Irish group of cranberries. “Her voice was amazing”: The lead singer of The Cranberries Dolores O'Riordan passed away. Temporary leave, solo projects and The Cranberries reunion

Irish singer Dolores was born into a poor farming family in the city with the poetic name of Limerick and was the youngest of seven children. The owner of the most extraordinary voice of the 90s. studied music from an early age: she sang in the choir, played the piano, pipe and guitar. In the group The Cranberries (translated from English - “cranberry”) got in 1990. She impressed the new team not only with singing, but also with the lyrics of her songs.

Thus, the popular hit “Zombie” is dedicated to the protracted armed confrontation between England and Ireland. This song is an emotional reaction to what is happening. The song's lyrics were written by the lead singer of The Cranberries after she learned about the death of two boys in a 1993 terrorist attack. A bomb exploded, planted by militants of the Irish Republican Army. “It’s the same old theme since 1916” (“It’s the same old theme since 1916”), this line reminds us of the historical events that preceded the attack. Ireland's struggle for independence from Great Britain began in 1916 with the Easter Rising. With the word "Zombie" the singer calls all the terrorists and murderers who obey their ideas and try to achieve justice at the cost of the death of ordinary people. "What's in your head, zombie?" "What's on your mind, zombie?"

The song was released as a single in September 1994. It subsequently became a hit and topped the Billboard charts as "Most Played on Radio".

The Cranberries sang about the war and its victims more than once. So, the songs “Bosnia” and “War Child” are dedicated to the tragic events of the civil war in Yugoslavia:

And the song “I Just Shot John Lennon” tells about the murder of one of the leaders of The Beatles in 1980. “I just shot John Lennon” is the real answer of the killer to the question: “What did you do?”:

Dolores dedicated the popular ballad “Will you remember” to her husband, former Duran Duran tour manager Don Burton. The singer got married in 1994 and divorced in 2014. The couple has five children. The singer had a hard time breaking up, and this affected her mental health: Dolores was diagnosed with bipolar disorder (a mental disorder characterized by alternating manic and depressive states, mixed states, alternating euphoria and depression. - Ed.).

The singer, together with the main composer of the group, wrote another hit "Animal Instinct" while pregnant in 1997. The plot of the clip tells how the social service separates the mother from the children, but the woman kidnaps them and runs away. The image of the singer in this clip is absolutely different from the previous ones. From a short-haired tomboy, she turned into a gentle woman with long hair:

In 2003, Dolores left The Cranberries and started singing solo.

And in 2009, the group announced a reunion and managed to record two albums.

In 2017, The Cranberries announced the start of a world tour, but in May of the same year, the group canceled the remaining concerts due to O'Riordan's health condition.

It was reported that the singer has back problems. On December 20, the vocalist wrote on the group's official social media pages that she was fine. And the last time the vocalist got in touch with fans on her Twitter page on January 3rd.

The Cranberries (translated from English - "cranberry") - Irish rock band, formed in 1989 and achieved worldwide fame in the 1990s.

Bright and strong vocals by Dolores O'Riordan, melodic rock with slight national influences, "open" guitar drive, heartfelt lyrics (songs about unhappy and happy love, songs on serious topics such as interethnic conflicts, drugs, environmental problems, child abuse , greed, cruelty of people, envy, lies, family, death). According to one of the music reviewers, The Cranberries is a unique combination of agonizing love songs, menacing accusations and beautiful melodies.

In 1989, brothers Mike and Noel Hogan met Fergal Lawler. United by the desire to play music, they create the group "The Cranberry Saw Us", taking their friend Niall Quinn as vocalist. But in March 1990, Niall left the group, focusing on his own project, The Hitchers. As a replacement, he brings in Dolores O'Riordan. In 1991, the band changed its name to "The Cranberries", and this is the beginning of its modern history.

Early work

In May 1990, in the Irish city of Limerick, three teenagers - brothers Noel and Mike Hogan, along with Fergal Lawler, were looking for a vocalist in their band The Cranberry Saw Us, which vocalist Niall Quinn soon left. Before leaving, he recommended his ex-girlfriend's school friend instead of himself - Catherine, Dolores O'Riordan, who had just graduated from school and dreamed of singing in a rock band. "Hi guys! Come on, show me what you can do, ”she introduced herself with these words to her future fellow comrades. That evening, the guys played several instrumental versions of their songs (among which were Dreams and Linger), Dolores, in turn, sang a song by Sinead O'Connor from the album "The Lion And the Cobra" to the accompaniment of her old synthesizer and immediately made an impression with her beautiful voice and appearance (she came to the meeting in a bright pink suit, which shocked the guys). Noel gave her a cassette of demos of the band's songs for Dolores to write lyrics for them, and she went home, returning the next day with a song written in one night. The song dedicated to the girl's first boyfriend - a soldier, with whom she kissed only 2 times and who went to serve in the army in Lebanon, was called "Linger".

Having thus received the strongest vocalist and talented author in one person (the song “Linger”, by the way, a few years later became a super hit in the USA and a breakthrough in this country for the Cranberries), the band began to create a demo recording, which consisted of three songs, was released in 300 copies and distributed to local record stores. The cassettes sold out within a few days. Inspired musicians sent a demo to record companies, after shortening their name to the botanical and commercially digestible The Cranberries (in translation - "Cranberries").

