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Wednesday
The Cranberries: The Tragic Death of Dolores O'Riordan & Story Of The Ba...
(11) The Cranberries: The Tragic Death of Dolores O'Riordan & Story Of The Band & 'Zombie' - YouTube
I. Introduction (0:06 - 0:25)
- The Cranberries were one of the most successful alternative bands of the last three decades, hailing from Ireland and second only to U2 in terms of musical exports.
- The band achieved massive success with their first two albums in the 90s but faced challenges and almost collapsed later in the decade due to canceled tours and controversies.
- They reunited in 2009 but ultimately disbanded after the tragic death of their lead singer, Dolores O'Riordan.
II. Dolores O'Riordan's Early Life (0:26 - 3:00)
- Childhood and Family (0:26 - 1:14):
- Born in 1971 and raised in a strict Catholic household in a small town outside Limerick, Ireland.
- Youngest of seven children.
- Father was unable to work due to a serious accident.
- Mother encouraged her to pursue a music career.
- Difficult Experiences (1:15 - 1:37):
- Revealed later in life that she suffered abuse as a child.
- Witnessed her sister accidentally burning down their family home at the age of 7.
- Described her childhood as having a lot of secrets.
- Gender Dynamics and Music (1:38 - 2:01):
- Felt that Irish culture favored boys.
- Believed girls had to work harder for recognition.
- Developed a tomboyish personality due to growing up surrounded by boys.
- Musical Influences (2:02 - 2:20):
- Early musical influences included traditional Irish music, classical music, and church music.
- Played the church organ for eight years.
- Early Singing and Songwriting (2:21 - 2:37):
- Started singing publicly at the age of 5.
- Wrote her first song, "Calling," at the age of 12.
- Became known in school for her songwriting abilities.
- Teenage Years and Relationships (2:38 - 3:00):
- Her conservative upbringing and relationships with boys influenced her songwriting.
- Expressed frustration with boys' inability to take relationships seriously.
III. Formation of The Cranberries (3:01 - 6:07)
- Joining Cranberry Saw Us (3:01 - 3:39):
- In 1990, O'Riordan auditioned for a local band called Cranberry Saw Us, who were looking for a new singer.
- The band's early music was more of a novelty act.
- They were looking for a female singer to fit their new sound.
- Band Members (3:40 - 4:01):
- The band consisted of brothers Noel and Mike Hogan on guitar and bass, and drummer Fergal Lawler.
- The Hogan brothers met Lawler in Limerick, where breakdancing was a popular trend.
- O'Riordan's Audition (4:02 - 4:33):
- O'Riordan impressed the band with her voice and songwriting at her audition.
- She saw potential in the band's playing despite not initially liking their music.
- "Linger" and Early Success (4:34 - 4:53):
- O'Riordan wrote the lyrics and melody for "Linger," which became one of their biggest hits.
- The song was inspired by her first boyfriend.
- Songwriting and Demo (4:54 - 5:48):
- O'Riordan initially believed her emotional music wouldn't find an audience.
- She formed a songwriting partnership with Noel Hogan.
- The band recorded their first demo, "Water Circle," with the help of local musician Pearse Gilmore.
- First Live Performance (5:49 - 6:07):
- The band played their first show at a basement club in Limerick.
- They had a limited setlist and were nervous about performing live.
IV. Record Deal and Early Career (6:08 - 10:35)
- Sending Out Demos (6:08 - 6:29):
- Noel Hogan quit his job to focus on sending demos to record labels.
- He got the addresses of record labels from an employee at Xeric Studios.
- Changing the Band's Name (6:30 - 6:48):
- The band's name was officially changed to "The Cranberries" after a demo tape was returned with that name on it.
- Record labels started showing interest in the band, leading the members to quit their day jobs.
- Signing with Island Records (6:49 - 7:24):
- The band played a showcase that attracted attention from several record labels.
- They signed with Island Records, the same label as U2.
- Management Issues and Debut EP (7:25 - 7:42):
- The band experienced early management problems that delayed their debut album.
- They hired Geoff Travis, the head of Rough Trade Records, as their manager.
- "Uncertain" EP and Touring (7:43 - 8:22):
- Their first release on Island Records was the "Uncertain" EP in 1991.
- They toured England supporting various bands, but their live performances needed improvement.
- Recording "Everybody Else Is Doing It, So Why Can't We?" (8:23 - 8:38):
- Initial recording sessions for their debut album were unsuccessful, leading to the replacement of their producer with Stephen Street.
- "Dreams" and Marketing Strategy (8:39 - 9:43):
- The single "Dreams" gained popularity on college and alternative rock stations.
- Island Records implemented a marketing strategy focused on building momentum on alternative radio and MTV.
- The label avoided any food-related marketing tie-ins to maintain the band's musical image.
