Una Gibeny

Ep 55: Mother of Invention with Una Gibney

Ep 55: Mother of Invention with Una Gibney

Ireland has always had a great reputation for rock music. In the 90s Sinead O'Connor, U2 and The Cranberries led the pack. It took a while for the explosion of bubblegum pop which was happening in the UK and Europe to hit Ireland. Una was one of the first Irish female pop vocalists to be launched around the time the success of Boyzone was starting to attract international attention. Already a session singer she had recorded backing vocals for Something Happens and Aslan. In 1994 she released her debut single "Crawl" which became a huge Irish hit. But it was with the release of a cover version of Randy Crawford's "You Might Need Somebody" that she discovered the harsh realities of the music industry.

Una continued to perform and formed Boogie Nights a hugely successful party band and continued to release music independently. She then went on a world tour as a solo vocalist in Michael Flatley's "Celtic Tiger". After this She performed in the TV special "The Voice Within" and in 2012 was beaten by Jedward in an attempt to represent Ireland in the Eurovision Song Contest after which she took time out to start a family.