Many labels gladly responded, easily discerning a future sensation in the young group, and The Cranberries chose Island Records. The band's first single, Uncertain, was a total flop. After an unsuccessful concert in London, where representatives of music companies and journalists who came to watch the "Future Rock Sensation" saw four shy teenagers, led by a shy vocalist who constantly turned away from the public, music publications criticized the Irish, although shortly before the release of the song they also painted in bright colors how a promising young group from the provinces would soon wipe out all their competitors from the face of the earth.

Manager Piers Gilmour imposed his musical tastes on the group and wanted to make a dance pop-rock band, where Dolores' vocals would fade into the background, and the music would be absolutely ordinary. As a result, when the Cranberries got together to record their debut album, they were already ready to end this torment and “quit” with music.

Popularity and heyday

Dolores, listening in a pub to a performance by some inexpressive local band, had a "brilliant" thought: "Everyone does it, why can't we?" Inspired by such a murderous argument, the band found the strength to try everything from the beginning, found producer Stephen Street, resumed work in the studio again, and in March 1993 the self-titled album "Everybody Else Is Doing It So Why Can't We?" appeared in UK record stores. By the end of the year, it had sold over a million copies in the US alone. Returning from an American tour, Dolores and her friends were surprised to find that they had become "stars" of the first magnitude at home. The album sold 70,000 copies a day.

In 1994 the band recorded the album No Need To Argue. It was then that Dolores arranged her personal life by marrying Don Barton, the tour manager of the notorious English rock band Duran Duran. The couple met while the Cranberries were touring with Duran Duran in late 1993. The marriage of Dolores had a favorable effect on the affairs of her group: Barton abandoned the British and took up organizing the tour of The Cranberries. As a result, the Irish gradually became one of the most successful touring bands in Europe. The manager also influenced the general image of the ward team. Barton insisted that the Cranberries "soften up" and stop being considered "alternatives". This is felt to this day, rock in their performance is now available to "anyone who wants it."

In 1999, the band made a cameo appearance in one of the episodes of the second season of the popular series Charmed, where they performed the single "Just My Imagination".

After a rather long break caused by the birth of a child, Dolores and her group were in optimal shape. The songs of The Cranberries from their fourth album also spoke about this. Three years spent on forced rest and reflection benefited the group. In addition, benefiting from the forced respite, the male part of the team hastened to settle their personal affairs.

During the recording of the fifth album in 2000, Dolores became pregnant again and most of the songs were dedicated to this joyful event. The album was released in October 2001 and did not achieve commercial success. Despite this, he became the most favorite among the participants themselves - even and calm compositions, rarely interspersed with fatal action movies, conveyed the group's mentally balanced state. A grandiose tour around the world was held, after which in 2002 the group released a greatest hits collection, and since 2003, without officially announcing the breakup, the participants focused on their solo projects.

Temporary leave, solo projects and The Cranberries reunion

The Cranberries have been on temporary leave since 2003. Three members of the group - Dolores O'Riordan, Noel Hogan and Fergal Lawler - were busy developing their solo projects. Mike Hogan opened a café in Limerick and occasionally played bass at his brother's concerts.

In 2005, Noel Hogan's Mono Band released a self-titled album, and since 2007, Hogan, together with vocalist Richard Walters, has been developing a new project - the Arkitekt group, which was noted for the release of "The Black Hair EP".

Dolores O'Riordan's debut solo album Are You Listening? was released on May 7, 2007, its release was preceded by the single "Ordinary Day". The second album No Baggage was released on August 24, 2009.

Fergal Lawler writes songs and plays drums in his new band The Low Network, which he created with his buddies Kieran Calvert (Woodstar member) and Jennifer McMahon. In 2007, their first release "The Low Network EP" was released.

On January 9, 2009, Dolores O'Riordan, Noel and Mike Hogan performed together for the first time in a long time for the University Philosophical Society at Trinity College Dublin. This happened as part of the award to Dolores of the highest award (for those who are not members of the society) "The Honorary Patronage".

On August 25, 2009, in an exclusive interview with New York radio station 101.9 RXP, Dolores O'Riordan officially confirmed that The Cranberries would reunite in November 2009 to tour North America and Europe (in 2010). The tour will feature new songs from No Baggage as well as classic hits.

In April 2011, The Cranberries began recording their sixth studio album, titled Roses. The album was released on February 27, 2012. On January 24, 2012, the band released the only video for a song from this album, "Tomorrow".

Today, the Irish rock band The Cranberries is known to music lovers all over the world, their songs do not cease to sound on the air of FM stations, their CDs are sold out in millions of copies, and concerts gather full stadiums of fans. But their path to fame was by no means paved with roses. It all started back in 1990, when, with the words "okay, guys, show me your equipment," Dolores O'Riordan introduced herself to the band members.

At the time, Noel and Mike Hogan (lead guitarist and bass) and Feargal Lawler (drums) were looking for a vocalist for their band. They started performing as teenagers when young Firgal, learning that the Hogan brothers were going to form a band, joined them with his brand new, newly purchased drum set. The band's original name was THE CRANBERRY SAW US. This name was given to her by Niall, who was the original vocalist of the group. Nobody took Nial seriously. He liked to write comedic lyrics like "My Granny drowned in a fountain" ("My grandmother drowned in a fountain ..."). Unfortunately, he died early and the band had to look for a new vocalist. Dolores lived a few miles away, went to school and sang in the church choir.