- European Success and Breaking into the UK (9:44 - 10:20):
- The album wasn't initially a big success in Europe but gained popularity after becoming a hit in America.
- O'Riordan acknowledged the difficulties of breaking into the UK music scene as an Irish band.
- Album Sales and Reflections (10:21 - 10:35):
- "Everybody Else Is Doing It, So Why Can't We?" became a massive success, selling over 6 million copies worldwide.
- O'Riordan reflected on the personal experiences and emotions that influenced the album's creation.
V. "No Need to Argue" and "Zombie" (10:36 - 15:32)
- Writing and Recording (10:36 - 11:26):
- The band started writing their second album while on tour.
- They felt more confident recording "No Need to Argue" due to their touring experience.
- The demos for the album were recorded in New York City.
- "Zombie" - Initial Inspiration and Sound (11:27 - 12:00):
- Dolores brought the song "Zombie" to the recording sessions.
- The band initially gave it a more pop-oriented sound, but Dolores insisted on a heavier approach to reflect the song's anger and political message.
- "Zombie" - Background and Context (12:01 - 12:51):
- Released in 1994, "Zombie" was an anti-war anthem inspired by the violence in Northern Ireland known as "The Troubles."
- The song was specifically influenced by a bombing in Warrington, England, that killed two young boys.
- Dolores was deeply affected by the news of the bombing.
- "Zombie" - Songwriting and Recording (12:52 - 14:00):
- Dolores wrote "Zombie" on acoustic guitar while on tour in the UK.
- The band recorded the song in Dublin with Stephen Street.
- Dolores rejected the idea that the band was trying to capitalize on the grunge trend, emphasizing their unique sound and influences.
- "Zombie" - Label Opposition and Dolores's Determination (14:00 - 14:37):
- Island Records tried toV. "No Need to Argue" and "Zombie" (Continued)
- "Zombie" - Label Opposition and Dolores's Determination (14:00 - 14:37):
- Island Records initially opposed the release of "Zombie" due to its political nature.
- They offered Dolores a large sum of money to work on a different song, but she refused.
- Dolores felt strongly about releasing the song to address the ongoing violence in Ireland.
- "Zombie" - Music Video and Popular Reception (14:38 - 15:32):
- The music video for "Zombie" featured footage from the conflict in Northern Ireland and featured Dolores in gold paint with silver cherubs.
- The video received heavy play on MTV and contributed to the song's popularity.
- "Zombie" became a massive hit, reaching number 1 in several countries and earning platinum certification.
- The Cranberries performed "Zombie" at the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony in honor of those who worked for peace in Northern Ireland.
VI. Later Career and Challenges (15:33 - 19:52)
- "No Need to Argue" and Personal Reflections (15:33 - 15:51):
- "No Need to Argue" sold over 20 million copies and featured more introspective songs.
- Dolores spoke about her experiences with manipulation and betrayal in some of the songs.
- She married Duran Duran's tour manager, Don Burton, during this time.
- Media Criticism and Internal Conflicts (16:14 - 17:14):
- The band faced comparisons to other female singers and faced rumors of internal conflicts.
- O'Riordan sued a British newspaper for publishing a false report about her behavior on stage.
- Washington DC Disaster and "To the Faithful Departed" (17:14 - 19:10):
- The band's free show in Washington DC turned into a disaster due to crowd control issues.
- Their third album, "To the Faithful Departed," was released in 1996 and sold well but not as well as their previous albums.
- The album included some politically charged songs and was criticized by some critics as naive.
- This album marked the first time the band's iconic couch was not featured on the album cover.
- Burnout and Health Issues (19:10 - 19:52):
- O'Riordan admitted to burnout and exhaustion during this time.
- The band took a break after extensive touring and O'Riordan experienced health issues, including a knee injury.
- She was diagnosed with mental health problems, including a breakdown.
VII. Solo Projects and Return to the Band (19:52 - 22:49)
- Solo Projects and Rejuvenation (19:52 - 20:45):
- During the break, O'Riordan focused on her family and recorded solo albums.
- Having a child helped her get through a difficult time.
- She began enjoying music again and felt a sense of normalcy.
- "Bury the Hatchet" and Continued Success (20:45 - 21:09):
- The band released their fourth album, "Bury the Hatchet," in 1999.
- The album sold well and helped reignite their passion for music.
- "Wake Up and Smell the Coffee" and Label Departure (21:10 - 22:29):
- Their fifth album, "Wake Up and Smell the Coffee," was released in 2002.
- The band experienced unhappiness with their label, MCA, and decided to terminate their contract.
- O'Riordan released a statement explaining their decision to leave the label.
VIII. Hiatus and Solo Ventures (22:29 - 23:07)
- The Band Takes a Hiatus (22:29 - 23:07):
- The band members decided to take a hiatus in 2003 to pursue individual music careers and spend time with their families.
