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The Cranberries lead singer Dolores O'Riordan has died suddenly at the age of 46, her publicist has confirmed.
The Irish musician, originally from Limerick, led the band to international success in the 90s with singles including Linger and Zombie.
A statement from her publicist said: "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."
A Metropolitan Police spokesperson said the police were called to a hotel in Park Lane at 09:05 GMT on Monday, where "a woman in her mid-40s" was pronounced dead at the scene.
The death is, at this stage, unexplained.
Her current band mates in The Cranberries - Noel Hogan, Fergal Lawler, and Mike Hogan - paid tribute to the lead singer on social media.
The message said: "She was an extraordinary talent and we feel very privileged to been part of her life from 1989."
Skip Twitter post by @The_Cranberries 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 Report
Her publicist added: "Family members are devastated to hear the news and have requested privacy at this very difficult time."
The Cranberries shot to international fame with their 1993 debut album Everybody Else Is Doing It, So Why Can't We? and went on to sell over 40 million records worldwide.
Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Dolores O'Riordan led The Cranberries to international success in the 90s
In 2017 The Cranberries announced a tour including dates in Europe, the UK, and the US.
However, in May - shortly into the European tour - the group had to cancel the remainder of the European dates as a result of O'Riordan's health issues.
The official Cranberries website cited "medical reasons associated with a back problem" preventing singer Dolores O'Riordan from performing.
But just before Christmas O'Riordan had posted on Facebook saying she was "feeling good" and had done her "first bit of gigging in months", leading fans to believe she would soon be performing again.
O'Riordan tweeted a picture of herself with her cat to fans in early January saying she was "off to Ireland".
O'Riordan split from her husband of 20 years, Don Burton in 2014. She and Burton, who is the former tour manager of Duran Duran, have three children together.
The singer was arrested over an alleged air rage incident in 2014 but was released without charge, after a stewardess was reportedly attacked on a flight from New York to Shannon, County Clare.
O'Riordan was taken to hospital in Limerick after being questioned by police and later discharged.
Two years later, O'Riordan was ordered to pay 6,000 euros (£5,300) to charity for headbutting a police officer after an alleged air rage incident.
She was later diagnosed with bipolar disorder in 2015, which she said explained why she was in a "manic" state on the plane.
In an interview in 2013 she said that she had been abused as a child, which led to her developing an eating disorder, and eventually she suffered a breakdown.
She described her family, especially her children, as her "salvation".
Irish president Michael D Higgins called her death "a big loss", and added O'Riordan's work with The Cranberries "had an immense influence on rock and pop music in Ireland and internationally".
Taoiseach (Irish Prime Minister) Leo Varadkar said she was probably "Limerick's greatest ever rock star", and that her band "captured all of the angst that came with your teenage years".
'Unforgettable voice'
The Kinks guitarist and singer Dave Davies paid tribute to O'Riordan, saying he was "shocked" and that he had seen her "a couple weeks before Christmas".
He added "she seemed happy and well".
Skip Twitter post by @davedavieskinks 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 Report
Irish rock band Kodaline were among the first to pay tribute on social media.
Skip Twitter post by @Kodaline Absolutely shocked to hear about the passing of Dolores O'Riordan! @The_Cranberries gave us our first big support when we toured with them around France years ago! Thoughts are with her family and friends — Kodaline (@Kodaline) January 15, 2018 Report
Duran Duran's official Twitter feed posted a message saying the band was "crushed" to hear of the singer's death.
Others to pay tribute include The Late, Late Show presenter, James Corden, who said meeting her when he was 15 years old "made his day".
Skip Twitter post by @JKCorden 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 Report
Jim Corr from Irish band The Corrs tweeted offering his "deepest sympathies" to O'Riordan's family.
Skip Twitter post by @Jimcorrsays My deepest sympathies to the family of Dolores O’Riordan who tragically passed away today. RIP — Jim Corr (@Jimcorrsays) January 15, 2018 Report
A book of condolence will be opened in her home town of Limerick on Tuesday, at the city council's headquarters.
O'Riordan, the youngest of seven children, had written her own songs since she was 12.
She joined the band while still in her teens, after spotting an advert for a female singer for rock band The Cranberry Saw Us.
