The Foo Fighters and Alanis Morissette have come together live to pay tribute to the late Irish singer/songwriter Sinéad O’Connor.
Both acts performed at Japan's stacked FujiRock festival over the weekend. With the impact of O'Connor's death still being felt by fans worldwide, the two '90s music legends delivered a stirring rendition of O'Connor's Mandinka.
Before launching into the cover, which took place during the Foo Fighters' headline set, both Dave Grohl and Alanis Morissette spoke to the legacy of O'Connor as an artist, with Grohl stating "we're singing this song for a reason tonight" and Morissette adding "for a beautiful woman of high intelligence and deep empathy, way ahead of her time, who is no longer with us. This is for her."
A projection of a black and white photograph of O'Connor provided the backdrop for the performance of Mandinka.
Mandika appeared on O'Connor's 1987 debut album The Lion and the Cobra.
You can watch fan footage of the full performance below.
Sinéad O’Connor passed away last week. A globally recognized and widely respected performer, best known for her chart-conquering rendition of the Prince song Nothing Compares 2 U, O'Connor had a storied career as a singer, songwriter and political activist. O'Connor released ten studio albums. Her commercial successes include the full-lengths I Do Not Want What I Haven't Got, Am I Not Your Girl and Universal Mother. As an activist O'Connor was predominantly known for her outspoken disdain for the Catholic church and high-ranking officials' roles in covering up abuse by clergymen. Her stance stirred great controversy in her homeland of Ireland, and abroad following an infamous Saturday Night Live performance in 1992. While performing a rendition of Bob Marley's War, she presented and then tore a photograph of Pope John Paul II into pieces, said "Fight the real enemy" before throwing the torn pieces to the floor. She continued her work in activism for the remainder of her life, using her platform as an artist to bring attention to women's rights, anti-racism and spiritual movements.
The Foo Fighters have announced a massive headlining tour of Australia and New Zealand. Commencing in Perth on November 29th, the arena run will see Foo Fighters team up with some of Australia's finest young rock acts including The Chats, Teenage Joans, Body Type and Teen Jesus and the Jean Teasers, while the UKs Hot Milk will also join the shows in Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane. New Zealand shows will feature locals Dick Move, with more announcements still to come.
The is in support of their eleventh full-length, the cathartic But Here We Are and will be their first visit to Australia to feature new drummer, Josh Freese. It will mark the first time the band has played in Australia since the passing of beloved drummer Tayor Hawkins.
But Here We Are is out now.
