Tragedy behind Sinead O'Connor's shaved head and tears in Nothing Compares 2 U
Irish superstar Sinead O'Connor' channelled her own tragedy into her biggest hit, Nothing Compares 2 U.
The moving song was originally written by Prince in 1984 for the funk band The Family. But it only became the biggest song of the decade after Sinead made it her own, crying real tears in the video with her hair shaved.
Some believed the singer - who died of natural causes last year aged 56 - was making a deliberate fashion statement to stand out, but Sinead eventually revealed several heartbreaking reasons why she preferred the cropped style.
The star first shaved her head at the age of 20 as her way of projecting a more androgynous in rebellion to the feminine look producers were pushing for, and she later revealed that the style was born from trauma.
Sinead revolted against producers over her look (Sipa/REX/Shutterstock)
She said she didn't want to be viewed as pretty (Redferns)In an emotional interview with TV psychologist Dr Phil, she revealed that she remained bald because she didn’t want to be viewed as ‘pretty’. And she feared that if she was seen in that light, that she could be subjected to danger at the hands of men.
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In the 2017 talk, Sinead explained: “My sister had the most beautiful red hair, glorious red hair, the type you’d be jealous of. But my mother took it into her head that my sister’s hair was ugly, and horrible and disgusting. And she started, when I had long hair, she would introduce us as her pretty daughter and her ugly daughter. And that’s why I cut my hair off. I didn’t want to be pretty.”
She went on to claim: “It was dangerous to be pretty because I was getting raped and molested everywhere I went. That was a huge part of it. I didn’t want to be raped or molested, I didn’t want to dress like a girl, I didn’t want to be pretty. Other girls beat you up if you were pretty too.”
Sinead channelled the trauma of the abuse she suffered when filming the music video to accompany her hit 1990 track. Towards the end of the clip, she made a heartbreaking impression as openly allowed tears to roll down her face.
Mum-of-four Sinead, who is survived by her three children after her 17-year-old son tragically took his own life, previously opened up about how she would think of her mum when she sang. She claimed her mother Marie, who died in a car accident five years before her hit success in February 1985, abused her as a child.
“I didn’t know I was going to cry when I sang in the video [for Nothing Compares 2 U], because I didn’t cry in the studio," Sinead admitted in the documentary Nothing Compares. “I think it happened because there was a big eye (camera) on me. Every time I sing that song I think of my mother. I never stop crying for my mother. I couldn’t face being in Ireland for 13 years because of it. I never called home and it took me 25 years to stop crying.”
Meanwhile, the singer, who released 10 studio albums, also wished to keep an androgynous image so as not to distract from her talent. She added: “I was asked one day would I grow my hair long and wear short skirts because they wanted to sell me on my sexuality.
"I didn’t want to be sold on that. If I was going to be successful, I wanted it to be because I was a good musician.” At a time when she began to grow her hair back, she shaved it off again after she was compared to singer Enya.
The style became part of her identity, with her saying: "I don't feel like me unless I have my hair shaved. So even when I'm an old lady, I'm going to have it." Later in life, after she converted to Islam in 2018, Sinead wore a headdress to cover her hair to protect her modesty.
In the last photos taken of Sinead before her death on July 26, she was captured at the RTÉ Choice Music Prize in Dublin in March 2023, where she wore a monochrome head scarf. The musician was found unresponsive at her home in London and it's now been ruled she died of natural causes.
Sinead was found at her flat in Herne Hill, south-east London after police had been called to the property. At the time, officers from The Metropolitan Police were not treating the death as suspicious. Southwark Coroners Court said: "This is to confirm that Ms O'Connor died of natural causes. The coroner has therefore ceased their involvement in her death. If an inquest is to be opened, the date of the brief public hearing will be provided on our website."
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The music icon's death was confirmed back in July in a statement by her family, with an outpouring of kind tributes immediately following. The singer’s family said: "It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of our beloved Sinéad. Her family and friends are devastated and have requested privacy at this very difficult time." The Irish singer is survived by three children. Her son Shane passed away in 2022 at the age of 17.
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