Sinéad O’Connor death: Latest tributes for Nothing Compares 2 U singer

Sinead O’Connor’s former flatmate Nitin Sawhney has paid tribute to the singer after her death.

“Devastated to hear of the passing of Sinead O’Connor,” the musician and producer wrote on Twitter on Wednesday (26 July).

“Back in the 90s she came over to my tiny room in a shared flat in Tooting and we jammed together for ages,” Sawhney added. “She was so kind to my flat mates including @MykolachiHello who she sweetly complimented on her red coat…

:She stayed in touch for a while afterwards and was always so supportive. I will miss her humility, her incredible voice and her honest, compassionate soul.”

The London Irish Centre has announced that it will hold a gathering this evening to pay tribute to “a true Irish legend”.

Hosted by former DJ and writer Annie Mac, the event will bring people together in honour of Sinead O’Connor’s life and her impact on the Irish community and beyond.

Though the event is free, anyone who’d like to attend must sign up here.

Sinead O’Connor shot to fame in 1990 with her cover of Prince’s “Nothing Compares 2 U”, confronting the nation with all her trauma and vulnerability. The Independent’s Helen Brown pays tribute to a complicated, brilliant artist.

O’Connor, who had frequently spoken about her mental health issues over the years, said that the stress of 2020, as well as the death of a loved one, led to her being “briefly addicted to a drug other than weed”.

At the time, she had tweeted: “Message for folks who have tickets for next year’s shows: those shows are being postponed until 2022 so that I may go into a one year trauma and addiction treatment program because I had a very traumatic six years and this year was the end of it but now recovery starts.

“I grew up with a lot of trauma and abuse. I then went straight into the music business. And never learned really how to make a normal life. Never took proper time to heal. Wasn’t ready to either.

“Music business is a very unforgiving place for artists who need to postpone due to emotional or mental health issues,” she added.

Russell Crowe has paid tribute to Sinéad O’Connor.

On Wednesday (26 July), the 59-year-old actor recalled a chance encounter he had with the late singer outside a pub in Ireland last year.

“Last year, working in Ireland, having a pint in the cold outside a Dalkey pub with some new friends, a woman with purpose strode past us,” Crowe wrote on Twitter. “Puffy parker zipped to the nape and her bowed head covered in a scarf. One of my new friends muttered an exclamation, jumped up and pursued the woman.

“Thirty metres down the road the friend and the woman embraced and he waived me over. There under streetlights with mist on my breath, I met Sinéad,” Crowe wrote. “She looked in my eyes, and uttered with disarming softness, ‘oh, it’s you Russell.’”

The Unhinged star continued by writing that O’Connor then joined him and his friends at a table as they engaged in a “conversation without fences,” that included discussions about a recent Dublin heatwave, local and American politics, the ongoing fight for indigenous recognition, her memories of New Zealand, faith, music, movies, and her brother.

“When her second cup was taking on the night air, she rose, embraced us all and strode away into the fog-dimmed streetlights,” Crowe wrote. “We sat there the four of us and variously expressed the same thing. What an amazing woman. Peace be with your courageous heart Sinéad.”

This heartbreaking video is believed to be Sinead O’Connor’s last in which the singer posted an emotional clip about the devasting impact her son’s suicide had on her.

Morrissey has furiously called out stars and members of the press paying tribute to Sinead O’Connor, after her death at the age of 56.

Police have issued a statement on the death of Sinead O’Connor.

The Irish musician died on Wednesday (26 July) aged 56, after being found “unresponsive” in “a residential address” in the Lambeth area of London.

According to The Irish Sun, police said in a statement that O’Connor “was pronounced dead at the scene” and that her “death is not being treated as suspicious”.