- During this time, O'Riordan recorded several solo albums and collaborated with other artists.
IX. Return to the Cranberries and Final Years (23:07 - 26:00)
- Reuniting and "Roses" (23:07 - 23:26):
- The Cranberries reunited in 2009 and released their album "Roses."
- O'Riordan struggled with addiction and mental health issues during this time.
- She was arrested for causing a disturbance on a flight in 2014.
- D.A.R.K. and Continued Challenges (23:26 - 24:21):
- After the dissolution of her marriage, O'Riordan moved to New York and formed a new band called D.A.R.K.
- The band released one album, "Science Agrees," in 2016.
- Her bandmates noticed an improvement in her mental health in her later years.
- Recording "Something Else" and Collaboration with Bad Wolves (24:21 - 25:03):
- In 2017, O'Riordan returned to the Cranberries to record "Something Else."
- She also collaborated with the American band Bad Wolves on a cover of "Zombie."
- She was found dead in her hotel room in London on January 15, 2018.
X. Conclusion and Legacy (25:03 - 26:37)
- Cause of Death and Impact (25:03 - 25:41):
- The cause of death was ruled an accidental drowning, with prescription drugs and alcohol contributing.
- Bad Wolves released their cover of "Zombie" and donated a portion of the proceeds to O'Riordan's children.
- The Cranberries' Final Album and Disbanding (25:41 - 26:37):
- The Cranberries posthumously released their final album, "In the End," in 2019.
- The surviving members decided to disband the band after O'Riordan's death.
XI. Abstract Facts and Obscure Opinions
- O'Riordan's childhood was marked by hardship and trauma, including abuse and the loss of her home.
- Her music was often deeply personal and reflected her struggles and emotions.
- The band's success was built on O'Riordan's powerful vocals and songwriting talent.
- "Zombie" became a global anthem for peace and social justice.
- O'Riordan's battle with mental health and addiction highlights the challenges faced by many artists in the music industry.
XII. Opposing Opinions
- Some critics argued that The Cranberries' music was overly sentimental and lacked depth.
- Some fans felt that the band's decision to disband after O'Riordan's death was disrespectful to her legacy.
- There were debates about the appropriateness of using the Troubles as a backdrop for a pop song.
- "Zombie" - Label Opposition and Dolores's Determination (14:00 - 14:37):
- Island Records tried toV. "No Need to Argue" and "Zombie" (Continued)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HeF7aYQinRY
Transcript:
(00:06) Hailing from Ireland, The Cranberries would be the largest musical export from the country since U2. The band’s first two albums which were released in the 90's would be massive sellers, but by the later part of the decade, band was on the brink of collapse. Cancelled tours and controversy led to the band falling apart almost a decade after taking over the world.
(00:26) The band would remerge in 2009 until it all came crashing down almost a decade later resulting n the end of one of the most successful alternative bands to come out of the last three decades.. Brought up in a strict Catholic household, The Cranberries Deloris O’Riordan was born in 1971 and grew up about in a two-bedroom cottage in the countryside about 5 miles outside of the irish City of Limerick in a town called Ballybricken.
(00:55) The youngest of seven children, including five boys and one girl, Her dad was an ex- farm labourer who suffered a serious bike accident leaving him unable to work. Her mother wanted deloris to get a college degree and become a music teacher Despite growing up around a lot of family, darkness was also present in her childhood.
(01:15) She would reveal years later that she suffered abuse at the hands of an older man and at the age of 7 witnessed her sister accidentally burning down her families home. She would famously tell Rolling Stone in 1995 “I have a lot of secrets about my childhood.” Growing up around in a home of mostly men, she offered Rolling Stone her assessment of Irish culture saying “My mom always had a softer spot for boys, as a lot of Irish women do,” s “If you were a girl, you’d have to sing or wear a pretty dress.
(01:38) But boys could just sit there and be brilliant for sitting there and being boys. It makes you that little bit more forward. Pushy. I was singing, always.” It would result in O’Riardan growing up as a tom boy and spending most of her time around boys since there really weren’t a lot of girls where she lived and popular music wasn’t part of Deloris early life given her strict upbringing being more influenced by traditional irish, and classical and church music recalling to the same magazine.
(02:02) “I played the church organ for about eight years and did a lot of Gregorian hymns and chants,”“Not a lot of young people do that anymore. Where I grew up there wasn’t even a town, but you had the church.” At the age of 5 her nursery’s headmistress stood up O’Riordan on the piano in the class and asked her to sing for the whole class.
(02:21) And this was something that continued well into her teenage years. After learning the piano O’riardan would write her first song at the age of 12 called “Calling.” She would admit to Rolling stone the song was about her 12 year old self having a crush on a much older man. She would soon become known as the girl in school who and i quote "who wrote songs.
