The Cranberries
The Cranberries became one of the most successful groups to emerge from the pre-Brit-pop indie scene of the early ’90s. Led by vocalist Dolores O’Riordan, they initially had little impact in the United Kingdom. It wasn’t until the lush ballad “Linger” became a worldwide hit in 1993 that the band achieved mass success. Following “Linger,” the Cranberries quickly became international stars.
In mid-1989, Mike Hogan and Noel Hogan formed the Cranberry Saw Us with drummer Fergal Lawler, and singer Niall Quinn in Limerick, Ireland. The initial release from Cranberry Saw Us was the demo EP “Anything” in January 1990.
Brothers Noel Hogan and Mike Hogan, are descendants of the nineteenth-century Irish poet Michael Hogan.
Following the departure of the group’s original singer, Niall Quinn, the trio placed an advertisement for a female singer. Dolores O’Riordan responded to the advertisement. Noel Hogan later recalled that “Niall came up with Dolores on that Sunday and I remember she was shy, very soft-spoken. Not the Dolores that everyone grew to know. And she comes in and we’re just kind of a gang of young guys sitting around the place. It must have been very, very intimidating for her”. O’Riordan sang a couple of songs that she had written and she also did a Sinéad O’Connor song, “Troy”.
Noel Hogan gave her a rough cassette demo incorporating chord sequences of indie-jangly guitar sounds, then O’Riordan took home Hogan’s tape and began writing lyrics and overlaying melodies which would underpin the group’s future material. Within a week, she returned to the musicians with whom she sang a rough version of “Linger”.
Dolores Mary Eileen O’Riordan was born on 6 September 1971 in Ballybricken in County Limerick, Ireland, the youngest of nine children, two of whom died in infancy. Her father, Terence Patrick “Terry” O’Riordan (1937–2011), worked as a farm labourer until a motorbike accident in 1968 left him brain damaged. Her mother, Eileen (née Greensmith), was a school caterer.
When O’Riordan was seven years old, her sister accidentally burned the house down; the rural community was able to raise funds to purchase the family a new homestead.
In July 1990, the group performed their first gig with O’Riordan at a hotel basement called Ruby’s Club, Cruises Hotel, Limerick, performing six original songs to an audience of 60 people, including three other local groups.
The owner of Xeric Studios, Pearse Gilmore, became their manager and provided the group with studio time to complete a demo tape, which he produced. It featured early versions of “Linger” and “Dreams”, which were sent directly to record companies in London by Noel Hogan.
On 18 April 1991, the group played a decisive show in their hometown at Jetland Center as part of the University of Limerick’s RAG Week to 1,400 students. In attendance was record producer Denny Cordell, who was then A&R for Island Records, and thirty-two other A&R men who flew from London. Over the coming weeks The Cranberries received letters expressing interest from Virgin, EMI, Imago, CBS, and Warner. Eventually the group signed a six-album deal with Island Records.
In October 1992, “Dreams” was released in the UK, becoming Melody Maker’s single of the week. This was followed by “Linger”, released in the UK in February 1993. Their first full-length album Everybody Else Is Doing It, So Why Can’t We? was released 1 March 1993. Neither the album nor the singles gained much attention.
When the band embarked on a tour supporting Suede, they caught the attention of MTV, which put their videos into heavy rotation. The defining moment occurred when mid-way through the tour running order was reversed and the Cranberries replaced Suede as the tour headliner.
The band’s first big hit, “Linger” peaked at No. 3 in Ireland. It reached No. 8 on the Billboard Hot 100 and stayed on the charts for 24 weeks. “Linger” was later re-issued in February 1994 peaking at No. 14 helping the band’s debut album to top both the UK Albums Chart and Irish Albums Chart in June 1994.
On 18 July 1994, O’Riordan married Canadian-born Don Burton, who was the former tour manager of Duran Duran. They met in the US while Duran Duran and the Cranberries were on tour together. The couple had three children. O’Riordan and her husband ended their marriage and relationship in September 2014 after 20 years together.
The group released No Need to Argue, on 3 October 1994. It would go on to peak at No. 6 on the U.S. charts and eventually outsold its predecessor. Within a year it went triple platinum, spawning the number-one hit “Zombie” and the No. 11 “Ode to My Family” on the Modern Rock Tracks chart.
During the No Need to Argue European tour ’95, the Cranberries performed to more than 500,000 people.
On 10 March 1996, the Cranberries received the Best-Selling Album Award for No Need to Argue at the 26th Annual Juno Awards As of late 2014, No Need to Argue had generated worldwide album sales of 17 million.
The band’s third album To the Faithful Departed was released on 30 April 1996, peaking at No. 2 in the UK and No. 4 on the Billboard 200. Although To the Faithful Departed sold four million copies in six weeks and went double platinum in the US and Gold in the UK.
On 19 April 1999, the band released Bury the Hatchet. The album’s first single, “Promises”, was released in February. “Promises” would be the only single from the album to chart in the US and the last US chart single released by the band before their hiatus. The Cranberries undertook a 110-date world tour which drew more than one million fans. The world tour started in April 1999 and was completed in July 2000.
On 22 October 2001, the album Wake Up and Smell the Coffee was released; the band’s old producer Stephen Street returned to produce the album.
In September 2003, the band announced they were taking some time to pursue individual careers, as well as concentrate on family, and scrapped sessions for a sixth studio release. Initially, a two-year sabbatical was confirmed, while O’Riordan assured that the group would just take a hiatus, she said “we’ve been together for 13 years; it’s a much needed break”.
O’Riordan started collaborating with other musicians in 2004 before launching her solo career with the album Are You Listening? in 2007 and a world tour, following it with No Baggage in 2009.
The Cranberries reunited in January 2009 to celebrate O’Riordan becoming an Honorary Patron of University Philosophical Society (Trinity College, Dublin).
On 10 November 2014, O’Riordan was arrested and charged in connection with air rage on an Aer Lingus flight from JFK International Airport to Shannon Airport. During the flight, she grew verbally and physically abusive to the crew. When police were arresting her, she resisted, reminding them that her taxes paid their wages and shouting “I’m the Queen of Limerick! I’m an icon!”, headbutting one Garda officer and spitting at another. Following her arrest, O’Riordan spent three weeks in a psychiatric hospital. She later pleaded guilty to all the charges.
On 15 January 2018, O’Riordan died unexpectedly in London, England. She had recently arrived in London for a studio mixing session on her D.A.R.K. album and to discuss the upcoming album of the band with the record label BMG. On 6 September 2018, it was ruled that she had accidentally drowned in her hotel room’s bathtub due to sedation by alcohol poisoning.
O’Riordan was buried on 23 January after a service at Saint Ailbe’s Roman Catholic Church, Ballybricken, County Limerick; it began with the studio recording of “Ave Maria” as sung by O’Riordan and Luciano Pavarotti. At the end of the service the Cranberries’ song “When You’re Gone” was played.
On 15 January 2019, one year after O’Riordan’s death, the band released “All Over Now”, the first single from In the End. The Cranberries released the title track of the album, “In the End” on 16 April 2019, which was the last song recorded by O’Riordan before her death.
On 18 April 2020, the official music video for “Zombie” became the first song by an Irish band to reach over one billion views on YouTube.
