Sir Bob Geldof has revealed that he was in touch 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 in recent weeks had been a mix of ‘desperation and despair’ as well as full of hope as she wrote new songs.
Mr Geldof, who was performing at the Cavan Calling festival in Ireland over the weekend, paid a tribute to his friend, who died aged 56 last Wednesday.
He said: ‘She meant a lot to everybody, she meant a lot to us. Her voice represented her soul and spirit. And whenever we hear that, we will always be with a great woman’.
Neighbours of Ms O’Connor have said that she had been struggling with the suicide of her son Shane last year and had recently moved to London from Ireland because of loneliness.
But in her final Twitter video from her new flat near Brixton, the singer had revealed that she was writing new material and planning a tour in the UK, Ireland and in Australasia.
Mr Geldof told fans: ‘There’s no other option, as all of you know, than to just keep on. Many, many times Sinead was full of a terrible loneliness and a terrible despair.
‘She was a very good friend of mine. We were talking right up to a couple of weeks ago. Some of her texts were laden with desperation and despair and sorrow and some were ecstatically happy. She was like that.’
Sir Bob Geldof’s tribute to Sinead O’Connor at the Cavan Calling festival over the weekend, where he revealed that they had been in touch shortly before she died
Sir Bob with his ‘good friend’ Sinead O’Connor in Dublin in 2020
O’Connor was finishing a new album, reviewing tour dates for next year and was also considering ‘opportunities’ around a movie of her book, a message from her management company has said.
‘Wonderful plans were afoot at this time,’ they added of the Grammy-winning singer and songwriter who was found unresponsive by police at the south London property.
The death of the Irish star is not being treated as suspicious and was confirmed by her family in a statement given to Irish media.
Music management company 67 Management said in a note on their website that they wanted to send ‘love, our thoughts, our prayers’ to O’Connor’s family as they also thanked the singer’s fans ‘who have prevailed in their support and kindness throughout’.
Their message added: ‘As tribute to those who were part of Sinead’s team over our tenure it has to be mentioned that Sinead was completing her new album, reviewing new tour dates for 2024 and considering opportunities in relation to a movie of her book.
‘Wonderful plans were afoot at this time. Testament and tribute to those who have put their hearts first for Sinead, to whom we are forever grateful.’
The message, from Kenneth and Carl Papenfus, ended saying: ‘It has been an honour to have worked with Sinead professionally, as musicians, producers and her artist managers over the last nine years, but much, much more than that Sinead was family.
‘May she rest in peace.’
London Inner South Coroner’s Court said last week that no medical cause was given in O’Connor’s death and that an autopsy will be carried out.
The result may not be available for several weeks, a statement on the court website said.
Her final video from inside the home where she revealed she was positive about writing new songs and a tour in the weeks before she died
Ms O’Connor struggled since her son Shane, 17, took his own life in January 2022 after escaping hospital while on suicide watch. She posted this photo with her son two weeks ago
The building in Lambeth, south London, which housed the apartment of Sinead O’Connor, who died there last Wednesday. Neighbours said she was often on her penthouse balcony or smoking outside the building where she would chat about her life and faith
Following the Dublin-born singer’s death, politicians, musicians, actors and charities from across the world have paid tribute to her for her contributions to the music industry and for raising awareness of social issues.
Ms O’Connor was propelled to international stardom in 1990 with her version of the hit ballad Nothing Compares 2 U and made headlines in 1992 when she tore up a photo of Pope John Paul II on US TV show Saturday Night Live, sparking a ferocious backlash.
The musician, who spent time early in her life in a notorious Magdalene laundry, set up to house ‘fallen women’, frequently spoke out about the child abuse scandal in the Catholic Church.
In 2021 she released her memoir titled Rememberings which was described as a ‘unique and remarkable chronicle by a unique and remarkable artist’.
She had recently returned to live in London after a long absence and an account reported to be hers had posted on Twitter, now known as X, in the days before her death about her new album and touring.
Hundreds of people gathered at the London Irish Centre, in north London, on Thursday night to celebrate her life and music, while in Dublin dozens of people gathered outside the Wall of Fame to pay their respects to the ‘beautiful soul’.
Paying tribute to her, musician Kate Bush wrote on her website that it was ‘like a light has gone out, hasn’t it? A beacon on a high mountain’.
Famous Dublin landmark, the Samuel Beckett Bridge, was illuminated with lyrics from Nothing Compares 2 U.