(02:38) ” While she never stray too far from her conservative upbringing in her later teen years she did discover one thing that would have a profound impact on her song writing and that would be her relationships she had with the opposite sex. She would admit to Siren magazine “The way i see it is that a boy will tell you how mad he is about you and when you start telling him how you feel,he acts differently. They can’t take anything seriously really.” she'd say.
(03:01) In 1990 she would hear from a friend that a local band named Cranberry Saw Us if you said the band’s name quickly it would sound like cranberry sauce. They were looking to replace their newly departed singer a male named Niall Quinn. Up until this point Cranberry Saw Us were a novelty act with titles like “Throw Me Down a Big Stairs” and “Good Morning God.
(03:20) ” O’Riordan and cranberry saw us seemed like a match made in heaven. O’Riordan wrote her own songs, had an incredible voice and Cranberry Saw Us wanted a female singer to fit their new shimmering dreamy sound. The band was made up of brothers Noel and Mike Hogan on guitar and bass and an old schoolmate of their’s drummer Fergal Lawler.
(03:40) For brothers Noel and Mike, they would meet their drummer in Limerick who shared similar interest in music with them. Believe it or not, by the time the trio met up the hottest craze in Ireland as break dancing. The 1984 Hollywood film Breakin convinced young irish kids to buy track suits and boomboxes with Hogan remembering “There’s a big park in the center of Limerick,” “and every Saturday all the break dancers would go up there and boogie away the day.
(04:02) ” For O;Riordan she would lug her keyboard across limerick at the age of 18 to the audition while wearing a pink tracksuit with Hogan recalling “Dolores came and sang a few songs she had written,”. “We were blown away that this small girl from Limerick had such an amazing voice. The fact that she wasn’t already in a band was a miracle.
(04:19) ” O’Riordan would tell the Morning Call Newspaper her recollection of the audition saying “The songs that they had at the time were not my taste, but I saw the potential in the playing. It was easy for me because I knew, no matter what their first impressions were, that the minute I opened my mouth that they were going to be impressed" she'd say.
(04:34) O’Riordan would leave the audition with an instrumental track that consisted of four looping chords. She would return a week later with lyrics and the melody written to the song clinching the audition. That song that the group first worked on would be Linger, which would be one of the Cranberries biggest hits.
(04:54) The lyrics would be inspired by O’Riordan first boyfriend a 17 year old soldier who broke hand wrote her love sick letters while being deployed to Lebanon.. By O’Riordoa’s own admission she thought the style of personal and emotional music she was writing would probably never find an audience in ireland revealing to Siren magazine in 1992 “The music was so emotional I found that I could only write about personal things….
(05:16) I was sure that it would be considered soppy teenage crap, especially in Limerick, because most bands are really young (men), and their lyrics are humorous or mad. They don’t go pouring their hearts out"she'd say. After hearing Linger in it’s finished form the band knew they had a different sound. They continued to write more songs with Deloris and Noel forming a song writing partnership.
(05:34) The band formed soon focus was always on recording a demo they could shop around to record labels The band would be helped out by local musician named Pearse Gilmore who also owned a studio named Xeric which allowed the Cranberries to record their first demo, a four track EP named water circle.
(05:49) It was during this time the band played their first show at a place called Ruby’s a basement club in a hotel in Limerick with Lawler recalling to Rolling Stone “We just went up, and we had six songs. Dolores was turned to the side; Noel, Mike and I had our heads down. It was just, ‘OK, let’s get this over with, and that’ll be it.
(06:08) '” "We had some music together, we had 'Linger' and 'Sunday,' but really some of our songs hardly had words," After recording the group’s demo guitarist Noel Hogan quit his job fixing cash registers, and started working on sending out the group’s demos to labels and radio stations. It would be employee who worked at the Xeric studios where the band would cut their demo who provided Hogan with the addresses of record labels.
(06:30) When one of the demo tapes was sent back to the band it was addressed to “The Cranberries’ and thus the band's name was changed. The record labels would end up biting at the demo with Rough Trade records was the first label to show interest in the group followed by Virgin, Island and EMI. The onslaught of record label responses resulted in all the members quitting their day jobs.
(06:49) The band soon found themselves playing a showcase at a local university resulting in reps from these labels flying in from London to watch the performance. O’Riordan would recall to the LA Times We had been together six months and had just six songs to our name, and 32 (record company) people flew in to see us and we were afraid for our lives,” she said.
(07:05) “I’d never even heard the term record company until I was 18.” The band would end up signing with U2’s label Island records. One of the strangest moves the band made was who they hired as their manager. The band had some issues with their management early on resulting in their debut album being delayed.
(07:25) They would hire Geoff Travis, the head of Rough Trade Records who had tried signing the band. The group had negotiated with him prior to signing with Island and were impressed with him. Once the news came of the band’s signing with Island, they were gaining buzz from the british press throughout the summer and fall of 1991 even though they hadn’t put out their first major label release.
