Author Topic: 65 Million albums sold and still balling (130 MB.rar hookup) (Read 1038 times)

Matrix Heart · « **on:** March 24, 2005, 10:22:51 AM »

Background

Enya's real name is Eithne Patricia Ní Bhraonáin. She was born on May 17, 1961 in the parish of Gweedore (Gaoth Dobhair), Co. Donegal in the Gaeltacht region of Ireland. She has 4 brothers - Ciarán, Pól, Leon, Bartley - and 4 sisters - Máire, Deidre, Olive and Bridin.

Her grandparents led a traveling band that played in small villages around Ireland. "They went from town to town, but they'd spend quite a bit of time in each place," said Enya. "Whenever Grandma, who was a drummer, got pregnant, she would wait there until the baby was born and then catch up." Both her parents were also involved with music. Her mother Máire (nicknamed, Baba) used to play in a dance band. After the band broke up, she became a music teacher at the Gweedore Comprehensive School. Her father Leo had been a member of a show band (the Slieve foy band), before he opened a tavern.

Early years

Enya was steeped in Irish music, performing on stage from the age of three. From her eleven years, she attended a convent boarding school in Milford run by the Loretto order, where she was studying piano and classical music. At the age of seventeen, she continued her study of music at college. She had spent a year studying classical music with Father O'Cheallaigh before, on suggestion of Clannad's manager Nicky Ryan, she joined Clannad. The family group featured her twin uncles Pádraig and Noel Ó Dugáin, older brothers Ciarán and Pól Ó Braonáin and her sister Máire Ní Bhraonáin. Enya provided mainly backing vocals and played the Wurlitzer electric piano, later she used the synthesizer, Prophet 5. Enya stayed with Clannad for almost two years, toured with them and participated in the recording of albums Crann Ull and Fuaim. After a European tour in 1982, Enya announced that she would leave the band, the reason being that they wanted to put "rock" in the music and she didn't like that at all. She had a great desire for it to be classical, and she decided it was time for her to leave. At the same time, Clannad split with their long time manager and producer Nicky Ryan. In his belief that Enya had talent in her own right, she moved to live with him and his wife Roma to Dublin, and develop her own musical career.

1982 - 2001

Enya began writing songs in 1982-3, learned the saxophone and played the classical piano. In 1984, her two instrumentals Miss Clare Remembers and An Ghaoth On Ghrian were released on Touch Travel cassette in the limited edition of only 5000 copies. Miss Clare Remembers appeared also on Watermark, but An Ghaoth On Ghrian hasn't been released again. Later, Roma, who had found the songs very "visual", sent the tape of Enya to David Puttnam, who was looking for someone to compose the soundtrack to his next movie The Frog Prince. Attracted by the demo tape, he offered the work to Enya. She had composed sweet romantic music for the film, but then all the music was orchestrated, and she wasn't very satisfied with the result. It wasn't until she started working with the BBC on a documentary series The Celts that she was able to do the proper arrangements that she wanted to do on the music. This soundtrack was released separately as an album titled simply Enya, with the song I Want Tomorrow as a single. In Ireland, it ranked second in the album chart, next to U2's Joshua Tree. In 1986 Rob Dickins, chairman of Warner Music UK, heard the album, and fell in love with it. He met Enya by chance at an Irish awards ceremony outside Dublin, declared his admiration, and promptly signed her. "I signed her as an artist without any commercial potential at all," said Dickins. "I was just a fan." One year later, Enya released Watermark. Orinoco Flow, the first single, became a surprise number one hit in Britain and the album climbed to no.5 in the UK charts. Watermark introduced Enya worldwide - it has sold millions copies and has gone platinum in fourteen different countries.

Enya spent the years following the success of Watermark rather quietly until she returned in 1991 with the UK chart-topper Shepherd Moons. The album with songs Caribbean Blue and Book Of Days as singles has sold over 10 million copies worldwide and won Enya her first Grammy. Another album The Memory Of Trees was released in 1995. It won Grammy for The best New Age album, sold over 2 million copies in its first year of sale and entered the U.S charts at no.9. Two years later, Enya released a Best Of compilation called Paint The Sky With Stars which featured two new tracks (Only If..., Paint The Sky With Stars) and a three CD collection called A Box Of Dreams. The CDs entitled Oceans, Clouds and Stars covered Enya's career since 1987 to 1997.

Her last studio album entitled A Day Without Rain was released in 2000. The track Only Time was used in news coverage of the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center in New York. Later, a remix of the track was released as a single with all of the money from it going to the International Association of Firefighters. A Day Without Rain also won Best New Age Album at the 2002 Grammy Awards and it is Enya's best-selling album to date. With more than 12 million units sold worldwide, this brings her total album sales to 60 million albums for her career.

In 2001, Peter Jackson asked Enya to write two songs for his movie adaptation of the first part of The Lord Of The Rings trilogy. Enya, being a fan of Tolkien, agreed, and contributed to the soundtrack of The Fellowship Of The Ring with Aníron and May It Be. May It Be was also nominated for an Oscar.

http://enya.szm.com/about.htm

'EclipZe · « **Reply #1 on:** March 24, 2005, 10:24:24 AM »

LOOOOOOOL

eS El Duque · « **Reply #2 on:** March 24, 2005, 10:26:44 AM »

Quote from: EclipZe on March 24, 2005, 10:24:24 AM

LOOOOOOOL

white Boy · « **Reply #3 on:** March 24, 2005, 12:52:09 PM »

fuck enya

Suffice · « **Reply #4 on:** March 24, 2005, 12:53:35 PM »

is she Gaelic or Celt or whatever they're called?

Capo Di Tutti I Capi · « **Reply #5 on:** March 24, 2005, 01:09:51 PM »

She looks like a ghost

'EclipZe · « **Reply #6 on:** March 24, 2005, 01:21:00 PM »

^ Haters !

Matrix Heart · « **Reply #7 on:** March 24, 2005, 01:25:22 PM »

Quote from: white boy aka Christopher Columbus on March 24, 2005, 12:52:09 PM

fuck enya

I wish

West Coast Veteran · « **Reply #8 on:** March 24, 2005, 01:52:01 PM »

fuck that hobbit

kellyboy · « **Reply #9 on:** March 24, 2005, 03:00:13 PM »

LOL...impressive numbers though

Leggy Hendrix · « **Reply #10 on:** March 24, 2005, 03:05:57 PM »

you really cant argue with the numbers man...damn...

and if it wasn't for her, the Fugees woulda never made the classic "Ready Or Not"...gotta respect it...