'It’s nice to be proud of who you are:' Cork band Sparkle one year on from Pride engagement
Caroline, one half of Sparkle, proposed to bandmate Jen at the close of Cork Pride 2021.
Sparkle stole the show at Cork Pride last year when singer Caroline Bailey got down on one knee and proposed to bandmate Jen Bowler. One year on, the pair have had a bit of a “mad” 12 months but are excited to be back performing at the event that means so much to them.
Following last year's closing performance, Cork band Sparkle will be back at Pride's Party at the Port — marking one year since their engagement in the very same spot.
“I actually thought she dropped something, and I was like, ‘why are you on the floor?’ But I couldn’t believe it. I was so, so shocked,” says Jen, reliving the moment Caroline got down on one knee during their band's performance at Cork Pride.
They were just coming to the end of their set when singer Caroline turned to Jen and asked her to marry her. “I nearly died. I was delighted,” Jen says.
Following the show-stopping proposal, Caroline and Jen were originally due to tie the knot in November. However, in September Caroline was in a terrifying car accident and broke her neck and pelvis. As she recovered, they decided to push the wedding back until Spring 2024.
Just before the accident, Caroline had finished filming for RTÉ’s Last Singer Standing and the talented singer came second on the entertainment show.
“It’s been a mad year," Jen admits. "We’ve kind of been up and down and all over the place but we’re playing at Cork Pride now again this year so we’re really looking forward to it."
Caroline knows just how much Jen loves Cork Pride as well as playing with their band, so she saw last year’s event as the perfect opportunity to propose, combining her future fiancée’s favourite things.
Jen was in her 20s when she came out and after moving to Cork from Kerry, she tells me that the Rebel County and Cork Pride have a special place in her heart.
“I suppose it took me a long time to come out so I just love that it’s an event where everyone can just be themselves and be happy and love who they love and there’s no bother about it.
The romance followed the music for the duo. The happy couple were friends for many years before Jen finally convinced Caroline to join the band. The rest, as they say, is history.
“We have actually been friends for years and years and we were always in separate bands and stuff like that, and I kept asking Caroline to be in the band with me and she kept saying no,” Jen laughs. “She eventually gave in anyway. We started just doing videos for YouTube and stuff like that in 2017 but then we got together in 2018 so it wasn’t too long after.”
While it will be tough to top last year's surprise, Sparkle is set to perform again at this year’s Party at the Port. With a new single also due to be released on July 29, the Cork-based duo are glad to be busy again.
“We went from having no work for two years to being back, so we’re delighted to be back. We’re doing weddings now and everything like that as well,” says Jen.
After some delays, Jen tells me they are looking forward to finally tying the knot in Cork in April 2024.
“Literally can’t wait,” she says. “We’ve so much planned already. We’re really organised weirdly enough because we’re usually not that organised but we’re buzzing for it.”
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