So, the group needed a vocalist, but the guys were quite surprised to see a fragile-looking girl of small stature in front of them. She clearly did not fit the role of soloist. But there was nothing to do, Noel played her some recently composed chords, and Dolores went home. That same evening, she wrote the lyrics to the tune. The next day, Dolores returned with a song called "Linger". After listening to what she "did" in just one evening, the guys took her to the group. The composition "Linger" was dedicated to Dolores' first boyfriend, but when she sang it for the first time, the band members did not even listen to the words: they were amazed how such a small girl could sing so strongly. The guys were just delighted.

And here a completely legitimate question may arise: what did they want to do now that Dolores was in the group? Of course, they decided to head straight to the studio in their home town of Limerick (LimericK), Ireland, where they recorded three songs. Then the young musicians prepared 300 copies of these recordings on cassettes, placed them in local music stores and waited for them to quickly sell out. The result was impressive: all 300 copies were sold in just a few days!

Encouraged by the success of their music, the band members shortened the team's name to THE CRANBERRY "S, prepared a demo tape and sent it to all the studios they had ever heard of. Dolores was delighted with the team, because her most cherished desire was to sing in rock group."One of my earliest memories is when I was 5 years old and I was in school - said Dolores. - The headmistress brought me to the sixth grade, where twelve-year-old girls studied. She sat me at the teacher's table and asked me to sing. I liked singing very much, because singing is something in which I excelled other people. But I'm still very shy about singing, even now I'd rather die than sing in a pub."

When the band recorded their first demo tape, the average age of the members was only 19 years old. It featured five tracks, including early versions of "Linger", "Dreams", and "Put me down". When this record reached the London record labels, the final choice of the band's name was made and it began to look like THE CRANBERRIES we are used to.

During this time, the band continued to play in Limerick, but what the audience saw then was very different from what can be seen at their concerts now. This is how Dolores described it: "THE CRANBERRIES concerts were a performance of four timid, little teenagers, with the vocalist standing to the side like a statue, afraid to move, so as not to trip and fall. At that time we did not know how to "represent" our music, but I think the audience saw our good potential." When the group began to receive invitations from various record companies, the musicians preferred the studio Island Records. At first things seemed to go smoothly for THE CRANBERRIES. But then serious problems began.

The group's demo tape was distributed to journalists, who reacted favorably to her music. The group was destined for a good future. Great hopes were placed on the band's very first single, also promisingly titled "Uncertain" ("Unexpected"). He came out in 1991. And now, after all this hype around the group, the first single was released with a quality far from the quality of a demo cassette. In the press, he was generally called a "second-rate" composition. This is how THE CRANBERRIES began to experience the insidiousness and volatility of the music show business. “It was a terrible time for us when the debut single was not well received,” Dolores recalled. “I believed in the possibilities of the group, but did not believe in the music industry. And then I lost faith in the whole world. at home in Limerick and was in a real depression." The band's difficulties didn't stop there: among other things, THE CRANBERRIES had serious problems with the first manager, and at the time when the group was going to record their first album in the studio, it was on the verge of breaking up.

But one evening Dolores, carrying in her heart all these troubles, disappointments, thoughts about the lack of prospects, found herself in Limerick at a concert of one of the local bands. She watched from the audience how this team played, and then returned to her friends and said: "Everyone does it, so why can't we?" Thus came the turning point in THE CRANBERRIES' biography, and the words of Dolores became the title of their debut album (it was entitled: "Everybody Else Is Doing It, So Why Can"t We").

The band found a new manager, Geoff Travis, formerly of Trade Records, and in 1992 recorded their debut album in Dublin. By the time the album went on sale (it was March of the following year, 1993), THE CRANBERRIES found they needed to start their career over again, as even at this early stage they were only referred to creatively as failures.

In retaliation to detractors who stubbornly did not want to see the potential of the group, they went on an extensive tour in 1993. The musicians have toured the UK (with BELLY), Europe (with HOTHOUS FLOWERS) and the US (with THE THE and SUEDE). “The strangest thing about the American tour,” Dolores said, “was that we acted like tourists and had a good time, and in the meantime our album kept selling and selling. We were told:“ Another 7,000 copies of your CD have been sold this week. And we were like, 'Is that good?' People were laughing at us because we didn't know how the album was selling."

By the end of 1993, "Everybody Else Is Doing It, So Why Can't We" reached the million mark in the US, and the musicians returned to their native Ireland as real heroes. Dolores said. - After the success in America, the album began to rise, began to climb up in the British charts and finally reached number one. The members of the group were happy with their success, but they did not want to be considered "caliphs for an hour."

Therefore, the musicians again settled in the studio and by March 1994 they recorded the next album "No Need To Argue". Recording went so quickly and well that the members of THE CRANBERRIES decided to take a break and after finishing work in the studio went skiing. Before that, Dolores had never had to ski, and her inexperience caused a serious injury: she badly injured her knee. Later, at the height of their fame, the band was even forced to cancel all their shows until Doloeres started going again.

