Hazel was born in Coventry, England and spent her youth travelling across Europe and beyond. Her early adventures and the challenges of growing up in a working-class environment shaped a restless, independent spirit that would later fuel her songwriting and creative journey.

Her experiences inspired many of her songs, and she often shares their stories during her live performances.

Inspired by her older brother Neil O’Connor (guitarist of the Flys) and the punk movement, Hazel began songwriting and singing. Her first single, recorded in 1979 with The Fruit Eating Bears and produced by Vic Maile, was later included on the 2017 Cover Plus: Expanded Edition CD. First version of Decadent Days was also recorded. See video...

Hazel starred as Kate in the film Breaking Glass and wrote/recorded the full soundtrack. The album reached No. 5 on the UK Albums Chart and singles such as “Eighth Day” and “Will You?” became UK top-10 hits. Hazel won a Variety Club award and received BAFTA recognition for the music. ...More about the album...

Hazel toured extensively to promote the album and the film; on the UK tour she famously gave early exposure to a then‑unknown Duran Duran as her support act.

Only months after Breaking Glass, Hazel issued her studio album Sons and Lovers (producer: Nigel Gray).

The album contains the Top‑10 single “D‑Days” and represents Hazel’s deliberate attempt to separate her own artistic identity from the film character. ...More about the album...

Produced by Tony Visconti, Cover Plus blended covers and autobiographical originals and reached No. 32 in the UK Albums Chart; singles such as “(Cover Plus) We’re All Grown Up” and a cover of The Stranglers’ “Hanging Around” followed. ...More about the album...

Hazel stared in a seven-episode ITV miniseries set in a London nightclub.

'Jangles' combined music, dance, and drama, depicting the early-80s British club scene and showcasing live performances. See a video...

Billy Currie, the musician and songwriter of Ultravox, recorded solo material in 1982, including the track “Memories Don’t Go,” which features vocals by Hazel.

These recordings were later released in 2000 as the album Keys and the Fiddle, a collection of previously unreleased works.

Listen to the song on Youtube...

Smile, a synth-based pop album, shows a softer, more optimistic and experimental side of Hazel’s songwriting.

Produced by Martin Rushent and Neil O'Connor, it features emotionally driven songs such as Cuts Too Deep. ...More about the album...

She took part in Greenpeace – The Album, a compilation created to support the environmental organisation Greenpeace.

Hazel recorded the duet Push and Shove with Chris Thompson for this project, which featured various artists contributing songs to raise awareness for environmental issues. It was also released as a single ...More about the single...

Hazel O’Connor sang on Why Don’t You Answer, a collaboration with Eberhard Schöner released as a single and on 12″ vinyl.

The song was also featured in the German TV series Derrick (Episode 174: “Blaue Rose”). See video...

At that time, Hazel received few invitations in the UK, while she had never performed in Eastern Europe, so she set out to change this by collaborating with the Hungarian band KFT and saxophonist Clare Hirst. This also resulted in the release of a single titled “Stranger in a Strange Land / The Hour Before Dawn.”

Hazel starred in the BBC drama Fighting Back, for which she also sang the theme song.The series is about a single mother who returns to her home town after fifteen years of unhappy marriage and fights to make a better life for herself and her children.

See IMDB page...
See it on Youtube...

In 1986, she had a cameo in the British comedy Car Trouble.

It starred well‑known actors like Julie Walters and Ian Charleson and the film has generally been regarded as a light, coarse farce of its era rather than a standout comedy.

See her scenes...

Hazel appeared in the British TV series Prospects as the singer Bev Reid, featured in the episode “Follow the Yellow Brick Lane,” where her character dreams of becoming a pop star.

See IMDB page...

See video...

In 1987, she married American artist Kurt Blippert in a small, highly informal beach ceremony in California that deliberately broke with tradition.

The wedding reflected Hazel's spiritual journey and their shared faith rather than convention, with close friends and neighbours attending the brief ceremony.

