Since their formation five years ago, the sibling quartet known as The Corrs has nurtured a fresh, vital sound which draws deeply from the centuries-old music of their Irish homeland. For their debut album, "FORGIVEN, NOT FORGOTTEN" (on 143/Lava Records), Jim Corr and sisters Andrea, Caroline and Sharon have forged a collection of songs that shimmer with mystical Celtic sounds driven into the '90s by a creative pop vision. Produced by 12-time Grammy winner David Foster, with co-production by Jim Corr and mixing by Bob Clearmountain, the result is mesmerizing music that is at once steeped in tradition and yet utterly contemporary.

"I really do hope that we can create our own niche," says Jim Corr, "but when I'm asked to describe our music, I always say that it's modern with an Irish influence, because the Celtic vein does run through everything we do.  We're a traditional Irish pop-rock band, whatever that is." Continues Caroline: "It's a blend of modern rhythms and technology with acoustic instruments -- with violin, tin whistle, drum -- and, of course, the voices. The marrying of all these elements makes our sound."

The Corrs already have much of the world at their feet: "FORGIVEN, NOT FORGOTTEN" is gold in Canada, gold in Australia, platinum in Denmark, and a stunning four-times platinum in their Irish homeland, where the album is one of the biggest-selling debut albums by a native recording group in the country's history. In addition, the album is closing in on the gold mark in Japan, where the group will kick off their first-ever Southeast Asian tour on July 9th.

Shortly following that tour, the group will begin their first-ever U.S. concert tour on August 7 at the Deer Creek Music Center in Noblesville, Indiana. The Corrs will be supporting Celine Dion (a reprise of the group's European dates with Dion last year).

The Corrs' current world tour began in Ireland in April and continued with headlining dates in nine European countries; they most-recently completed a string of Canadian dates. Among the many highlights of the tour were appearances at the Odense Festival in Denmark before over 35,000 people; at Dublin's Rugby Peace International event (a populist call for the continuation of Anglo/Irish peace talks); and at the Fleadh (Irish for festival) with Sting and the Chieftains, before an audience of more than 50,000 at London's Finsbury Park.

Just prior to the European tour, Andrea Corr flew to Budapest to join director Alan Parker (Midnight Express, Pink Floyd: The Wall, Birdy, Mississippi Burning) and Madonna to shoot her role in the highly anticipated feature film, Evita.   Andrea previously worked with Parker on 1991's The Commitments, in a small role that marked her film debut. The Corrs are no strangers to American television, having performed on CBS This Morning, NBC-TV+s Late Night With Conan O'Brien, and Good Morning America, as well as the New Year's Eve episode of FOX-TV's Beverly Hills 90210.
 

With their unique blend of contemporary and traditional Irish musics, 143/Lava/Atlantic recording artists, the Corrs, have established themselves as true originals. On their new "TALK ON CORNERS," Dundalk, Ireland's favorite
sibling quartet-Jim (keyboards/guitars/vocal), Andrea (lead vocals, tin whistle), Caroline (drums, bodhran, vocals) and Sharon (violin, vocals)-create a sound steeped in the folk music of their homeland, but invested with a vibrant
and electric modern pop sensibility. The album sees a remarkable growth and significant change from the Corrs' 1995 debut, "FORGIVEN, NOT FORGOTTEN," incorporating a more melancholy and adventurous tint to their musical palette.

"From all the performances we did on tour around the world," Andrea says, "we had developed in such a way that we wanted to be a little edgier."

"We learned an awful lot from being on stage," Jim adds, "so we made it slightly more guitar-oriented. It's a harder, rockier sound, but it still maintains the sound of the Corrs."

As with their debut, "TALK ON CORNERS" was helmed in part by Grammy-winning producer David Foster. "We feel he understands our music and the way we want our music to sound," Caroline says of the Corrs' musical mentor. "He's fantastic
with vocals and harmonies. He always comes up with some other idea that you might not have thought of."

