LONDON (CelebrityAccess) — Dolores O’Riordan, lead singer of the Irish rock band The Cranberries, has died. She was 46.
A statement released by her publicist said: “Irish and international singer Dolores O’Riordan has died suddenly in London today. She was 46 years old.
“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.
“Family members are devastated to hear the breaking news and have requested privacy at this very difficult time.”
While a cause of death for O’Riordan was not disclosed, she was forced to cancel a tour by the revived Cranberries last June due to health complications with her back.
The Cranberries were touring in support of ‘Something Else’ their first new album since 2001 and were slated to perform intimate shows in Europe, parts of the UK and North America when O’Riordan health issues forced the group to terminate the tour.
“It is with a heavy heart that we have had to pull these shows. Dolores is making good progress however we understandably don’t want to jeopardise a full recovery. We have really been thrilled to be back on the road and sharing our music with everyone, and so look forward to seeing everyone as soon as possible,” a statement from the band said at the time.
A native of Limerick, Ireland, O’Riordan landed a role as the lead singer for the band that would later become the Cranberries through an audition in 1990.
O’Riordan’s distinctive vocal style helped to propel the band to chart success, with album sales topping more than 40 million over the course of their career.
Between 1990 and 2003, when the group went on hiatus, the Crans released five albums, including ‘Everybody Else Is Doing It, So Why Can’t We?’ (1993), ‘No Need to Argue’ (1994), ‘To the Faithful Departed’ (1996), ‘Bury the Hatchet’ (1999), ‘Wake Up and Smell the Coffee’ (2001), and a greatest-hits comp Stars: The Best of 1992–2002 (2002),
After the Cranberries went on break, O’Riordan launched a solo career, releasing two albums, ‘Are you listening’ (2007) and ‘No Baggage’ (2009).
More recently, she had teamed up with Andy Rourke of The Smiths and Ole Koretsky in a new project D.A.R.K. and released a new album “Science Agrees” in September 2016.
Riordan split with her husband, Don Burton, former tour manager of Duran Duran, in 2014. That year she avoided a criminal conviction after an air rage incident, according to the BBC. Riordan suffered from bipolar disorder.
