One woman and a guitar: Eleanor is coming to Stratford

Eleanor McEvoy released her first, self-titled, album back in 1993 and she won awards for best new artist, best new performer and best songwriter.

Her big chance had come after Tom Zutaut of Geffen Records, who signed the likes of Guns n Roses and Motley Crue, heard her in a pub in Dublin and signed her up on the spot.

Her album A Woman’s Heart went on to become the biggest selling Irish record in Ireland of all time.

Her new album, Alone, is a collection of stripped-down solos, including a unique take on P.F. Sloan’s Eve of Destruction, which she will be performing at the Cox’s Yard in Stratford on Tuesday.

Eleanor said: “There was a time when I was stranded in a long gap between tour dates and, with time to kill, I headed for the peace of The Grange; a small studio tucked away in the Norfolk countryside.

“In the converted barn, alone except for Dave the engineer, I stepped up to the microphone and sang my songs.

“My state of mind wasn’t the brightest, but there was a certain something about being in the studio with no agenda, no deadline, no pressure.

“It just came out.”

The product of those tranquil sessions is a very haunting and personal album, that takes listeners on a journey of her writing and singing career.