But the event she didn't miss was O'Riordan's wedding to Don Burton in July 1994 in Ireland. "I met my future husband (he's Canadian) when we toured the US with DURAN DURAN. Then he was their concert manager. We are very happy together," Dolores said. The album "No Need To Argue" was released in October 1994 and was a great success. In the first three weeks after the release, a million copies were sold. The first single from this album, called "Zombie" became "Zombie" was one of the most played songs on American alternative radio stations and became one of the biggest hits at THE CRANBERRIES concerts. written about the time when the bombs were detonated in Warrington (Warrington) in the UK (when the Irish Republican Army bomb killed two small children), Dolores recalled. - But it's not really about the situation in Northern Ireland. This song is about a child who died in England because of the situation in Northern Ireland."

Much of "No Need To Argue" was written during THE CRANBERRIES' US tour in 1993. “Anyone could be in front of the tour bus, but I was at the back protecting my voice,” Dolores said. “I wrote all these songs about my life in Limerick, about how I miss my parents. "Ode To My Family" The only track on the album that reflects my new family life is "Dreaming My Dreams".

At the end of 1994, THE CRANBERRIES behaved like the stars, whose album became a worldwide hit. In October 1994, the band embarked on a lengthy tour, deciding to continue next year as well. "The best thing for all of us is that we answered our own question, which was the title of our first album," Dolores said. "We proved it with our first album and continued to prove it with our second." Indeed, THE CRANBERRIES' response to their point-blank question was impressive. After the triumphant success of "No Need To Argue", the modest "cranberries" rose to the rank of superstars. THE CRANBERRIES' third album, "To The Faithful Departed", further cemented their fame.

The release of this disc was accompanied by a world tour and a grandiose promotion, which even the most "cool" superstars could envy. As always, Dolores enjoyed the special attention of journalists, while the other three members of THE CRANBERRIES modestly kept a low profile. Rolling Stone jokingly named the group as "Dolores O" Riordan & THE CRANBERRIES", which, however, is true. This very outstanding personality deserves to be told in more detail about her.

Music Dolores infected her parents. In her youth, her father performed in a local band, playing the accordion. When he took out his accordion and played very loudly, I shouted to him: "Dad, stop it!" I sang and they asked me to stop. My mother has always inspired me. She knew that I love music, I have talent and my voice was good. But my mother wanted me to teach music, so she sent me to learn to play the piano. She dreamed that I would get a diploma, but I didn’t get it, but instead joined the group, "this is how Dolores recalled her introduction to music. Any mature husband could envy her self-reliance and perseverance, as well as what she knew from childhood Oh Riordan, who wants to be. Maybe her confidence that she would be a singer and certainly famous left no chance for a different outcome.

The singer's childhood idol (and the only one) was Elvis Presley. She thought he was God. Dolores' parents played a lot of country music - Jim Reefs, Bing Crosby, Frank Senatra - but nothing touched them all like what the King of Rock and Roll played. Here are the most vivid memories of Dolores: "I remember how one morning I went down to breakfast, and my mother was sitting in the kitchen and sobbing, wailing," He died, he died. "I asked:" Who? Dog?" and she said, "No, Elvis." The whole of Ireland was going crazy. He was great. Sometimes old movies of his concerts are shown. Elvis would go down to his fans, kiss them, or blot his face with towels and give them to the fans. He was great, no bullshit."

Many critics expose Dolores O "Riordan in a very gloomy color. They paint the image of a bitch of the worst kind: arrogant, touchy, irritable, overly selfish ... It is hardly possible to agree that Dolores has at least a small fraction of these "glorious" qualities. She - a self-made person. No one looked after her, did not control her. Doloros, having met the guys from the group, left her home, moved to the city. She worked a lot and works, so she has no desire and time for idle communication with numerous people who would be flattered to communicate with a celebrity. Dolores is sincere and can, with all bluntness, say not very pleasant things to journalists who pester her, which can offend and cause hard words in the press about her. people who annoy you. You talk to a journalist and you know they want to misrepresent you. They want you to be an arrogant bitch. But you are not an arrogant bitch, and the journalist continues to ask idiotic questions. This is very unpleasant, especially when such questions come from women. So I say, "Listen, honey, thanks for stopping by. I'm sorry to waste my time, and I'd rather wash my cat." And she continues: "Can you explain?" And he keeps looking at me strangely. I think it's pretty gross. That's when I said I've had enough."

She is so straightforward and stubborn, this Irish Dolores O "Riordan. If she feels that someone is giving her negative energy and she doesn't like this person, she just tries to stay away from him. She'd better go away than argue, object and get in trouble. Dolores doesn't want to put up with things like that just because she's a celebrity. She likes to do things her own way. Dolores herself calls herself nothing more than "dumb-headed."

