Musicians remember ‘beautiful soul’ Sinéad O’Connor whose talent wowed them all | CBC News

The death of Sinéad O’Connor has left her admirers — including many fellow artists — mourning the sudden loss of a musical icon. News of the Irish singer’s death spread on Wednesday, after her family released a statement. O’Connor was 56 years old.

“It’s pretty devastating,” said friend Richard (Spike) Holifield, who played bass on O’Connor’s 1987 debut album The Lion and the Cobra, on CBC’s As It Happens.

Holifield said she could always be counted on to stand up for others — particularly those without a voice to do so.

“I’d never known Sinéad to defend a wrong, she’s always defended a right,” he said.

‘What a talent’

Ian Brown of the Stone Roses tweeted that getting the chance to collaborate with the Grammy winner and hear her sing his songs in a Dublin studio was “a highlight of my musical life.”

She was “a beautiful soul,” he said.

Canada’s Bryan Adams addressed O’Connor directly in his own tribute.

“RIP Sinéad O’Connor,” Adams said on Twitter. “I loved working with you making photos, doing gigs in Ireland together and chats, all my love to your family.”

O’Connor skyrocketed to fame more than three decades ago, winning acclaim for her cover of Prince’s Nothing Compares 2 U.

“This is such a tragedy. What a loss. She was haunted all her life,” Melissa Etheridge said on Twitter, adding that she met O’Connor during her own first trip to the Grammy Awards, years ago.

“What a talent,” she said.

Singer Tori Amos called O’Connor “a force of nature.”

“Such passion, such intense presence and a beautiful soul, who battled her own personal demons courageously,” Amos said. “Be at peace dear Sinéad, you will forever be in our hearts.”

Canadian songwriter Ron Sexsmith recalled opening for O’Connor, at a gig in Dublin, more than 25 years earlier. He remembered the kindness she showed her fellow musicians.

“She was very nice to my band and I,” he tweeted Wednesday, calling O’Connor’s passing “a huge loss.”

As Billy Bragg, the English singer-songwriter, said Wednesday: “Sinéad O’Connor was braver than brave. May she rest in peace.”