Around this time, the bootleg album Alive and Kicking in L.A. surfaced, recorded in the US. Despite the management’s efforts, it was repeatedly re-released under various titles, including L.A. Confidential and D-Days, presenting a style that sat apart from the direction of her official releases before or after.

First studio album after nine years and also Hazel's updated autobiography in German, which tells the story of how she was exploited by the show business. The album marks a fresh start after her divorce and return to Europe. ...More about the album...

Her first official live album was also released, featuring songs from To Be Freed, alongside newly interpreted tracks from Breaking Glass and Cover Plus, as well as Bob Marley and Gershwin covers, with the contribution of the legendary saxophonist Wesley Magoogan.

After Hazel’s return, her former record label chose to take advantage of the renewed interest and released her older material. For fans, this turned out to be good news, as several previously unreleased recordings finally came to light, including a David Bowie cover, early songs, and French-language versions of some tracks.

Private Wars arrived as another studio statement, exploring mature themes of love, conflict and solitude with a songwriter’s intimacy, one of her best studio albums. ...More about the album...

'The Stranglers and Friends: Live in Concert' album was also released in 1995, recorded at London's Rainbow Theatre in April 1980 when Hugh Cornwell was in prison for drug possession.

Hazel sang on tracks including "Get a Grip," "Hanging Around," and "No More Heroes" alongside other guest artists like Toyah Willcox, Ian Dury, and Robert Smith.

Listen to the album on Youtube...

Live in Berlin was recorded in March 1996 at the Quasimodo jazz club in Berlin and released a year later by a small independent label. The album features songs like “D-Days,” “Runaway,” “Tell Me Why,” “Will You?”, “Eighth Day and tracks from To Be Freed.”

Five in the Morning was recorded with producer and co-writer Gerard Kiely and released in 1997 on Mystic Records with a full band. The album’s ten tracks blend rock and reflective songwriting, recorded in studios in Dublin and Germany.

The Soul Patrol was an online radio drama series created and produced by David Koenigsberg that explores themes of divine justice, heaven, morality and spirituality.

In the story Hazel plays Holly Violet who along with Billi St. Kilda (played by Jo Kennedy), is sent on a heavenly mission to help “make good souls out of bad” in L. A. using powers of Heaven. ...Listen to The Soul Patrol...

Hazel premiered her autobiographical show Beyond the Breaking Glass at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in 1998; the show combined music, storytelling and visuals, after the tour she released an album with harpist Cormac de Barra. A documentary was also released with the same title.

...See album details and watch the documentary..

Hazel recorded "Rock 'N' Roll Suicide" for the compilation album "Diamond Gods: Interpretations of Bowie," released by Invisible Hands Music with various artists covering David Bowie classics (Blondie, Nico, Icehouse etc.)

Following the Celtic-influenced "Beyond the Breaking Glass," Hazel released another acoustic album titled "Acoustically Yours" in 2002 on Invisible Hands Music, recorded live at Quasimodo in Berlin by Michael Koening. The album features Cormac De Barra on Irish harp and backing vocals, Cliodhna Quinlan on fiddle and backing vocals, and Mario N'Goma on percussion.

In a shift from acoustic performances, Hazel collaborated with electronic project X-ert on "Ignite" in 2002, a fully electronic album featuring tracks like "Find Me," "Celtic Fire," and "Shadowcast." The collaboration blended her distinctive vocals with synthesized soundscapes and electronic beats across eleven tracks including the bonus "Memory Fades Slow (Blu Peter Mix).

Invisible Hands Music assembled A Singular Collection, a best-of compilation that reintroduced her classic songs and rare tracks, and included a newly recorded cover of George Michael’s “One More Try.”

...See video...

More content will be added soon. In the meantime, please check out our GoFundMe page to support Hazel in her health battle as she recovers from serious challenges and navigates financial difficulties caused by past industry exploitation.

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