''I'd Rather Go Blonde'' is Irish singer-songwriter

Eleanor McEvoy Eleanor McEvoy (born 22 January 1967) is an Irish singer-songwriter. She composed the song "Only a Woman's Heart", title track of '' A Woman's Heart'', the best-selling Irish album in Irish history. Early life and beginnings McEvoy's life as ...

’s eighth studio album. The album features eleven tracks, nine of which were written by McEvoy, one was co-written with former

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 staying throughout the ...

member

Dave Rotheray David Rotheray (born 9 February 1963) is an English rock and pop musician, best known for being the lead guitarist for The Beautiful South. Rotheray was born the last of five children. His parents were both intellectuals and had met through th ...

, and one is a cover of the song "Good Times" by

Sam Cooke Samuel Cooke (; January 22, 1931 – December 11, 1964) was an American singer and songwriter. Considered one of the most influential soul music, soul artists of all time, Cooke is commonly referred to as the "King of Soul" for his distin ...

. In the album, McEvoy discusses alienation, hypocrisy, recent Irish history, and romance. ''I’d Rather Go Blonde'' was released as a CD, 12 track stereo hybrid SACD/CD, and on

vinyl Vinyl may refer to: Chemistry * Polyvinyl chloride (PVC), a particular vinyl polymer * Vinyl cation, a type of carbocation * Vinyl group, a broad class of organic molecules in chemistry * Vinyl polymer, a group of polymers derived from vinyl ...

Critical reception

A review in the September 2010 Maverick Magazine referred to the album as stunning, open, and honest.

Band members

*Ross Turner, born in Dublin, is a drummer with the award-winning Irish electronic rock band

Jape Jape is a synonym for a practical joke. Jape or JAPE may also refer to: * Jape (band), an Irish electronic/rock band * JAPE (linguistics), a transformation language widely used in natural language processing * JAPE, an automated pun generator * J ...

. He has played with various bands including ''One Day International'' and

Cathy Davey Catherine Davey (born 1979) is an Irish singer-songwriter. She has released one extended play, "Come Over" (2004), and four albums, '' Something Ilk'' (2004), '' Tales of Silversleeve'' (2007), '' The Nameless'' (2010) and ''New Forest'' (2016) ...

. He is currently recording under the name ''I Am The Cosmos''. *Gavin Fox was born in Dublin and is the bass player in Concerto for Constantine. He has also been in the band

Vega4 Vega4 was a four-piece alternative rock band formed in London consisted of Johnny McDaid (lead vocalist and songwriter), Bruce Gainsford (guitar), Gavin Fox (musician), Gavin Fox (bassist) and Bryan McLellan (drummer). McDaid is from Northern I ...

, Scottish rock band Idlewild, and Irish indie rock band ''Turn''. *Dubliner Peter Beckett is one of Ireland's leading arrangers. For 20 years he has worked in theatre as a musical director, while outside the theatre he has worked as a freelance musician playing keyboards and guitar. He co-produced and arranged

Love Must Be Tough ''Love Must Be Tough'' is Eleanor McEvoy's seventh studio album, released in February 2008. Unlike her previous six albums, which, with the exception of a few tracks, were written solely by McEvoy, ''Love Must Be Tough'' is a mixture of covers/i ...

featuring his own ''The King Street Band,'' and co-produced and arranged ''Oh Uganda'' from the album

Singled Out ''Singled Out'' is an American dating game show created by Burt Wheeler & Sharon Sussman which originally ran on MTV from 1995 to 1998. Each episode was split between 50 single women competing for a date with one male contestant, and 50 single ...

. *Gerry O’Connor, aka Gerry ‘Banjo’ O’Connor, is a native of Co. Tipperary. He was described by the Wall Street Journal as “The best ever banjoist in the history of Irish music”. He has played with

Chris Rea Christopher Anton Rea ( ; born 4 March 1951) is a British Rock music, rock and blues singer-songwriter and guitarist from Middlesbrough. Known for his distinctive voice and his slide guitar playing, Rea has recorded twenty-five studio albums, ...

Damien Dempsey Damien Dempsey (born 9 June 1975) is an Irish singer and songwriter who mixes traditional Irish folk contemporary lyrics that deliver social and political commentaries on Irish society. Damien sings in his native, working-class accent in the Eng ...

and

Sharon Shannon Sharon Shannon (born 8 June 1968) is an Irish musician, best known for her work with the button accordion and for her fiddle technique. She also plays the tin whistle and Diatonic button accordion, melodeon. Her 1991 debut album, ''Sharon Shann ...

, among others. As well as having three solo albums to his name, he is a member of the popular Irish band

Four Men and a Dog Four Men and a Dog is an Irish traditional band that emerged in 1990 during the Belfast Folk Festival. The band plays Irish traditional music with a mixture of different other genres, including rock, jazz, blues, bluegrass, swing, salsa, polka and ...

. *Patrick Burke was a member of the Palestrina Choir for ten years under the direction of Ite O'Donovan. More recently, he was bass player for a number of years with Dublin band Jalopy. Sound engineering credits include The Gospel Project's album ''On the Outside'', which featured a version of McEvoy's song ''Something So Wonderful''. *Ciarán Byrne became the house engineer at

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studios in Dublin in 1988, working on

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and

The Chieftains The Chieftains were 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 w ...

Celtic Heartbeat album, U2’s Rattle & Hum and

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. He has also worked with other traditional Irish musicians, including Cooney and Begley, and Liam O’Flynn, and has worked with producers including

Daniel Lanois Daniel Roland Lanois ( , ; born September 19, 1951) is a Canadian record producer and musician. He has produced albums by artists including Bob Dylan, Neil Young, Peter Gabriel, Robbie Robertson, Emmylou Harris, Willie Nelson, and Harold Budd ...

, Pat McCarthy and

Jimmy Iovine James Iovine ( ; born March 11, 1953) is an American entrepreneur, former Music executive, record executive, and media proprietor. He is the co-founder of Interscope Records and became chairman and CEO of Interscope Geffen A&M Records, Interscop ...

. ''I'd Rather Go Blonde'' is his fourth collaboration with McEvoy. He is currently co-owner of The Cauldron studios in Dublin *Ruadhri Cushnan mixed

Mumford & Sons Mumford & Sons are a British folk rock band formed in London in 2007. The band consists of Marcus Mumford (lead vocals, acoustic guitar, electric guitar, drums), Ted Dwane (vocals, double bass, bass guitar), and Ben Lovett (British musician), B ...

debut album Sigh No More which went double platinum in the UK (staying more than 6 months in the top 10 UK album charts). Cushnan mixed

KT Tunstall Kate Victoria "KT" Tunstall (born 23 June 1975) is a Scottish singer-songwriter and musician. She first gained attention with a 2004 live solo performance of her song "Black Horse and the Cherry Tree" on ''Later... with Jools Holland'', and h ...

’s new album

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. Cushnan started out as an engineer at Metropolis studios in London, working with

Queen Queen most commonly refers to: * Queen regnant, a female monarch of a kingdom * Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king * Queen (band), a British rock band Queen or QUEEN may also refer to: Monarchy * Queen dowager, the widow of a king * Q ...

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, All Saints, Sugababes and also worked as

George Michael George Michael (born Georgios Kyriacos Panayiotou; 25 June 1963 – 25 December 2016) was an English singer-songwriter and record producer. Regarded as a pop culture icon, he is one of the List of best-selling music artists, best-selling rec ...

’s producer for a number of years.

Track listings

References

{{Authority control Eleanor McEvoy albums 2010 albums