Sinéad O'Connor, O2 Shepherd’s Bush Empire

She shot to fame in the late 80s with her debut album The Lion and the Cobra and went on to achieve worldwide success in 1990 with her arrangement of Nothing Compares 2 U (written by Prince). Thirty years later and Sinéad O’Connor remains cemented in our minds and hearts as one of the greatest singer-songwriters of ballads and folk rock. This December, she’s coming to London to give a one-off performance at O2 Shepherd’s Bush Empire.

In addition to her 10 solo albums, the Irish singer-songwriter has collaborated with many of the greats, often on charity fundraising concerts. Notably, in 2010, O'Connor performed a duet of her song This Is To Mother You with R&B singer Mary J Blige, the proceeds of which were donated to Girls Educational and Mentoring Services (GEMS). Then, in November 2014, O'Connor joined the charity supergroup Band Aid 30 in recording the latest version of Do They Know It's Christmas? to raise money for the West African Ebola virus epidemic.

Throughout her years in the limelight, O'Connor has hit the headlines on several occasions for her outspoken views, which have spanned everything from religion to Miley Cyrus sexualising herself. In recent years, O’Connor has been somewhat fluid with her identity, changing her name to Magda Davitt in 2017, then Shuhada' Sadaqat in 2018, on converting to Islam. However, she continues to use her original name for recording and performing purposes.

The announcement of O'Connor’s London performance comes at a time when fans are eagerly awaiting the release of a new album, No Mud No Lotus, which features the demo song Milestones produced with David Holmes. The album is expected to be released before the end of 2019 and whether or not it drops before the Shepherd’s Bush concert, the gig will be a chance to hear some of O'Connor’s new work – as well as firm favourites – live.