The Cranberries were<!--This article is written in Irish English. Do not change to was!--> an Irish rock band formed in Limerick in 1989. The band was composed of lead vocalist/guitarist Dolores O'Riordan, guitarist Noel Hogan, bassist Mike Hogan (Noel's brother) and drummer Fergal Lawler; O'Riordan replaced founding member Niall Quinn in 1990. The band classified themselves as an alternative rock group, but their sound blended elements of indie rock, jangle pop, dream pop, folk rock, post-punk, and pop rock.
The band, originally named The Cranberry Saw Us, was renamed after the addition of O'Riordan. They achieved international fame with their debut album, Everybody Else Is Doing It, So Why Can't We? (1993), which produced the hit singles "Dreams" and "Linger". This success was continued with their second album, No Need to Argue (1994), whose single "Zombie" became a stadium anthem and the band's signature song. The band issued two more albums, To the Faithful Departed (1996) and Bury the Hatchet (1999), to similar success.
The Cranberries's fifth album, Wake Up and Smell the Coffee (2001), did not meet the success of their preceding albums. Following a six-year hiatus from 2003 to 2009, the Cranberries embarked on a North American tour that was followed by shows in Latin America and Europe. Eleven years after Wake Up and Smell the Coffee, they released their sixth album, Roses (2012). They expanded their musical style with their seventh album, Something Else (2017). After O'Riordan's death in 2018, the remaining members released their acclaimed final album, In the End (2019), and disbanded.
The Cranberries were one of the best-selling alternative acts of the 1990s, having sold nearly 50 million albums worldwide as of 2019. Their accolades included an Ivor Novello Award, a Juno Award, an MTV Europe Music Award and a World Music Award, in addition to nominations for a Brit Award and a Grammy Award. The music video for "Zombie" is the first by an Irish band to reach one billion views on YouTube.
History
1989–1991: Formation and early years
Brothers Noel Hogan and Mike Hogan, descendants of the nineteenth-century Irish poet Michael Hogan, met Fergal Lawler in the mid-1980s. The young kids who grew up together in Limerick, Ireland, also shared their love of 1980s English/indie music and were "galvanised by punk's DIY ethic". Lawler received his first drum kit as a Christmas present when he was about seventeen; two months later, Mike Hogan received his first bass and his brother his first guitar. Despite this unexpected break-up, the three musicians transitioned to an instrumental group for several months, continuing to improve on ideas and song structures of instrumental pieces. Subsequently, Quinn introduced the trio to a friend of his girlfriend's sister, mentioning that she was a singer-songwriter looking for a group who would compose original music. O'Riordan said of the first encounter "I really liked what I heard; I thought they were very nice and tight. It was a lovely potential band but they needed a singer – and direction". and then acknowledged: "how come she's not already in a band? [...] that day changed our lives". "It was that thing where you've found somebody that you clicked with, and you wanted to get as much as you could out of that," says Hogan.
The fledgling band recorded a four-track demo EP called Water Circle, released in cassette format by local record label Xeric Records.
In July 1990, the group performed their first gig with O'Riordan at a hotel basement called Ruby's Club, Cruises Hotel, Limerick, performing six original songs to an audience of 60 people including three other local groups. The owner of Xeric Studios, Pearse Gilmore, became their manager and provided the group with studio time to complete a demo tape, which he produced. Nothing Left at All began to circulate in the UK with the support of John Best PR agency. Then, they performed their first UK tour opening for the British band Moose over the course of three weeks. The Cranberries received more letters expressing interest from Virgin, EMI, Imago, CBS, and Warner, which led the Hogan brothers to quit their jobs. The EP received poor reviews in the press and led to tension between the group and Gilmore. By this time, Gilmore began restricting information to the Cranberries and made separate arrangements with Island's U.S. branch.
1992–1995: Everybody Else Is Doing It, So Why Can't We? and No Need to Argue
After a difficult recording session, intended for their first album on Island Records in January 1992, the band scrapped their work and fired Gilmore. In late 1993, the band toured extensively throughout the US By mid-1994, the Cranberries' North America tour drew an attendance of 10,000 to 13,500 per show.
