Media Eye News Bureau: Dolores O'Riordan, lead singer of the Irish alternative band The Cranberries, died on Monday in London at the age of 46 as confirmed by her publicist. Her cause of death has not been revealed and has been classified as ‘unexplained’ by the police who arrived on Monday at London’s Park Lane hotel where O’Riordan was pronounced dead at the scene. A statement from her publicist revealed that the singer with the band was in London for a short recording session.
Her current band mates Noel Hogan, Fergal Lawler, and Mike Hogan paid tribute to the lead singer on social media with a touching message that read, "She was an extraordinary talent and we feel very privileged to have been part of her life from 1989."
The Irish musician, originally from Limerick, led The Cranberries to international success in the 90s with singles including Linger and Zombie and their 1993 debut album ‘Everybody Else Is Doing It, So Why Can't We?’ that went on to sell over 40 million records worldwide.
In 2017 The Cranberries announced a tour including dates in Europe, the UK, and the US. However, shortly into the European tour, the group had to cancel the remainder dates as a result of O'Riordan's health issues.
Irish president Michael D Higgins issued a statement where he acknowledged her death as a big loss, and added that O'Riordan's work with The Cranberries "had an immense influence on rock and pop music in Ireland and internationally".
Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar said she was "Limerick's greatest ever rock star", and that her band "captured all of the angst that came with your teenage years".
O'Riordan, the youngest of seven children, had written her own songs since she was 12. She joined the band as a teen after coming across an advert for a female singer for a rock band ‘The Cranberry Saw Us.’ O'Riordan then briefly pursued a solo career after the band split in 2003 before eventually reuniting with The Cranberries in 2009.
