LINKS 

Sarah writes: Below are links to the websites of a few individuals and organisations who’ve played key roles in my musical career.

Feargal Shiels
I wouldn’t have a musical career at all if I didn’t have a husband who’s willing to look after our children and keep the home fires burning while I’m away on tour. And he’s one hell of an artist, too. Check out his website to see examples of his work. He’s also on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook.

Martin Stansbury
Famously described by the Huffington Post as “Jedi-esque”, Martin became my manager in 2011, and I couldn’t do what I do without him! He’s also a brilliant sound engineer who when not on the road with me does recording, mixing and mastering for others. Examples of his audio work – including the albums he’s recorded and produced for me – can be heard on the “Past Projects” page of his website; he’s also on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

Zoë Pollock 
When I moved to Cornwall, one of the first friends I made was a very beautiful and talented woman called Zoë, whose children were attending the same tiny community primary school as mine. It was only after I got to know her as a fellow mum that I discovered she was a former pop star who’d had a massive hit single with “Sunshine On A Rainy Day”, a song she co-wrote with Martin Glover a.k.a. Youth. Zoë and I started writing songs together, and recorded them under the band name Mama (scroll down to the bottom of this page to read more about that project). She’s since moved to a beautiful thatched farmhouse in West Devon, on the edge of Dartmoor National Park; you can catch up with all her news and listen to her latest releases on her website and via her YouTube, Bandcamp, Instagram and Facebook pages.

Mawgan Lewis
Cornish filmmaker and director Mawgan Lewis of Purple Knif made a gorgeous video of my 2017 single release “The Tug Of The Moon”, as well as a documentary video about the making of my 2018 album If We Dig Any Deeper It Could Get Dangerous; most recently, he filmed and directed the video content of my 2021 album, concert film and video series The St Buryan Sessions. Mawgan’s videos for numerous other artists including Hanterhir, The Eyelids, The Rezner, Honey and many more can be seen on his YouTube showreel as well as on his website.

Phil Nicholls
A significant percentage of the photos featured on this website – including the lovely image of paper flowers floating on water that you see behind this text – were taken by photographer Phil Nicholls. So, you know the close-up photo of Björk’s face on the cover of Human Behaviour? Phil took that. That iconic photo of Courtney Love gazing into the camera lens? Yep, that’s his as well. Too many more famous rock star photos to list here – just go to his website and you’ll see what I mean. Phil turned up at an informal singaround/session I was hosting at the Blue Anchor pub in Helston, not far from where I live, and asked very politely if he could take some photos of me. I didn’t know who he was when I said yes, but I soon found out. He’s a genius of a photographer and an incredibly lovely man, and I’m very, very lucky to have been photographed by him!

Mary Guinan
Brilliant photos need brilliant graphic design to set them off, and I’m fortunate to have had a supremely brilliant graphic designer working with me since the very start of my solo music career. Mary Guinan was one of the first people I met when I moved to Dublin back in the 1990s; we became close friends and my son is privileged to have her as his godmother! In addition to doing all my graphic design work (including the aforementioned logo image at the top of this page and the aforementioned posters on the Media Kit page as well as all my solo CD booklets and packaging), Mary also painted the beautiful images on the covers of my first four albums – you can see them on the Music page. And she’s a sweetheart and I love her!

Proper Music Distribution
These good people handle worldwide distribution for all my albums.

Elixir Strings
I’m thrilled and delighted to be an Elixir Strings endorsed artist, alongside the likes of Richard Thompson and Newton Faulkner. I use their Medium gauge Acoustic 80/20 Bronze set with NANOWEB® Coating, only I substitute a .018 for the .017 in the set, since I’m using DADGAD all the time, and I love their evenness and clarity of tone. On the electric guitar kindly loaned to me long-term by Michael Chapman, I use their Heavy gauge Electric Nickel Plated Steel set with NANOWEB® Coating.

G7th - The Capo Company
I’ve been using G7th capos for some years, and was privileged to be invited to the home of its designer, Nick Campling, so that I could give some new models a test-drive. Nick very kindly presented me with a very bling gold Newport capo, which I treasure! I love it because it’s wonderfully quick and easy to put on and take off, and requires little or no retuning when I move the capo from place to place. More recently, the company generously donated three gold Newport capos custom-engraved with my new album artwork: two for me to give away as pre-order incentives and one for me to keep – another treasure! And all G7th capos come with a lifetime guarantee. Check them out ....

Andy Manson Guitars
In January 2008 I took delivery of my beautiful guitar, custom-made for me by Andy Manson; he calls it his “Bluebird” model. Past clients of Andy’s include such notables as John Paul Jones and Jimmy Page (Led Zeppelin), Ian Anderson and Martin Barre (Jethro Tull), Andy Summers (The Police) and Mike Oldfield – so I’m in good company! I’ll always have a soft spot for the beautiful old 1965 Martin D-28 that’s been my staunch friend since way back in 1988, but I have to admit that instrumental pieces in particular are a revelation on the new instrument – clear as a bell, every note ringing out strong and true. It’s not just a guitar, it’s a work of art.

Michael Chapman
I was deeply honoured and chuffed when my great friend and musical hero Michael Chapman kindly offered to produce my fifth solo album, If We Dig Any Deeper It Could Get Dangerous, and I’m still playing his beautiful Ibanez Artist electric guitar which he’s kindly given me on long-term loan!

Adam Pierce & Jeremy Backofen
Adam Pierce is my cousin, and he and Jeremy did a brilliant job of co-producing my fourth and latest solo album, Walking Into White. They’re far too cool for websites, but here’s a lovely article about the two of them in MusicRadar magazine, with photos of the studio in Cornwall-on-Hudson, New York, where the album was recorded.

Gerry O’Beirne
I thank my lucky stars that I was fortunate enough to have Gerry O’Beirne as producer for my first three solo albums. We both agreed that after three albums it was time for me to broaden my musical horizons and work with a different team, but Gerry had a massive influence on my musical development, and I’m so grateful to him. He has an impeccable ear and an unerring instinct for knowing what the music needs to make it perfect. He’s also a master songwriter and musician, a fiendishly good Scrabble player, a dab hand with a camera (check out the photo gallery section of his website) and one of the most fundamentally decent and lovely individuals I’ve ever had the privilege to know. To have been able to work with him was an honour and a blessing for which I’ll always be grateful. Gerry also co-wrote songs with me for my fourth and fifth albums.

Mama
Making the Mama album Crow Coyote Buffalo  with Zoë was what set me on the musical path I’ve been following ever since. She taught me pretty much everything I know about songwriting, and also introduced me to my above-mentioned manager, Martin Stansbury. Martin had been working with Zoë on various projects, and she brought him in to produce and engineer the Mama album. I’m so glad she did! Click here to read more about Mama.