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 a musician began at the age of four when she began playing piano. At the age of eight she took up violin. Upon finishing school she attended

Trinity College Dublin Trinity College Dublin (), officially titled The College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity of Queen Elizabeth near Dublin, and legally incorporated as Trinity College, the University of Dublin (TCD), is the sole constituent college of the Unive ...

where she studied music by day and worked in pit orchestras and music clubs by night. McEvoy graduated from Trinity with an Honors Degree in music in 1988, and spent four months busking in New York City. In 1988, she was accepted into the

RTÉ National Symphony Orchestra The National Symphony Orchestra (NSO; previously known as Radio Éireann Symphony Orchestra, RTÉ Symphony Orchestra and the RTÉ National Symphony Orchestra) is the largest professional orchestra in Ireland. Housed at the National Concert Hall, D ...

where she spent four years before leaving to concentrate on songwriting.

Career

1992–2000

McEvoy built up a following in clubs in

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

with her three-piece band, Jim Tate on bass, Noel Eccles on drums, and latterly Bill Shanley on guitar. During a solo date in July 1992, she performed a little-known, self-penned song, "Only a Woman's Heart".

Mary Black Mary Black (born 23 May 1955) is an Irish folk singer. She is well known as an interpreter of both traditional folk and modern material which has made her a major recording artist in her native Ireland. Background Mary Black was born into a m ...

, of whose band McEvoy was a member, was in the audience and invited her to add the track to an album of Irish female artists. The album was subsequently titled '' A Woman's Heart'' and the track was released as the lead single. A few days before ''A Woman's Heart'' was released, Tom Zutaut A&R from

Geffen Records Geffen Records (formerly The David Geffen Company from 1980 to 1992 and Geffen Records Inc. from 1993 to 2004) is an American record label, founded in late 1980 by David Geffen. Originally a music subsidiary of the company known as Geffen Pi ...

, who had previously signed

Guns N' Roses Guns N' Roses is an American hard rock band formed in Los Angeles, California in 1985 as a merger of local bands L.A. Guns and Hollywood Rose. When they signed to Geffen Records in 1986, the band's "classic" line-up consisted of vocalist Axl R ...

Mötley Crüe Mötley Crüe is an American Heavy metal music, heavy metal band formed in Hollywood, California, in 1981 by bassist Nikki Sixx and drummer Tommy Lee, with guitarist Mick Mars and lead vocalist Vince Neil joining right after. The band has sol ...

, and

Edie Brickell Edie Arlisa Brickell (born March 10, 1966) is an American singer-songwriter widely known for 1988's ''Shooting Rubberbands at the Stars'', the debut album by Edie Brickell & New Bohemians, which went to No. 4 on the ''Billboard'' albums chart. ...

, offered McEvoy a worldwide recording deal after watching her perform at The Baggot Inn in

. The album went on to sell over three-quarters of a million copies in Ireland alone and was (and remains) the biggest-selling Irish album of all time. ''

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 ...

'', her first album, recorded in

Windmill Lane Studios Windmill Lane Recording Studios (earlier Windmill Lane Studios) is a recording studio in Dublin, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It was originally opened in 1978 by Brian Masterson and James Morris on Windmill Lane, and it subsequently relocated in ...

, was released in February 1993, and tours in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

Asia Asia ( , ) is the largest continent in the world by both land area and population. It covers an area of more than 44 million square kilometres, about 30% of Earth's total land area and 8% of Earth's total surface area. The continent, which ...

, and Europe followed. Back on Irish soil, McEvoy was awarded Best New Artist, Best New Performer, and Best Songwriter Awards by the Irish entertainment and music industries. As she began writing her second album, Tom Zutaut left

, and McEvoy was offered and accepted a new deal with

Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American reco ...

US. The new album, '' What's Following Me?'', was released in 1996. The single "Precious Little" became a top-10 radio hit in the United States, giving McEvoy the exposure she needed for a headline tour of the US. She was invited to contribute to a number of movie and TV soundtracks. McEvoy released her third album, ''

Snapshots Snapshot, snapshots or snap shot may refer to: * Snapshot (photography), a photograph taken without preparation Computing * Snapshot (computer storage), the state of a system at a particular point in time * Snapshot (file format) or SNP, a file ...

