It was obvious from an early age where Eleanor McEvoy's interests
lay. The career of one of Ireland's most popular songwriters started at
age four when she performed at an Irish music competition as the lead
singer in her sister's band. At eight, she took up the violin, and
attended the College of music in Dublin for piano and violin up until
1985. Upon finishing school she attended the prestigious Trinity
College in Dublin where she studied music by day and worked in pit
orchestras by night. She graduated from Trinity with an honours degree
and was accepted to the National Symphony Orchestra of Ireland.
Eleanor worked with the Symphony Orchestra for five years before she
finally took the plunge and left the classical world behind her to
concentrate on her real passion - songwriting.
Eleanor McEvoy achieved star status in Ireland in 1992 when her song
"Only A Woman's Heart" inspired the title for, and appeared on, the "A
Woman's Heart" anthology album. It has since gone on to become the best
selling album in Irish history, even eclipsing records by such
legendary Irish artists as Van Morrison and U2. "A Woman's Heart"
stayed in the Top 10 for over a year.
1994 saw the world-wide release of her self-titled debut on Geffen
Records, "Eleanor McEvoy". International radio hits followed with the
release of the two main singles "Apologise" and a re-recorded version
of "A Woman's Heart". Eleanor toured the USA, Europe and the Far East
in support of the album, building up a loyal fan base and racking up
international sales. Hot Press again lauded Eleanor, placing the album
amongst the top debuts of that year.
1996 was a busy year for Eleanor starting with the release of her
second album on Colombia Records, "What's following Me?". "Precious
Little", the first single, was a top ten radio hit in the US. Eleanor
again tourd internationally in support of the second album playing to
sold out venues in the USA and Europe. "A Glass Unkissed" from the same
album was featured in ABC Television's "Clueless" and "Whisper A Prayer
To The Moon" was featured in the Pierce Brosman film, " The Nephew",
which was released August 1998. Eleanor's involvement with film
continued with her performance of "The Seabird" for the soundtrack of
"Some Mother's Son" written by "Riverdance" composer Bill Whelan.
Eleanor released her third album "Snapshots" in 1999. Produced by
Rupert Hine, the album received rave reviews on both sides of the
Atlantic. The Boston Globe described the album as "a gem...........Its
traversal of country, Celtic, and cosmic bar room styles is
exhilarating. Sparked by psychological insights and the sympathetic
voicings of Hine, SNAPSHOTS effectively freezes the listener in its
frame". It was on the third US tour for this album that she began her
collaboration with the Belfast pianist Brian Connor.
In August 2000, Eleanor recorded a version of Bert Jansch's song
about Sandy Denny "Where Did My Life Go?" for the Bert Jansch tribute
album, "People On The Highway". Her fourth album YOLA was released in
Ireland in 2001, and a re-issue of "A Woman's Heart" was released in
2003, and "Early Hours" in 2004.
Her co-writing song credits have seen her published with fellow
writers and performers such as Rodney Crowell, Lloyd Cole, Johnny
Rivers, Brad Parker, Henry Priestman and Dave Rotheray.
The new album "Out There" takes a hard look at the precarious nature of
our new wealthy world as well as throwing new light on the
idiosyncrasies of love and life. The songs are fresh, the tunes
infectious, the lyrics wry and witty and the playing gorgeous.
"Out There" features 12 brand new Eleanor McEvoy compositions, plus a
co-write with The Beautiful South's Dave Rotheray and an interpretation
of Marvin Gaye's "Mercy Mercy Me." Press reviews have been exceptional:
Daily Telegraph "Bags of class..... her writing gets better & better". (Feb. 2007)
MOJO "massively underrated Irish sing / songwriter, McEvoy
raises the stakes with an ambitious self-produced, self-arranged
album..... immaculately tuneful, lyrically potent tales of love and
life." (Feb. 2007)