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Dolores O’Riordan, the lead singer of the Irish band The Cranberries, has died at the age of 46-years-old.
The Cranberries were an Irish rock band formed in Limerick, Ireland, in 1989 by O’Riordan, guitarist Noel Hogan, bassist Mike Hogan, and drummer Fergal Lawler. The band enjoyed almost 15 years of international success before going on hiatus in 2003. In 2009, after a six-year hiatus, the band reunited and began touring again. The band recorded their sixth album “Roses” and released it in February 2012.
O’Riordan’s publicist confirmed the news of her death on Monday, January 15. O’Riordan was in London for a recording session at the time of her death. The Limmerick Leader, a newspaper in O’Riordan’s hometown, was the first to publish the news of the singer’s death.
bye bye Gio. We're off to Ireland
pic.twitter.com/d6HKOFJqGB
— Dolores O'Riordan (@DolORiordan) January 4, 2018
A spokesperson who represented the singer confirmed to the Leader: “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. ”
“My heart goes out to the family. Dolores was their pride and joy. We all loved her very, very much,” said family friend Canon Liam McNamara.
“She got on well all the way through her life. I was very disappointed to hear today that she has left us so early in life. Her family did so much for her and supported her all the way through,” added the priest, who was a co-celebrant at Dolores’ wedding to tour manager of rock band Duran Duran, Don Burton in Holycross Abbey in County Tipperary in 1994 and also officiated at the funeral Mass of Dolores’ father Terry in Ballybricken in 2011, confirmed to the Limerick Leader.
Aside from her career with The Cranberries, O’Riordan’s solo album “Are You Listening?” was released in May 2007. Her second solo album, No Baggage, was released in 2009.
In May of last year, Dolores declared that she had been diagnosed with bipolar disorder. Her publicist did not release any details about the cause of her death with the initial announcement.
Dolores O’Riordan Cause Of Death: Unknown
O’Riordan was found dead in a London hotel at the age of 46, however, her cause of death is unknown at this time.
About The Cranberries
In 1989, brothers Mike and Noel Hogan formed the band, originally called The Cranberry Saw Us with drummer Fergal Lawler and singer Niall Quinn, in Limerick, Ireland. Within a year, Quinn left the band, which caused the remaining band members to run advertisements for a female singer. O’Riordan responded to the advertisement and auditioned by writing lyrics and melodies to some existing demos. When she returned with a rough version of “Linger”, she was hired as the lead singer. The band then recorded a three-track EP titled Nothing Left At All under the name “The Cranberries”.
O’Riordan’s band, The Cranberries, are perhaps best known for their song “Linger” which was featured prominently in the 2006 Adam Sandler comedy Click.