Later changed to The Cranberries, the band's most successful tracks include Linger (1993), Zombie (1994) - a protest song about bombings that took place in relation to the conflict in Northern Ireland - as well as No Need To Argue (1994) and To the Faithful Departed (1996).
O'Riordan briefly pursued a solo career after the band split in 2003, before The Cranberries reunited in 2009.
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Dolores O’Riordan, the lead singer with the multi-platinum band the Cranberries, has died aged 46.
The news was confirmed by her publicist in a statement, but no cause of death has yet been announced. O’Riordan, who had to cancel a tour with a reunited Cranberries in 2017 because of a back problem, had been in London for a recording session.
The statement described the death as sudden, and added: “Family members are devastated to hear the breaking news and have requested privacy at this very difficult time.”
A Metropolitan police statement also confirmed the news, and that O’Riordan’s body was found at a Park Lane hotel. “At this early stage the death is being treated as unexplained,” the statement read.
A spokeswoman for the London Hilton on Park Lane said: “It is with deep regret that we can confirm a guest sadly passed away at the hotel on Monday 15 January. We offer our sincere condolences to their family at this difficult time.”
The band – Noel and Mike Hogan and Fergal Lawler – posted a message on Twitter:
The Cranberries (@The_Cranberries) 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
Irish president Michael D Higgins said he learned of the news with “great sadness”, adding: “To all those who follow and support Irish music, Irish musicians and the performing arts, her death will be a big loss.”
Musicians have started to pay tribute, including Irish songwriter Hozier, who said he was “shocked and saddened”, and that O’Riordan’s voice “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.”
Hozier (@Hozier) 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.
Irish rockers Kodaline said they were “absolutely shocked” by the news, and pop singer Maggie Rogers said: “Dolores O’Riordan’s voice helped me understand my place in the world.” Jim Corr of Irish pop group the Corrs passed his “deepest sympathies” to O’Riordan’s family.
Duran Duran, whose tour manager Don Burton was married to O’Riordan for more than 20 years before their divorce in 2014, said they were “crushed” by the news. O’Riordan and Burton had three children together: Taylor Baxter, Molly Leigh and Dakota Rain.
The Cranberries: how we made Linger Read more
O’Riordan, born in Limerick in 1971, joined the Cranberries – then called the Cranberry Saw Us – in 1990, and performed with them until 2003 when they took a hiatus. Driven by O’Riordan’s heartfelt vocals and her unmistakeable west Irish accent, they became hugely successful on both sides of the Atlantic.
Their hits began with the lilting, keeningly romantic Linger, which reached the Top 10 in the US and Ireland, and No 14 in the UK. It was described by O’Riordan in the Guardian last year as being inspired by “being dumped, publicly, at the disco. Everything’s so dramatic when you’re 17, so I poured it into the song.”
They built on its success, and that of their album Everybody Else is Doing It, So Why Can’t We?, with their next album, 1994’s No Need to Argue. The lead single Zombie showed a new side to the band and to O’Riordan’s voice – a heavy, tortured, anthemic song filled with the violence of the Troubles, it was written in the wake of a 1993 IRA bombing in Warrington that killed three-year-old Jonathan Ball and 12-year-old Tim Parry.
No Need to Argue sold 17m copies, including 7m in the US, and cemented them as one of the biggest alternative acts of the 1990s – their overall album sales topped 40m. The Cranberries released three more albums before taking a break in 2003, allowing O’Riordan to record two solo albums. The band reformed in 2009, initially just to perform live, but new material was eventually released on two subsequent albums, including 2017’s Something Else.
The band’s 2017 European tour was curtailed due to O’Riordan suffering from a back problem; their US dates were then also cancelled on the advice of O’Riordan’s doctors. In a statement after the cancellations the band said they were “very disappointed” and added: “The outpouring of support the Cranberries have received from fans and followers during the past several months is greatly appreciated.”
The lead singer of Irish band the Cranberries, Dolores O’Riordan, has died suddenly at the age of 46, while recording in London. O’Riordan joined the band in 1990, and they sold more than 40m albums worldwide
Dolores O’Riordan, Lead Singer of the Cranberries, Dies at 46 Video Ms. O’Riordan, the lead singer of the Irish rock band the Cranberries, famous for its Celtic-influenced vocals and songs such as “Zombie” and “Linger,” has died.