(07:43) Their first release for Island records would be an EP titled ‘Uncertain' which came out in the autum of 1991.’ The EP would be released under the name Xeric Records. The band soon hit the road playing a number of 3-week long tours across England supporting a variety of bands including Suede and Duran Duran, but they soon ran into problems.
(08:01) Their live performances needed work and life on the road proved difficult with Noel Hogan would recall Rolling Stone “We weren’t very good live,” . “We used to stand there very, very still, and things always went wrong. Things exploded all the time. “Dolores would have to sleep across our laps at night in the van.” By early 1992 the Cranberries once again entered Xeric Studios once more with Pearse Gilmore to record their first full length record for Island.
(08:23) The initial sessions proved to be unsuccessful and led to Gilmore being fired from the project.The band was unhappy over Gilmore adding dance beats and industrial style guitar to their mixes. And he would be replaced by Morrissey’s producer Stephen Street. It would result in their major label debut 1993’s Everybody Else Is Doing It So Why Can’t We.
(08:39) The album’s first single Dreams gained traction at college and alternative rock stations and within 3 months of being released as a single the song showed up on the modern rock tracks chart and MTV soon started playing the video for the song on it’s program 120 minutes and the alternative nation.
(08:56) The labels strategy from the start was to build up momentum on college and alternative radio. From there the label would contact stations and video programs in those markets to see what could be done to expand the band’s reach. The label provided sampler cassettes with the songs 'Dreams' and snippets of several other tracks to independent retailers and smaller chains.
(09:15) The cassettes would also be provided at concerts and events that the label thought would have people who might like the Cranberries. The label also sent out thousands of postcards to thousands of people they lifted from magazine subscription lists, but the label was careful of one thing, not marketing the band’s name with any food tie in’s. Matt Stringer, who was Island Records Senior VP of Marketing would tell billboard magazine “one of our biggest concerns as we produced merchandising items was to make sure we kept them very specific to music.do a cassette not cranberry suace, mail a postcard don’t
(09:44) send out ocean spray cranberry juice. It was a concious decision to not be kitchy.” Everybody Else wasn’t a huge success in Europe initially. One year after it’s release, and the reissue of singles dreams and linger and the fact that the album became a huge hit in America it finally went to number 1 in the UK.
(10:04) O’Riordon would tell the LA Times “It's very difficult to break in Europe unless you break in England, and it's very difficult to break in England if you're Irish. And why is because of history, basically," "Also, we weren't from Dublin, so we had all the odds against us when we started. Which is why we went to London, where people recognized a different voice and a band that writes good pop songs" she'd say.
(10:21) Everybody Else " became the most successful debut album from an Irish band even beating out U2's "Boy". The record sold upwards of 6 million copies worldwide, 4 million of those coming from America.
(10:36) "O riardon would tell the LA Times The first album was written over a period of two years at ages 19 and 20," "with your first big relationships and experience in the world as a young woman, moving out of home and getting signed to a record company and blah, blah, blah... ." Even before the group’s debut album broke big, the band had already written some of their second album while on the road.
(10:54) The Cranberries would avoid the sophomore jinx as their follow up No Need to Argue would prove to be a bigger hit than their first record. Lawler and Hogan would tell Forbes whether they felt the pressure from the first album’s success with Hogan saying it didn't change for us. I think we were tighter going in because we had toured so much and playing at the time—that we went in with Stephen and certainly felt more confident about it.
(11:12) We had matured as musicians. I think we've felt pretty good about it going in from the top he'd say. Hogan would credit the band’s live experience as contributing to their heavier sound on their sophomore album. The demos for their second album would be recorded at the Magic Shop Magic Shop in New York City.
(11:27) One of those songs that Delores would bring to sessions for their second album was tentatively titled In Your Head.. Later renamed Zombie it would be the biggest song of the Cranberries career with Noel Hogan telling Forbes his initial thoughts about hearing the demo Hogan: It was a change in direction sound-wise, obviously a lot harder than anything we've done.
(11:43) Dolores brought it in and she was playing it on an acoustic. We started doing what we'd normally do and made it that kind of sweet indie pop thing. It was one of the times where she said: “Look, that's not gonna really work with this. it's a kind of ‘I'm pissed off song, I'm angry about this,’ and I think the music should reflect it.” So she wanted me to play harder on the guitar, and certainly on the drums as well.
(12:01) When we did “Zombie,” we realized that you can actually be heavy and still have melody. Released as a single in September of 1994, Zombie was an anti-war anthem that took aim at the religious and nationalistic violence in Northern Ireland also known as “The Troubles”.
(12:17) By this point in time, the violence in Northern Ireland was relentless and occurring almost on a weekly basis. By the time the song was written almost 3,500 people had died and tens of thousands were injured in more than 30 years of conflict. There would be one incident in particular which inspired the creation of the song and that occured On March 20, 1993.
