Sharon Shannon:
Sharon Shannon comes from Clare on the West Coast of Ireland, an area historically steeped in music. Sharon began playing music as a young child and while still in her teens was asked by Jim Sheridan to provide the music for his stage production of Behans the Hostage. She began her solo recording career in 1989. The Waterboys producer, John Dunford gathered together a wide variety of musicians,including Donal Lunny, Philip King, Mary Custy, U2 Adam Clayton, Steve Wickham and Mike Scott. Shortly after this Mike asked Sharon to join him in the Waterboys. This collaboration also involved her featuring in "Room to Roam" album.
By 1991 Sharon had completed her own album, which included tracks from Stephen Cooney, Trevor Hutchinson and Hot House Flowers Liam O Maonlai. This album, a stunning cocktail of Portuguese, Cajun, Swedish, Scottish and French-Canadian influences rapidly secured a place in the history books by becoming the most successful Irish traditional music album ever released. Hailed as the "traditional album of the nineties" it was also described by New Musical Express as a crossover record which" was creative, deft and lovely".
Sharons groundbreaking album, 'The Diamond Mountain Sessions' released in Autumn 2000 took her in a very different direction. Her own accordion and fiddle playing was as full of virtuosity as ever but this time show was accompanied by stirring vocal performances from the likes of Steve Earle, Jackson Browne, John Prine and Dessie O Halloran from the island of Inishbofin off the coast of Galway.
Sharon finished recording her new album, 'Libertango' recently which features singers Kirsty Mc Coll, Sinead O Connor, Pauline Scanlon and musicians Mary Shannon, Jim Murray, Ritchie Buckley, Steve Wickham, Donal Lunny and many more. Libertango was released in early September 2003.
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