Sinead O'Connor's life and music as the singer dies at 56

Sinead O'Connor has died at the age of 56. The Irish singer-songwriter will be best remembered for her version of Nothing Compares 2 U, which was named the Billboard number one single of 1990.

The recording and its haunting video saw the then 24-year-old shoot to global fame and recognition, with her iconic shaved head and her torch-song vocal which captivated music fans. In the music video, the closeup on O'Connor's face becomes all the more poignant as two tears roll down her face.

Afterwards, O'Connor said that her tears were real, and that she did not intend to cry but then thought, 'I should let this happen'."

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Born Sinéad Marie Bernadette O'Connor on December 8, 1966, she was brought up in Dublin. Her parents divorced when she was eight.

O’Connor became interested in music at a young age. In 1979, the 15-year-old was placed in a Magdalene Asylum following juvenile crimes for 18 months.

She later reported that it was here she developed her writing and music. She was subsequently “discovered” by the drummer of popular Irish band Tua Nua, where she went on to co-write their song Take My Hand.

In 1985 her mother died in a car accident and she moved to London where she was signed to Ensign records. Her debut album The Lion and the Cobra came out when she was 20, reaching gold record status and earning O’Connor a Grammy nomination.

She married her session drummer from the recording - John Reynolds - and gave birth to a son, Jake. On the release of her second album, I Do Not Want What I Haven't Got, in 1990, she shaved her head as a reaction against feminity and how it was viewed.

She said: "I don't feel like me unless I