Music lovers were left devastated upon learning that Dolores O’Riordan, the lead singer of ‘The Cranberries’ and the voice behind iconic tunes like ‘Zombie’ and ‘Linger’ had passed away. A few Goans remember her music
If 2017 was the year that saw some great music icons passing away, 2018 hasn’t gotten off to the best start as music lovers the world over woke up to the devastating news that Dolores O’ Riordan,46, the lead singer of popular 90s rock band The Cranberries had passed away.
Formed in 1989 by Niall Quinn, Dolores replaced him as lead singer about a year later and the band quickly rose to fame selling over 40 million records worldwide. Their debut single Dreams was so popular it was used in films like Mission Impossible, You’ve Got Mail and Mona Lisa Smile. Tunes like Zombie, Linger, Why and Animal Instinct catapulted them straight into the hearts of music lovers everywhere with many of their tunes on everyone’s favorite playlist even today.
The band went on a hiatus and reunited in 2009 following it up with their sixth album Roses which was released in 2012 and also released Something Else last year.
Dolores has struggled with bipolar disorder for awhile having been diagnosed with it back in 2015. She revealed that she was managing her mental illness with medication, though that didn’t stop her plummeting into deep depression at times. ‘There are two ends of the spectrum - you can get extremely depressed and dark and lose interest in the things you love to do, then you can get super manic’, she told the Metro. ‘I was at the hypomanic side of the spectrum on and off for a long period but generally you can only last at that end for around three months before you hit rock bottom and go down into depression. When you’re manic you don’t sleep and get very paranoid.’
The rest of The Cranberries; guitarist Noel Hogan, drummer Fergal Lawler and bassist Mike Hogan; expressed their sadness at the loss of their friend via Twitter. ‘We are devastated on the passing of our friend Dolores’, they wrote. ‘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.’ Tributes for the singer have continued to pour in from celebrities like TV host James Corden, musician Diplo, Josh Groban, Kodaline, Hozier etc.
