Norwegian singer Susanna: 'I really loved the sound of Phil Lynott’s voice'

Triskel in Cork is the only Irish date on the European tour of the vocalist who's built her reputation around beguiling takes on such songs as Thin Lizzy's 'Jailbreak' and Joy Division's 'Love Will Tear Us Apart' 

Susanna is at Triskel Christchurch in Cork on March 18. Picture: Signe Fuglesteg Luksengard

When singular vocalist and songwriter Susanna was growing up in Norway in the 1980s and '90s she was exposed to an impressively wide range of music. As well as having classical singing lessons, she heard religious and gospel music courtesy of her devoutly Lutheran parents; jazz and blues via her two elder brothers, who are also musicians; and Norwegian folk music in her small town of Kongsberg.

She also discovered a great deal of pop, rock and R&B by herself. “I listened to songwriters like Joni Mitchell, Leonard Cohen and Lou Reed, and singers such as Whitney Houston, Björk and Janet Jackson,” says 43-year-old Susanna Karolina Wallumrød (her full name), via a video call from her home in Oslo. “And then in my later teens I had a boyfriend who was a rock and roll guitar player – and along came bands like AC/DC, Kiss and Van Halen. Oh, and Thin Lizzy, of course.”