A Tribute to Sinéad: NOTHING COMPARES + "UNIVERSAL MOTHER" Book Launch

Please join us in an evening of tribute to the great Sinéad O’Connor, with a special event celebrating the release of Adele Bertei's book Universal Mother, her entry in Bloomsbury Press’ beloved 33 ⅓ series and an in depth exploration of one of O’Connor’s most personal and fascinating albums. We'll be screening Kathryn Ferguson’s documentary NOTHING COMPARES (2022).

ABOUT NOTHING COMPARES

As fiery and moving as its transcendent subject, Belfast-born filmmaker Kathryn Ferguson’s NOTHING COMPARES is an exploration of Sinéad O'Connor's phenomenal rise to worldwide fame and how her iconoclastic personality resulted in her exile from the pop mainstream. By the age of 20, O'Connor was one of Ireland's brightest rising stars but her decision to use her fame as a platform to speak out on a number of controversial issues shifted her narrative from global stardom to worldwide condemnation. In a new interview, O'Connor reveals the abusive upbringing that left her feeling betrayed by both church and community and ultimately led her to find the therapeutic power of music.

“Ferguson — who grew up listening to O’Connor (and later directed one of her music videos) — zeroes in on the musician from 1987 to 1993, a five-year period during which she topped the global charts for her rendition of “Nothing Compares 2 U” but was also subject to intense media backlash for her outspoken remarks against the Gulf War, racism in the United States, and the Catholic Church…Bringing together archival footage from O’Connor’s rise to fame with her own heartfelt voice-over, and some revealing anecdotes from her closest collaborators, Nothing Compares offers a detailed account of one of the most singular voices in recent music history”(Le Cinéma Club) and reflects on the legacy of this fearless trailblazer through a contemporary feminist lens.

Dir. Kathryn Ferguson, 2002, 1h 37min, Unrated, Digital.

Very special thanks to the filmmaker, Ashley Harrington of Showtime, and Cal Gunderson of Paramount Pictures.

ABOUT UNIVERSAL MOTHER

With Universal Mother, Sinéad O'Connor explores childhood trauma and her experiences as a woman, mother, target of scorn, and ultimate phoenix. Released in the winter of 1994, Universal Mother was the first recorded work from O'Connor since her duo of protests in 1992 (Saturday Night Live, Madison Square Garden). The sadistic blowback she faced for publicly outing the child abuse of the Catholic Church and its cover-up would have destroyed most. Where Sinéad might go next, or if she'd ever record again, was the question. It's a testament to her integrity and extraordinary courage that she was able to resurrect with this extraordinary album.The album takes us on a deeply personal, yet universal journey of womanhood, from the archetypal bad mother to the good and the kind. A feminist statement from Germaine Greer sets the tone, followed by O'Connor letting loose a storm of rage against her abusive mother in “Fire on Babylon”- a salvo so explosive, it need not be repeated. Other than a song called “Red Football” and a call-out of the truth behind the Irish potato famine, O'Connor is not interested in rage or revenge. With Universal Mother, she offers us a tender, evocative collection of grief and empathy in song. Her miraculous voice is the vessel-the broken, sacred voice of Mother Ireland.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Adele Bertei began playing music in Cleveland with Pere Ubu’s legendary Peter Laughner, and as an original member of the Contortions, produced by Brian Eno on No New York. She was co-creator of The Bloods—the first out, queer, all-women-rock band. Her singing and songwriting career includes recording, performing live, and writing for such diverse acts as Thomas Dolby, Tears for Fears, Culture Club, Whitney Houston, Scritti Politti, Sheena Easton, Jellybean Benitez, Lydia Lunch, Jamaaladeen Tacuma, the Pointer Sisters, and John Lurie. Bertei played a lead role in Lizzie Borden’s seminal feminist film Born in Flames. She is the author of Peter and the Wolves, 2021, Why Labelle Matters (University of Texas Press), a finalist for the 2022 Lambda Literary Awards, Twist: Tales of a Queer Girlhood, (ZE Books, 2024), and Sinead O'Connor's Universal Mother, (Bloomsbury, 2025).

Tickets: $10 | $21.21 Ticket & Universal Mother Book Bundle
(In-Person Event Only)

Please email [email protected] or phone 323-663-2167 with any questions.

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Event Venue & Nearby Stays

Philosophical Research Society, 3910 Los Feliz Boulevard, Los Angeles, United States