Sinéad O'Connor's final interview in documentary filmed weeks before death

26 July 2023 , 20:34

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Sinéad O'Connor's final interview in documentary filmed weeks before death

Sinéad O'Connor's final interview before her death discussed childhood abuse and how she found "music was therapy".

The singer, who has died aged 56, opened up for a Sky TV documentary titled 'Nothing Compares' looked at the singer's life beyond the controversial headlines and unmistakable buzzcut.

The documentary, which will air this Saturday (29 July), was filmed in the weeks before her death and sees the world famous singer reveal her relationship with music as she said: "There was no therapy when I was growing up so the reason I got into music was therapy.

"It was such a shock for me to become a pop star, it’s not what I wanted. I just wanted to scream."

A new Sky TV documentary sees Sinéad discuss her global hit Nothing Compares 2 U (VEVO/YouTube/Avalon)

As a child Sinéad was subject to neglect and abuse from her mother, including being made to live in their garden "24/7 for a week or two". Sinéad explained: "I’d be screaming, begging her to let me in. I spent my entire childhood being beaten up because of the social conditions under which my mother grew up."

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The documentary also explores Sinéad's career into music after initially being sent to a religious order as an “unmanageable” teenager before a music teacher discovered her talent and she was signed to a record label. However, Sinéad's unconventional dress sense and style didn't go down well with her managers.

Sinéad said: "They wanted me to grow my hair long, wear short skirts and high heels, make-up and the whole works. And write songs that wouldn’t challenge anything, but then I come from a country where there used to be riots in the streets over plays. That’s what art is for."

Sinéad's first husband John Reynolds explains what inspired Sinéad to shave her head, and create the iconic buzzcut hairstyle she was known for: "Obviously she was having absolutely none of it. It’s a powerful statement for a woman because she says, ‘Don’t f**k with me.'"

The late singer also came to blows with her record company when she became pregnant with her first child, son Jake who was born in 1987, but her label encouraged her to terminate the pregnancy. In response she scrapped her first version of her debut album, The Lion And The Cobra. She said: "It was a response to them telling me I owed it to them not to have a baby. I was like, ‘Well, it ain’t worth it for a s**t f**king record."

The documentary also sees Sinéad discuss her worldwide hit with her cover of Prince's song Nothing Compares 2 U, including the black and white video that saw her crying on camera.

Sinéad revealed she was thinking of her mother who had died in a car accident five years before, as she commented: "I didn’t know I was going to cry singing it. Every time I sing the song, I think of my mother,” she admits. “I never stopped crying for my mother. I couldn’t face being in Ireland for 13 years. I never even called home, I just cut myself off entirely."

The documentary also explores her controversial actions including ripping up a picture of the Pope live on US TV (NY Daily News via Getty Images)

The documentary also talks about some of the more controversial moments of Sinéad's career, including when she ripped up a picture of the Pope on Saturday Night Live to protest child abuse in the Catholic Church and told the American public to "fight the real enemy".

The result was death threats and abuse as well as a ban by US TV channels. Sinéad said: "I have about a 10-year period I don’t remember much because it suddenly became a free-for-all for everybody around me to personally and publicly treat me like s***."

While criticised for her defiant demonstrations, Sinéad reminds documentary viewers in the documentary that it was her passion that "the world fell in love with" back when the Nothing Compares 2 U music video debuted in 1990.

She tells the camera: "I went and did a lot of crying and everyone was like, ‘You crazy bitch,’ but actually, hold on. You fell in love with that tear. That was a mirror."

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Nothing Compares airs on Saturday 29 July at 9pm on Sky Documentaries

*If you're struggling and need to talk, the Samaritans operate a free helpline open 24/7 on 116 123. Alternatively, you can email [email protected] or visit their site to find your local branch

Niamh Spence