Foster was but one of a handful of producers to work with the Corrs on the new record.  In their quest to add a fresh new attitude, the quartet opted to collaborate with a number of well-known studio hitmakers. The list includes Glen Ballard (Alanis Morissette), Billy Steinberg (Madonna), Rick Nowells (Belinda Carlisle), and Jim Corr himself.

"We just decided to try new things," Andrea says, "to match up with other people. It was all great fun."

Andrea has taken on a bigger role in the Corrs, writing or co-writing almost all of the lyrics. "Only When I Sleep," the dramatic first single from "TALK ON CORNERS," was co-written by Andrea with producer Oliver Lieber, the son of legendary songsmith Jerry Lieber. If the son of a legend weren't enough, Andrea teamed with songwriting heroine Carole Bayer Sager on "I Never Loved You Anyway" and "Don't Say You Love Me."

"Each song is different," she says of the record's lyrical themes. "There's love, life, tragedy, hope, dreams, fantasy. It's whatever the music inspires."

Other highlights of the album include the dynamic "Queen of Hollywood" (whose lyric supplies "TALK ON CORNERS" with its title), "Paddy McCarthy," a new instrumental that harkens back to the Corrs' folk roots, as well as a
duet with the Chieftains on a Celtic version of Jimi Hendrix' "Little Wing," replete with harp, fiddles, flutes, and uillean pipes. "They called us and asked us to do a song with them for their album," Caroline says of teaming with
Paddy Maloney's renowned traditional Irish troupe. "It was (producer/manager) John Hughes' idea to ask them to do "Little Wing," and it turned out fantastic.  They're great musicians. We just sat down together and just played."

"TALK ON CORNERS" should continue the Corrs' incredible streak of successes begun with their debut. "FORGIVEN, NOT FORGOTTEN" made a huge splash on an international scale, racking up worldwide sales of nearly 2 million: certified gold in France, Canada, Norway, and Japan, double platinum in Spain, double-platinum in Denmark
and New Zealand, and an unprecedented eight-times platinum in Australia and Ireland (where it is one of the all-time best-selling debuts by a native recording group in the country's history).

The siblings have taken their show on the road, receiving standing ovations as support to such artists as Celine Dion and Michael Bolton, as well as on their own.  Among the high points were performances at Denmark's Odense Festival, the Rugby Peace International event in Dublin, an extensive tour of Australia earlier this year, and an appearance before a crowd of 50,000 at the big Fleadh festival in London's Finsbury Park with Sting and Van Morrison. Their Fleadh set was another triumph, prompting The Times of London to say "The Corrs took only forty minutes on the main stage to demonstrate why they are a good bet for stardom."

"It's our first priority," Sharon says of the Corrs live experience. "It's where you really reach your audience, where you really communicate with them. And as musicians, we just love playing."

The Corrs have made innumerable TV appearances around the globe, including: Ireland's Kelly Live; the U.K.'s Richard & Judy and Des O'Connor Show, Cilla Black's Surprise Surprise; Sweden's Black & White; Spain's Sorpresa, Sorpresa; the Netherlands' 5Uur Show; and The Jose Carerras Gala in Germany; not to mention their performances on such American
programs as Late Night with Conan O'Brien, Today, and CBS This Morning, along with a special guest slot on the popular nighttime soap opera, Beverly Hills 90210.

An aspiring actress in her spare time (of which there is very little), Andrea has now appeared in two films by director Alan Parker: The Commitments and last year's cinematic version of Evita. While Jim, Sharon, and Caroline got to receive a well-deserved vacation, Andrea flew to Budapest to portray Juan Peron's mistress.

"It was brilliant," Andrea says of working with the film's star, Madonna. "She was fantastic.  I was nervous, but I just did my bit."

With "TALK ON CORNERS," the Corrs are set to continue on their path towards bringing their unique brand of Celtic pop-rock to the rest of the known universe. Plans are already underway for tours around the globe: covering Europe in November and December; Australia, New Zealand and Japan in January and February then tackling the United States in the spring of 1998.

As Andrea says, explaining the Corrs' popularity around the planet, "I think the reason for that is it's very melodic. Also, there's something about the traditional Irish music element that, all around the world, seems to capture everybody's heart."