(12:35) Explosives hidden under a garbage can in the city of Warrington in Northwestern England, took the lives of a 3 year old and 12 year old boy and injured dozens of others. The two boys had gone shopping \on one of the town's busiest shopping streets and the same point in time The Cranberries were on tour in the UK and frontwoman Deloris O’Riordon was on the band’s tour bus in London when she heard the news.
(12:52) It was something that would stick with her for the next little while. And almost 2.5 decades after writing the song O’ Riordon would look back on the song saying “I remember at the time there were a lot of bombs going off in London and the Troubles were pretty bad,”. “I remember being on tour and being in the UK at the time when the child died, and just being really sad about it all.
(13:08) These bombs are going off in random places. It could have been anyone, you know? So I suppose that’s why I was saying, ‘It’s not me’ – The song was written by O’Riordan originally on acoustic guitar late one night by herself on the groups UK tour. The band would record the song in Dublin with producer Stephen Street, who spent a fair deal of time getting the guitars to sound like other alternative music that was popular at the time.
(13:30) However, O’Riordon would push back against the assertion that the band was capitalizing off the popualrity of grunge music revealing “It came organically because we were using our live instruments, we were plugging in a lot, and we started to mess around with feedback and distortion.
(13:44) When you’re on tour you start to mess around a bit more with the live side of things. There were a lot of bands around that were part of the grunge thing, and this wasn’t grunge, but the timing was good. We couldn’t have really fitted in with grunge, because we were just a different type of a band. We were Irish and from Limerick, and we had a lot of our own ideas. A lot of the grunge bands were very similar to each other.
(14:00) ” she’d say The Cranberries' former manager Allen Kovac revealed to Rolling Stone magazine that the group’s label Island Records urged the Cranberries not to release the "politically urgent" song as a single. The label offered O’Riordan one million dollars do work on a different song, but she ripped up the cheque according to Kovac with him remembering "Dolores was a very small, fragile person, but very opinionated,". "Her belief was that she was an international artist and
(14:22) she wanted to break the rest of the world, and ‘Zombie’ was part of that evolution. She felt the need to expand beyond ‘I love you, you love me’ and write about what was happening in Ireland at the time" he'd say. Also heping the song’s popularity was the memorable music video which received heavy play on MTV.
(14:38) Incorporating footage of the conflict in Northern Ireland spliced with O’Riordan who was painted gold and in the company of silver painted cherubs. The band would turn to director Samuel Bayer to direct the video. He had a pretty impressive list of credits including working on Nirvana’s Smells Like Teen Spirit video and Blind Melon’s video for No Rain.
(14:58) Bayer, flew to Belfast shortly before the ceasefireto get footage of the area - and those are real British soldiers and local children you see in the music video, O’Riordan for her part would praise Bayer saying“I actually thought the director was very brave,”. “When he got back, he was pretty pumped – there was a lot of adrenalin pumping through him. He was telling me how tense it was and how he was blown away by the wholething.
(15:14) He got footage of the kids jumping from one building to another, and he got a lot of footage of the army. He was a very good director.” she’d say. Zombie would end up going number 1 in several countries on the rock charts and would be certified platinum in Germany and Australia. The Cranberies got the opportunity to perform the song live at the Nobel Peace Prize Ceremony to honor those who brought a peaceful solution to the conflict in Northern Ireland.
(15:33) No Need To Argue would go on to sell almost 20 million copies on the strength of the single Zombie. While Zombie dealt with politics, other songs saw the band look inwards with O’Riordan telling the washington post “The first album was written when I was younger and just kind of getting into things,” “When I was younger, people would manipulate me more.
(15:51) I was a bit too nice for my own good. You can have the greatest voice and the greatest ambitions, but if you don’t know where to tell people to get off... “I experienced a lot of betrayal “It’s not like a lovey-dovey world at all. A lot of songs were confronting different situations.” In the same interview she would allude to former associates with whom the band had ended up at odds with as well It was during the mid 90’s o’riardon married Duran Duran’s Tour Manager Don Burton who would soon became the Cranberries manager. The marriage
(16:14) offered a feeling of protection for O’Riardon and the success of the cranberries saw constant comparisons to Harriet Wheeler from the Sundays and Sinead O’Connor. Side note guys, i've done a whole video on the career of The Sundays. The link is down below. O’Riordan for her part would respond to these comparisons saying The only thing about being a girl and the lead singer and main writer is that you’re the one who the guy tries to fool to get into your pants,” .
(16:37) “And that’s happened to me countless amounts of times. There is a lot of chauvinism in the music industry. I’m glad to be married — and that’s one of the reasons — so that I don’t feel exposed anymore that way.” To Support the album the band landed some prime spots playing woodstock 94 and performing an mtv unplugged set, but things were rocky for the band during the tour to promote the album.
