find that?

Sharon: It was ah, a bit of a blur, actually, because it’s, um... is quite a bit of pressure, being the headline, you know, but it was absolutely fantastic and we got ah... I forget what the term they used... It was “least expected success” at Glastonbury. We had, you know amazing, amazing response, so it was really, really good. So yeah, we rocked it! It was great.

Ross: Fantastic. Now tonight you’re playing the acoustic stage here, and it’s gonna go down just as well – I know a lot of people are looking forward to it. What can we expect?

Sharon: Well I’m currently recording my solo album, and so I’m about three-quarters of the way through it, so we’ll expect some new stuff, um, but I wrote a lot of stuff for The Corrs, so it’ll be similar enough, it won’t be too much of a departure. And then I’ll play some of the stuff that I wrote for The Corrs, and I’ll also play some traditional music as well.

Ross: Fantastic. Can you tell us which ones from The Corrs you’re going to be playing tonight?

Sharon: I will play So Young, and I will play Radio.

Ross: So Young is my favourite song, do you know that?

Sharon [background]: Is it really....?

Ross: My favourite song, yes, absolutely!

Sharon [background]: That’s cool!

Ross: Really. Now I understand you’ve been doing some rehearsals, and you’ve very kindly allowed us to have some of the rehearsal tapes as an exclusive on Glastonbury Radio, tell us a bit about that.

Sharon: Yeah well I’ve been ah, rehearsing for the past couple of weeks, just because I did The Isle of Wight last week, and then, you know and then I’m here – or the week before last, so I’ve just been in rehearsals, and we, we ah, record all the rehearsals just to get, you know, give ourselves some feedback on exactly how we’re getting on, and – so yeah! It’s for you guys. You can have it.

Ross: Oh that’s wonderful, thank you so much! No what about The Corrs, what’s happening with the main band now?

Sharon: Um, well, at the moment we’ve, you know... We – we kind of spent fifteen years non-stop on the road, and we really didn’t pause between albums and ah, between touring, so we kinda needed a break after a couple of years, so um... I’ve spent the past couple of years having kids, and so has my sister Caroline – and my brother Jim has a little boy now as well. And Andrea’s getting married this year.

So we just needed some time out, so maybe in the next couple of years or so we’ll do something again.

Ross: I heard a wicked rumour about Jim, and maybe you can spill the beans for us here. I did a program on TV called Ghost Detectives a while back, and I also present the Sky program Now That’s Weird. It’s all about UFO’s and paranormal, and I understand Jim likes a bit of that stuff?

Sharon: Yeah, he’s big into his conspiracy theories, you know, he’s major into that. And uh... to be honest I’m not all that interested myself, but that’s – that’s... he’s enjoying that stuff at the moment, you know.

Ross: Fantastic. Now is there a website people can find out more about your solo stuff?

Sharon: Oh yeah, sharoncorr.com.

Ross: Great stuff. Now what about downloads and things, because we’re in the digital music age these days – a lot of people are doing free downloads, others are doing downloadable CD’s – how are you working on that front?

Sharon: I find it a very confusing age actually, because we just got in before it all changed, um, and, um, I actually find it, you know... very frustrating as you actually can’t really sell physical CD’s anymore today, I think that’s – that’s very, very difficult. But um, oh yeah, I think it’ll be available for download and there will be possibly a certain amount available for just hard copy or whatever. Um, so it’s something that, that we’re getting used to, you know, that we’re adjusting to.

Ross: Cool. Now how are you adjusting to life as a pop-star and as a mother as well?

Sharon: Oh I’m loving it, it’s – oh God, it doesn’t get much better! I mean I managed to have my children, which I think is a great success, you know, um, because we were touring for so long there was no chance of getting pregnant, you know! Um, but... um, but I really did dreadfully miss the buzz of music in the last three years, I mean, it kind of was like losing a couple of limbs. I felt like part of me wasn’t around anymore. So um, I’m really just thrilled to be back out playing. I mean I adore playing, I love writing, and I love, you know, the harmony between musicians on stage. It’s really, it’s an amazing and thrilling experience, you know?

Ross: So what’s the line-up of the band tonight?

Sharon: Well we have Anto Drennan on guitar, Conor Brady on guitar, we have Gerry O’Connor who’s a very famous banjo/mandolin player, we have, um, Roberta Howett, who’s on backing vocals, we have Jason Duffy on drums, we have Tony Molloy on bass, and we have Shane McVicar on keyboards.

Ross: Sounds exciting!

INSTRUMENTAL PIECE: Jenny’s Chickens [acoustic]

Ross: Now I bet you’re looking forward to it, aren’t you? [Going on stage]

Sharon: I am yeah! I was a little nervous this morning, I kinda woke up and I was tweeting all morning actually, I was actually going “[gasps] Help! I’m really nervous!” I’m but, uh, no I’m kinda cool now. You know, it’s okay.

