Commemorating 2 Years Of Dolores O'Riordan Death

Dolores O'Riordan (Instagram @thecranberries)

JAKARTA - Irish band The Cranberries, lost their vocalist two years ago. Dolores O'Riordan, died on January 15, 2018. She was found in the bath room number 2005 at the Park Land Hilton hotel, London.

O'Riordan, who was in London for a recording session, was found by a waiter in the morning. He was found submerged in a bathtub, wearing a long-sleeved vest and pajama pants. Paramedics did CPR on him, but his life was not saved. At 9:16 a.m. local time, O'Riordan was pronounced dead.

Liquor, cigarettes and prescription drugs including lorazepam were found in O'Riordan's hotel room. A postmortem report by doctor Adam Combe concluded that O'Riordan had drowned due to alcohol poisoning. No suicide note was found and police concluded that his death was not suspicious.

"There is no evidence that this was not an accident. There was no intention (of suicide), this is just a tragic accident, "said the coroner, Dr. Shirley Radcliffe, quoted from The Guardian, Wednesday, January 15, 2020.

O'Riordan is known to have bipolar disorder and claims to respond well to treatment. He also went through periods without alcohol but there came a point where he finally returned to drinking excessively.

In September 2017, O'Riordan wrote a suicide note. But a psychiatrist named Robert Hirschfield said on 26 December 2017 he spoke with O'Riordan over the phone to convey that the vocalist is getting better and better.

"He's fine, he's not drinking, he's a little sad on Christmas Day but no suicidal thoughts," Hirschfield said in his statement read out during the examination.

Another psychiatrist, Seamus O'Ceallaigh, also said the same thing. Ceallaigh said that on January 9 2018 he had a chance to communicate with O'Riordan and he sounded very excited.

Dolores O'Riordan Childhood

Born in 1971, Dolores O'Riordan grew up near Limerick, Ireland. He is the last child of seven children. O'Riordan idolized his father, who was a farm laborer who was injured in a bicycle accident that kept him from returning to work. Her childhood was filled with unpleasant events, one of which was being sexually abused by an older man.

However, he had a very meaningful escape until the end of his life, namely music. Since elementary school, he loved singing and his voice really stood out from other children.

"If I start singing, the others in the room will stop and listen," O'Riordan said in an interview with Rolling Stone.

In 1990, he auditioned for a local band, Cranberry Saw Us, to replace the then retired vocalist.

“Dolores came and sang some of the songs she had written. We were blown away that this little girl from Limerick had such an amazing voice. The fact that he hasn't been in a band is a miracle, "said The Cranberries guitarist Noel Hogan.

O'Riordan wrote a song that became a hit at the time, Zombie which was on his second album No Need to Argue in 1994. The song was inspired by the events of two children who were killed in the 1993 bombings in England by Irish soldiers.

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Zombies. Released 25 years ago today.

A post shared by The Cranberries (thecranberries) on Sep 12, 2019 at 7:08 am PDT

Initially Island Records urged The Cranberries not to release it as the lead single. But O'Riordan has a principle that songs don't simply describe 'I love you, you love me' and wanted to write songs about what was happening in Ireland at that time.

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Tomorrow marks the 25th anniversary of 'No Need To Argue'. We're celebrating with a @youtubemusic Premiere of one of the first live performances of 'Zombie' from London's Astoria in 1994. Tune in tomorrow 9am PST / 5pm GMT. Link in bio.

A post shared by The Cranberries (thecranberries) on Oct 2, 2019 at 8:40 am PDT

Zombie's success brought The Cranberries famous in several countries. Until finally in 1996, the band released another album titled To the Faithful Departed in 1996 and Bury the Hatchet three years later. The 90s were the heyday of The Cranberries.

Unfortunately, that triumph was slowly decreasing. After releasing the album Wake Up and Smell the Coffee in 2001 and their biggest hit compilation: The Best of 1992-2002 a year later, The Cranberries announced that they would be breaking up.

O'Riordan wanted to focus on his family and health, who was currently battling anorexia and anxiety disorder. Dolores also wanted to focus on her solo career, which at that time contributed to the song Pure Love for Zucchero. In May 2007, O'Riordan's solo debut, Are You Listening, was released worldwide. Two years later, O'Riordan returned to release an album titled No Baggage.

The release of this album coincided with his acting debut in a film called Secrets of Love. In 2010, The Cranberries returned to work with a reunion tour and a new album, Roses, which was released in 2012. However, in the following years, news regarding O'Riordan's work was not heard. In 2015, O'Riordan "broke the ice" by "exploring new territory" as a member of the DARK trio alongside The Smiths bassist Rourke and songwriter Ole Koretsky. They released and produced their debut DARK in 2016.

The following year, to be precise in 2017, The Cranberries returned with a rework of an acoustic version of Something Else, the hit album The Cranberries repackaged with three new tracks.

On January 14, 2018, O'Riordian sent Noel Hogan new songs. Not only for The Cranberries, he was currently writing songs for the album with DARK. On January 15, 2018 at 1:12 a.m., O'Riordan called Hogan from the hotel, leaving a cheerful voice message regarding the song he wrote. Hogan didn't think it would be Dolores' last vote.

The Cranberies of the Present

A year after Dolores O'Riordan's death, The Cranberries released a song called All Over Now. The song is taken from the In The End album which was released in April 2019.

All Over Now is an album that was worked on before O'Riordan died. The Cranberries had begun recording in 2017, picking up O'Riordan's full vocal demo in late 2017. Plans for the completion of the album were put on hold after the lead singer died. But in a statement released on The Cranberries website, the band explained the motivation behind the album's completion.

"As time went on, we started thinking about the best way to honor our close friends and bandmates. It was a very painful process. We remember how Dolores had been so excited by making this record and getting back to playing our songs live, and realized that the most meaningful thing to do was finish the album we made with him before. We felt that this was what he wanted. We talked to the Dolores' family and they agreed. "

The album In The End was nominated for best rock album at the 2020 Grammy Awards. This nomination was obtained for the first time without O'Riordan as well as marking The Cranberries' final activities, as the band has no plans to tour or record music again without its beloved vocalist.