Caitlín O'Riordan (born 4 January 1965) is a British musician of Irish and Scottish descent.
She played bass guitar for the Irish
punk
Punk or punks may refer to:
Genres, subculture, and related aspects
* Punk rock, a music genre originating in the 1970s associated with various subgenres
* Punk subculture, a subculture associated with punk rock, or aspects of the subculture s ...
/
folk
Folk or Folks may refer to:
Sociology
*Nation
*People
* Folklore
** Folk art
** Folk dance
** Folk hero
** Folk music
*** Folk metal
*** Folk punk
*** Folk rock
** Folk religion
* Folk taxonomy
Arts, entertainment, and media
* Folk Plus or Fol ...
band
the Pogues
The Pogues were an English or Anglo-Irish Celtic punk band fronted by Shane MacGowan and others, founded in Kings Cross, London in 1982, as "Pogue Mahone" – the anglicisation of the Irish Gaelic ''póg mo thóin'', meaning "kiss my arse". T ...
from 1983 to 1986. She later played with
Elvis Costello
Declan Patrick MacManus Order of the British Empire, OBE (born 25 August 1954), known professionally as Elvis Costello, is an English singer-songwriter and record producer. He has won multiple awards in his career, including a Grammy Award in ...
(her husband from 1986 to 2002) as well as several other projects. She uses the name Rocky O'Riordan on social media and for her
Sirius-XM
Sirius XM Holdings Inc. is an American broadcasting company headquartered in Midtown Manhattan, New York City that provides satellite radio and online radio services operating in the United States. It was formed by the 2008 merger of Sirius ...
radio show, ''The Rocky O'Riordan Show''.
Biography
Caitlín O'Riordan was born in Nigeria to Irish and Scottish parents, who moved to London when the
Nigerian Civil War
The Nigerian Civil War (6 July 1967 – 15 January 1970), also known as the Nigerian–Biafran War or the Biafran War, was a civil war fought between Nigeria and the Republic of Biafra, a secessionist state which had declared its independence f ...
broke out in 1967.
[ She heard ]the Nips
''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...
' song "Gabrielle" on the radio in 1979, and subsequently met future Pogues
The Pogues were an English or Anglo-Irish Celtic punk band fronted by Shane MacGowan and others, founded in Kings Cross, London in 1982, as "Pogue Mahone" – the anglicisation of the Irish Gaelic ''póg mo thóin'', meaning "kiss my arse". T ...
' frontman Shane MacGowan
Shane Patrick Lysaght MacGowan (born 25 December 1957) is an Irish singer, songwriter, and musician. He is best known as the lead singer and songwriter of Celtic punk band the Pogues. He was also a member of the Nipple Erectors and Shane MacGo ...
, who was working at Rocks Off Records, where she went to purchase the record.
In 1982, she was invited by MacGowan to join his newly forming band Pogue Mahone
Pogue is American pejorative military slang for non-infantry MOS (military occupational specialty) staff, and other rear-echelon or support units.
History and etymology
The term was used as early as the First World War by US Marines to refer t ...
. She appeared on the group's first two albums, '' Red Roses for Me'' and ''Rum Sodomy & the Lash
''Rum Sodomy & the Lash'' is the second studio album by the London-based folk punk band The Pogues, released on 5 August 1985. The album reached number 13 on the UK charts. The track "A Pair of Brown Eyes", based on an older Irish tune, reached ...
, the EP Poguetry in Motion
''Poguetry in Motion'' is an EP by The Pogues, released on Stiff Records in the UK on 24 February 1986, and in the US & Canada on MCA Records. It was the band's first single to make the UK Top 40, peaking at number 29 and the first Pogues rec ...
'', and several early singles, before leaving in 1986. Besides playing bass, she provided vocals for "I'm a Man You Don't Meet Every Day
"I'm a Man You Don't Meet Every Day" ( Roud 975) is a traditional Scottish or Irish music hall song written from the point of view of a rich landowner telling the story of his day while buying drinks at a public house. According to Archie Fisher, ...
" on ''Rum Sodomy & the Lash'', and for "Haunted
Haunted or The Haunted may refer to:
Books
* ''Haunted'' (Armstrong novel), by Kelley Armstrong, 2005
* ''Haunted'' (Cabot novel), by Meg Cabot, 2004
* ''Haunted'' (Palahniuk novel), by Chuck Palahniuk, 2005
* ''Haunted'' (Angel novel), a 200 ...
" on the soundtrack to Alex Cox
Alexander B. H. Cox (born 15 December 1954) is an English film director, screenwriter, actor, non-fiction author and broadcaster. Cox experienced success early in his career with ''Repo Man (film), Repo Man'' and ''Sid and Nancy'', but since th ...
's film ''Sid and Nancy
''Sid and Nancy'' (also known as ''Sid and Nancy: Love Kills'') is a 1986 British biographical film directed by Alex Cox, co-written with Abbe Wool, and starring Gary Oldman and Chloe Webb. The film portrays the life of Sid Vicious, bassist of t ...
''. The Pogues' most commercially successful song, "Fairytale of New York
"Fairytale of New York" is a song written by Jem Finer and Shane MacGowan and recorded by their London-based band the Pogues, featuring singer-songwriter Kirsty MacColl on vocals. The song is an Irish folk-style ballad and was written as a du ...
" from ''If I Should Fall from Grace with God
''If I Should Fall from Grace with God'' is the third studio album by Irish folk-punk band the Pogues, released on 18 January 1988. Released in the wake of their biggest hit single, "Fairytale of New York", ''If I Should Fall from Grace with God ...