Ross: You know I was talking to your husband beforehand about Twitter, because I’m also addicted to Twitter. I won’t tell you what my wife calls me because I spend so many hours on the damn thing. But I bumped into Robert Llewellyn the other day, who played Kryten in Red Dwarf – who was in the comedy tent.

Sharon Corr [background]: Oh yeah!

Ross: And he’s also another mad twitterer. What is it about Twitter, Sharon?

Sharon: I think, um, for people... um, like me, who have been sort of known, in a certain way, and you’re kind of pigeonholed quite specifically when you’re in a band or you’re in the media. And, um, I think that you get a chance to sort of reveal yourself. Um, obviously not too much, you know, because you... But it does – it helps you maintain a certain amount of distance, but yet there’s an availability to be intimate, which is quite amazing.

And it’s really, really great fun, and I’ve been able to twitter with um – our Brazilian fans, and our Argentinean fans and our Indonesian fans... I think it’s – it’s an amazing way to stay in touch with your fans, and also um, you know just to have fun with them, and really say thanks to them for supporting us all over the world and also let them know what’s happening and get people motivated behind your album, I think it’s terrific for socio like that.

But I had a really funny one the other day, because I was twitting away, and they were tweeting away, and um, I got a message and I put an update on my website saying that I was covering the song Everybody’s Gotta Learn Sometime by The Korgis. And then the next minute I got a, got a um... a tweet from Phillip Schofield saying would I come on This Morning, to play that song, because he absolutely loves it!

And that – I think that artists can have that direct access, and it allows you to explore what you want to explore in the world, rather than always be at a distance with other people.

And it’s – I love it! I just think it’s really, really great fun, and there’s a lovely vibe on it, you know. People are kind of – they’re allowed to be themselves on it. And I also noticed what Lily Allen did, which is great, which is another great facility for somebody who is in the spotlight – she was able to correct stuff that was said in the paper about her that was totally wrong. You know, saying she was drunk coming out of a restaurant and she said “Actually no, this is me five minutes before, and this is me five minutes after. I wasn’t drunk.” And it was really cool that she could do that.

Ross: It is nice actually, because it allows you to put the record straight. Now, Lily’s actually partying just round the corner from where our Winnebago is at the moment...

Sharon [background]: Yeah!

Ross: But ah, she is another big twitterer, she spends a lot of time on Twitter, as does of course Stephen Fry and Phil Jupitus, who’s down here on the dance area at the moment, of all places. So, the word’s certainly getting around, it’s becoming a phenomenon, and I think you’re right, I think it’s making celebrities accessible to ordinary people.

Sharon: Yeah it is, and it’s allowing them to be themselves as well, which is amazing, because you know, by the time you get through so many other sort of, um, ways of getting yourself out there, you’re usually diluted by the time you get into the papers and stuff like that. Usually your effect has been diluted because it’s somebody else’s opinion of you, and it’s somebody else, um, taking what you’re saying in their own context, rather than your context, you know... So um, it’s just a great way to actually get what you want to get across. Really great.

Ross: Now Sharon, what sort of music turns you on? What do you listen to when you’re not writing or playing yourself?

Sharon: Gosh, um... I love... um... I love Nick Drake. He’s really, really, really phenomenal. So musical, such a beautiful voice, and very sort of, um, melancholic. Um, I really love his stuff. Um, I like a bit of Zeppelin... I like, um...

Ross [referring to background noise]: There goes one of them overhead at the moment actually.

Sharon: Yeah, could be couldn’t it, I know, I know! Hi Robert!

Ross/Sharon: [laughter]

Sharon: Um, but yeah... I like – oh God, I like a lot of stuff! I love Lily Allen’s album, I just think, I mean I think she’s amazing. I think her song-writing’s phenomenal, her lyrics are incredible, and very controversial.

And um... what else do I like? It’s always hard to remember when you’re actually asked. Um, oh my God... I listen to Paolo Conte, um... I think Paolo Nutini is fantastic.

And there’s a lot of interesting stuff out there at the moment, although I love Joni Mitchell – I really, I’m kinda steeped a little bit in the late 60’s early 70’s, so I like a lot of stuff from then.

Ross: Oh I’ll have to raid your tapes. Now if you had the choice of anyone to get on stage and duet with you tonight, who would it be?

Sharon: Robert Plant.

Ross: What a good choice. Sharon, thank you so much for taking the time to talk to us – really appreciate it.

New song: IT’S NOT A DREAM [acoustic]

Download the interview, thanks to Simon.

Thanks for looking!

And don't forget to keep voting for Sharon in the Ms Twitter competitions! Ms Europe | Best Solo Artist [female]

There are people taking notice of her win for Ms UK! -

@rickoshea: Just got a press release. Sharon Corr has been crowned Queen Of Twitter. Nice that.

Although, some of them can't quite get it right...

Congrats to the gorgeous Caroline Corr, who has just won the dubious title of Ms Twitter.