Shortly after news broke of Sinéad O’Connor’s death on Wednesday (July 26), Michael Stipe shared a black and white photo with him and the late Irish artist, along with the caption “no words.” Still paying tribute to his friend, Stipe directed fans to a cover of O’Connor’s 1991 song “The Last Day Of Our Acquaintance,” which he performed in 1996.
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Performed by Stipe and recorded for a VH1 Honors performance in Los Angeles on April 28, 1996, the song was originally released several years earlier by O’Connor on The Year of the Horse, a concert film recorded on Oct. 29, 1990, at Forest National in Brussels, Belgium and at the Ahoy Sport Paleis in Rotterdam, Netherlands on Oct. 30, 1990. Directed by Sophie Muller (Annie Lennox, Sade, Garbage), the concert was re-released on DVD as Live: The Year of the Horse/The Value of Ignorance in 2004.
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The Irish singer’s death came 18 months after the death of her 17-year-old son Shane in 2022. It was revealed that O’Connor was found unresponsive in her London apartment and was pronounced dead at the scene; Officials believe her death was not the result of foul play.
Prior to her death, O’Connor was working on a new album, along with a 2024 tour in the works. She was also considering adapting her 2021 memoir, Rememberings, into a biopic.
“As tribute to those who were part of Sinead’s team over our tenure it has to be mentioned that Sinead was completing her new album, reviewing new tour dates for 2024, and considering opportunities in relation to a movie of her book,” read a statement by O’Connor’s management team. “Wonderful plans were afoot at this time. Testament and tribute to those who have put their hearts first for Sinead, to whom we are forever grateful.”
[RELATED: Watch: P!nk and Brandi Carlile’s Emotional Tribute to Sinéad O’Connor]
O’Connor was recently sharing more information on music she was working on, a follow-up to her 2014 album, I’m Not Bossy, I’m the Boss, which she was planning on releasing in 2024. Shortly before her death, O’Connor had moved back to London and was beginning to prepare for her first live shows in nearly five years. In 2022, O’Connor was forced to cancel a series of shows following the death of her son.
In the days following O’Connor’s death, artists within music have paid tribute to the artist, including live covers of her 1990 hit “Nothing Compares 2 U” by Fall Out Boy and a duet by P!nk and Brandi Carlile.
Photo: Steven Ferdman/Getty Images
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