The group reunited with Street for No Need to Argue, which was released on 3 October 1994. It would go on to peak at No. 6 on the U.S. charts and eventually outsold its predecessor. Within a year it went triple platinum, spawning the number-one hit "Zombie" and the No. 11 "Ode to My Family" on the Modern Rock Tracks chart. By March 1994, the Cranberries won the Top International Act of Music Week (UK). On 13 August 1994, during their US tour, the Cranberries performed at Woodstock II in Saugerties, New York. Ed Power of The Telegraph wrote that the Cranberries "superstardom was sealed by a November 1994 rendition of 'Zombie' on Late Show with David Letterman"; he said, "It was a dark, sludgy appearance, topped off by O'Riordan's stunning transformation from indie urchin to blonde-dyed rock chick in high boots". In 1995, the band continued touring and released two more singles, "I Can't Be with You" and "Ridiculous Thoughts". On 20 February 1995, the Cranberries received a nomination at the Brit Awards in the International Group category at the 15th edition of the annual pop music awards in the United Kingdom. thumb|The crowd scene before a riot broke out during the Cranberries concert on [[National Mall in Washington, D.C., on 15 May 1995]]On 15 May 1995, the Cranberries had planned an impromptu free acoustic set for 3,000 people at National Sylvan Theater in Washington, D.C. The show was organized and promoted by radio station WHFS, which had paid for the use of five U.S. park police officers. In mid-1995, the Cranberries had broken the American market; while the UK bands had failed. At that time, the band was Ireland's biggest musical export since U2. In 1995 the Cranberries performed "Ode to My Family" at the World Music Awards, winning the Award for Best Irish Recording Artists. They were named Best Irish Recording Artists at the 10th annual Irish Music awards, held at Dublin's Burlington Hotel. On 23 November 1995 the Cranberries won the "Best Song" award for "Zombie" at the 1995 MTV Europe Music Awards, beating out Michael Jackson's "You Are Not Alone". During the No Need to Argue European tour '95, the Cranberries performed to more than 500,000 people, with peak attendance reaching 20,000 people per night in United States.
1996–2000: To the Faithful Departed and Bury the Hatchet
The band's third album, To the Faithful Departed, was released on 30 April 1996, peaking at No. 2 in the UK and No. 4 on the Billboard 200. Although To the Faithful Departed sold four million copies in six weeks and went double platinum in the US and Gold in the UK, it failed to match the sales of its predecessors. The album was "mauled" by the press due to the politically charged songs "Bosnia", "War Child", and the real, unaltered sound of gunshots in "I Just Shot John Lennon". In November 1996 "When You're Gone" was released as a single in the US, peaking at No. 22 on the Billboard Hot 100. as O'Riordan re-injured her knee during a concert in Cairns on 8 June. The tour resumed in August 1996 in North America, but they never finished it and canceled the European leg, citing O'Riordan's "ill health". On 19 May 1997, the band received an Ivor Novello Award for International Achievement at London's Grosvenor House. On 12 November 1998, Dolores O'Riordan and Fergal Lawler made an appearance at the 1998 MTV Europe Music Awards in Milan and presented the award for best song. On 11 December 1998, the band played "Dreams", "Promises" and "Linger" at the Nobel Peace Prize Concert at Oslo Spektrum in Norway. "Promises" was performed live for the first time, four months before the release of Bury the Hatchet. At that time, the Cranberries were named as one of the "Most Outstanding Irish Bands of All Time", along with Van Morrison and U2.
thumb|left|The Cranberries performing in Milan, 1999. From left to right: [[Noel Hogan and O'Riordan]]On 19 April 1999, the band released Bury the Hatchet. The album's first single, "Promises", was released in February. "Promises" would be the only single from the album to chart in the US and the last U.S. chart single released by the band before their hiatus. The album's third and fourth singles were "Just My Imagination" and "You & Me", respectively. The band had a guest appearance on popular television series Charmed, performing "Just My Imagination" on the fifth episode of the second season, "She's a Man, Baby, a Man!". The Cranberries undertook a 110-date world tour which drew more than one million fans. The group partnered with Ticketmaster.com to be the first artists to sell tickets for a national tour exclusively online. It was the biggest and most successful tour of the Cranberries' career.
2001–2008: Wake Up and Smell the Coffee and hiatus
On 22 October 2001, the album Wake Up and Smell the Coffee was released; the band's old producer Stephen Street returned to produce the album. Noel Hogan observed "with little effort from our label, we have been pleased to see top-10 sales in many countries". Rolling Stones David Browne said that "even as their sound grew edgier and punkier, they never lost their fan base, for whom the troubled O'Riordan remained a relatable pop star".
