* En anglais uniquement
The Irish-born winner of the 1996 Eurovision Song Contest,
Eimear Quinn first came to prominence the previous year as a member of Irish medieval chorale group
Anúna. She appears on two of that band's albums, Omnis and Deep Dead Blue, and it was during her tenure with the group, at a performance at St. Patrick's Cathedral in Dublin, that songwriter
Brendan Graham approached her with a song he'd written for the upcoming Irish Eurovision qualifiers, "The Voice." The song triumphed both locally and at the international competition. Departing
Anúna in 1996,
Quinn launched a solo career, concentrating on live performance for much of the next five years, and releasing just one disc, the EP Winter, Fire and Snow. Much of this period, however, was also spent preparing what would become her debut album, 2001's Through the Lens of a Tear. Produced and co-composed by former
Clannad man
Pól Brennan, the album brought her to the attention of
Sir George Martin, who signed
Quinn to his publishing company and teamed her with pianist
Sarah Class. She has also worked extensively with
Steve Willaert, while her collaboration with piper
Carlos Núñez brought her a Spanish hit single, "Yann Derrien," in 2003. The following year saw her featured on
Liam Lawton's massively successful Another World album and accompanying "Voice of an Angel" single. Many of her collaborations are included on the 2006 LP Gatherings. ~ Dave Thompson