(16:55) The band soon developed a mistrust of the media. While they were dubbed the new Smiths early on in their career, some in the UK press ignored the band until they finally broke big in America. Soob enough reports would surface that infighting was brewing within the band with breakup rumors being published quite frequently in the press.
(17:14) Then in the UK, the paper the daily star was sued by O’Riardon for claiming she cavorted on stage without undewear during a show in hamburg, germany. The newspaper would end up having to issue an apology to the frontwomen and pay her $15K which she would donate the money to charity The Irish tabloids sent photographers to wait outside of O’Riordan and her husband’s home scoring a shot of the two shopping that when published, resulted in rumors of a potential breakup of the band and O’Riordon having a breakdown. Her feelings of the media would be captured
(17:42) in the song Free to Decide on their third album. On top of the world The Cranberries were scheduled to play a free show in washington dc that turned into a disaster.A local radio station named WHFS sponsored the show with 3,000 people expected to attend, but more than triple that number showed up.
(18:01) There simply weren’t enough police to work the event and given it was a monday, a lot of kids skipped school and the station and police were surprised at the audience numbers. The show would start 45 minutes late and the station’s promotions manager would recall to wtop.com that O’Riorrdan wasn’t in a rush to take the stage spending time backstage filing her nails.
(18:21) The restless crowd soon started a mosh pit and started stage diving Once the band hit the stage, they made it through about a song and a half before the organizers and the police pulled the plug on the band resulting in angry fans pelting the police and stage with rocks, food and beer bottles. The band would disappear from the stage and were quickly driven to the airport. It was reported that o riardan’s acoustic guitar was stolen in the mayhem.
(18:40) The band would release their third album in 1996 To The Faithful Departed which was named after a line in a Catholic prayer. The album sold quite well moving 4 million copies worldwide, but it was a steep drop in sales from their past records.
(18:55) Inspired by the success of 'Zombie,' the band included a few politically charged songs including War Child and Bosnia, but tracks like these were called naive by critics. The album would be the first to not feature the infamous Cranberries couch on the front cover.
(19:10) The single salvation was in response to the spat of musical related deaths since the band’s last album including Blind Melon's Shannon Hoon, The Smashing Pumpkins Jonathan Melvoin, Nirvana's Kurt Cobain, and Sublime's Bradley Nowell. Side note guys i’ve done videos on these bands the links are down below. O’ Riordan would admit to billboard that by 1996 the band was burnt out admitting “we overworked ourselves and our hearts weren’t in it at all and everyone could see that. . We should have taken a break, but we went back into the studio.
(19:32) A lot of people died around that time and the album was really down.” In just three years the band toured the world 3 times taking no longer than a 6 week break during this time. The strain soon started to show on the the tour for the album was fraught with problems as O’Riardan injuring her knee and only 6 months after their third record came out the entire tour was caled off.
(19:52) Reports at the time cited O’Riaodan’s health issues as the cause for the cancellation with it coming out that she was dealing with and i quote "stress and exhaustion." Following the tour's cancellation, the band members wouldn't meet for several months at a time while O'Riordan went into seclusion The orlando sentinel interviewed o riordan in 1999 where she discussed what was going on behind the scenes revealing she had a mental breakdown, but it would be giving birth to her first child that
(20:15) got her through the difficult times revealing "If it wasn't for my son, we wouldn't be together at all," O'Riordan says. "I hated singing, I hated being on stage, I hated being in the Cranberries," "I was constantly crying.. "I wanted to be a shopkeeper, a hairdresser, anything.
(20:29) I was so desperate to have a reality, friends, a regular boring life. I missed that. I wanted to make my own toast in the morning and just call my friend Nora and see what was up." When I got pregnant,", "I started singing again." By the late 90's The Cranberries were less focused on album sales and more focused on something more important happiness.
(20:45) By 1999 they would release their fourth album Bury the Hatchet but behind the scenes there were a lot of moving parts at their record label. Island records would be scooped up as part of the Universal/Polygram merger and in some respects The Cranberries were one of the first major releases since the merger took place While the band had been press shy in more recent years due to their mistrust of the media, for this album they were venturing out and doing a little more press.
(21:09) The group's fourth album sold about 2.4 million copies worldwide and it once again went gold in America. That feeling of being a band instead of possibly being a solo seemed to reinvigorate O’Riordan telling billboard everytime i meet solo artists they look a bit sad. They have nobody to hang around with When we have a shit gig I love the fact that we can all go and get hammered together"she'd say The band’s final release before their long hiatus would be 2002’s Wake Up and Smell the Coffee.
(21:34) The album was created by a more mature and happier band whose members were all married and raising families. O’Riordan would give birth to her second child during the recording of the album and it would be that life changing experience that could be heard on the songs never grow old and pretty eyes.