'', in 1999. Her primary goal was to make ''Snapshots'' her most song-oriented album to date. Toward that goal, McEvoy teamed up with producer

Rupert Hine Rupert Neville Hine (21 September 1947 – 4 June 2020) was an English record producer and musician. He produced albums for artists including Rush, Kevin Ayers, Tina Turner, Howard Jones, Saga, the Fixx, Bob Geldof, Thompson Twins, Stevie Nic ...

and recorded the album at Rupert's "Chateau de la Tour de Moulin" and then in Metropolis Studios in London. The extensive use of drum loops was a complete change in style from her previous work. The album was greeted by rave reviews on both sides of the Atlantic. "... her sophisticated voice and compassionate seasoned lyrics ... make Eleanor McEvoy's album a gem...." declared

The Boston Globe ''The Boston Globe,'' also known locally as ''the Globe'', is an American daily newspaper founded and based in Boston, Massachusetts. The newspaper has won a total of 27 Pulitzer Prizes. ''The Boston Globe'' is the oldest and largest daily new ...

, while

The Sunday Times ''The Sunday Times'' is a British Sunday newspaper whose circulation makes it the largest in Britain's quality press market category. It was founded in 1821 as ''The New Observer''. It is published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of N ...

described it as "her strongest album to date, with well-appointed social comment topics...McEvoy's take on matters emotional also hits pay dirt with the likes of the excellent 'Did You Tell Him?'" However,

Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American reco ...

had been unprepared for the complete stylistic change and relations between the company and McEvoy became strained. Despite this, a sell-out, 24-date tour of the United States accompanied the release of ''Snapshots'' in the summer of 1999, followed by the "Snapshots Unplugged" tour March–April 2000, which culminated in a performance in

Boulder, Colorado Boulder is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Home rule municipality, home rule city in Boulder County, Colorado, United States, and its county seat. With a population of 108,250 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the most ...

accompanied by the E Town Band where she duetted with

Richard Thompson Richard Thompson may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Richard Thompson (animator) (1914–1998), Warner Bros. cartoon animator in the 1950s * Richard Thompson (cartoonist) (1957–2016), cartoonist who also worked as an illustrator * Richard Tho ...

. Columbia Records had bought her first album ''Eleanor McEvoy'' from

, but had not released it by 2000. Neither ''What's Following Me?'' nor ''Snapshots'' had enjoyed major chart success, and McEvoy's public perception, particularly in Ireland, was caught in a limbo state between rock and folk, with "A Woman's Heart" and its many incarnations still lurking in the back of the minds of the record-buying public. Increasingly, McEvoy started to work on outside projects. The

Bert Jansch Herbert Jansch (3 November 1943 – 5 October 2011) was a Scottish folk musician and founding member of the band Pentangle (band), Pentangle. He was born in Glasgow and came to prominence in London in the 1960s as an acoustic guitarist and ...

tribute album ''People on the Highway – A Bert Jansch Encomium'' (2000) saw a newly recorded version of Jansch's song about

Sandy Denny Alexandra Elene MacLean Denny (6 January 1947 – 21 April 1978) was an English singer-songwriter who was lead singer of the British folk rock band Fairport Convention. She has been described as " guably the pre-eminent British folk-rock sin ...

, "Where Did My Life Go?", recorded by McEvoy especially for the album. Participating artists included

Al Stewart Alastair Ian Stewart (born 5 September 1945) is a British singer-songwriter and folk-rock musician who rose to prominence as part of the British folk revival in the 1960s and 1970s. He developed a unique style of combining folk-rock songs wi ...

, Roy Harper,

Bernard Butler Bernard Joseph Butler (born 1 May 1970) is an English musician, songwriter and record producer. He has been hailed by some critics as the greatest guitarist of his generation; BBC journalist Mark Savage called him "one of Britain's most origina ...

Donovan Donovan Phillips Leitch (born 10 May 1946), known mononymously as Donovan, is a Scottish musician, songwriter and record producer. He emerged from the British folk scene in early 1965 and subsequently scored multiple international hit singles ...

