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What happened to The Corrs?

Made up of four Corr siblings, lead vocalist Andrea, violinist Sharon, drummer Caroline and guitarist Jim - not that Donna Air knew they were related when she once asked them on a live TV interview where they all met - the group became one of the biggest selling bands in the world during the 90s.

While they achieved global success with a host of catchy pop tunes complete with plenty of inspiration from their Irish roots, The Corrs won countless awards and picked up several famous fans including their compatriot, U2’s Bono, before taking a near-10-year break.

We looked into what happened to one of Ireland’s greatest ever groups…

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Shooting To Fame

During the height of their fame, The Corrs held the top two positions in the UK Albums Chart - one of only a few acts to have done so - with 1997 record Talk on Corners, which was the best-selling album of that year, and their 1995 debut Forgiven, Not Forgotten.

After their initial album success, The Corrs supported Celine Dion on her 1996/7 Falling Into You Around the World Tour and never looked back, going on to win a BRIT Award for Best International Band in 1999.

Catchy tunes such as Runaway, What Can I Do, Breathless and Only When I Sleep had given them huge success, five platinum albums - 2000’s In Blue, 2004’s Borrowed Heaven and 2005’s Home adding to their first two success stories - and more than 40 million sales.

While Borrowed Heaven and Home didn’t reach quite the same level of acclaim as their first two records, The Corrs were still doing well but put down their tin whistles and violins to go on a self-inflicted hiatus in 2006 to pursue solo careers and raise families.

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Break

During their hiatus, Jim, 52, had a son, Brandon, who is now nine, and learnt to fly helicopters as well as lost a fair bit of cash in Irish property when the bubble burst.

Caroline, 43, already had two kids by the time the band went on a break, Jake, 13, and Georgina, 12, and didn’t waste any time having a third, her daughter Ryanne was born on December 1, 2006.

Sharon, 46, used the time to have children, Cathal, 10, and eight-year-old Flori, release two solo albums and was a coach on Ireland’s The Voice.

Andrea, the youngest member of the group at 42, had daughter Jean, four, and two-year-old son Brett Jr, and also released two solo albums but when they didn’t take the world by storm she concentrated on theatre acting, including portraying Jane Eyre.

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She said: “I loved the solo albums but they weren’t albums the record company wanted. I was deflated. It knocks it out of you. You lose the will to sing.”

Andrea has since admitted another of the reasons the group split was because they needed a rest, telling Event magazine: “It was burnout. It happens to bands. You don’t stop working, you don’t stop touring.”

The raven-haired beauty was constantly romantically linked to the likes of Robbie Williams and even Bono back in the group’s heyday, but found the celebrity culture “difficult to handle”.

But she and the band got through it and perhaps one of their greatest achievements was that they were still talking to each other when they went on a break, which Sharon once described as “our most remarkable success”, leaving the possibility of a return to the stage very high.

Rumours

However, at times throughout the band’s hiatus it seemed as though a reunion might never happen.

In 2011, Andrea didn’t seem too confident about a revival of The Corrs taking place anytime soon, admitting her siblings were “really happy” being a mummy and a daddy.

She told the Telegraph’s Stella magazine: “Sharon put an album out last year and she enjoyed doing that. It’s not all about the commercial success. She has two children.

"That’s the best creation. Jim’s doing his own thing and has one child.

"And Caroline has three kids and she’s really happy.”

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Comeback

But the rumours just wouldn’t die down and following endless speculation, Andrea finally confirmed the group were working on a new album and planned to play at London’s Hyde Park during a radio interview in early 2015.

The Corrs suffered a massive blow before getting back on stage when their father Gerry died unexpectedly aged 82, but instead of the tragedy sending them out of the studio exit door it spurred the band on.

Jim said: “My dad just told us to go for it, do what you love. It’s a great thing they both lived to see us do so well and that Dad heard us play together again before he passed.”

New Beginnings

The group released sixth studio album White Light in November 2015 and dedicated it to their father - just as they had dedicated their 2005 album Home to mother Jean, who passed away in 1999 while waiting for a lung transplant.

But unlike its name, White Light failed to set the world alight with its chart positions.

The record only reached 11th spot in the UK Albums Chart, and in Australia - where the group had previously tasted plenty of success with Forgiven, Not Forgotten being the third highest-selling album Down Under in 1996 - the album charted at 18th.

Still, The Corrs went on a 34-date European tour in 2016 which concluded in August.

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Bright Future

Despite the album missing out on a top 10 finish, it doesn’t appear to have left the band disheartened as on their Twitter account - which only has a very modest 9,000 followers - they shared a picture of themselves in the studio earlier this month.

While they preferred to let the images do the talking, leaving the captions blank, the Irresistible hitmakers did hint there will be further projects on the horizon at the end of their tour in August.

Attached to a picture of the group, they wrote: “Until next time !!! Thank You !!! #TheCorrs #WhiteLight #2016 (sic)”

Watch this space.