Mary Black biography
Mary Black (born 22 May 1955) is an Irish singer. She is well known as an interpreter of both folk and contemporary material which has made her a major recording artist in her native Ireland, and in many other parts of the world.
Background
Mary Black was born into a musical family. Her father was a fiddler, her mother a singer, and her brothers had their own musical group called The Black Brothers and her younger sister Frances would go on to achieve great success as a singer in the 90s. From this musical background, Mary began singing traditional Irish songs at the age of eight. As she grew older, she began to perform with her siblings (Shay, Michael and Martin Black) in small clubs around Dublin.
Musical career
1980s
Black joined a small folk band in 1975 called General Humbert, with whom she toured Europe and released two albums, in 1975 and 1978. In 1982 she developed a professional relationship with musician/producer Declan Sinnott and recorded her first solo album,
Mary Black. The album performed well in the Irish charts and it went gold. In 1983 it was honoured by the
Irish Independent and it is still referred to as one of the best Irish albums of the 1980s. Black ventured into the traditional Irish music band De Dannan and toured with them around Europe and in the US. The album she recorded with them
Anthem, won the Irish Album of the Year award. During her time with De Dannan, Black continued with her solo career with albums such as
Collected (1984) and
Without the Fanfare (1985). These recordings took Black into a more contemporary musical direction. Along with the success of these releases, IRMA named her Entertainer of the Year in 1986 and Best Female Artist in 1987 and 1988.
Black departed from De Dannan in 1986 and 1987 saw the release of her first multi-platinum Irish album, By the Time it Gets Dark. However, Mary's popularity reached new heights with the release of the ground-breaking album, No Frontiers, in August 1989. It rocketed to the top of the Irish album charts (it stayed in the Top 30 for over a year), and achieved triple-platinum status. Mary's popularity grew in the United States, due to several tours and widespread radio exposure.
1990s
Following the success of
No Frontiers in the United States, and the extensive airplay received by the lead track "Columbus", Black became a hit NAC recording artist. In spring 1991, she embarked on an American tour. Her 1991 release,
Babes in the Wood, entered the Irish charts at No.1 once again and remained there for six weeks. Her single "The Thorn Upon the Rose" reached No.8 on the Japanese singles chart after it was used in a national railroad television advert.
Babes in the Wood performed well in the US and it was voted one of the top 10 albums of the year in the United Kingdom by
Today newspaper. The of album release brought about a sell-out tour and her first concert at the Royal Albert Hall in January, 1992, which was broadcasted on Channel 4 a year later. She was once again named Best Female Artist by the IRMA.
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