, and

Ralph McTell Ralph McTell (born Ralph May; 3 December 1944) is an English singer-songwriter and guitar player who has been an influential figure on the UK folk music scene since the 1960s. McTell is best known for his song " Streets of London" (1969), which ...

2001–2005

McEvoy decided to take her fourth album and head down the independent road. '' Yola'' was a turning point in McEvoy's musical direction. Released in 2001, it reflected the acoustic, jazz-influenced style she had developed on stage with Brian Connor. For McEvoy it was a new departure and one that found favour with music media. Irish Music Press described it as .... "her finest album", "a brave rejection of the predictable", "musically daring....beautifully atmospheric". International press lauded it as "a back to basics triumph", "beautifully restrained", "a classic", and "McEvoy's best release to date". Extensive touring throughout the US and the UK followed. In 2002, '' Yola'' was named "Record of the Year" by Hi-Fi+ Magazine. March 2004 saw the release of '' Early Hours'', produced by McEvoy and Brian Connor. The album featured McEvoy on vocals, guitar, and fiddle; Connor on piano, Fender Rhodes, Wurlitzer, Hammond organ, and keyboards; Liam Bradley on kit percussion and backing vocals; Calum McColl on guitars and backing vocals; Nicky Scott on bass; and Lindley Hamilton on trumpets. The style differed from McEvoy's previous work, taking on a jazz/blues feel for many of the songs. ''Early Hours'' continued the high-quality audio work that had been established with ''Yola''. This album was the first to use TiMax (unique audio imaging) technology, mixed in 5.1 surround-sound onto multi-channel

Super Audio CD Super Audio CD (SACD) is an optical disc format for audio storage introduced in 1999. It was developed jointly by Sony and Philips Electronics and intended to be the successor to the compact disc (CD) format. The SACD format allows multiple a ...

(SACD). ''Early Hours'' was voted Best Contemporary Album 2004–2005, by Irish Music Magazine Readers Poll. McEvoy continued to tour with Brian Connor until April 2005. She then began performing solo, accompanying herself on bass guitar, electric guitar, mandolin and violin.

2007–2010

McEvoy's sixth album, '' Out There'', was recorded in The Grange Studio in Norfolk and released in early 2007. It was self-penned, self-produced and featured McEvoy performing all of the instruments with the exception of a guitar part on "Quote I Love You Unquote" played by

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 ...

(formerly of

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 ...

) and the drumming of Liam Bradley (

Van Morrison Sir George Ivan "Van" Morrison (born 31 August 1945) is a Northern Irish singer-songwriter and musician whose recording career started in the 1960s. Morrison's albums have performed well in the UK and Ireland, with more than 40 reaching the UK ...

, Ronan Keating) on three tracks. On track 5, ''Vigeland's Dream'', McEvoy eloquently describes a walk she once took in Vigeland Sculpture Park which is a part of

Frogner Park Frogner Park () is a public park in the central West End borough of Frogner in Oslo, Norway. The park is historically part of Frogner Manor and is Oslo's largest park, open to the public at all times. It includes the manor house which is the sea ...

(Frognerparken), a public park located in the borough of

Frogner Frogner is a residential and retail borough in the East End and West End of Oslo, West End of Oslo, Norway, with a population of 59,269 as of 2020. In addition to the original Frogner, the borough incorporates Bygdøy, Uranienborg, Norway, Urani ...

, in

Oslo Oslo ( or ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of 1,064,235 in 2022 ...

, Norway. McEvoy toured the album extensively in Britain, Ireland, Spain and Australia throughout 2007 and early 2008. In 2007, ''Out There'' brought McEvoy her second "Record of the Year" award from Hi-Fi+ Magazine. ''

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 ...

'' (MOSCD404, released 2008), her seventh album, is a departure from previous albums, where all the songs were typically her own. Half of the album features covers of songs originally written and performed by men about women. Eleanor McEvoy

The lead single, "Old, New, Borrowed and Blue", written by McEvoy and long-time friend

(

Homespun Home spun literally refers to hand spinning, see spinning (textiles). Homespun may refer to: * Homespun fabric, especially that worn by American colonists who were boycotting British goods * "Homespun", pseudonym of Benjamin Franklin in ''The Ha ...