In September 2003, the band announced they were taking some time to pursue individual careers, as well as concentrate on family, and scrapped sessions for a sixth studio release. Initially, a two-year sabbatical was confirmed, while O'Riordan assured that the group would just take a hiatus, she said "we've been together for 13 years; it's a much needed break. It was getting predictable and lacking in a challenge; time to experiment." Noel and Mike Hogan started a new project called Mono Band, Noel Hogan has also been working as a producer with Supermodel Twins, from his native Limerick and Remma. In April 2006, Mike Hogan and his wife Siobhán opened a café called The Sage Café, on Catherine Street in the heart of Limerick City. The café closed on 25 September 2017. Fergal Lawler was a member of the Low Network, whose first album was released in 2007.
2009–2017: Reunion, Roses and Something Else
The Cranberries reunited in January 2009 to celebrate O'Riordan becoming an Honorary Patron of University Philosophical Society (Trinity College, Dublin). The group indicated at the time that this did not signify an official reunion, but on 25 August 2009, in anticipation of the release of No Baggage, O'Riordan announced that the Cranberries would be reuniting for a North American and European tour. O'Riordan indicated that the band would be playing songs from her solo albums and a lot of the Cranberries' classic hits as well as some new group compositions. At this point of their career, the Cranberries were managed by Danny Goldberg, former Nirvana and Kurt Cobain manager. In 2011, the actual Water Circle demo tape emerged, widely assumed to be the first appearance of the Cranberries with the vocal of Dolores O'Riordan. A private collector from United States submitted the bid to US$1499.95 via eBay store; the offer was eclipsed later. alt=The band onstage|thumb|The Cranberries after reforming in 2012. From left to right: Fergal Lawler, O'Riordan, and Mike Hogan
The Cranberries recorded Roses at the Metalworks Studios in Mississauga, Canada, from 18 April to 15 May 2011 with Stephen Street, Roses was released on 27 February 2012. The sixth studio album, Roses, peaked at 51 on the Billboard 200 chart and achieved numerous placements on other Billboard charts, such as No. 4 on the Independent Albums, No. 6 on the Canadian Albums Chart, No. 9 on the Alternative Albums, No. 10 on the Rock Albums and No. 20 on Tastemaker Albums chart. On 18 February 2012 the Cranberries returned to the stage of the Ariston Theatre where they presented their new single "Tomorrow" in Sanremo at the 62nd Song Festival di Sanremo, Italy. They performed "Tomorrow" and "Zombie", having been invited on more than one occasion to the festival. O'Riordan started legal proceedings against Noel Hogan in October 2013. The case was struck out in July 2015 and the cause was not divulged.
An acoustic Cranberries album titled Something Else was released on 28 April 2017, through BMG. Something Else featured orchestral arrangements of prior releases, re-recorded in 2016 acoustically with the Irish Chamber Orchestra, and three new songs: "The Glory", "Why", and "Rupture". After the release of Something Else, the group announced a tour which was to include dates in Europe, parts of the UK, and North America. The shows were scheduled in smaller venues, with live orchestral accompaniment. However, in May 2017, shortly into the European tour, the Cranberries had to cancel the remainder of the European dates due to O'Riordan's health, with the band's website citing "medical reasons associated with a back problem". The North American tour dates were cancelled in July when her recovery had not progressed enough for her to participate.
2018–2019: Death of O'Riordan, In The End and breakup
On 15 January 2018, O'Riordan died unexpectedly in London, England. She had recently arrived in London for a studio mixing session on her D.A.R.K. album and to discuss the upcoming album of the band with record label BMG. The inquest into her death was adjourned until 3 April while the coroner awaited the results of "various tests". On 6 September 2018, it was ruled that she had accidentally drowned in her hotel room's bathtub due to sedation by alcohol poisoning. In mid-September 2018, Noel Hogan confirmed that the Cranberries would not continue as a band, but would release their final album, In the End, before their dissolution. During the 2017 tour, and the following winter, O'Riordan and Noel Hogan had written and demoed eleven tracks. Her recorded vocal demos for the album were stored in her personal hard disk drive from her home in New York City. Hogan stated: "We will do this album and then that will be it. No one wants to do this without Dolores..." "So there's a song called 'In the End', it's the last song on the album, and it just kind of summed up the whole album and the band. Because it's definitely the end of it for us. So we've called it that."
On 15 January 2019, one year after O'Riordan's death, the band released "All Over Now", the first single from In the End. The band released the single "Wake Me When It's Over" on 19 March 2019. The Cranberries released the title track of the album, "In the End" on 16 April 2019, which was the last song recorded by O'Riordan before her death. The Cranberries released In the End on 26 April 2019. No. 11 in France, No. 4 in Italy, No. 3 in Ireland, and charted in the Top 10 of the UK Official Charts. In the End also went to No. 7 on the Billboard Independent Albums chart, and No. 10 on the Billboard Top Alternative Albums chart. The Cranberries' final album, In the End, was nominated for Best Rock Album at the 62nd Annual Grammy Awards.
