Northern Irish
Northern Irish people is a demonym for all people born in Northern Ireland or people who are entitled to reside in Northern Ireland without any restriction on their period of residence. Most Northern Irish people either identify as Northern ...
singer. She was the female singer for
The Beautiful South
The Beautiful South were an English pop rock group formed in 1988 by Paul Heaton and Dave Hemingway, two former members of the Hull group The Housemartins, both of whom performed lead and backing vocals. Other members throughout the band's exi ...
from 1988 to 1992.
Early life
Corrigan was born in
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...
. When she was 11 years old, her family moved from
Belfast
Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdo ...
to
Portstewart
Portstewart () is a small town in County Londonderry, Northern Ireland. It had a population of 8,003 people in the 2011 Census. It is a seaside resort neighbouring Portrush. Its harbour and scenic coastal paths form an Atlantic promenade leadin ...
,
County Londonderry
County Londonderry ( Ulster-Scots: ''Coontie Lunnonderrie''), also known as County Derry ( ga, Contae Dhoire), is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland, one of the thirty two counties of Ireland and one of the nine counties of Ulster. B ...
. She moved to
Newcastle upon Tyne
Newcastle upon Tyne ( RP: , ), or simply Newcastle, is a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. The city is located on the River Tyne's northern bank and forms the largest part of the Tyneside built-up area. Newcastle is ...
in England at the age of 18 to study for a BA in creative and performing arts.
Beautiful South
While studying in Newcastle upon Tyne, Corrigan began singing with The Anthill Runaways.
Go! Discs Records
Go! Discs was a London-based record label, launched in 1983 from offices in Wendell Road, Shepherd's Bush, by Andy Macdonald and Lesley Symons. The pair founded the label after Macdonald left his job as press officer at Stiff Records, and Symo ...
, which was considering signing the band, made her an offer to travel to Hull and sing with
Paul Heaton
Paul David Heaton (born 9 May 1962) is an English singer-songwriter. He was the frontman of the Housemartins, who had success with the singles " Happy Hour" and the UK number one "Caravan of Love" in 1986 before disbanding in 1988. He then forme ...
and
Dave Hemingway
Dave Hemingway (born David Robert Hemingway, 20 September 1960) is an English musician and songwriter, best known as a vocalist for the Hull-based band The Beautiful South until they disbanded in 2007. Previously he had been a member of The House ...
of The Beautiful South. Soon after she was asked to go to
Milan
Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...
album
An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...
, ''
Welcome to the Beautiful South
''Welcome to the Beautiful South'' is the debut album by English band The Beautiful South, released in October 1989 by Go! Discs and the next year in the United States by Elektra Records. Three singles were released from the album, which became ...
''. She appeared alongside Dave Hemingway on the band's only
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...
single
Single may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media
* Single (music), a song release
Songs
* "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004
* "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008
* "Single" (William Wei song), 2016
* "Single", by ...
, "
A Little Time
"A Little Time" is a song by English pop rock group the Beautiful South, the first single to be released from their second album, '' Choke''. It consists of a duet featuring vocalists Dave Hemingway and Briana Corrigan.solo career. The decision was driven by a desire to record her own work and partly by ethical disagreements with some of Heaton's
lyrics
Lyrics are words that make up a song, usually consisting of verses and choruses. The writer of lyrics is a lyricist. The words to an extended musical composition such as an opera are, however, usually known as a "libretto" and their writer, a ...
, particularly
song
A song is a musical composition intended to be performed by the human voice. This is often done at distinct and fixed pitches (melodies) using patterns of sound and silence. Songs contain various forms, such as those including the repetitio ...
s such as "
36D
"36D" is a song written by Paul Heaton and Dave Rotheray and performed by The Beautiful South. The song was originally found on the album ''0898 Beautiful South'' and later appeared on two greatest hits compilations - 1994's '' Carry on up the Ch ...
", which criticised British
glamour models
Glamour photography is a genre of photography in which the subjects are portrayed in erotic poses ranging from fully clothed to nude. The term may be a euphemism for erotic photography. For glamour models, body shape and size are directly rel ...
and the industry that employed them. Hemingway later remarked, "We all agree that we should have targeted the media as sexist instead of blaming the girls for taking off their tops".
Her time with the band culminated in one of the fastest-selling British albums in history, '' Carry on up the Charts: The Best of the Beautiful South''.
Solo career
After she left the band, Corrigan reunited with producer Mike Hedges who had produced the first two Beautiful South Albums, and recorded the solo critically acclaimed album, ''When My Arms Wrap You Round'', in 1996 on East West Records. The first single, "Love Me Now", peaked on the UK Singles Chart at No.48. This was the only single released, as Corrigan and her record company parted company a few months after the album's release. Until October 2022, she taught singing at the British School al Khubairat.
Discography
;Studio albums
* ''When My Arms Wrap You Round'' (1996)
* ''Red Bird'' (2012)