The Corrs, all in their 20s, grew up in Dundalk in Ireland's County Louth, which lies 50 miles north of Dublin -- smack on the border between Ireland and Northern Ireland. In typical Irish clan fashion, each member plays, sings, writes, and generally
throws stardust into the family pot. "Our parents were musicians, so we grew up with a lot of music in the house," explains Andrea. "I suppose it was always our intention to become a band. I don't think there was ever anything else that we really wanted to do."

Along with their powerful familial link, the Corrs' music emanates from a base of Irish culture and musical styles to speak to broader truths. "I think the music reflects something about the Irish people as a whole," says Sharon. "The Irish have a lot of hope, despite all the troubles they've gone through over the years. They've always known how to laugh and have fun. That's where the tradition of up-tempo Irish music and dancing comes from. But there's that mystical, haunting sound as well, which I think reflects the Irish environment. I mean, when you get up first thing in the morning, there is literally
a mist surrounding everything. Our music is influenced by our environment, and we play what we feel." "There is a certain paradox about it," adds Andrea. "It's a hopeful sadness."

Since expanding their bonds from family to band in 1990, things have happened quickly for The Corrs. The group had only been together briefly when they met their soon-to-be manager, John Hughes, who was assembling musicians for Alan Parker's film The Commitments. A friendship was struck and the band drew an invitation to perform in Dublin as part of a special Commitments live concert.

As luck would have it, U.S. Ambassador to Ireland Jean Kennedy Smith heard The Corrs play at a small club in Dublin and invited them to America last summer to play at a World Cup celebration in Boston. Still unsigned, the band seized the opportunity to meet with U.S. labels. Captivated by the group, Atlantic Senior Vice President Jason Flom suggested in turn that they meet with Atlantic Vice President and producer extraordinaire David Foster, who was in New York at the time working with Michael Jackson. Although Foster agreed to see The Corrs, high-level Jackson security made it virtually impossible for the band to reach him at the sequestered sessions.

On their last day in New York, The Corrs made a fateful decision. "We took a deep breath," recalls Sharon, and, walking in full black garb in mid-July Manhattan furnace heat, arrived unannounced at the studio. Once again, Irish luck was on their side. Foster had just finished with Jackson, and as he came downstairs, The Corrs were perched on the waiting
room couch. He invited them into the studio, where they played live for him, and as Foster recalls, "told them, 'out of ten, I give you a ten... no, a ten-plus.' "It wasn't long before The Corrs were official Atlantic Group artists, with Foster signing on as producer.  (Fittingly, both Foster and Flom were in the process of establishing their own Atlantic-distributed labels -- Foster's 143 and Flom's Lava -- and thus The Corrs make their debut as a joint 143/Lava release.)

As a primer to The Corrs' musical world, listen to the purring, spiritual "Forgiven Not Forgotten," or the lilting Irish violin and Celtic undercurrent of "Runaway," or the gloriously infectious "Love To Love You." Or perhaps "Erin Shore" -- one of five traditional instrumentals interspersed throughout the album -- where an ancient Irish heart keens with melancholy. All told,
"FORGIVEN, NOT FORGOTTEN" is a powerful and versatile musical mix laden with unspoken sub-texts -- both ancestral and modern. 7/96