The Worst Thing is the Best Thing: When Enya Sold Her Saxophone
Did “Orinoco Flow” need a sax solo? No.
Right now, Enya is probably sitting in her literal castle in Ireland, gazing thoughtfully at the clouds and composing another soothing melody in her mind. She doesn’t think about her $150 million net worth, but is comforted by the fact that her wealth lets her create just the music she wants and nothing else.
Would Enya be musing in the comfort of Manderley if she hadn’t sold her saxophone?
Enya started her career as part of a popular family band. The youngest member, she didn’t get much of a say and when the band’s former manager Nicky Ryan encouraged her to start a solo career, she did. Enya left County Donegal for Dublin, lived with Ryan and his wife Roma, and began creating the Enya sound.
Sadly, Irish family bands of the early 1980s didn’t hold down multi-million deals, so Enya started with very little. She teamed with the Ryan’s and they built a studio in their backyard. They still needed money, so when the bank wouldn’t cut her a break for a loan, she had to sell a personal possession — her saxophone.
At the time, Enya must have felt awful. An instrument is a precious possession and if The Simpsons has taught me anything, it’s that saxophones are a necessary part of creative expression. To…
