I was devastated when B*witched got dropped by record label... but I couldn’t go on

Singer reveals she quit music to get married

SINEAD O’carroll was “devastated” when B*witched were dropped by their record label ahead of the release of their third album.

The singer, who is currently a contestant on Dancing With The Stars, was left at a crossroads when she abandoned music to get married and start a family.

She told the Irish Sunday Mirror: “We felt there was something funny going on with the record label six months prior to being dropped by them.

“Then it was all fine and we were going to South Africa to shoot the music video. Everything was rocking and rolling and we just got the call to say that they weren’t putting out the record. “It was devastating for all of us. “Looking back, we probably still could have continued and we could have gigged. But in those days it felt like you couldn’t move on without the big machine behind you.

“It could have been different but everything happens for a reason.”

Her bandmates – twins Edele and Keavy Lynch and Lindsay Armaou – decided to try and keep going with B*witched but Sinead had to make the difficult decision to step away and move on with her life. She said: “It was really hard at the time and I guess we all dealt with it in different ways.

“There was a conversation about us continuing but I really struggled with that because I had to make a decision and decided not to continue.

“I left the band and they started to do a compilation album but there was stuff going on with their contract with Sony and they wouldn’t release them. In the end, the girls didn’t do anything but I remember having to make that decision and it was really hard.

“I was older than the girls and was at a stage in my life where I wanted to settle down and I didn’t want to travel anymore. I wanted to get married and have kids.

“I also felt we performed at the highest level and to continue on, and not at that height, didn’t seem worth it. I couldn’t see why I would do it.”

Sinead and her pro partner Ryan Mcshane are currently on top of the leaderboard for Dancing With The Stars after wowing the judges with their impressive American Smooth last weekend.

The pair never expected to rack up a total of 21 points and she has dismissed any pressure ahead of her next performance tonight.

She added: “I completely forgot the judges were going to give us a score, I was just so delighted I got to dance.

I was in another world when they were giving the scores. After so many weeks of rehearsing in the studio, it was good for the judges to see that Ryan’s choreography was going in.

“You see, I didn’t intend to be at the top of the leaderboard. I didn’t think I would be in this position. It feels years ago when we would get a No1 with B*witched.

“People would say, “Oh my God, do you feel the pressure to get another No1’. I love to learn and I want to stay until the end but I know it is a journey and not every week is going to be as good.” Ryan has been pretty vocal with the judges on screen over the years, earning him a bad boy tag but Sinead said he is quite relaxed during rehearsals

The 46-year-old added: “He is really patient and the best thing is he is so chilled and doesn’t get in a flap about anything.

“He is really good at knowing if something is not working for me and giving me the right critique. He looks at my strengths and weaknesses and incorporates as many of my strengths as he can.”

Sinead is spending a lot of time away from her children Samarah and Blaine and husband Mike but it is something they are used to as a family.

The Kildare star added: “My husband is used to me gigging on the weekends and I was in Australia for three weeks last year. The kids are missing me in the afternoon because I am not around to bring them to the after-school club.”

But the kids have started a big campaign for her.

Sinead said: “They are used to watching all of these programmes with me at home, it feels weird we are not doing it together this year.

“They are so excited, they were screaming at the TV in their friend’s house when I gave them a shout-out last week. All of their

I was at a stage in my life where I wanted to settle down and not travel

SINEAD O’CARROLL ON HER FINAL DAYS WITH B*WITCHED

school friends are so behind it as well.” The star told how she had been hoping to do the reality TV series since RTE announced it was hitting Irish screens.

She added: “This is the one show I have really wanted to do and knew what the commitment would be like so I was prepared to take everything off the table and just go for it.

“I have been visualising being on the show for the past four years because I have wanted to do it for so long.

“I did a job 22 years ago that was successful and it has given me an opportunity to go on a show like this – it is mad.

“My parents used to do a bit of ballroom years ago, not competitively, and we always watched Come Dancing when I was a child. It was like The Late Late Toy Show or the All-ireland final. Come Dancing was one of those big TV highlights that everyone watched.

“I grew up watching it but there was nowhere to learn ballroom in Newbridge in the 1970s so my parents just threw me into Irish dancing instead.”

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