Tributes pour in for Cranberries’ singer Dolores O’Riordan
The death this week of Dolores O’Riordan, frontwoman for 1990s alternative rock giants The Cranberries, was a shocking one. She was just 46 years of age, and was just hours away from entering the studio to lay down vocals for a cover of her band’s 1994 hit song “Zombie” by hard rock act Bad Wolves. The singer never made it, found dead in the bathroom Monday by the cleaning staff at her London hotel.
In addition to “Zombie,” perhaps their best-known track, The Cranberries were staples on modern rock radio with hits like “Linger,” “Dreams,” “Ode to My Family,” “I Can’t Be with You,” “Salvation” and “Free to Decide.” Recent years saw much more sporadic activity from the Irish group as its members pursued outside projects, though they reconvened in 2009 for ‘Roses,’ their first LP in a decade.
Last year saw the band put out ‘Something Else,’ which featured three new tracks alongside acoustic and orchestral versions of some of their most popular songs. A tour of Europe and North America in support of the record was subsequently cancelled due to persistent back problems experienced by O’Riordan. One of the shows scuttled was a stop a The Fillmore in late September.
O’Riordan, who leaves behind three children, had battled with depression in the past and attempted suicide by overdose in 2013. She also struggled with binge drinking. The reaction to her passing from her fellow artists came in various forms, via social media, concert tributes and official statements from her bandmates.
‘We are devastated on the passing of our friend Dolores,” the surviving members of The Cranberries said in a statement. “She was an extraordinary talent and we feel very privileged to have been part of her life from 1989 when we started the Cranberries. ‘The world has lost a true artist today.”
“I spoke to Dolores last Friday and she was great,” Cranberries guitarist and cofounder Noel Hogan told Rolling Stone. “We spoke about getting back to work — recording and new tracks we were working on. She sent some of those tracks to me by email on Sunday morning. There are only a few artists who get to have maybe one song they are remembered by. Dolores has so many. It’s a great legacy.”
At a concert to pay tribute to Shane McGowan, another one of Ireland’s most celebrated lyricists, U2 frontman Bono ended a performance of The Pogues song “Rainy Night in Soho” by repeating the line, “Let it linger,” referencing The Cranberries’ 1993 popular single.
“The band are floored but it’s of course her family we’re all thinking of right now,” U2 said as a whole via their official Instagram page. “Out of the West came this storm of a voice — she had such strength of conviction yet she could speak to the fragility in all of us. Limerick’s ‘Bel canto’.”
“Beloved Dolores, it’s so sad that you’ve gone from us,” Duran Duran’s Simon LeBon tweeted. “We never said goodbye, but you left us with your songs, your beautiful voice and when we listen, we’ll remember all those good times.”
“I am heartbroken by the unexpected passing of Dolores,” said Andy Rourke, the ex-Smiths bassist who was O’Riordan’s bandmate in the project D.A.R.K. “I’ve enjoyed the years spent together and privileged to call her a close friend.”
“It is with great sadness that I have learned of the death of Dolores O’Riordan, musician, singer and song writer,” said President of Ireland Michael D. Higgins in a statement. “Dolores O’Riordan and The Cranberries had an immense influence on rock and pop music in Ireland and internationally. I recall with fondness the late Limerick TD Jim Kemmy’s introduction of her and The Cranberries to me, and the pride he and so many others took in their successes. To all those who follow and support Irish music, Irish musicians and the performing arts her death will be a big loss.”
“I’m really shocked that #DoloresORiordan has passed so suddenly,” Kinks guitarist Davies posted in an Instagram post, which featured a photo of him with O’Riordan. “I was talking to her a couple weeks before Christmas she seemed happy and well. We even spoke about maybe writing some songs together — unbelievable god bless her.”
“My first time hearing Dolores O’Riordan’s voice was unforgettable,” Irish singer/songwriter Hozier tweeted. “It threw into question what a voice could sound like in that context of Rock. I’d never heard somebody use their instrument in that way. Shocked and saddened to hear of her passing, thoughts are with her family.”
“I once met Delores [sic] O’Riordan when I was 15,” tweeted late-night talk show host James Corden. “She was kind and lovely, I got her autograph on my train ticket and it made my day. She had the most amazing voice and presence. So sorry to hear that she’s passed away today.”
“We are shocked and saddened at the news of Dolores’s passing, mere hours before she was to record vocals on our upcoming version of Zombie,” read part of a statement from Bad Wolves. “We have always had deep respect for her as an artist and a vocalist and she was never afraid to bare her soul in her music and lyrics. Zombie is an incredibly personal song and although we are a hard rock band, we always felt the rawness and honesty she projected on stage and in her recordings was something to which all bands should aspire to, regardless of genre.”