), is a twist on the jaundiced over-optimism of the standard wedding song. Another track by the duo, "The Night May Still Be Young, But I Am Not", is also on the album. In 2008, McEvoy received her third "Record of the Year" award from Hi-Fi+ Magazine. In 2007, McEvoy was awarded "Best Traditional Act" at the 7th annual Big Buzz Awards, which are voted for entirely by the general public. In 2008, McEvoy toured from January to November in the UK, Australia, Spain, Germany, Poland and Ireland, with additional one-off dates in the Far East and elsewhere in Europe, including an appearance at

Glastonbury Glastonbury ( , ) is a town and civil parish in Somerset, England, situated at a dry point on the low-lying Somerset Levels, south of Bristol. The town had a population of 8,932 in the 2011 census. Glastonbury is less than across the River ...

in June 2008. On 21 November 2008, "Easy in Love" from the album ''Love Must Be Tough'' was released as a single to highlight McEvoy's visit to

Uganda Uganda, officially the Republic of Uganda, is a landlocked country in East Africa. It is bordered to the east by Kenya, to the north by South Sudan, to the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, to the south-west by Rwanda, and to the ...

on behalf of

Oxfam Oxfam is a British-founded confederation of 21 independent non-governmental organizations (NGOs), focusing on the alleviation of global poverty, founded in 1942 and led by Oxfam International. It began as the Oxford Committee for Famine Relief ...

Ireland. McEvoy's 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 ...

'' was released on 28 September 2008. The album is a compilation of singles taken from McEvoy's four award-winning, independently released albums. Three of the albums, ''Yola'', ''Out There'', and ''Love Must Be Tough'', received the Album of the Year Award from ''Hi-Fi+'' Magazine. ''Early Hours'' was voted Best Contemporary Album 2004–2005 by Irish Music Magazine Readers Poll. The album includes "Did I Hurt You" and "Isn't It a Little Late" from McEvoy's

double A-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of vinyl records and cassettes, and the terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side of a single usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or ...

single, the world's first single to be released on SACD format. ''Singled Out'' includes one new song, "Oh Uganda", which was written by McEvoy after her visit to Northern Uganda as part of her support for the work of ''Oxfam Unwrapped''. ''

I'd Rather Go Blonde ''I'd Rather Go Blonde'' is Irish singer-songwriter Eleanor McEvoy’s eighth studio album. The album features eleven tracks, nine of which were written by McEvoy, one was co-written with former Beautiful South member Dave Rotheray, and one is ...

'', released 20 September 2010, is McEvoy's eighth album, and was met with good reviews including the five-star review in 2010 Maverick Magazine: "This absolutely stunning album, has been a real find – one of the most compelling female singer-songwriters I've heard in a long time."

2011–2014

'' Alone'', McEvoy's ninth album, released on 12 September 2011, is a collection of twelve stripped-down solo numbers. Says McEvoy, ""There was a time when I was stranded in a long gap between tour dates and, with time to kill, I headed for the peace of The Grange; a small studio tucked away in the Norfolk countryside." The product of those tranquil sessions is an album of incredibly haunting performances, up close, personal, and timeless. This is McEvoy in her most intimate setting, running through the journey of her writing and singing career. '' If You Leave...'' McEvoy's tenth studio album was released on 6 May 2013. It features eight new songs and four interpretations including "

God Only Knows "God Only Knows" is a song by the American rock band the Beach Boys from their 1966 album ''Pet Sounds''. Written by Brian Wilson and Tony Asher, it is a Baroque pop, baroque-style love song distinguished for its harmonic innovation and complex ...

", " True Colors", and "Lift The Wings" from ''

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 J ...

''. Said McEvoy, "I'd been listening to a lot of 60s albums, Stones, Beatles, Beach Boys stuff like that and it was with the spirit of those albums in my musical soul that I entered the studio." "

STUFF Stuff, stuffed, and stuffing may refer to: *Physical matter *General, unspecific things, or entities Arts, media, and entertainment Books *''Stuff'' (1997), a novel by Joseph Connolly *''Stuff'' (2005), a book by Jeremy Strong Fictional c ...

