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Hazel O'Connor (born 16 May 1955,) is an English singer-songwriter and actress. She became famous in the early 1980s with hit singles "Eighth Day", "D-Days" and "Will You", as well as starring in the film ''Breaking Glass''.〔(Rudden, Liam "Hazel O’Connor talks Beyond Breaking Glass" ''Edinburgh News'', 20 August 2013. )〕 ==Career== O'Connor was born in Coventry, England. She is the daughter of a soldier from Galway who settled in England after the Second World War to work in a car plant. Her film debut was in ''Girls Come First'' in 1975. She became prominent as an actress five years later in 1980 when playing the role of Kate in the critically acclaimed film ''Breaking Glass'', and its accompanying soundtrack. Her performance as Kate won her the Variety Club of Great Britain Award for 'Best Film Actor' and BAFTA nominations for 'Best Newcomer' and 'Best Film Score.' The album of the same name went double platinum, reaching number 5 in the UK Albums Chart with a 28-week stay and produced several hit singles, the most successful being the haunting "Will You", and "Eighth Day". When O'Connor toured the UK in support of ''Breaking Glass'' the album, she selected as her opening act a then-unknown group called Duran Duran; it was the band's first opportunity to play to large audiences throughout the UK and gave them the exposure they needed to secure a recording contract. Subsequent albums for O'Connor include ''Sons and Lovers'' (which featured the hit single "D Days"), ''Cover Plus'', ''Smile'', ''Private Wars'' and ''Five in the Morning''. "D Days" was inspired by a trip to a night club in London's West End where O'Connor met a lot of bizarre looking people.〔(D Days Songfacts )〕 O'Connor made a cameo appearance in the 1983 Eurythmics video, "Who's That Girl?". O'Connor donated her songwriting talents to Greenpeace First International Record Project released worldwide in 1985 as a response to the French bombing and subsequent sinking of the ''Rainbow Warrior''. Her duet song "Push and Shove" with Chris Thompson leads off the second act of the album and accompanying video. She has made numerous television appearances, starring in ''Jangles'' on British television and in 1986 playing the lead role of Vivienne in ''Fighting Back'' as well as singing the theme tune. She also played a singer in an episode of ''Prospects'' on Channel 4 in 1986 resulting in the release of two spin off singles alongside former ''Breaking Glass'' actor Gary Olsen. Her theatre work included ''One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest'' at the Royal Exchange, Manchester, ''Nightshoot'' at the Tricycle Theatre, London, ''Girlfriends'' at the Playhouse, London, ''Swing Out Sister'', her own production, at the Riverside Studio, London, ''The Raven Beckons'' at the Riverbank Theatre, Dublin and ''The Cuchulain Cycle'' at the Riverside Studio, London. In 1997 she recorded the studio album, ''Five in the Morning'' with record producer, co-writer and guitarist, Gerard Kiely. The album included the song "Na Na Na". A live album, ''Live in Berlin'', followed. The turn of the century saw O'Connor tell her life story in a touring show entitled ''Beyond Breaking Glass'', with harpist, Cormac de Barra. The show was a hit at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in 1998〔(The Scotsman Theatre review: Beyond Breaking Glass ) 22 August 2013〕 and toured the UK, the Netherlands (twice), Australia and Canada. In 2002 she signed to Invisible Hands Music, which triggered a run of new releases and deluxe re-issues of her 1990s work. A commercially available reincarnation of the previously mail-order ''Beyond the Breaking Glass'' was followed by a previously unreleased acoustic concert, ''Acoustically Yours''. In 2003, Invisible Hands Music released O'Connor's first-ever official best of compilation, ''A Singular Collection'', which brought together her early hits from the Albion days, mid career work at RCA, and the best of the latter, DIY era. To add something new to the best of compilation, O'Connor recorded a cover of her friend George Michael's hit, "One More Try", with a band that included drummer Carlos Hercules, who at the time was playing for Annie Lennox and Beverley Knight. Hercules joined George Michael's band in 2006. The track was released as a single, and generated extensive airplay and renewed interest in O'Connor - the following year saw her perform at the Glastonbury Festival. June 2005 saw the UK release of ''Hidden Heart'', produced by Martin Rushent and including duets with Maire Brennan and Rob Reynolds; with 2008 seeing the CD re-issue of her 1984 album, ''Smile''. In 2008, O'Connor performed for the second time at the Glastonbury Festival playing an acoustic set on the Avalon stage. In 2009, O'Connor performed as part of the '1980s Here and Now' tour at many venues including Wembley Arena. She continued to tour extensively with her own solo projects, 'Beyond the Breaking Glass' and 'Bluja Project'. In 2009 she was awarded her own star on Coventry's 'Walk of Fame'. In September 2010, O'Connor performed in France with The Bluja Project featuring Clare Hirst and Sarah Fisher, and in Ireland in October with Cormac de Barra. She then performed 'Breaking Glass Live' throughout England, culminating in a show at the Leicester Square Theatre in London on 5 December 2010. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Hazel O'Connor」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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