And here the time has come to tell you a "terrible" secret. When Dolores entered the band at 19, she left home and moved to Limerick, not only to play with the band but (maybe mostly) to "live with one man in sin". Dolores' parents were, as befits the Irish, "faithful" Catholics. But they were not shocked, they understood their daughter. Therefore, the act of Dolores was not discussed. Especially since they had an apartment in Limerick with many rooms. One was Dolores, the other was her chosen one. Her mother was more worried when the success came to The Cranberries, they began to tour actively and her daughter practically stopped being at home. This acceptance by the parents of their daughter is also surprising because Dolores is the youngest in the family. She has six brothers. Mother Dolores cared more for the boys, which, however, is typical of Ireland. In relation to the girl, she was quite strict. Dolores got to the discos only a couple of times a year under the supervision of her brothers. And they took their duties very seriously. "For example, I'm dancing with a guy, and they come up and ask:" Where are his hands? Who is he? What is he doing?". Probably, the brothers saved me, saved me from many troubles," Dolores recalled. But, despite the severity, the parents tried to understand her. Nowadays, when The Cranberries are playing in their hometown, parents are happy to come to their concerts.

With the first chosen one, Dolores was very unlucky. This relationship was difficult for her. "I wanted to leave, but it took years. I was completely in control. My mother was very worried when I told her what was happening: I was unlucky, I fell into the hands of the wrong person. I was ashamed." And the longer their relationship continued, the harder it was for Dolores, the more aggression she had to face. It got to the point where she couldn't talk to anyone. The irony here is that at the time, working at The Cranberris distracted her, helped her forget her fear. It was not even work, but rather some kind of fun, entertainment. Moreover, despite the fact that the group's fame grew, Dolores constantly thought about how she did not want to return to Limerick in order to again be subjected to threats and violence. “I couldn’t understand what it means to love and trust for real. I thought: here it is, first love, first boyfriend. When you lose your virginity, you think that only one person will ever want to sleep with you. You think: you need to get married for this man, all that nonsense." This three-year period was the most difficult for Dolores. But, as she believes, the tests tempered her character, helped to realize many things. Although, when Dolores found the courage to break with this connection, she was on the verge of a nervous breakdown. Her current husband, Don Burton, helped her a lot here. With him, Dolores considers herself really happy. After all, it is important for her to have complete trust and support. By the fifth anniversary of their wedding, they are going, according to Dolores, to renew their vows, given to each other on their wedding day. On "Will you remember" from the album "To The Faithful Departed", Dolores recalls how one day she went to the airport to meet her husband and thought, "Does he remember all these little tricks that I did at the wedding: lipstick, hair, clothes and other things that men usually don't remember..."

We can say that Dolores went through everything: fire, water, and copper pipes. Moreover, the test of glory was also difficult for her. True, having such "senior comrades" as Bono and Luciano Pavoroti, Dolores was a little easier. "They went through the same thing and said that if it's hard for me, I can just call, we'll be together and things won't be so bad. Bono is really great, he's like a big brother to me."

Interestingly, for the recording of "To The Faithful Departed", The Cranberries decided not to invite Stephen Street, the producer of their previous albums. The musicians wanted to work with someone else, they needed a change. They didn't need super sound or a lot of keyboards, they wanted the music to be alive, sound fresh. In addition, it was important for the band members not to feel the pressure of the producer, but to feel free, enjoy life, laugh, which they did during the recording of the album. And all this had an effect. "To The Faithful Departed" is lively and more radical than previous Cranberries albums.

Maybe the success of all the group's discs is due to the fact that Dolores is truthful in her lyrics. "I do not create false images, although I exaggerate emotions a little and overdramatize something for songs. Poems are always personal experience, personal relationships, personal emotions."

It remains to be said that, according to Dolores, traditional Irish and African music have other things in common. She believes that all music came from the same source, from the same roots. Therefore, the prayers of the Middle East are similar to how banshees howl (these are creatures from Irish folklore).

Dolores is a very romantic person. She loves the old fashioned romance, the simple things that are often neglected. So, in her opinion, "Sex is too bloated, I love premonitions, little things that mean a lot."

Yes, if you think that we forgot to tell about the other three members of the group, then we are not. And it's not just that they stay in the background, not arousing such interest from journalists as Dolores, and giving the impression of such good boys who will not even be noticed in the pub. Just the lion's share of their success, if not all, The Cranberries owe to this talented girl. The group's drummer Fergal Lawler stands out because he buys a huge amount of CDs on tour. Mike Hogan (younger) does not buy CDs at all, as he can always steal them from the older Noel.

Quiet, here they are, these lovely "cranberries", who enchanted the whole world with their music.

The origins of the famous Irish band The Cranberries lie in the Irish town of Limerick (Limerick) - it was there that the two brothers Noel (Noel Anthony Hogan, 12/25/1971) and Mike Hogan (Michael Gerard Hogan, 04/29/1973), while still schoolchildren, decided to put together a group. Noel played guitar, and Mike played bass - Feargal Lawler (Feargal Patrick Lawler, 03/04/1971) became the drummer in their group, and their friend and part-time drummer of another local band The Hitchers named Niall Quinn (1973) became the vocalist. ), a rather extravagant young man who wrote songs with titles like "My Grandmother Drowned in the Fountain of Lourdes".

Formed in 1989, the group was originally called The Cranberry Saw Us ("Cranberry saw us" in literal translation and a pun - in English this phrase sounds very similar to how to pronounce "cranberry sauce"). They recorded a demo tape "Anything ", which included 4 tracks, but the work stopped there. Quinn did not stay in the group for a long time, he could not be torn into 2 bands at once - to be the vocalist of The Cranberry Saw Us and the drummer in The Hitchers, so he chose the latter. But before leaving, he recommended Dolores O'Riordan (Dolores Mary Eileen O) `Riordan, 09/06/1971), girlfriend of the then-girlfriend Quinn-Catherine.

