Her highly personal debut The Lion and The Cobra released three years previously showcased the young Sinead O’Connor’s precocious and highly individualistic talent. But it was the follow-up I Do Not Want What I Have Not Got that made her a worldwide star.
The key track here is, of course, the massive worldwide hit, ‘Nothing Compares 2 U’ which reached No.1 on both the UK and US charts in early 1990. Originally written by Prince for a Time spin-off called The Family, O’Connor completely re-invented the song, injecting it with a depth of emotion rarely heard on record – never mind on a chart-topping pop single. The album released in March of 1990 touched on equally strong emotions on tracks like ‘Feel So Different’ and even featured a James Brown drum loop on Philip King’s ‘I Am Stretched On Your Grave’. An unforgettable record.