Sir Bob Geldof has revealed that he interacted with Sinead O’Connor just before she was found dead, calling her a “great woman” who was “full of a terrible loneliness.”
The singer, 71, said her text messages over the past few weeks were a mix of “desperation and desperation” and full of hope as she wrote new songs.
Sir Bob, who performed at Ireland’s Cavan Calling festival last weekend, paid tribute to his friend, who died aged 56 last Wednesday.
He said, ‘She meant a lot to everyone, she meant a lot to us. Her voice represented her soul and spirit. And when we hear that, we’ll always be with a wonderful woman.”
Neighbors of Ms O’Connor have said she struggled with her son Shane’s suicide last year and had recently moved to London from Ireland because of loneliness.
But in her latest Twitter video from her new flat near Brixton, the singer had revealed she was writing new material and planning a tour in the UK, Ireland and Australasia.
Sir Bob told fans: “There’s nothing to do, as you all know, but to keep going. Many, many times Sinead was filled with a terrible loneliness and a terrible despair.
‘She was a very good friend of mine. We were talking until a few weeks ago. Some of her lyrics were fraught with desperation and desperation and sadness and some were ecstatically happy. That’s how she was.’
Sir Bob Geldof’s tribute to Sinead O’Connor at the Cavan Calling festival over the weekend, where he revealed they’d been in touch shortly before she died
Sir Bob with his ‘good friend’ Sinead O’Connor in Dublin in 2020
Ms O’Connor was finalizing a new album, reviewing tour dates for next year and also considering “opportunities” around a film adaptation of her book, according to a message from her management company.
“There were great plans in the works at the time,” they added of the Grammy-winning singer and songwriter who was left unresponsive at the South London property by police.
The death of the Irish star is not considered suspicious and was confirmed by her family in a statement to Irish media.
Music management company 67 Management said on their website that they wanted to send “love, our thoughts, our prayers” to Ms O’Connor’s family, while also thanking the singer’s fans “who have prevailed throughout in their support and kindness ‘.
Their post added, “As a tribute to those who were part of Sinead’s team during our tenure, it should be noted that Sinead finalized her new album, was reviewing new tour dates for 2024 and was considering opportunities associated with a movie of her book.”
‘There were wonderful plans in the making at that time. Testament and tribute to those who put their hearts first for Sinead, to whom we are eternally grateful.”
Kenneth and Carl Papenfus’ message ended with, “It has been an honor to have worked with Sinead professionally for the past nine years, as musicians, producers and her artist managers, but much, much more than Sinead being family.
“May she rest in peace.”
The London Inner South Coroner’s Court said last week there was no medical cause for O’Connor’s death and an autopsy will be carried out.
The result may not be available for several weeks, a statement on the court’s website said.
Her last video from the house revealing she was positive about writing new songs and touring in the weeks before she died
Ms O’Connor has struggled since her son Shane, 17, committed suicide in January 2022 after escaping from hospital while on suicide watch. She posted this photo two weeks ago with her son
The building in Lambeth, South London, which housed the apartment of Sinead O’Connor, who passed away there last Wednesday. Neighbors said she often sat on her penthouse balcony or smoked outside, chatting about her life and faith
Following the death of the Dublin-born singer, politicians, musicians, actors and charities from around the world have paid tribute to her for her contributions to the music industry and for raising awareness of social issues.
Ms. O’Connor rose to international fame in 1990 with her version of the hit ballad Nothing Compares 2 U and made headlines in 1992 when she ripped up a photo of Pope John Paul II on the American TV show Saturday Night Live, sparking a furious backlash .
The musician, who spent time early in her life in an infamous Magdalena laundromat set up to house ‘fallen women’, has regularly spoken out about the child sex abuse scandal in the Catholic Church.
In 2021, she released her memoir titled Rememberings, which was described as a “unique and remarkable chronicle of a unique and remarkable artist.”
She had recently returned to London after a long absence and an account allegedly hers had posted on Twitter, now known as X, about her new album and touring in the days before her death.
Hundreds of people gathered at the London Irish Center in north London on Thursday night to celebrate her life and music, while dozens gathered outside the Wall of Fame in Dublin to pay their respects to the “beautiful soul.”
In tribute to her, musician Kate Bush wrote on her website that it was ‘like a light went out, wasn’t it? A beacon on a high mountain’.
Dublin’s famous landmark, the Samuel Beckett Bridge, was lit up with lyrics from Nothing Compares 2 U.