Dolores O'Riordan, singer with The Cranberries, has died aged 46
Dolores O'Riordan, singer and frontwoman of Irish indie-rock back The Cranberries, has died aged 46 in London.
Her publicists released a statement on Monday saying:
Irish and international singer Dolores O’Riordan has died suddenly in London today. She was 46 years old. The lead singer with the Irish band The Cranberries, was in London for a short recording session. No further details are available at this time.
Family members are devastated to hear the breaking news and have requested privacy at this very difficult time.
The police released a statement saying:
“Police in Westminster are dealing with a sudden death. Officers were called at 9:05 am on Monday January 15 to a hotel in Park Lane. A woman in her mid-40s was pronounced dead at the scene. At this early stage, the death is being treated as unexplained and inquiries continue”.
The Cranberries subsequently shared the statement to their official Facebook page, with a photo of O'Riordan.
On Monday night, The Cranberries' remaining members paid tribute on Twitter:
We are devastated on the passing of our friend Dolores. 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.
Noel, Mike and Fergal— The Cranberries (@The_Cranberries) January 15, 2018
Career
O'Riordan was still in her teens when she auditioned for the group that would become The Cranberries. Songwriting was always as integral to singing: she landed the gig of frontwoman after writing lyrics and melodies for existing demos, including a rough version of Linger, which became the band's breakthrough hit.
With The Cranberries, O'Riordan released five albums and achieved mainstream success in the mid-Nineties. It was the popularity of their second album, No Need to Argue, in America which helped them gain recognition in the home country and in the UK. In particular, an scorched-earth performance of Zombie on Saturday Night Live made The Cranberries one of the hit groups of the Nineties.
In 1997, they won an Ivor Novello award for Zombie, and were nominated for the Best International Group Brit Award in 1995. O'Riordan pursued a solo career in the late-Noughties, releasing the first of two solo albums in 2007. At the time of her death, she had been working with a band called D.A.R.K, which featured Ole Koretsky and Andy Rourke, of The Smiths.
O'Riordan's life
Her success arrived in spite of O'Riordan's difficult upbringing and mental illness. In 2014 she gave a revelatory interview to the Belfast Telegraph in which she explained that she had been sexually abused during childhood and had been in recovery ever since. She said she suffered from a "terrible self-loathing", which was worsened by her accelerating career and led to anorexia.
Speaking about the aftermath of her experiences of abuse, O'Riordan said: "It manifested itself in my behaviour and the pathologies I began to develop in my early adult life, such as my eating disorder, depression and eventually the breakdowns." She admitted that she "tried to overdose" in 2012.
bye bye Gio. We're off to Ireland �� pic.twitter.com/d6HKOFJqGB
— Dolores O'Riordan (@DolORiordan) January 4, 2018
O'Riordan has three children with her ex-husband Don Burton, the former tour manager of Duran Duran. The family are yet to make a statement. Her last Twitter update, posted on January 3, showed her with her cat, Gio.
Tributes
O'Riordan's death has caused shock and upset among her fans and members of the music industry. James Corden, Frank Turner, Irish band Kodaline, Irish food writer Jack Monroe and US singer Josh Groban all shared tributes on Twitter. Hours after the news broke, Irish President Michael D Higgins paid his respects, saying O'Riordan had "an immense influence".
Statement by the Irish President Michael D. Higgins, on the death of #DoloresORiordanpic.twitter.com/KZGfjenLVS
— Dianne Gallagher (@DianneG) January 15, 2018
I once met Delores O’Riordan when I was 15. 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 x
— James Corden (@JKCorden) January 15, 2018
I’m really shocked that #DoloresORiordan has passed so suddenly
- 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 pic.twitter.com/Pk2QyAaaBw— Dave Davies (@davedavieskinks) January 15, 2018
Dolores O’Riordan has had such a huge impact on me in so many ways. Watching the light and shade in her performances, her voice, her attitude. She’s the reason so many young girls saw a place for themselves in rock music. So, so sad. #DoloresORiordan
— MayKay (@MayKapes) January 15, 2018
My first time hearing Dolores O'Riordan's voice was unforgettable. 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.
— Hozier (@Hozier) January 15, 2018
When I was a teenager and people got a guitar at parties they sang one of two songs - Wonderwall by Oasis or Linger by The Cranberries. A beautiful singer who sang beautiful songs, I hope Dolores O'Riordan knew how much she meant to people. RIP
— Jack Thorne (@jackthorne) January 15, 2018
We are crushed to hear the news about the passing of Dolores O’Riordan. Our thoughts go out to her family at this terrible time. https://t.co/6p20QD2Ii5pic.twitter.com/vXscj0VGHS
— Duran Duran (@duranduran) January 15, 2018