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Link to individual article 11 September 1998

A Black day for Irish sister act

By Thomas Quinn
From The List

Irish songstress Frances Black has plenty of pedigree. The kid sister of Mary Black, her voice has as much the same rasping flavour, but just a few months ago the 39-year-old blonde mother of two was providing the weekly entertainment on a Caribbean cruise alongside, would you believe, Angela's Ashes novelist Frank McCourt.

Frances might have considered herself lucky to have earned the tag international folk star. To date she has etched out a career as a regular at festivals, sharing the stage with the likes of housewife's choice crooner Dominic Kirwan. In a word, she has hardly ever been considered a rival to the likes of Boyzone, let alone U2. Never have the words big in Ireland meant so much.

Now, with her album Don't Get Me Wrong, she looks certain of at least matching the appeal of her older sister. Frances handpicked the songs and spent over six months in the studio with producer Greg Sinnott, who masterminded Mary's career, working on the release.

In her native Ireland, she has little to prove, but this gig will go a long way towards answering the question whether she can cut it outside of the Emerald Isle.