You made me the thief of your heart - Sinéad O'Connor

The movie 'In the name of the father' was directed by Jim Sheridan and was based on the true life story of the Guildford Four, four people falsely convicted of the IRA's Guildford pub bombing, which killed four British soldiers and a civilian.

The soundtrack of the movie, which was an Irish production, featured a host of Irish musicians, most notably Sinéad O'Connor, who perfomed 'You made me the thief of your heart', the first single release from the soundtrack. The song was written by Maurice Seezer, Gavin Friday and Bono from U2. The single reached number 42 in the UK singles chart.

My collection: 7" single no. 2072
Found: Record fair, February 19, 1994
Cost: 8 guilders
Tracks: 'You made me the thief of your heart' / 'The father and his wife the spirit'

Don't cry for me Argentina - Sinéad O'Connor

Sinéad O'Connor released her version of the classic Andrew Lloyd Webber/Tim Rice song 'Don't cry for me Argentina' as the second single from her album 'Am I not your girl', an album of covers of mostly jazz standard. This particular track came from the musical Evita.

Sinéad O'Connor's version managed to reach number 53 in the UK singles chart, although it failed to chart in most other territories.

My collection: 7" single no. 1802
Found: Melody Maker, Den Haag, December 19, 1992
Cost: 6,5 guilders
Tracks: 'Don't cry for me Argentina' / 'Scarlet ribbons (live)'

Success made a failure of our home - Sinéad O'Connor

In 1992, Sinéad O'Connor released her third album 'Am I not your girl?', an album with cover versions of mostly jazz standards. According to O'Connor, the songs were 'the songs I grew up listening to [and] that made me want to be a singer'.

'Success has made a failure of our home' was written by J. Mullins but contained some extra material written by O'Connor. It was released as the first single from the album. It reached number 18 in the UK singles chart and number 15 in the Dutch Top 40.

My collection: 7" single no. 1705
Found: Melody Maker, Den Haag, September 5, 1992
Cost: 6,5 guilders
Tracks: 'Success has made a failure of our home' / 'You do something to me'

My special child - Sinéad O'Connor

'My special child' was a single release by Sinéad O'Connor in 1991. The track was not included on any of the albums. Besides the rather bleak lyric, the song is made beautiful by the uillean pipes solo. The single raised money for 'the simple truth', a charity campaign for Kurdish refugees. The B-side is a live version of 'Nothing compares 2 u'.

The single reached number 12 in Ireland and number 60 in the UK singles chart. In other territories, it did not chart.

My collection: 7" singl eno. 1530
Found: Melody Maker, Den Haag, September 28, 1991
Cost: 6 guilders
Tracks: 'My special child' / 'Nothing compares 2 u (live video version)'

Three babies - Sinéad O'Connor

'Three babies' was the third single taken from Sinéad O'Connor's second album 'I do not want what I haven't got'. In the UK, this single was released in a limited edition poster sleeve, which fortunately I got to buy while I was in London.

The beautiful ballad did not make much of a chart impression: it only charted in the UK and Ireland, peaking at number 42 and 19 respectively.

My collection: 7" single no. 1325
Found: HMV, London, October 16, 1990
Cost: 2 pounds
Tracks: 'Three babies' / 'Damn your eyes'

The emperor's new clothes - Sinéad O'Connor

'The emperor's new clothes' was the second single from Sinéad O'Connor's 1990 album 'I do not want what I haven't got'. It was released in a limited edition numbered box set featuring a giant fold out poster and three postcards. This is number 4915.

The single reached number 23 in the Dutch Top 40 and number 31 in the UK singles chart.

My collection: 7" single no. 1291
Found: Free Record Shop, Den Haag, September 1, 1990
Cost: 10 guilders
Tracks: 'The emperor's new clothes' / 'What do you want'

Nothing compares 2 u - Sinéad O'Connor

'Nothing compares 2 u' was written in the Eighties for the Family by Prince. They released their version in 1985. In 1990, Sinéad O'Connor recorded a cover version on her second album 'I do not want what I haven't got', and released it as the first single from that album. A limited edition box set was released in the UK, featuring a giant poster and a picture button.