" McEvoy's eleventh studio album, was released on 21 March 2014. The tracks on the album were compiled to meet the requests from fans for songs they couldn't find elsewhere. McEvoy chose the songs from her collection of single mixes, audiophile tracks, and songs written and performed on other artists' records. McEvoy then went into the studio to record tracks that weren't found in her collection. After all songs were recorded the entire album was re-mastered.

2015–present

'' Naked Music'' is McEvoy's twelfth studio album, recorded at the Grange Studio in Norfolk, UK. Also in 2017, she released an album of reinterpretations of the songs of

Thomas Moore Thomas Moore (28 May 1779 – 25 February 1852), was an Irish writer, poet, and lyricist who was widely regarded as Ireland's "National poet, national bard" during the late Georgian era. The acclaim rested primarily on the popularity of his ''I ...

, ''The Thomas Moore Project'' In January 2019, McEvoy appeared as a contestant on

RTÉ (; ; RTÉThe É in RTÉ is pronounced as an English E () and not an Irish É ()) is an Irish public service broadcaster. It both produces and broadcasts programmes on television, radio and online. The radio service began on 1 January 1926, ...

's '' Celebrity Home of the Year.'' In 2019, the two-year collaboration with

Chris Gollon Chris Gollon (1953–2017) was a British artist. Born in London, England, Chris Gollon was a technically innovative painter, bringing both Old Master techniques and printmaking methods into the medium of acrylic. Until his death in 2017, he had ...

featured in the three-month major museum retrospective at

Huddersfield Art Gallery The Huddersfield Art Gallery is an art gallery in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, northern England. It is currently owned and operated by Kirklees Council. History Huddersfield Art Gallery was opened on the 22nd April, 1898, by Lady Gwendolen ...

, showing Gollon's music-related works and including the canvas 'Gimme Some Wine – Final Version', for which Eleanor McEvoy made a special recording of the song 'Gimme Some Wine'.

"Only a Woman's Heart"

"Only a Woman's Heart" written by McEvoy is the title song of the album '' A Woman's Heart'' which went on to sell over three-quarters of a million copies in Ireland alone and was (and remains) the biggest selling Irish album of all time. The song "Only A Woman's Heart" has been covered by a number of artists including: *

Emmylou Harris Emmylou Harris (born April 2, 1947) is an American singer, songwriter, musician, bandleader, and activist. She is considered one of the leading music artists behind the country rock genre in the 1970s and the Americana (music), Americana genre ...

with

on Black's 1996 album ''Wonder Child'' *

Phil Coulter Philip Coulter (born 19 February 1942) is an Irish musician, songwriter and record producer from Derry, Northern Ireland. He was awarded the Gold Badge from the British Academy of Songwriters, Composers and Authors in October 2009. Coulter ha ...

on his 2005 album ''Recollections'' *French Canadian singer

Isabelle Boulay Isabelle Boulay, (; born 6 July 1972) is a Canadian singer. Biography Born in Sainte-Félicité, Quebec, where her parents owned a restaurant, Boulay moved to the nearby city of Matane at the start of her adolescence, and studied literature a ...

. Boulay's version appeared on her album ''

De retour à la source ''De retour à la source'' is francophone Canada, Canadian Pop music, pop singer Isabelle Boulay's fifth studio album. The album was released in 2007 and is a return to the singer's country music roots. The album was nominated as one of the five ...

'', which was nominated as one of the five finalists for the 2008

Juno Awards The Juno Awards (stylized as JUNOS), or simply known as the Junos, are awards presented by the Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences to recognize outstanding achievements in Canada's music industry. The Grammy Awards are the United S ...

for the category "Francophone Album of The Year". *''Les mejores canciones dance del Siglo XX – Vol. 11'', 2011 *

Celtic Woman Celtic Woman is an all-female Irish musical ensemble, formed in 2004 for a one-time event held in Dublin, Ireland. They started touring internationally as a group after multiple airings on PBS helped to boost the group's popularity. Celtic W ...

2012 album '' Celtic Woman: Believe'' "Only A Woman's Heart" also has a page and a half mention in Charles Webb's book ''New Cardiff'', which was made into the movie '' Hope Springs''. Webb's book, ''The Graduate'', was the basis for the award-winning film ''

The Graduate ''The Graduate'' is a 1967 American independent romantic comedy-drama film directed by Mike Nichols and written by Buck Henry and Calder Willingham, based on the 1963 novella by Charles Webb. It stars Dustin Hoffman as Benjamin Braddoc ...

