The ‘Cannonball’ singer was performing at a gig in Spain when he heard about the news from those in the crowd.
A video posted online captures the heartbreaking moment Irish musician and songwriter Damien Rice found out about Sinéad O’Connor’s death.
The ‘Nothing Compares 2 U’ singer passed away last month at the age of 56, sparking a wave of touching tributes.
One such tribute came from Rice who was performing at a concert in Valencia in Spain when he learned about O’Connor’s death from those in the crowd.
Hearing O’Connor’s name being shouted out, Rice asked: “What’s this Sinéad O’Connor reference?”
This led fans to shout: “She passed away tonight,” to which the ‘Cannonball’ singer responded: “No f****** way… Woah, I hadn’t heard… I hadn’t read the news.”
Rice – whose debut album O turned 20 last year – is then seen in the video softly strumming his guitar seemingly lost in thought.
This is before telling the crowd: “I’ve never played this before but maybe Sinéad can help us out,” and launching into a powerful acoustic cover of ‘Nothing Compares 2 U’.
You can watch the Rice’s live rendition of the track right here:
Meanwhile, a host of Irish music legends were among the thousands of mourners on Tuesday (8 August) as the country said goodbye to O’Connor.
A huge crowd lined the streets of Bray seafront as the legendary singer’s cortege passed through on the way to the private funeral service, which you can read more about right here.
Read more:
- Irish music legends attend Sinéad O’Connor’s funeral in Bray
- David Spade recalls being threatened with jail for taking part of Pope photo ripped by Sinéad O’Connor
- Many people are only discovering Sinead O’Connor’s “fearless”, career-defining moment
- Russell Crowe recalls lovely encounter with Sinéad O’Connor outside Dublin pub
- Ryan Tubridy speaks about kind gesture from Sinéad O’Connor during RTÉ scandal
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