The world may not have been anticipating Sinéad O’Connor’s death, but it sounds like she thought it through. And her kids knew exactly what to do in the event of the unthinkable situation that’s sadly now turned into reality.
As we all continue to reel from the iconic singer’s unexpected death, an old interview has resurfaced in which she talked about the larger implications of what it means for an artist to die — and exactly what she “instructed” her children to do in the event of her own death.
Related: London Police Say Sinéad’s Death Is ‘Not Being Treated As Sucpicious’
She shared with People in 2021 while discussing mer memoir, Rememberings:
“See, when the artists are dead, they’re much more valuable than when they’re alive. Tupac has released way more albums since he died than he ever did alive, so it’s kind of gross what record companies do. That’s why I’ve always instructed my children since they were very small, ‘If your mother drops dead tomorrow, before you called 911, call my accountant and make sure the record companies don’t start releasing my records and not telling you where the money is.’”
Damn. That’s a really morbid thought, but sadly one that’s extremely relevant. It must have been a very uncomfortable idea for her children to grapple with, but one thing about Sinéad that never wavered was her voice — and we mean beyond singing.
The Irish songstress was mother to four kids, including sons Jake Reynolds, Shane Lunny, and Yeshua Bonadio, as well as daughter Roisin Waters.
Related: Pink & Brandi Carlisle Pay Tribute To Sinéad In Beautiful Rendition Of Nothing Compares 2 U
The late artist brought up the unsettling topic during her interview while discussing Prince, whose song Nothing Compares 2 U she iconically (and definitively?) covered in the early ’90s. She adamantly condemned the act of record labels profiting off Prince’s music after his tragic 2016 death, explaining:
“One of the things that’s a great bugbear with me, I get very angry when I think of it, is the fact that they’re raping his vault. All musicians, we have songs that we really are embarrassed about that are crap. We don’t want anyone hearing them. Now this is a man who released every song he ever recorded, so if he went to the trouble of building a vault, which is a pretty strong thing to do, that means he really did not want these songs released. And I can’t stand that people are, as I put it, raping the vault.”
Well, if her kids are holding true to their word (or at least to the best of their ability), it sounds like the chances of unreleased music seeing the light of day are pretty slim.
The once-in-a-lifetime artist died at just 56 years old Wednesday. Her family announced the news with heavy hearts in an emotional statement:
“It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of our beloved Sinéad. Her family and friends are devastated and have requested privacy at this very difficult time.”
We still don’t know the cause of her death. But it was just last year her 17-year-old son Shane died by suicide, which led to Sinéad’s own mental health struggles. In any case, it’s clear she prepared at least someone for her end.
Our love and support go out to the O’Connor family during this difficult time. Rest in peace.
[Images via CBS/YouTube & Danny Clifford/Hotwire/WENN]
Related Posts
