Music icon Brianna Corrigan returns after a decade away from the limelight

Sunday World

23-04-2025

Former Beautiful South singer Briana Corrigan reveals why the time is right for her comeback
Briana Corrigan stepped out of the limelight for more than a decade
It was her voice that washed over us on the Beautiful South's worldwide hit A Little Time, every bit as fresh as the day it was released in 1990.
She spent four years with the band at a time when they were on the crest of a wave. In partnership with Paul Heaton and Dave Hemingway, formerly of the Housemartins, they became one of the fastest selling bands on the circuit.
'It was a rollercoaster, that's for sure,' she said.
Briana Corrigan stepped out of the limelight for more than a decade
'The Beautiful South happened so quickly, they had just come from the Housemartins and the cross over to the Beautiful South worked instantly and in a big way.
'I was so young — only 23. I now have son of 23 and he seems so young. It was magical in so many ways and very difficult in other ways. An amazing time.'
Briana was speaking to the Sunday World ahead of two special shows later this month, one at the Seamus Heaney HomePlace in Bellaghy, Co. Derry, and then Fitzroy Presbyterian Church in Belfast.
They mark a welcome return to the stage for Briana, who quit Beautiful South in 1992 to forge a successful solo career before taking a 10-year hiatus away from the public eye.
'It's great to be back. There is nothing like performing live. I've really enjoyed being back on stage playing all those songs and also some of my new work.
'Now that my kids have left [home], space opened up in my life and it was the natural thing to do.'
Proud of her roots
Not that she was idle during her decade way. She raised a family, wrote poetry, wrote for the theatre and established a company in the creative arts.
Now she is reintroducing the voice once described as capable of 'melting icebergs at 50 paces'' to new audiences and a smattering of the old.
'I love the idea of playing in unusual venues. The Heaney Centre is a wonderful space and it means so much for me to perform there — his poetry is so important to me.
'And when the opportunity came up to play Fitzroy Church, I couldn't turn it down. We played in St Augustine's in Derry last year and it was brilliant. Churches have such amazing acoustics.
'If you sing, you'll know singing in church and sound it creates.'
These unique shows come at the end of a hugely successful UK and Ireland tour across 2024 and into 2025 and she is planning a number of soon to be announced additional Irish gigs.
With a new single — Apollo Junction — out now and new album of fresh material on the way, it has been a busy return.
Born in Belfast but brought up on the north coast in Portstewart, she has been living in Dublin for some years but really only calls one place home.
'I don't get to the North as much as I'd like. I have a brother living in Derry so I make it up there quite a lot. I was born in Belfast but we moved to Portstewart when I was 10.
'I really miss Portstewart, but with my parents dead and the family home sold we don't have a reason to be there so much.'
It's fitting that one of her shows is at Seamus Heaney HomePlace.
'Even to this day, every time we drive over the border I say to myself, 'ah now I'm home!' It never leaves you, that sense of home.
'And I do honestly believe Northern Ireland is one of the most beautiful places in the world. I see the countryside all around us and the north Antrim coast is unrivalled anywhere in the world.'
She'll be accompanied on her homecoming by a guitarist and a cellist.
Briana on stage with Paul Heaton (right)
'We'll be playing a lot of those great Beautiful South songs which have adapted really well to the cello. There'll be some quirky cover versions and a few old Celtic ballads.'
Delighted that the songs have stood the test of time, particularly A Little Time, she said audiences have been a mix of old fans and new devotees.
'That has been a great for us because we love playing them and it shows just what great songs they are.'
With her Beautiful South years and two best-selling solo albums under her belt, fans know what to expect — a rare opportunity to enjoy Beautiful South classics in the company of her own storytelling songs and her take on traditional Celtic music.