Dolores O’ Riordan, frontwoman for the popular and iconic Irish grunge band The Cranberries died at the age of 46. Her publicist has confirmed that the singer died in London.
The spokesperson for the musician said she died suddenly in London today. The spokesperson gave very little details surrounding the shocking news. The only statement issued other than the confirmation of the musician’s death was: “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.”
The cause of death for O’ Riordan has yet to be revealed.
Ireland President Michael Higgins has also released a statement expressing sadness over O’ Riordan’s passing.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">President Michael D Higgins pays tribute to <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Cranberries?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Cranberries</a> singer Dolores O’Riordan who has died suddenly aged 46 <a href="https://t.co/0b4eW6TRbY">pic.twitter.com/0b4eW6TRbY</a></p>— Amanda Ferguson (@AmandaFBelfast) <a href="https://twitter.com/AmandaFBelfast/status/952959300095369216?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 15, 2018</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
The lead singer joined The Cranberries, then made up of brothers Noel and Mike Hogan in 1989 when she was only 18 after seeing an advertisement in a local paper.
The Cranberries have sold over 40 million records around the world. Their biggest hits include the songs Zombie, the most iconic of their song produced in 1994; Dreams and Linger, which both came out in 1993; Animal Instinct in 1999; Ode to my Family in 1994; When You’re Gone, 1996, among others.
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The band reformed in March last year with a new album of their biggest hits and a schedule for a European tour. But the band was forced to cancel the remaining of their European tour dates in May due to O’Riordan poor health. Their website said then that a back problem was preventing the lead singer from performing.
That same month O’Riordan revealed that she had been diagnosed with bipolar disorder. She was charged with allegedly assaulting an air hostess on an Aer Lingus flight in 2014, which happened shortly after her controversial separation with her husband of 20 years, Don Burton.
Just before Christmas, however, things were beginning to look up again for the iconic performer. She even posted on Facebook she had done her “first bit of giggling in months.”
Tributes have started pouring in online from the band’s fans and supporters, along with other musicians who credit O’Riordan sharing how much inspiration she has been to them.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Absolutely shocked to hear about the passing of Dolores O'Riordan! <a href="https://twitter.com/The_Cranberries?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@The_Cranberries</a> gave us our first big support when we toured with them around France years ago! Thoughts are with her family and friends</p>— Kodaline (@Kodaline) <a href="https://twitter.com/Kodaline/status/952951531556540416?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 15, 2018</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Source:
https://www.yahoo.com/music/cranberries-singer-dolores-oriordan-dead-46-171801922.html
Wow, now this really hit me hard. The Cranberries first two albums were two of the first CDs I ever owned. Such a shame…