Rest in peace Sinead O’Connor, nothing compared 2 U - Susan Dalgety

Sinead O’Connor wrote in her 2021 memoir, Rememberings, that she was “born bonkers”. Perhaps she was, but her childhood, where she was physically and emotionally abused by her unstable mother, certainly contributed to her fragility.

Sinead O'Connor, who shot to worldwide fame in the 1990s, has died at the age of 56

Her death a few days ago at only 56 is scarcely a surprise. Her life was a litany of broken marriages, religious conversions, and deep, deep tragedy. Her much-loved son Shane – who looked uncannily like his mother – killed himself aged only 17 in January 2022.

“We were one soul in two halves. He was the only person who ever loved me unconditionally. I am lost in the bardo without him,” she wrote only a few days before her own death.

But amidst the agony of her life there was ecstasy. A talented musician and beautiful singer, she was also a cultural pioneer. She shaved her head and wore bovver boots in a refusal to confirm to the gender stereotypes demanded by the pop industry, and she always, always spoke her mind. She campaigned against sexual abuse of children and donated her multi-million pound home in Beverly Hills to the Red Cross, asking for the money to be used to support children in war-torn Somalia.

In 1992, she almost destroyed her career by denouncing the-then Pope on live TV. She ripped up her mother’s photograph of Pope John Paul II while on NBC’s Saturday Night Live, yelling “fight the real enemy.” Later she wrote she had always intended to destroy the picture, as it “represented lies and liars and abuse”.

But it is the image of her as a 23-year-old woman, singing Prince’s song Nothing Compares 2 U, that is her enduring legacy.

It is a startling film, both in its simplicity and its raw beauty. Shot in a single take, Sinead sang the song of love and loss with a tear trickling down her astonishingly beautiful face, her eyes looking directly into the soul of every viewer. It revolutionised pop videos.

No-one compared to Sinead O’Connor. Her troubled life may have generated more headlines than her musical talent, but she should be remembered for her astonishing voice and for her indomitable spirit. She was the ultimate punk. May she now be at peace.