One of Sinéad O'Connor's closest music allies, Philip King, has reacted with surprise to the news that she's quitting the music business.

Talking this afternoon to hotpress.com, the man who directed the companion Sean Nos Nua documentary said, "Really? This is the first I've heard of it. I'd have been talking to her fairly recently and she didn't give any indication that she was about to quit."

Having had time to digest the news, the ex-Scullion and Hummingbird Films man added: "I've been working in music for a long time. I've had the privilege of sitting in rooms with some of the world's greatest singers – The Everly Brothers, Richard Thompson, Emmylou Harris, Tom Waits – and I'm telling you, Sinéad's one of the very best.

"My gut instinct is that Sinéad O'Connor will always continue to sing, and if her statement says 'I don't want to be in showbiz anymore', maybe that's good. I appreciate and understand her need to be out of the public limelight. I think sometimes it must be a terrible place to be."

In addition to the Sean Nos Nua film, King directed the Goodnight. Thank You. You've Been A Lovely Audience live video which is due in July, and co-authored the track Sinéad covered on her I Do Not Want What I Haven't Got album, 'I Am Stretched On Your Grave'. Most recently, of course, King directed and produced recent television series Other Voices: Songs From A Room.