Hayley Williams has covered Sinéad O’Connor’s ‘Mandinka’ during a show in Dublin – watch footage below.
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The Paramore frontwoman performed the track during the second of two shows at Dublin’s National Stadium on Tuesday night (June 30), as she wrapped up the European leg of her ‘Hayley Williams At A Bachelorette Party’ tour.
Before launching into the cover, and with the crowd chanting “Free, free Palestine”, Williams told the crowd: “This goes out to all the Irish artists who use their voice, they’re so inspiring. And of course, Queen Sinéad O’Connor.”
‘Mandinka’ originally appeared on O’Connor’s 1987 debut album ‘The Lion And The Cobra’, and became one of her breakthrough singles. It was inspired by Alex Haley’s Roots, the landmark novel and miniseries tracing the history of an African-American family back to Kunta Kinte, a Mandinka man captured and sold into slavery.
Watch footage of the performance here:
O’Connor died in July 2023 at the age of 56. Since her death, she has continued to be celebrated as one of Ireland’s most fearless and influential artists, both for her voice and for her willingness to speak out on political, religious and social issues.
Others to cover her music in recent times include Fontaines D.C., who contributed a version of ‘Black Boys On Mopeds’ to the War Child charity album ‘Help(2)’ earlier this year, and Kate Nash, who released her cover of ‘Famine’ in April.
NME was at Williams’ recent Manchester Academy show, awarding it five-stars and calling it an intimate set that balanced “joy and rage” that “felt like an old-school reunion with family you only see once every five years”.
The UK and Ireland run also saw Williams joined by Wet Leg’s Rhian Teasdale at London’s Roundhouse for ‘Parachute’, while The xx’s Romy sang a duet of Prefab Sprout’s ‘Wild Horses’ with her at the previous London show.
Williams officially released ‘Ego Death At A Bachelorette Party’ last August, after initially surprise-releasing 17 songs through her website. In a five-star review, NME said the album saw her “fearlessly stepping between familiar and fresh influences”.
She has also recently been releasing music with Daniel James under the name Power Snatch. Last week, the pair shared two new singles, ‘Great’ and ‘Training’, following earlier tracks ‘Copy’, ‘Rub’ and ‘Love Plus One’.
Williams is set to play Newport Folk Festival later this month, before returning to North America and Latin America for ‘The Hayley Williams Show’ tour in September.