John Hughes ( ga, Seán Ó hAodha) (born 23 June 1950) is an

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

musician A musician is a person who composes, conducts, or performs music. According to the United States Employment Service, "musician" is a general term used to designate one who follows music as a profession. Musicians include songwriters who wri ...

and

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activities o ...

, best known for his management of

The Corrs The Corrs are an Irish family band that combine pop rock with traditional Irish themes within their music. The group consists of the Corr siblings, Andrea (lead vocals, tin whistle, mandolin, ukulele), Sharon (violin, keyboards, vocals), Car ...

Career

Early career

Hughes began his music career by playing in the 1960s

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...

band Ned Spoon. After Ned Spoon split in the early '70s, he and his brother, Willie, formed Highway, an acoustic hippy duo. With the arrival of the 1980s, the brothers formed the short-lived new wave/

synthpop Synth-pop (short for synthesizer pop; also called techno-pop; ) is a subgenre of new wave music that first became prominent in the late 1970s and features the synthesizer as the dominant musical instrument. It was prefigured in the 1960s a ...

band

Minor Detail Minor Detail were an Irish new wave and synthpop band from Blackrock, Dublin, Ireland. Career Minor Detail was headed by brothers John and Willie Hughes. Their lyrical themes were positive and covered topics such as romance and peace. Their ...

. It became the first Irish band to secure a recording contract with an American label, but released only one album.John Hughes Bio
at IMDB. Retrieved September 07, 2007. Their album was produced by

Bill Whelan Bill Whelan (born 22 May 1950 in Limerick, Ireland) is an Irish composer and musician. He is best known for composing a piece for the interval of the 1994 Eurovision Song Contest. The result, ''Riverdance'', was a seven-minute display of tradi ...

(of

Riverdance ''Riverdance'' is a theatrical show that consists mainly of traditional Irish music and dance. With a score composed by Bill Whelan, it originated as an interval act during the Eurovision Song Contest 1994, featuring Irish dancing champions Jean ...

fame).

Discovering the Corrs

In 1991, Hughes started a band called Hughes Version, featuring

Jim Corr James Steven Ignatius Corr, (born 31 July 1964) is an Irish musician, singer, songwriter and DJ. He is a member of the Irish folk/rock band The Corrs, the other members being his three younger sisters Andrea, Sharon and Caroline. Musical ...

on keyboards. Hughes was also working as musical coordinator for the movie '' The Commitments''. Jim Corr simultaneously decided to audition with his three sisters, unbeknownst to Hughes at the time. Commitments casting director Ros Hubbard who had heard them perform, convinced Hughes to become the band's manager despite his total lack of prior experience. Hughes remains

' manager to this day.

''Wild Ocean''

Hughes put his own music aside when taking over the Corrs but in 1999 went back into the studio to write and record new material. The result was ''

Wild Ocean ''Wild Ocean'' is the debut album by John Hughes, released in October 2004. The album features many well known Irish musicians, such as The Chieftains and The Corrs. It also launched the solo career of Tara Blaise, who co-wrote and provided voca ...

'', released in 2004 by 14th Floor Records/Warner Records. The album's name was supposedly suggested by

Andrea Corr Andrea Jane Corr MBE (born 17 May 1974) is an Irish singer, songwriter, musician and actress. Corr debuted in 1990 as the lead singer of the Celtic folk rock and pop rock group The Corrs along with her three elder siblings Caroline, Sharon ...

. ''Wild Ocean'' also features the musical talent of

The Chieftains The Chieftains are a traditional Irish folk band formed in Dublin in 1962, by Paddy Moloney, Seán Potts and Michael Tubridy. Their sound, which is almost entirely instrumental and largely built around uilleann pipes, has become synonymous wi ...

, and newcomer

Tara Blaise Tara Blaise (born 1 March 1975) is an Irish female pop, folk, and rock singer. The eldest of six children, Blaise was born in London, but at the age of three moved with her family to Ireland and grew up in Aughrim County Wicklow. Biography Ea ...

who co-wrote and is a featured vocalist on several tracks. Encouraged by her work, Hughes signed Blaise to his own label Spokes Records afterwards, and co-wrote material with her for her debut album ''Dancing on Tables Barefoot''.

''The Mandela Suite''

In 2009, Hughes worked on an EP called ''The Mandela Suite''. This musical opus, a progression from ''Wild Ocean'', is a song cycle, and involves Nelson Mandela reciting his own tribute to music as an introduction.

Discography

Albums

*''

'' - Released 11.10.04 (UK), 22.10.04 (Ireland)

Singles

* "Deo" - Released 04.10.04 (UK) * "Dancing in the Wind" - Released 22.10.04 (Ireland)

References

External links

John Hughes/Wild Ocean official website

The Corrs official website

Spokes Records
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hughes, John 1950 births Irish new wave musicians Irish music managers Living people The Corrs