It was May 1990 outside. Dolores came to the guys to audition in a bright pink suit and with a synthesizer. She sang to the guys one of the songs of her favorite singer Sinead O`Connor from the album "Lion And The Cobra" and shocked everyone with her voice. The musicians handed her a demo of the song they were working on at the time, and Dolores returned the next day with the lyrics to the song "Linger" completely ready. So the Cranberries were born in the very form in which she fell in love with millions of listeners .

Having shortened their name at the suggestion of Dolores, first to The Cranberry`s, and then to The Cranberies, which is familiar to the whole world to this day, the guys recorded several songs for their demo-single "Nothing Left At All" and sent it to Irish music stores. When all the printed 300 copies were sold in a matter of days, the group recorded the songs again and began to send out demo tapes to various labels. The cassette got the full attention of the British music press, and soon the labels themselves ran to The Cranberries with offers one more beautiful than the other. Still young musicians chose Island Records, known for its other Irish high-profile clients, namely the group U2. To work on their first single "Uncertain", the musicians hired Pearse Gilmore, the former vocalist of the local Limerick band Private World, which lasted only a couple of years, and the sound engineer of the Xeric Records studio, where the Cranberries recorded their demo tapes, as producers. The single, released in 1991, was poorly received by critics - the press claimed that the title of the song ("Uncertain") became prophetic, because the group really sounded uncertain, the group's music, at the insistence of Piers Gilmour, became paler, with the addition of then fashionable dance rhythms and guitar parts, removing into the background the main thing that the group had - the voice of Dolores. A video was also shot for the song, but only a 40-second version of the video is available to this day. their contract with Island, a clause to help the label maintain his personal studio, led to a permanent break with him, and The Cranberries took on another team - Jeff Travis (Gepff Travis) from the Rough Trade label as a manager and Stephen Street (Stephen Street) , known for his work with The Smiths and Blur, to the place of the producer of the debut record.

The modestly titled album “Everybody Else Is Doing It, So Why Can’t We?” (Everyone does it, so why can't we?), which came to Dolores's mind in 1992, when she was at one of the concerts of an Irish unpromising rock band, was released in the spring of 1993. The single “Dreams” was released first, followed by “ Linger" - but the audience did not pay any attention to the group at first. The Cranberries went on tour in the status of almost losers - however, while they were touring, MTV suddenly became sympathetic to their “Linger” video and began to actively promote it. The single became extremely popular, and the first album of the young band produced a unique operation - initially falling out of the album top 100 for good, then it returned there and climbed right up to the very first place.

On July 18, 1994, Dolores married Duran Duran tour manager Don Burton (Don Burton, 01/27/1962). They met at the end of 1993, when the group toured as the opening act for Duran Duran. Their romance began to develop rapidly, Don gave young flowers to the singer, made the band's concert last longer than usual, arranged dates. Don already had a child from his first marriage, son Donny (Donny Burton, 1991), but Dolores reacted positively to this, accepting him as her own. Don chose the date of the wedding , randomly proposing Dolores to get married "for example, on July 18." Their wedding was quite actively covered in the press because of Dolores' frank wedding dress - transparent pants and blouse, high boots and a veil, 200 guests were invited (later it was said in the press that Dolores "stole "Duran Duran has a tour manager, because after the wedding, Don stopped working with the Durans").

The group's first new single, "Zombie", introduced a new, harder sound to the public - despite this change, "Zombie" proved to be even more popular than "Linger". The same story happened with the band's second album "No Need to Argue", released in October 1994 - it made real superstars out of The Cranberries. At the moment, the first two records of The Cranberries remain the most successful - the world level of sales of the album "Everybody Else Is Doing It, So Why Can't We?" is 7 kopecks million copies, and in the case of "No Need to Argue" this figure has exceeded 16 million.

During the tour to promote the second album, rumors began to circulate that O'Riordan was going to leave the band and pursue a solo career. Dolores really came to the fore more and more in the group - both in videos and in terms of songwriting. She was directly involved in the recording of the Jah Wobble song "The Sun Does Rise", for which a clip was released in the spring of 1994 (in the video Dolores starred in a blond wig and sitting, due to a recent knee injury after an accident at a ski resort) At the end of 1995, Dolores performed a duet with Luciano Pavarotti himself, performing the song "Ave Maria" (this performance moved Princess Diana to tears, sitting in front row at this show) and with Duran Duran frontman Simon LeBon, with whom they sang The Cranberries hit "Linger".

However, despite this, the group's third album "To the Faithful Departed" was recorded by the whole team together, from November to December 1995. This time the group replaced Stephen Street with Bruce Fairbairn (Bruce Fairbairn, died May 17, 1999), known for his work with rock bands such as Bon Jovi and Aerosmith. The resulting record was much louder and sharper than The Cranberries' previous work, leading to harsh press criticism of the band's ambitions to become a stadium rock band and a decline in sales. The circulation of "To the Faithful Departed" was more than pretty (at least 6 million copies worldwide), but these numbers were not comparable with the performance of previous albums, and the band decided to take a time out. Scheduled for the fall of 1996, tours in Europe and Australia were canceled due to renewed pain in the same knee Dolores had injured in 1994, after an unsuccessful stage jump during one of the performances and the physical fatigue of the entire group as a whole, which again gave rise to a lot of rumors about the upcoming breakup of the group and the departure of Dolores.

