Claire Sproule (born 9 April 1984) is a singer-songwriter from

County Donegal County Donegal ( ; ga, Contae Dhún na nGall) is a county of Ireland in the province of Ulster and in the Northern and Western Region. It is named after the town of Donegal in the south of the county. It has also been known as County Tyrconne ...

, Ireland. She was born in

Derry Derry, officially Londonderry (), is the second-largest city in Northern Ireland and the fifth-largest city on the island of Ireland. The name ''Derry'' is an anglicisation of the Old Irish name (modern Irish: ) meaning 'oak grove'. The ...

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 ...

, into a musical family; her uncle is

Dáithí Sproule Dáithí Sproule (born 23 May 1950) is a guitarist and singer of traditional Irish music. He is the grandson of Frank Carney and uncle of singer Claire Sproule. Biography Born and raised in Derry, Northern Ireland, at the age of 18 he moved t ...

of Altan. After playing the clarinet for some time, she showed an interest in guitar, having been brought up listening to

Tom Waits Thomas Alan Waits (born December 7, 1949) is an American musician, composer, songwriter, and actor. His lyrics often focus on the underbelly of society and are delivered in his trademark deep, gravelly voice. He worked primarily in jazz during ...

Joni Mitchell Roberta Joan "Joni" Mitchell ( Anderson; born November 7, 1943) is a Canadian-American musician, producer, and painter. Among the most influential singer-songwriters to emerge from the 1960s folk music circuit, Mitchell became known for her sta ...

and

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 Derry and Donegal. At the age of 14 she started writing her own songs. After leaving school, she began by performing Eva Cassidy songs in local pubs in Donegal, before starting to sing her own songs. She made a rough demo tape which was sent to both the Parlophone and Blue Note record labels, who jointly offered her a recording deal within a week — Parlophone publishing in Europe and Blue Note in the United States. Her self-titled debut album, ''Claire Sproule'' was released on Parlophone on 10 October 2005. The album was produced by Stewart Levine, and included top musicians such as Pino Palladino. The album consists of tracks which Sproule wrote between the ages of 17 and 19, and attracted widespread attention. Following the release of her first album, Sproule played numerous Irish television and radio shows, including the BBC Northern Ireland's ''An Stuif Ceart'', and RTÉ's '' Other Voices'' and '' The Late Late Show''. Her second album, entitled ''Shades of Night'', was released in May 2009. Sproule toured with Paulo Nutini on his first album UK tour and has supported the likes of Al Green, playing in the Royal Albert Hall, and Irish artist Mary Black.

Discography

Albums * ''Claire Sproule'' (10 October 2005) * ''Shades of Night'' (May 2009) Singles *"Wondering" (13 March 2006) *"Flame (31 July 2006)

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sproule, Claire 1985 births Living people Women singer-songwriters from Northern Ireland Musicians from County Donegal 21st-century Irish women singers Musicians from Derry (city) 21st-century singer-songwriters from Northern Ireland