(21:51) She would tell the orlando sentinel "It's great to be able to say, 'Oh, this is it. I'm 30 with two kids, and I've accomplished a lot with the band, and I'm still normal,' " While the band’s original recording contract was signed with island records in 1991, they were soon transferred to MCA as part of record label mergers and renegotiations Wake UP and Smell the Coffee would be the band’s only release on MCA.
(22:11) The album wouldn’t even chart in the top 40, but still sold over a million copies worldwide. . Despite this the band was still selling out on tour and bringing in thousands of fans a night. The band, who was unhappy with the promotion of their latest album had received decided to terminate their relationship with their label MCA in 2003.
(22:29) O’Riordan would issue a statement that read "Since we were signed in 1991 by Island Records, we have gradually seen our label dissolve from a pioneering independent spirited label into a corporate monolith that completely lost touch with the group's creative vision," "All of the people we have worked with over the years [in America and England] have been fired or left the company, so the band felt it was time to move on to new opportunities.
(22:49) " It was reported at the time that The Cranberries would find a new label and put out a new record But by the end of 2003 it was announced the members would take a hiatus and prusue individual music careers and spend moe time with family. During their time apart the members would rarely see one another.
(23:07) During their break O’Riordan recorded several solo albums, and collaborated with other artists and the Cranberries regrouped in 2009, eventually releasing one of their strongest albums to date, Roses. By 2012 O’Riordan’s life took a turn for the worse as she was dealing with addiction to pills and alcohol as well as her marriage falling apart in 2014.
(23:26) The same year would see her arrested for causing a disturbance on a flight and head butting a police officer who she reportedly told the police (“You can’t arrest me — I’m an icon!”. She would be luckily spared from any jail time, but she would be diagnosed as bi-polar. Following the dissolution of her marriage O’Riordan would relocate to new york and live in a variety of hotels for the time being and start up a new band named D.A.R.
(23:45) K along with former Smith’s bassist Andy Rourke. Dark would put out their only release in 2016’s Science Agrees. To her bandmates O’Riordan’s mental health seemed to have improved in her later years. Fergal Lawler would look back saying “It was only the last few years that she started talking about psychological problems, because she didn’t know herself.
(24:04) She saw a few different therapists and realised what she had and she started getting treatment for it.” While Noel would tell the Guardian “She was a lot more herself,” “Especially last year, when we were rehearsing: you wouldn’t even know, because they had found the right cocktail of whatever it was she needed to be on. There wasn’t even a case of having to ‘work around it’.
(24:21) O'Riordan would return to the Cranberries in 2017 with the album Something Else, which was a mixture of older and newer songs that were performed unplugged and with an orchestra. That positivity seemed to follow her in 2017 as she was keeping herself busy with work looking to record the next dark album with producer youth, while also working with the cranberries and was planning on recording with american band bad wolves a cover of song Zombie.
(24:40) The day before she was supposed to show up to the studio with Bad Wolves to record her part for Zombie she was found dead. The week before she was supposed to enter the studio with Bad Wolves she had flown to London from New York.. In the early hours of January 15th she had also left two voicemail messages for a label executive named Dan Waite who she knew from the early 2000’s who had arranged the collaboration with bad wolves.
(25:03) Her messages seemed positive talking about her children, discussing her new projects she was working on, as well as discussing her enthusasm for bad wolves cover.while also being excited that rapper eminem sampling zombie on his song in in your head. On that same voicemail she had also sang a bit of the verve’s a bitter sweet symphony a song that youth had produced.
(25:22) I’ve done a whole video on that song and the controversy. THe link is down below. But sadly during the morning of January 15th at 9:16am she was found unresponsive in her bathroom. The cause of death was ruled to be an accidental drowning. Prescription drugs were found in her room and when they did the autopsy they were found to be at theraputic levels in her blood, but her blood alcohol level was quite elevated.
(25:41) Just four days after her passing Bad Wolves released their cover of Zombie as a single where it topped the rock charts for several weeks and even had crossover appeal peaking at number 54 on the pop charts. While O'Riordan loved the cover that Bad Wolves had did of the song her bandmates didn't feel the same way.
(26:00) Speaking with ABC News Radio, Cranberries drummer Fergal Lawler admitted, "(I) didn't really like it. It wasn't my cup of tea." while Guitarist Noel Hogan, meanwhile, said that he thought the cover was released and i quote "a bit too soon. For my liking, anyway. The whole thing seemed insensitive or something" he would say.
(26:12) Following the death of O'Riordan Bad Wolves would donate quarter of a million dollars of the proceeds from the song to her children. The Cranberries would posthumously release their final record in the end in april of 2019 several months after delores death. The survivng members were able to piece together her demos she had done with the group prior to her death over the course of the last year or so and they worked with producer Stephen Street once again.
(26:37) Following the death of O'Riordan the surviving members of the Cranberries would announce that they would be disbanding.
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