The group stopped working for some time, but despite this, Dolores recorded a song for the soundtrack of the film "The Devil`s Own", called "God Be With You", and also took part in the recording of the tribute album of the legendary band with Noel Fleetwood Mac, recording a cover version of the song "Go Your Own Way". In April, at the wedding of drummer Fergal, Dolores announced to everyone that she was pregnant. In November 1997, O'Riordan had her first child, son Taylor Baxter Burton.

The Cranberries returned to work on new records at the end of 1997. The main themes of the songs were Dolores' motherhood and the group's lighter and more carefree attitude to the press and show business. In November 1998, the group performed at the Nobel Prize in Oslo, a little later Dolores and Fergal were invited to the MTV Europe Music Avards, where they presented the award to singer Natalie Imbruglia for the song "Torn". In February 1999, a new single "Promises" appeared, and in April the band's fourth album, "Bury the Hatchet" was released. The desire of the musicians to return to the sound of the first two records was quite obvious, the public reacted favorably to them - the album sold a good circulation of more than 4 million copies, and their 1999-2000 world tour became their most successful tour. In parallel with the tour, the band re-released their latest album in an expanded form - the edition called "Bury the Hatchet - The Complete Sessions" included a bonus disc with songs recorded during the work on the album, but left overboard. Later, the band re-released all their albums in this form - and collected them together in a box set called "Treasure Box". A DVD was also released with a concert in Paris in 1999 - "Beneath The Skin: Live In Paris".

For their next record, Wake Up and Smell the Coffee, their old producer friend Stephen Street returned. The album, however, turned out to be the least successful of all their records, as it was recorded during Dolores' pregnancy. The sound turned out to be calm, even and gentle. On January 27, 2001, O'Riordan gave birth to her second child, daughter Molly Lee Burton. The next tour ended in 2002, and soon after that The Cranberries released a collection of the best songs "Stars - The Best of 1992 - 2002". In 2002, the musicians played a short tour of Europe, gave several concerts in 2003 (some opening for The Rolling Stones, and some solo), and then announced that they were going to go about their business indefinitely. No one called it the breakup of the group, however, in the past few years since then, the group never once got together.

In 2003, Dolores recorded the song "Mirror Lover" with the German band Jam & Spoon for the album "Tripomatic Fairytales 3003". In 2004, she sang with the Italian singer Zucchero on his duet album "Zu & Co" (among other project participants were such stars as Sting, Sheryl Crow and Luciano Pavarotti), then voiced several songs by composer Angelo Badalamenti for the soundtrack of the Italian film “Evilenko”, such as "The Butterfly", "Ave Maria" (for the soundtrack "Passion Of The Christ" at the invitation of Mel Gibson) and "Angels Go to Heaven" (OST "Evilenko").

On April 10, 2005, Dolores gave birth to her third child, a girl named Dakota Rain.

Noel Hogan released a solo album in 2005 under the banner of “Mono Band”, Fergal Lawler became a member of The Low Network, which has not yet released a single album. O'Riordan was also in no hurry to start a solo career - her first steps as a solo artist were rather modest.

In April 2006, Dolores played a small role in the comedy film Click (in the Russian box office - "Click: with a remote control for life"), with Adam Sandler (Adam Sandler) in the title role. The film premiered in the summer of 2006. Dolores appears near the end of the film, in a wedding scene singing a new version of Linger (similar to the one performed at the Vatican in December 2005) live on stage. In addition, a small excerpt from the original version of Linger is heard in the film itself. The role of Dolores is listed in the credits as Singer - Singer. As the film's producers and director later said, Linger was chosen because it is one of their favorite songs and Dolores is a great singer.

Dolores recorded her first full-length solo record only on May 8, 2007 - it was called "Are You Listening?"

On August 24, 2009, Dolores' 2nd solo album was released, called "No Baggage?". Dolores' tour of America, scheduled for September 2009, was canceled because one of the musicians let her down and refused to go on tour. And in the end, a decision was made team up with Noel, Mike and Fergal, and in November 2009 go on a joint tour already as The Cranberries in full force. The plans include performing both the already known world hits of the group and Dolores' solo material.

Composition
1989-1990
Niall Quinn - vocals, lyrics

1990-2003
Dolores O'Riordan - vocals, lyrics, music, guitar, keyboards
Noel Hogan − music, guitar
Mike Hogan - bass guitar
Fergal Lawler - drums

genre of music

Alternative guitar rock (although Dolores believes that their work cannot be attributed to any particular genre).

Famous hits and singles
During its existence, the group released several singles, many of which became hits in the US, Europe and Asia.

