The Last Dinner Party have covered Sinéad O’Connor’s 1987 classic ‘Mandinka’ for Apple Music’s London Sessions.
READ MORE: The Last Dinner Party live in London: do believe the hype
As part of the new monthly series hosted by the streamer, artists perform live renditions of some of their own songs as well as a cover. The band also delivered live renditions of their hits ‘On Your Side’ and ‘Nothing Matters’.
The band’s Abigail Morris and Lizzie Mayland also sat down with Apple Music 1 host Matt Wilkinson to discuss paying tribute to O’Connor, who died in July aged 56.
Morris described ‘Mandinka’ as “really challenging” to sing – “Her pipes, man. It was really hard. So it was a real, real beast, really intimidating, but it was really fun, it was really freeing and yeah, it’s a wonderful song. Another reason why we did it is our manager, Tara, is an Irish woman and she suggested that we do it, so we dedicate it to her; this one is for Tara.”
Check out their version of ‘On Your Side’ below and listen to ‘Mandinka’ here.
The pair went on to discuss why O’Connor was an inspirational figure to them. “I think she just said out loud stuff that was being whispered for so long and she was just that brave
voice,” said Mayfield. “She used the platform that she got through her music to be like, ‘I’m going to make a difference with this’, and I think that’s really brave. That would be so scary, but I think it’s so strong of her and I think she’s also so well-spoken.”
Morris added: “Exactly. Especially in this industry, to be so uncompromising because I feel like when you’re a young artist, you can be outspoken and have views that you want to stand by, but you can be watered down and made palatable and packageable so that you don’t lose your marketability and she never compromised on that; she didn’t give a fuck if she lost any fans or negative press.”
The Last Dinner Party are set to release their debut album, ‘Prelude To Ecstasy’, on February 2, 2024. It’ll feature this year’s singles ‘Nothing Matters’, ‘Sinner’ and ‘My Lady Of Mercy’.
The band also made the shortlist for the BRITs’ Rising Star Award 2024 alongside Caity Baser and Sekou.
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