It promises to be a party over 20 years in the making when Irish pop royalty The Corrs return to Australia for the first time since 2001 later this month.
The family quartet and touring band will perform at an exclusive, one-night affair at Hope Estate in the Hunter Valley (26 November), with their only other Australian appearance being a 250-person-capacity Q&A session in Sydney the evening prior. Drummer Caroline Corr speaks of the band's eagerness to return to one of the first countries outside of its own that took the Dundalk band to its heart from its early days.
"What was brilliant about Australia was it was the first territory where our first record sold and that people actually knew who we were," she says.
"We were still kind of obscure, but, bizarrely, 'Forgiven, Not Forgotten' did really well and so when we arrived there, we were wondering how so many people recognised us.
"Unbeknownst to ourselves, the record had been selling and it was a great feeling, and we had some amazing shows there. It was just so new and great. We've always talked about going back to Australia and finally we have an opportunity to go back."
The multi-platinum selling band has sold over 40 million albums since their 1995 debut, but last released an album in 2017, so does the Australian show announcement feel like a comeback?
"I suppose it does," Caroline says. "Although it depends how long we come back for. Maybe there'll be many comebacks [laughs].
"We seem to do a record and a tour, take a long break, then come back together and do something. "The pandemic was obviously devastating for the music industry, and we probably postponed about three tours as it was impossible to go anywhere.
"Once the pandemic was over, we could figure out how to come back together. We're talking about more touring and it's just getting the right tour in place.
"For me, it's how it feels to do it again. It's nice to go to places where people haven't seen us in a long time; it's new for them and it's new for us. That's why Australia feels so nice for us."
As a family affair, the band has a unique musical understanding but that doesn't mean they don't still have to work at it. "When we come back together it clicks, because it has to click," Corr says. "We all have our own personalities and our little quirks, but we know each other so well.
"We've all obviously grown together and, as family, it wasn't always easy being on the road together and it wasn't always easy working together, but we've become much better at listening to each other and talking things through.
"Of course, there's going to be things that piss you off, but you just move on."
With 20 years between drinks, the band has set its sights on giving Australian fans – and undoubtedly a multitude of Irish expats – exactly what they want. "For Australia we are going to play what people really like and what people really know," Caroline says.
"Australia has so many Irish expats who have lived there for long periods of time, and it's nice to connect with your country of origin and hear some Irish music, and we will be playing Irish music, of course.
"There were also certain songs that were released that did really well in Australia. We're working on the setlist in our rehearsals in Dublin. Obviously, we'll be doing 'Dreams'. We'll do 'Breathless'. We'll do some Irish music. I think it'll be a good show."
The Corrs with Wet Wet Wet, Ben Lee and Gaudion play Hope Estate (Hunter Valley) 26 November. The Corrs VIP Q&A session takes place at Ovolo Hotel (Sydney) 25 November.
