Esprit de Corr
They charmed the world with Runaway hits like So Young and Breathless. But critics say they've sold out their Irish roots. The Corrs go unplugged with Life! In Taiwan

In 1994, three Irish sisters and their older brother ambushed Grammy winning producer David Foster at the Hit Factory studio in Manhattan.

When he emerged from a recording with Michael Jackson, they convinced him to produce their 1995 debut, Forgiven, Not Forgotten.

Six years and 15 millions albums later, The Corrs look back in wonder at how they had the nerve to show up there.

Even Asia has lapped up 1.1 million copies of their three first releases - which includes Talk On Corners and The Corrs Unplugged.

The album made its debut at No.1 on both the British and Australian charts.

Love or hate their brand of Irish folk-laced pop, their new release, In Blue, looks set to leave the world as Breathless as first single's title. And not just because of their music.

Without even uttering a sound, the sexy Corr sisters - Andrea, 26, Caroline, 27, Sharon, 30 - get many a guy panting and many a gal blue with jealousy.

So much so that brother Jim, 36, is bombarded constantly with questions about how it feels to work with them, strange as it might be to expect him to fancy his own flesh and blood.

Life! caught up with baby of the group, Andrea, and the violin-playing Sharon for an exclusive 25 minutes while they were in Taiwan last Thursday. Hot cups of coffee in tow, the two glamour pusses had the male journalists in the room there for an earlier interview, gasping for air.

Reminiscing fondly about Singapore Sling and "Flaming forest" (Flame of the Forest) on the ride home from the airport - they performed here in 1998 - they got comfortable and in between mouthfuls of strong black coffee, got to the Corr of everything - from where they have been to where they are going.

Some siblings can't even stand to spend three hours with each other, and it's been six years of touring with you guys. Aren't you ready to tear each others' hair out, especially with three girls in the family?
A: The clothes and make up squabbles are way gone. But it's difficult because it gets very claustrophobic - it would even if we weren't family because we're together all day long, and that's a strain on any relations.

In most other families, everyone goes his own separate way at 18. But we fled the nest together, and 10 years later, we're still here. That feels a little weird and kind of abnormal. Initially, we kind of rebelled against that, striving for individual space. We really struggled to get rid of that "I know you so well because when you were two and you did this" stuff.

Thing is, we all ended up having the same ambition, the same dream. Now, we respect each other as four different people, four individuals.

It's strange though, isn't it, since you guys have to compete with each other for attention?
S: In the beginning when we first started recording albums, we went out to LA to work with David Foster. It just felt like we were clones of each other! We couldn't have our own opinions, or our own identities. Everyone would just go, "Oh you guys are just so cute, all four of you." But no one was individually cute or individually good at something.

That was one reason why we felt so claustrophobic, because we were recognized as just this conglomeration of something. But we've tried not to let that turn us against each other.

The two of you still stand out the most, don't you, especially since you seem most inclined to , erm, do "impromptu" stuff on stage, like changing lyrics on the spur of the moment?
S: Most likely to mess up, you mean! I think that's a great thing. If a band goes out there and they're too polished, then they're just boring!

A (sheepishly): I personally don't seem to be able to get through a gig without having done something messy...

S: Andrea often forgets the words of So Young, and she looks at me for the words and I just can't remember them!

A: It's so funny, when they're my own words I always have then right because I wrote them. But Sharon wrote So Young and I always forgets the second verse, it's really weird...

S: And then she looks over at me, and I'm in the middle of the gig singing backing vocals and can't remember the words of the song that I wrote!

A: I have to improvise sometimes, and I forgot to whistle for my own solos and I'm always in wrong place. (Mortified look on her face) I went off the stage the other night! I said, " Thank you, good night" in Hamburg and I ran off, and everyone else was still on the stage! Someone had to come and push me back on!".

(Interesting, especially since tin-whistle-losing, solo-forgetting Andrea provides the lead vocal for the group.)

SWING OUT SISTERS

Between the bantering, the differences between the sisters became even more apparent. Compared to the more serious Sharon, Andrea was the wide-eyed little girl, jumping to get in a word when she got inspired to speak occasionally. Her legs up on the sofa, she stuck her thumb into her mouth unconsciously.

Despite rumours linking her to Bush frontman Gavin Rossdale - Gwen Stefani's (of No Doubt) current beau, Andrea insisted that was single - the sole remaining bachelorette of the three sisters. She is the group's main lyricist, so In Blue, is, somewhat, most reflective of her.

How has the music changed, as you have?
A: I've gotten more honest and probably more vulnerable in what I say on this album. It's hard to do, but it's ultimately what makes it special, because if it is an honest emotion, then other people can relate.

But a lot of critics have slammed this album as too sheeny, more commercial. Has the rustic Irish feel been lost?
A: They're just songs, songs that are very true to us. Categorising every single thing is like dissecting something that's emotional. This is not chemistry here, it's music.

S: We didn't perfect the drums or anything on those tracks we did with Mitchell Froom.
Very often we were recording songs we had never actually played together. You write it, and you record it. We did most of the vocals in one take, two takes maybe. It was left really organic.
It's our interpretation of traditional Irish music.

Why is the album call In Blue?
A: It's from the song Give Me A Reason. We had more of a hard time getting a name for this album than the others and we thought "Swimming In Blue", then In Blue. Blue is such a lovely word...

So how come the CD is pink?
S: We like the paradox!

MANUFACTURED?

In an interview earlier the same day, the Korean press cited Japanese reports that call them manufactured. The quick-witted Sharon retorted: " Our parents were amazing, weren't they? Well done, Mum and Dad!"

But perhaps, that accusation is expected. After all, The Corrs hail from the Lands of Boybands.

So what us your take on the endless supply of Irish boybands?
S: It's isn't an Irish thing. Actually, it's just one manger who seems to produce them - Louis Walsh. But I think boybands have a tough role to play in the music industry, and I don't envy them. They've an awful lot of work to do beyond music and that's painful.

As musicians we're lucky because we get to play all the time, but they have to sell themselves form a more superficial point of view. I admire their stamina.

And all that commercial pop - bubblegum Britney, Christina Aguilera...
A: They're role models to really young girls, so I suppose they have a part to play...

Just like there's a place for Irish-folk in, say, Taiwan, where people don't even speak English?
A (laughing): I guess so. But like when we do our live performance and do the typical Irish "Toss the Feathers", and to be in Japan and they're trying to jig to it, that's really kind of brilliant!

And even of the music isn't their scene, your good looks probably help convert the unconvinced?
S: I think that if we couldn't play and couldn't sing, we'd have no albums and nobody would know how good-looking we were. It's a visual world out there and it helps, but without the album and music, you'd never see our faces.