The song was famous mostly for the music video in which Sinéad sheds two tears. I never quite got what was so special about that, but the media were in spasms about it. It helped the song get to number 1 in 11 countries, including the UK, the Netherlands and the USA.

My collection: 7" single no. 1156
Found: Free Record Shop, Den Haag, 1990
Cost: 10 guilders
Tracks: 'Nothing compares 2 u' / 'Jump in the river'

Jump in the river - Sinéad O'Connor

After three singles from her debut album 'The lion and the cobra' were released, Sinéad O'Connor released a stand-alone single in the autumn of 1988. 'Jump in the river' was only a minor success, stalling at number 81 in the UK singles chart, although it did reach number 29 in Ireland.

The B-side is a live recording of the track 'Never get old' from the aforementioned debut album. It was recorded at Dominion theatre in London on June 3, 1988.

My collection: 7" single no. 2549
Found: November 2, 1995
Cost: 1 pound
Tracks: 'Jump in the river' / 'Never get old (live)'

I want your (hands on me) - Sinéad O'Connor

'I want your (hands on me)' was already not the strongest track on Sinéad O'Connor's debut album 'The lion and the cobra', but the single version, released in the spring of 1988, had the added bonus of a rap by a certain MC Lyte. And as you well know, rapping is the worst kind of self-expression.

I wasn't going to buy this single at first, until I noticed the B-side contained a live version of 'Just call me Joe', recorded during a BBC Radio One session in 1987. Okay, so the B-side was better than the A-side this time around... The single reached number 77 in the UK singles chart.

My collection: 7" single no. 2546
Found: Record Exchange, London, November 1, 1995
Cost: 50p
Tracks: 'I want your (hands on me) (feat. MC Lyte)' / 'Just call me Joe (live)'

Mandinka - Sinéad O'Connor

'Mandinka' was the second single taken from Sinéad O'Connor's debut album 'The lion and the cobra'. This single, released in early 1988, featured another album track, 'Drink before the war' on the B-side.

It was the only single from the album to chart in the UK, peaking at number 17. In the Netherlands, it performed worse in the charts than its predecessor, 'Troy', peaking at number 30.

My collection: 7" single no. 2533
Found: Beanos, East Croydon, London, November 1, 1995
Cost: 1 pound
Tracks: 'Mandinka' / 'Drink before the war'

Troy - Sinéad O'Connor

Sinéad O'Connor's debut single 'Troy' was an intense affair. It was an unusual choice, but a successful one, in the Netherlands at least: it reached number 5 in the Dutch Top 40. The song was written by Sinéad as a deeply angry message towards her mother, whom she accused of abuse. The song uses the story of the ancient city of Troy as a metaphor. O'Connor has only sung 'Troy' live shortly after it was released. It was only performed live again in 2008 during the Night of the Proms concerts in Belgium and the Netherlands, where she was one of the starring performers.

The B-side 'Still listening' is an equally beautiful track, released only as the B-side of this single. It later appeared on the cd-single of Sinéad's next single, 'Mandinka'.

My collection: 7" single no. 576

Found: Free Record Shop, Den Haag, 1987

Cost: 6 guilders

Tracks: 'Troy' / 'Still listening'

Download: here

Silent night - Sinéad O'Connor

For a while in the nineties, Sinéad O'Connor was as daft as a doorknob. She was always in the news with strange stories and weird incidents. In 1991, she was recording with Peter Gabriel in his Real World Studios. And of course, news reports started coming that she'd fallen in love with him.

Whatever that was all about, it resulted in her performing back vocals on Gabriel's album 'Us', and this single: a rendition of the traditional Christmas song 'Silent night'. The B-side, 'Irish ways and Irish laws', was recorded live in Holland.

My collection: 7" single no. 2166

Found: Record Exchange, London, September 26, 1994

Cost: 1 pound

Tracks: 'Silent night' / 'Irish ways and Irish laws'

Download: here