"Every band says their latest record is their best," Andrea Corr says. "But I really believe it. It's us. It's who we are and we're very proud of it."

IN BLUE is the Corrs' finest musical achievement to date - an album that reflects everything you have always loved about the band and yet at the same time presents them as you have never heard them before. "I suppose there are a lot of different vibes. At times it's almost R&B and soulful and at other times it's rock. It reflects how we've progressed and what we've learned," Andrea adds. "It's the most versatile album we've made," Jim Corr agrees. "We love so many varied types of music and that is now coming out in what we do. We've a Corrs style in the vocals and the Irish elements that is very identifiable and provides a common thread. Beyond that there are so many flavours on this record. I think a few people are going to be surprised by that." It's been almost three years since the Corrs' last studio TALK ON CORNERS, a gap necessitated by the record's phenomenal success which saw the group criss-crossing the globe on a touring schedule which must surely mean they now hold some sort of air-miles world record. They've certainly come a long way from Dundalk, the Irish border town where they first got together to play in an upstairs bedroom of their parents' house with older brother Jim on guitar and keyboards, Sharon on violin, Caroline on drums and Andrea on vocals. And if from the outside their success looks as if it was overnight, it's salutary to remember that it's now ten years since they took their first faltering steps when they auditioned for the role of the band in "The Commitments", Alan Parker's film based on Roddy Doyle's book. By their own admission they were "terrible" and didn't get the roles they wanted, although they were all given other parts. Yet the film's musical adviser John Hughes clearly saw something special. He was sufficiently impressed that he became the group's manager and remains 'the fifth Corr' to this day. The Corrs' big break happened in fairytale-style in 1994 when they turned up unannounced at New York's Hit Factory where Grammy-winning producer David Foster was working on Michael Jackson's HIStory album. Today they say they don't know how they had the nerve. But fortune favours the brave and astonishingly, Foster granted them an impromptu audition. They were signed more or less on the spot, and Foster took personal charge of producing their first album, FORGIVEN NOT FORGOTTEN. Released in 1995, it made them international stars, eventually going multi-platinum in six territories and gold in six more.

The band also embarked on a world tour with Celine Dion and, in several Territories, replaced her at the top of the charts - a presumptuous way for a support act to treat the headliner. But she took it in good grace and was genuinely thrilled for them in their success. It was that tour which began the Corrs reputation as the hardest working band in the world. Fresh form their support slot, they began their own tour. For the best part of the next two years they were on the road almost constantly, including making their first US tour in 1996. They didn't stop until it was time to begin writing and recording their second album. And yet somewhere Andrea also found time to appear in the film of "Evita" where she appeared alongside Madonna. TALK ON CORNERS, released in autumn 1997, was partly produced by Glen Ballard, fresh from his triumph with Alanis' JAGGED LITTLE PILL. It was to make them one of the biggest groups in the world as further hit singles followed with "Dreams", "So Young" and "What Can I Do". The album went platinum in 15 different territories and gold in nine others. At one point their first two albums achieved the Beatles-like feat of occupying the top two places in the UK chart. Back on the road, their touring schedule included some spectacularly unusual appearances. In December 1997 they appeared before the Pope at the Vatican Christmas concert. On March 17, 1998, they sold-out London's Royal Albert Hall and the concert was broadcast later that same evening by BBC national network television as its main St. Patrick's Night celebration. The group also initiated and organised a benefit project for the victims of the 1998 bombing in Omagh, Northern Ireland, which killed 30 people. A television special, broadcast live on Irish TV, saw the Corrs performing R.E.M.'s "Everybody Hurts" and U2, also appeared as the group's specially invited guests. There were dates with the Rolling Stones on their "Bridges To Babylon" tour, an appearance with Pavarotti at his war child charity concert in Modena, Italy and a royal appearance for Queen Elizabeth II (and 400 million others watching on television around the world) at the closing ceremony of The Commonwealth Games in Kuala Lumpur. In late 1999, they also played at a gala event at the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony in Oslo, Norway. As the world clamoured for a new record and their relentless touring schedule showed no signs of letting up, they satisfied the demand by recording an MTV UNPLUGGED album. Released at the end of 1999, it has already sold 2.5 million copies, going platinum in 11 territories and gold in ten more. Eventually in late 1999 the Corrs went home to Dublin to begin work on their third studio album. In Blue finds them writing all of the material themselves in different combinations, plus three tracks which Andrea wrote with Mutt Lange, husband and producer of Shania Twain. "I went to Switzerland where he lives and he was a really lovely guy," Andrea recalls. "We went up into the forest with his guitar and wrote the first single Breathless there." 'Irresistible' was written in similar al fresco fashion. Both are upbeat, hook-laden instant classics that sound unmistakably like the Corrs but also bear the distinct imprint of Lange's own golden touch. "The way his songs work is very different. It's like being on a roller coaster. You don't get a second's let-up, it's just hook after hook," Andrea says.

When Lange came to work with rest of the group he kept up a similarly relentless pace. "I've never worked like it in my life. He puts in 16 hour days in the studio. He's a total perfectionist," Jim says. After making the first two albums in America, IN BLUE was recorded entirely in Dublin. "It was very liberating to work on our own turf. Recording in LA was a great experience which we wouldn't want to change. But being at home was special," Caroline says. "You could go home at night, make your own dinner, see your friends and have your own life outside of the studio. That gave us a sense of freedom when we went back the next day. It was hard work but it made it seem like fun," Andrea adds. IN BLUE marks the growing confidence of all four members of the group as major songwriters. Caroline has forged a highly productive writing partnership with Andrea. On other songs Andrea worked with Jim, while Sharon also contributed prolifically. Among her compositions is the instrumental "Rebel Heart", (included as a bonus track), due to be used as the theme song for a major BBC television drama this autumn about the Irish uprising of 1916. The group was also heavily involved in the production process, although assistance came from Mitchell Froom, who co-helmed the UNPLUGGED album. "Bringing in someone else gives you an objectivity. We were exhausted after being in the studio for months and so we needed some distance and a fresh perspective. We believed in the songs but Mitchell gave us that extra dimension," Sharon says. In the middle of making the album the group suffered a devastating tragedy with the death of their mother, Jean. The album is dedicated to her memory and one of the songs, "No More Cry", was movingly written by Andrea and Caroline for their father Gerry to help him over his grief. "We've put our hearts and souls into this album and I hope the record speaks for itself," Jim says.