''. 2012 marked the twentieth anniversary of ''A Woman's Heart''. The anniversary was celebrated with four sold-out performances at the Olympia Theatre in

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

. Eleanor McEvoy, Mary Coughlan,

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 ...

Dolores Keane Dolores Keane (born 26 September 1953) is an Irish folk singer. She was a founding member of the group De Dannan following which she pursued a solo recording and touring career. Background Keane was born in a small village called Sylane (near ...

Wallis Bird Wallis Bird (born 29 January 1982) is an Irish musician, living in Berlin since 2012. As of February 2023, she has released six studio albums, including ''Architect'' in 2014 and ''Home'' in 2016. Career Bird performed at the Eurosonic Festiv ...

, and Hermione Hennessy were on the bill. In April 2012, Kiera Murphy produced a documentary entitled ''Our Woman's Hearts'' which explores how '' A Woman's Heart'' came about, why it became so popular, as well as the effect it has had on three generations of women. The documentary is a part of

RTÉ Radio 1 RTÉ Radio 1 () is an Irish national radio station owned and operated by RTÉ and is the direct descendant of Dublin radio station 2RN, which began broadcasting on a regular basis on 1 January 1926. The total budget for the station in 2010 w ...

's series ''

Documentary on One The ''RTÉ Documentary on One'', or ''Doc on One'', is an anthology documentary A documentary film (often described simply as a documentary) is a nonfiction Film, motion picture intended to "document reality, primarily for instruction, edu ...

''. '' The Secret of Living'', a song written by McEvoy, was released in July 2012 to celebrate the 20th Anniversary of the iconic ''A Woman's Heart''. The song is performed by McEvoy, Mary Coughlan,

Gemma Hayes Gemma Hayes (born 11 August 1977) is an Irish musician, singer-songwriter and composer. Primarily known as a vocalist and guitarist, she is also proficient with a wide range of instruments, including the piano and the harmonica. She is also a m ...

, and Hermione Hennessey. In a review from ''

Hot Press ''Hot Press'' is a monthly music and politics magazine based in Dublin, Ireland, founded in June 1977. The magazine has been edited since its inception by Niall Stokes. History ''Hot Press'' was founded in June 1977 by Niall Stokes, who cont ...

'', ''The Secret of Living'' was described as a classy new single from the ''A Woman's Heart'' group.

Discography

* ''

'' – Geffen Records (GEFC/GEFD24606) 1993 Produced by Pat Moran. No longer available replaced by Special Edition (see above) * '' What's Following Me?'' – Columbia Records (484233.2) 1996 Produced by Eleanor McEvoy and Kevin Moloney * ''

'' – Columbia Records (CK494598.2) 1999 Produced by Rupert Hine * '' Yola'' – Mosco (EMSACD1) 2001 Produced by Eleanor McEvoy and Brian Connor. * '' Eleanor McEvoy 'Special Edition''' – Market Square (MSMCD127) 2003 Produced by Pat Moran. * '' Early Hours'' – Moscodisc / Market Square (MSM1SACD128) 2004 Produced by Brian Connor & Eleanor McEvoy * '' Out There'' – Moscodisc (MOSACD 303) September 2006 Produced by Eleanor McEvoy * ''

'' – Moscodisc (MOSCD404) February 2008 Produced by Peter Beckett * ''

'' – Moscodisc (MOSCD406) September 2009 Various Producers * ''

'' – Moscodisc (MOSCD408) September 2010 Produced by Eleanor McEvoy, and Peter Beckett; recorded by Ciaran Byrne; mixed by Ruadhri Cushnan; mastered by Ian Cooper. * '' Alone'' – Moscodisc (MOSCD409) September 2011 Produced by Eleanor McEvoy, recorded by Dave Williams and Ciaran Byrne; mixed by Ciaran Byrne ; mastered by Ian Cooper. * '' If You Leave...'' – Moscodisc (MOSCOD4010) March 2013 Produced by Eleanor McEvoy; mixed by Ciaran Byrne; mastered by Ian Cooper at Metropolis Studios; front cover by

Tim Staffell Timothy John Staffell (born 24 February 1948) is an English rock musician, visual artist, model maker and designer. He was a member of Smile, a band that included guitarist Brian May and drummer Roger Taylor. Upon Staffell's departure, Smile w ...

