The room is abuzz with the setting up of video equipment and the chit-chat of creative types and public relations people, but there's no real sense of anticipation cutting the air and not a single fan waiting outside the hotel for a glimpse of their heroes. Tonight, however, is different. The Corrs are going to play for 1,100 suits at an invitation-only corporate event. Amid the flurry of activity in the hotel's conference suite, I'm waiting in the wings to interview Jim and Caroline Corr, one half of the global phenomenon, and the first thing I want to know is why The Corrs have joined the ever-growing band of rock and pop mercenaries.
Every venue is different.
We enjoy playing, we can play to two people or 10,000 people. As she talks with apparent platitudes about the concert being just like any other gig, Jim suddenly cuts to the chase. But the lapse is refreshing, a glimpse of honesty in a manufactured environment. The Corrs are a slickly packaged band groomed not to cause offence, and it's about the only time that either sibling's guard drops and veers from the usual script. The band's spin doctor leaps in too, promising The Corrs will be back in September for a traditional concert.