“Everyone wants a pop star, see? But I am a protest singer I just had stuff to get off my chest. I had no desire for fame…. I understand I’ve torn up the dreams of those around me. But those aren’t my dreams. No one ever asked me what my dreams were. They just got mad at me for not being who they wanted me to be”
~ Sinead O’Connor
"I photographed Sinead O’Connor for the first time in October 1988 for the NME (the leading British music paper). She was pretty shy, but she was only 21. Like many young musicians, she was quite intimidated by the fact that I’d photographed Ian Curtis (Joy Division). I then photographed her a year later for the same publication, two weeks after her 23rd birthday. She was more sure of herself and liked the ideas we worked with. Many of the shots were single spotlit head shots against a black cloth. This series used a similar light but against a grey cloth, echoing a 60s fashion style. This is my favourite shot from the session. Sinead looks fully in control of the look she’s giving me for the photograph."
~ Kevin Cummins
I’m not Irish. I’m not a young woman. I’m not Catholic. But I was very saddened by Sinead O’Connor passing. She seemed to me like a contemporary Joan of Arc. Someone burnt at the stake by parties threatened by her raw honesty and beliefs. But the music and her talent lives on Nothing compares to her story and voice. RIP Sinead.