. *''

Stuff Stuff, stuffed, and stuffing may refer to: *Physical matter *General, unspecific things, or entities Arts, media, and entertainment Books *''Stuff'' (1997), a novel by Joseph Connolly *''Stuff'' (2005), a book by Jeremy Strong Fictional c ...

'' – Moscodisc (MOSCD4111) March 2014 Produced Eleanor McEvoy and Peter Beckett; mixed by Ciaran Byrne; mastered by Ian Cooper at Metropolis Studios except track 11 mastered by Ray Staff *'' Naked Music'' – Moscodisc (MOSCD4014) February 2016 Produced by Ciaran Byrne; engineered by Dave Williams; mastered by Tony Cousins at Metropolis Studios, London *''The Thomas Moore Project'' – Moscodisc (MOSCD4015) June 2017 Produced by Eleanor McEvoy Recorded and mixed by Ciaran Byrne; mastered by Tony Cousins at Metropolis Studios, London *''Gimme Some Wine'' - Blue Dandelion Records

Music in film and TV

Feature and independent films

* McEvoy sang

Bill Whelan William Michael Joseph Whelan (born 22 May 1950) 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 piece of original mus ...

's song "The Seabird" in ''

Some Mother's Son ''Some Mother's Son'' is a 1996 Irish-American film written and directed by Irish filmmaker Terry George, co-written by Jim Sheridan, and based on the true story of the 1981 hunger strike in the Maze Prison, in Northern Ireland. Provisional Ir ...

'' starring

Helen Mirren Dame Helen Mirren (; born Ilyena Lydia Vasilievna Mironov; 26 July 1945) is an English actor. With a career spanning over six decades of Helen Mirren on screen and stage, screen and stage, List of awards and nominations received by Helen Mirre ...

, director

Terry George Terence George (born 20 December 1952) is an Irish screenwriter and director. Much of his film work (e.g. '' The Boxer'', '' Some Mother's Son'', and '' In the Name of the Father'') involves "The Troubles" in Northern Ireland. He was nominated ...

written by

Jim Sheridan Jim Sheridan (born 6 February 1949) is an Irish people, Irish playwright and filmmaker. Between 1989 and 1993, Sheridan directed three critically acclaimed films set in Ireland, ''My Left Foot'' (1989), ''The Field (1990 film), The Field'' (19 ...

and

. * The song "I Hear You Breathing In" features in ''How To Cheat in the Leaving Certificate'' starring Mick Lally and Mary McEvoy. * The song "Whisper a Prayer to the Moon" features in ''

The Nephew ''The Nephew'' is a 1998 Irish film directed by Eugene Brady, which tells the story of a young biracial American man, Chad Egan-Washington (played by Hill Harper). Plot Following the death of his father, and later his mother, a long time Ir ...

'' starring

Pierce Brosnan Pierce Brendan Brosnan (born 16 May 1953) is an Irish actor and film producer. He was the fifth actor to play the fictional secret agent Portrayal of James Bond in film, James Bond in the List of James Bond films, James Bond film series, starri ...

Donal McCann Donal McCann (7 May 1943 – 17 July 1999) was an Irish stage, film, and television actor best known for his roles in the works of Brian Friel and for his lead role in John Huston's last film, '' The Dead'' (1987). In 2020, McCann was listed ...

Sinéad Cusack Sinéad Moira Cusack ( ; born 18 February 1948) is an Irish actress. Her first acting roles were at the Abbey Theatre in Dublin, before moving to London in 1969 to join the Royal Shakespeare Company. She has won the Critics' Circle and ''Eve ...

, and Niall Tobin. * The song "I Hear You Breathing In" features in ''El vuelo del tren'' "The Magic of Hope" which was selected by the European Film Promotion in 2012 and nominated to four ASECAN Awards in 2012 and by the Galway Film Fleadh.
(director Paco Torres, 2009).