Dolores O’Riordan, the lead singer of the Irish rock band the Cranberries, died on Monday in London. She was 46.
Her death was announced by her publicist, who did not specify the cause.
“Irish and international singer Dolores O’Riordan has died suddenly in London today,” Lindsey Holmes, the publicist, said in an emailed statement, adding that Ms. O’Riordan had been in London for a recording session.
The statement said that family members are “devastated to hear the breaking news and have requested privacy at this very difficult time.”
A spokeswoman for the Metropolitan Police said on Monday that the police were called to a Park Lane hotel in Westminster at about 9:05 a.m., and that Ms. O’Riordan was pronounced dead at the scene. Her death is being treated as “unexplained,” the spokeswoman said.
Ms. O’Riordan wrote lyrics and often music for the Cranberries’ 1990s hits, including “Linger” (which remained on Billboard’s Hot 100 chart for 24 weeks) and “Dreams,” which proclaimed both vulnerability and steadfastness. She was the sole writer of the noisier, angrier “Zombie,” a response to an Irish Republican Army terrorist bombing in 1993.
The Cranberries - "Linger" Credit Video by TheCranberriesVEVO
In the band, her voice — high and breathy, but far more determined than fragile — rode atop a rich wash of electric guitars. Her unmistakable Irish accent and the Celtic inflections of her melodies gave her singing a plaintive individuality and a flinty core.
The Cranberries were formed in 1989 as the Cranberry Saw Us and renamed the Cranberries after Ms. O’Riordan took over as lead singer in 1990. Along with the brothers Noel Hogan on guitar and Mike Hogan on bass, the band includes the drummer Fergal Lawler.
The group arrived during the early 1990s ascendance of alternative rock: tuneful, punk-derived, guitar-driven songs that often made their way from college-radio playlists to commercial radio.
Four of the group’s albums reached the Billboard Top 20.
Image Four of the Cranberries’ albums reached the Top 20 on the Billboard 200 chart. Credit Andy Earl
Female rock singers like Sinead O’Connor and Harriet Wheeler of the Sundays had recently preceded the Cranberries on the pop charts, and the band also drew deeply on the musical example of the Smiths, the 1980s band that propelled warm, rounded guitars and confessional lyrics with post-punk drumming. The Cranberries’ 1993 debut album, “Everybody Else Is Doing It, So Why Can’t We?,” which included the career-making hits “Linger” and “Dreams,” and the 1994 album “No Need to Argue,” with “Zombie,” were both produced by the Smiths’ producer, Stephen Street.
After “Zombie,” the Cranberries lost much of their pop audience as their late-1990s albums grew harsher and more concerned with sociopolitical messages than with love songs. The Cranberries disbanded in 2003. In 2007 Ms. O’Riordan released her first solo album, “Are You Listening?”
In an interview published in The Guardian last year, Ms. O’Riordan described how the band wrote “Linger,” its first song together. “I wrote about being rejected,” she said. “I never imagined that that it would become a big song.”
In 1996, Neil Strauss, a pop music critic for The New York Times, described Ms. O’Riordan as a performer who can “sing almost anything and make it seem musical.”
Ms. O’Riordan’s death was also announced on the group’s Twitter account, where fans shared messages of mourning and of the impact that the group’s music had on their lives.
“She was part of my DNA, the soundtrack to my life,” wrote one, Michael Traboulsi.
Ms. O’Riordan was born on Sept. 6, 1971, and grew up in the Ballybricken area of County Limerick, Ireland. In 1994, she married Don Burton, a former tour manager for Duran Duran; the couple divorced in 2014. She is survived by her three children, Taylor, Molly and Dakota, and her mother, Eileen O’Riordan.
Six years after the Cranberries’ split, the group reunited and began touring again. But last year, the band canceled dates on its European and North America tours due to Ms. O’Riordan’s ongoing back problems.
“There have been some comments suggesting that Dolores could perform if she sat while singing. Unfortunately it is not as simple as that,” a statement on the group’s Facebook page said then.
The Cranberries released the acoustic album “Something Else” in 2017 and had plans to perform shows in Europe and North America. But the tours were cut short or canceled because the band said that singing put pressure on the parts of her spine that were giving her so much pain.
Anna Codrea-Rado contributed reporting from London.
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