Michael Stipe revisits cover of ‘The Last Day Of Our Acquaintance’ in tribute to Sinéad O’Connor

R.E.M. frontman Michael Stipe has revisited his cover of Sinéad O’Connor‘s ‘The Last Day Of Our Acquaintance’ in tribute to the late star.

• READ MORE: Sinéad O’Connor, 1966-2023: an artist of integrity, intensity and honesty

The acclaimed Irish singer and activist died this week (July 26) at the age of 56, her family announced. It was then reported that she was found unresponsive at her home in London, with her death not being treated as suspicious.

After paying tribute to O’Connor on Instagram with a photo of the pair and that he had “no words” to describe the news, Stipe directed fans to a cover version of ‘The Last Day Of Our Acquaintance’ that he performed in 1996.

See the cover and the tributes below.

In the days following O’Connor’s death, artists from across the music world have paid tribute to the star, with both Fall Out Boy and P!nk and Brandi Carlile covering ‘Nothing Compares 2 U’ at live shows.

It was also revealed that O’Connor was working on a new album before her death. Earlier this month, she had offered fans an update on new music, writing on Twitter that she was finishing the follow-up to 2014’s ‘I’m Not Bossy, I’m The Boss’. O’Connor also said she hoped to release it early next year.

She also said a world tour for 2024-2025 was in the works and confirmed that she had moved back to London. These would have been her first live shows in almost half a decade, after she cancelled all her live shows for 2022 “for her health and wellbeing” following the suicide of her son Shane.

An NME obituary read: “No amount of troubles could ever overshadow her talent; O’Connor was that rare artist who was determined to use her platform for retributive good, and she will be remembered not just for the beauty of her voice, but for its power.”