The Cranberries singles: "Uncertain" (1991), "Dreams" (1993), "Linger" (1993), "Zombie" (1994), "Ode To My Family" (1994), "Ridiculous Thoughts" (1994), "I Can't Be With You" (1994), "Salvation" (1996), "Free to Decide" (1996), "When You're Gone" (1996), "Hollywood" (1996, single released only in France), "Promises" (1999), "Animal Instinct" (1999), "Just My Imagination" (1999), "You & Me" (1999, single released only in Europe), "Analyse" (2001), " Time Is Ticking Out" (2001), "This Is The Day" (2001), "Stars" (2002).

Distinctive features
Bright and strong vocals by Dolores O'Riordan, melodic rock with slight national influences, "open" guitar drive, heartfelt lyrics (love songs and songs on serious topics such as ethnic conflicts, drugs, environmental issues, child abuse, greed, cruelty of people). According to one of the music reviewers, The Cranberries is a unique combination of agonizing love songs, menacing accusations and beautiful melodies.

Temporary leave and solo projects
The Cranberries have been on temporary leave since 2003. The three members of the band - Dolores O'Riordan, Noel Hogan and Fergal Lawler - are busy developing their solo projects. Mike Hogan opened a cafe in Limerick and occasionally plays bass at his brother's concerts.

In 2005, Noel Hogan released his album "MONO BAND", and since 2007, together with vocalist Richard Walters, he has been developing a new project - the group "Arkitekt".

Dolores O'Riordan's debut solo album Are You Listening? was released on May 7, 2007, its release was preceded by the single "Ordinary Day".

In 2006-2007 Fergal Lauler wrote songs and played drums in his new band The Low Network, which he created with his buddies Kieran Calvert (Woodstar member) and Jennifer McMahon. However, The Low Network fell apart after recording only a three-track EP.

Dolores O'Riordan's second solo album "No Baggage" was released on August 24, 2009. Dolores refused to tour in support of the album, motivating this act with a desire to spend more time with her family. However, she was not slow to announce that The Cranberries would reunite for a reunion -tour already in November 2009, during which both the classic hits of the group and songs from Dolores' two solo albums will be performed.There is no talk of recording a new album yet.

Discography
Uncertain EP - 1991
Everybody Else Is Doing It, So Why Can't We? - 1993
No Need To Argue - 1994
To the Faithful Departed - 1996
Bury The Hatchet - 1999
Wake Up And Smell The Coffee - 2001
Stars: The Best of 1992-2002 - 2002

Irish singer Dolores O'Riordan, lead singer of one of the most famous bands of the 1990s, The Cranberries, died unexpectedly in London. The artist was 46 years old. The cause of death has not been established, it is only known that she came to England to record music in the studio. What O'Riordan will remember - in the selection.

O'Riordan was a hairdresser and had almost lost hope of starting to do what she wanted, but she saw an ad looking for a vocalist. At school in her native Limerick, she was known as "the girl who writes songs", so she fit the requirements perfectly. The soloist joined The Cranberries in 1990, a year after the creation of the group, and became its face.

Zombie is perhaps the most famous song by The Cranberries. The track was released in 1994 on the group's second album and is dedicated to the attacks of the Irish Republican Army in the British city of Warrington. “Another head fell, a child slowly left, and the violence caused an incredible silence,” O'Riordan sings.

From the same disc No Need to Argue - the track Ode to My Family. It is considered the best in the team's discography: in it, Dolores, who wrote both the music and the lyrics, recalls her childhood and parents. Her vocals are crowned with the already familiar “Doo-doo-doo-doo”, as in the Zombie song.

In 1996, the album To the Faithful Departed was released. Dolores put an insert into the record with the following message: “To the departed righteous. This album is dedicated to all those who have gone before us. No one knows exactly where these people are now, but I know we would like to believe that this is the best place. I think it is humanly impossible to find complete peace of mind in this matter. Too much anguish and pain, especially for children. "Let the children come to Me, and forbid them not, for of such is the Kingdom of God." To the departed righteous and all who are left behind. There is an unquenchable light."

In 1999, the band released the album Bury the Hatchet (“Burn the hatchet”), and, probably due to the title of the disc, the band was invited to Oslo, to a concert in honor of the Nobel Peace Prize winners. The musicians performed the first single from the disc - Promises. The text is not the most politically charged in The Cranberries' work: Dolores sings not about war and peace, but, apparently, about broken promises of lovers.

The second single was the song Animal Instinct. The "animal instinct" referred to in the title and in the text is the story of motherhood:

Suddenly something happened to me
While I drank my tea
I suddenly got depressed
I was deeply depressed.
Do you know that I cried because of you?
Do you know that I died because of you?

Soon The Cranberries were invited to star in the popular American TV series Charmed. The band made a cameo appearance and performed Just My Imagination with Bury the Hatchet.

This was not the only appearance of Dolores O'Riordan on the screen: in 2006, the film "Click: Remote for Life" was released by the director. The singer appeared there in the role of herself - she sings at the wedding of the main character in the performance. For the episode, the artist chose the single Linger from The Cranberries' debut album, Everybody Else Is Doing It, So Why Can't We?

By that time, Dolores had already begun a solo career, and in 2014 she joined the D.A.R.K. - American supergroup, which includes DJ Ole Koretsky and former bassist of The Smiths Andy Rourke.

In 2017, The Cranberries were supposed to have a big tour, but it was canceled due to O'Riordan's health problems: they explained that she had a bad back. Shortly before that, the singer was diagnosed with bipolar disorder.