Ciaran Gribbin is a rock singer from Castledawson in Northern Ireland, and songwriter who was the lead singer of rock band INXS.^[1]

Early career [edit]

Prior to working with INXS Ciaran was a Singer/songwriter in his own right, as the lead singer of the band 'Leya' which he formed with Michael Keeney. Ciaran was subsequently the alter ego behind Joe Echo. He co-wrote Madonna's Celebration track for which he received a Grammy Nomination. During this period he wrote and performed under his alter-ego of Joe Echo.^[2] Another major career move came when Ciaran was asked to write the original score for the motion picture Killing Bono. Prior to Joe Echo, Ciaran was the frontman of a band that was well known in the Irish music scene named Leya, and during this time they toured with Snow Patrol,^[3] Franz Ferdinand, Kubb, Interpol, Lifehouse, The Delays, Embrace, and The Webb Sisters.

INXS [edit]

In September 2011 INXS announced that Gribbin had replaced J.D. Fortune as their lead vocalist ahead of a planned tour of South America, Australia & Europe later in the year.^[4] He was INXS's fourth lead singer. On 11 November 2012 INXS announced that they were retiring from touring;^[5]

Joe Echo [edit]

Joe Echo is more than simply a stage name. It is a name that Ciaran choose to stand on his own again after the split of Leya. Ciaran did not want to ride on the waves of success for his previous work, Joe Echo had a very different sound from the work of Leya and Ciaran wanted it to stand on its own and be judged for itself, not for simply the notoriety of the artist. The arrangement of Joe Echo could range anywhere from Simply Ciaran Playing on his own, to large arrangement's including choirs and other various combinations. Often it consisted of Ciaran, his brother John,^[6] and former members of Leya.

References [edit]

External links [edit]

• Official website
• Ciaran Gribbin on Facebook

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