Television

* The

HBO Home Box Office (HBO) is an American pay television service, which is the flagship property of namesake parent-subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is based a ...

series '' Six Feet Under'' featured the song "All I Have", written by

Caroline Lavelle Caroline Lavelle is an English singer-songwriter and Cello, cellist who has created three solo albums and contributed vocals, music, and production help to many other artists and bands. Career Lavelle studied at the Royal College of Music in L ...

and McEvoy. * "A Glass Unkissed" from the 1996 album '' What's Following Me?'' appeared in television network

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Broadcasting * Aliw Broadcasting Corporation, Philippine broadcast company * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial American ...

's popular series ''

Clueless ''Clueless'' is a 1995 American coming-of-age teen comedy film written and directed by Amy Heckerling. It stars Alicia Silverstone, and was produced by Scott Rudin and Robert Lawrence. The film is a loose adaptation of Jane Austen's 1815 no ...

''. * American Network PBS's documentary ''In Our Own Voice'' features "Easy To Lose Hope" from McEvoy's 1999 album ''

''. The song, produced by

, is about murdered journalist

Veronica Guerin Veronica Guerin Turley (5 July 1959 – 26 June 1996) was an Irish investigative journalist focusing on organised crime in Ireland, who was murdered in a contract killing believed to have been ordered by a South Dublin-based drug cartel. Bor ...

. * "All I Have" from the 1999 album ''Snapshots'' was featured on

's ''

One Life to Live ''One Life to Live'' (often abbreviated as ''OLTL'') is an American soap opera broadcast on the American Broadcasting Company, ABC television network for more than 43 years, from July 15, 1968, to January 13, 2012, and then on the internet as ...

'', a long-running daytime-TV soap opera. * McEvoy's song "Only A Woman's Heart" appeared in Irish Network

's popular soap ''

Glenroe ''Glenroe'' is an Irish television soap opera broadcast on RTÉ One for 18 years between September 1983 and May 2001. ''Glenroe was'' centred on the lives of the people living in the fictional rural village of the same name in County Wicklow. ...

''. * "Days Roll By" from '' Early Hours'' (Moscodisc 2004) appears in ''

Fair City ''Fair City'' is an Irish television soap opera which has been broadcast on RTÉ One since 1989. Produced by the public service broadcaster RTE, it first aired on Monday, 18 September 1989. It has won several awards and is both the most po ...

'', a popular soap about daily life in a

city.

Super Audio and vinyl

McEvoy's fourth album '' Yola'' drew favourable attention from the

Hi-Fi High fidelity (hi-fi or, rarely, HiFi) is the high-quality reproduction of sound. It is popular with audiophiles and home audio enthusiasts. Ideally, high-fidelity equipment has inaudible noise and distortion, and a flat (neutral, uncolored) ...

press and market as one of the first original titles recorded specifically for SACD. With the collaboration of sound designer, the world's first-ever SACD single "Did I Hurt You" (Market Square MSMSACD114) was released from the same album. To this day ''Yola'' is regarded as a

industry standard and is used by high-end audio companies to test speakers. Releasing on

compact disc The compact disc (CD) is a Digital media, digital optical disc data storage format co-developed by Philips and Sony to store and play digital audio recordings. It employs the Compact Disc Digital Audio (CD-DA) standard and was capable of hol ...

, SACD, and

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 ...

, McEvoy's albums have won many audio awards. '' Early Hours'' was the first to use TiMax (unique audio imaging) technology, mixed in 5.1 surround sound onto multi-channel SACD. McEvoy's album ''

'' was named Album of the Year by ''Hi-Fi Plus'', the prestigious UK publication, and was released on vinyl in August 2008 by Diverse Vinyl in the UK.

Books

''Naked Music-The Songbook''

''Naked Music-The Songbook'' is the first songbook to be published by McEvoy. The publication is a pioneering collaboration between McEvoy and artist

. It includes lyrics and melodies from the songs on McEvoy's 2016 album '' Naked Music'', alongside 24 of Gollon's stunning paintings inspired by the music on the album. Foreword and interviews by Jackie Hayden. Hot Press ''Hot Press'' is a monthly music and politics magazine based in Dublin, Ireland, founded in June 1977. The magazine has been edited since its inception by Niall Stokes. History ''Hot Press'' was founded in June 1977 by Niall Stokes, who cont ...