Back in the 1990s a rock band from Ireland achieved a surprising level of international fame after many of their songs found a strong and loyal following. The Cranberries were actually formed towards the end of the 80s by Niall Quinn, but the membership that rose to global stardom was composed of Noel Hogan, Mike Hogan, Fergal Lawler and vocalist Dolores O’Riordan. Her voice made songs such as “Ode to My Family” and “Zombie” familiar tunes. Though disbanded in 2003, they reunited in 2009 and have made new music over the years since. But now the Cranberries’ voice is gone.
Sad news has come for the music world as BBC reports that Dolores O’Riordan had died Monday, January 15 in London. She was 46 years old. The announcement was made by her publicist, though she did not provide any details behind her death, other than the reason she had been in London this week: what was described as a “short” recording session. A follow-up statement from the Metropolitan Police revealed that officers were called to a Park lane Hotel at 9:05 AM/GMT Monday to check on an unresponsive woman in her 40s. Said woman was pronounced dead at the scene.
Shortly after O’Riordan’s passing began circulating on the media, her fellow Cranberries band-mates paid due to her on Twitter, describing Dolores as an “extraordinary talent” with whom they have had the privilege of working with since their original formation in 1989. Her publicist added that currently family members and relatives of O’Riordan are “devastated” and are asking her fans to give them privacy while they mourn.
The Cranberries first caught international attention with their 1992 single “Dreams”. Albums released in the following two years, “Everybody Else Is Doing It, So Why Can’t We?” and “No Need to Argue”, were wellsprings of some of the band’s most iconic songs like “Linger” and “Zombie”, which rocketed their fame following exposure of their music videos on MTV.
The latest musical activity of The Cranberries was a 2017 concert tour that was supposed to go over Europe, the UK and the US. It was never completed due to the emergence of health issues with O’Riordan including a “back problem” that gave her difficulty performing live. Her posts on Facebook from December to early January appeared to hint that her condition was improving giving fans hope that the band would resume touring sometime soon.
The Cranberries’ vocalist was given tribute by government officials in her native Ireland, with President Michael D. Higgins lamenting her big loss and Taoiseach (Prime Minister) Leo Varadkar describing her as the “greatest rock star ever” to come from her hometown of Limerick. He added that O’Riordan “captured all of the angst that came with your teenage years”.
Photo courtesy of usatoday.com
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