'', was written as a duet for O'Riordan and MacGowan, but the band eventually recorded it with Kirsty MacColl
Kirsty Anna MacColl (10 October 1959 – 18 December 2000) was a British singer and songwriter, daughter of folk singer Ewan MacColl. She recorded several pop hits in the 1980s and 1990s, including " There's a Guy Works Down the Chip Shop Swears ...
singing the female part. O'Riordan and Costello are mentioned in the lyrics to " Fiesta" from ''If I Should Fall from Grace with God''.
In 1983, she became the singer in Darryl Hunt
Darryl Hunt (February 24, 1965 – March 13, 2016) was an African-American man from Winston-Salem, North Carolina, who, in 1984, was wrongfully convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment for the rape and the murder of Deborah Sykes, a young whi ...
's jazz band Pride of the Cross. Hunt had originally planned to ask Wendy May of the Boothill Foot Tappers
The Boothill Foot Tappers was a British folk/skiffle/ bluegrass band that was formed in 1982 and associated with the folk music revival in the United Kingdom.
They were featured in the Ben Elton- presented show ''South of Watford'' on London We ...
to be the singer. When he told O'Riordan, she laughed at him and said she ought to do it. At the audition the band told her that she couldn't sing. During her time with Pride of the Cross, she sang lead on their only single, "Tommy's Blue Valentine".
She acted in the 1987 Alex Cox film, '' Straight to Hell'', as the singing dancehall girl Slim McMahon, and also in the 1988 Frank Deasy
Frank Deasy (19 May 1959 – 17 September 2009) was an Irish screenwriter. He won an Emmy Award for the television series ''Prime Suspect'' and was also nominated for his works, ''Looking After Jo Jo'' and ''The Grass Arena''. His other works ...
film '' The Courier''.
O'Riordan became involved with Elvis Costello
Declan Patrick MacManus Order of the British Empire, OBE (born 25 August 1954), known professionally as Elvis Costello, is an English singer-songwriter and record producer. He has won multiple awards in his career, including a Grammy Award in ...
in 1985, while he was producing the Pogues' album ''Rum Sodomy & the Lash''; they married on 17 May 1986. Her former Pride of the Cross bandmate Darryl Hunt filled in for her on several shows during the Pogues' 1986 U.S. tour, and he replaced her permanently when she left later that year to join Costello on his '' King of America'' tour.
She co-wrote the track "Lovable" from that album, and wrote, co-wrote, and appeared on songs on Costello's subsequent albums ''Blood & Chocolate
''Blood & Chocolate'' is the eleventh studio album by the British rock singer and songwriter Elvis Costello, released in the United Kingdom as Demon Records XFIEND 80, and in the United States as Columbia 40518. It is his ninth album with his l ...
'', ''Spike
Spike, spikes, or spiking may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media
Books
* ''The Spike'' (novel), a novel by Arnaud de Borchgrave
* ''The Spike'' (book), a nonfiction book by Damien Broderick
* ''The Spike'', a starship in Peter F. Hamilto ...
'' and '' Mighty Like a Rose''. O'Riordan and Costello divorced in 2002. In a 2008 interview with the ''Irish Independent
The ''Irish Independent'' is an Irish daily newspaper and online publication which is owned by Independent News & Media (INM), a subsidiary of Mediahuis.
The newspaper version often includes glossy magazines.
Traditionally a broadsheet new ...
'', she denied ever having formally married Costello: "We weren't married...It was a kind of Muslim 'I divorce you' kind of thing."
In 2004, she joined Pogues' guitarist Phil Chevron's re-united band the Radiators; that year she toured with the Pogues for the first time in 18 years. She left the Radiators and was replaced in February 2006 by Jesse Booth, and went on to form a band of divorcées named PreNup with Hothouse Flowers
Hothouse Flowers are an Irish rock band that combine traditional Irish music with influences from soul, gospel, and rock. Formed in 1985 in Dublin, they started as street performers. Their first album, ''People'' (1988), was the most successf ...
guitarist Fiachna Ó Braonáin
Fiachna Ó Braonáin (born 27 November 1965) plays the guitar and sings vocals with the Irish band Hothouse Flowers. Born in Dublin, he received his school education at Scoil Lorcáin and Coláiste Eoin. The Hothouse Flowers were founded as a ...
.
In 2018 O'Riordan joined Pogues tin whistle player Spider Stacy
Peter Richard "Spider" Stacy (born 14 December 1958, Eastbourne) is an English musician, singer, songwriter, and actor. He is best known for playing tin whistle and sometimes singing for The Pogues.
Early life
Stacy left school at 16 after fa ...
to perform Pogues songs accompanied by Cajun music
Cajun music (french: Musique cadienne), an emblematic music of Louisiana played by the Cajuns, is rooted in the ballads of the French-speaking Acadians of Canada. Although they are two separate genres, Cajun music is often mentioned in tandem w ...
band Lost Bayou Ramblers under the name Poguetry. In February and March 2020 Poguetry played an eight date tour of the US.
Since 2020 O'Riordan has hosted a weekly radio show, "The Rocky O'Riordan Show" on U2-X Radio, an artist-branded channel which is part of SiriusXM
Sirius XM Holdings Inc. is an American broadcasting company headquartered in Midtown Manhattan, New York City that provides satellite radio and online radio services operating in the United States. It was formed by the 2008 merger of Sirius S ...
.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Oriordan, Cait
1965 births
British bass guitarists
British people of Irish descent
British people of Scottish descent
Living people
Musicians from London
The Pogues members
Elvis Costello
Women bass guitarists
British expatriates in Nigeria
The Radiators from Space members
20th-century British musicians
21st-century British musicians