On 18 January 2019, Noel Hogan, Mike Hogan, and Fergal Lawler were conferred with honorary doctorates by University of Limerick. A posthumous award was presented to Eileen O'Riordan, mother of Dolores O'Riordan. Saint Sister, a duo from Northern Ireland, performed an a cappella rendition of "Dreams" at Lyra McKee's funeral in Belfast on 24 April 2019; McKee was murdered by the New IRA in April 2019.
Post-breakup
In early April 2021, "Zombie" topped the Billboards Alternative Digital Song Sales chart. On 6 September 2021, the band released the compilation album Remembering Dolores. The album peaked at number 50 on the UK Album Sales Chart, number 48 on the UK Physical Albums Chart, number 36 on the UK Vinyl Albums Chart, and number 33 on the UK Record Store Chart.
On 25 March 2024, the Cranberries released the Wrapped Around Your Finger EP; the extended play contained the songs: "Linger", "Dreaming My Dreams", "When You're Gone", "(They Long To Be) Close To You", "I Really Hope", and "Dreams".
On 28 June 2024, the Cranberries released a remix of "Linger" by Iain Cook. Lawler said that "Iain did an outstanding job in remixing 'Linger'. He reimagined the song completely, creating a fresh and upbeat version of this classic. Dolores's original vocal is retained and sounds so beautiful and vulnerable at times. I'm sure she would have loved it." The 15 August 2025 30th anniversary deluxe reissue of No Need to Argue included two further Cook remixes, "Ode to My Family" and "Zombie." Footage from the original music videos of both tracks were used to produce new videos for the remixes.
On 31 August 2025, brothers Noel and Mike Hogan, billed as themselves, performed a set of Cranberries material with Irish singer Dermot Kennedy, backed by the RTÉ Concert Orchestra, at the Electric Picnic festival at Stradbally Estate in County Laois, Ireland.
Artistry
Musical style
alt=Hogan looking to the camera|thumb|Co-founder and guitarist [[Noel Hogan co-wrote many of the band's songs.]]
The Cranberries were defined as an alternative rock band. The band's sound, characterised by Noel Hogan's guitar-driven indie rock, combined musical genres ranging from jangle pop, indie pop, and folk music styles (notably Irish folk)to post-punk, embodied by the drumming style "Salvation" has been considered as straight-ahead punk rock. With their final album, In the End, the Cranberries returned to their musical origins with the same "simplicity" that initiated their 1993 debut album, in a matured version.
The band's music has been likened to Sinéad O'Connor and Siouxsie and the Banshees. O'Riordan stated her singing style incorporating yodelling was inspired by her father, who used to sing "The Lonesome Cattle Call": "I just kept with my father all the time, just copying him and eventually I learned how to do it. Then over the years there were artists like Sinéad O'Connor and Siouxsie from Siouxsie and the Banshees and even Peter Harvey was doing it. It was something that you could work into The Cranberries' format because a lot of that was used in religious Irish music". O'Riordan was influenced by Gregorian chant, and by her experiences singing solo in local church, school choir, traditional Irish ballads and songs in both English and Irish. Echo & the Bunnymen, At the time of O'Riordan's death, more than 40 million of the Cranberries albums were sold worldwide. In March 2019, the Cranberries had sold close to 50 million albums worldwide. No Need to Argue went 5× platinum in Canada, platinum in Switzerland, and 7× platinum in the United States.
On 10 March 1996, the Cranberries received the Best-Selling Album Award for No Need to Argue at the 26th Annual Juno Awards. In October 2016, the Cranberries received a BMI Award in London for three million radio plays in the United States of their single "Dreams" taken from their debut studio album. 25 years after the release of the album No Need to Argue. becoming the third video from the 1990s, and the sixth from the 20th century,
Accolades
{| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders"
|-
! scope="col" | Award
! scope="col" | Year
! scope="col" | Nominee(s)
! scope="col" | Category
! scope="col" | Result
! scope="col" class="unsortable"|
|-
|scope="row"|BMI Awards
| 1996
| Dolores O'Riordan
| Songwriter of the Year
|
| style="text-align:center" |
|-
|scope="row" rowspan=2|BMI London Awards
| 2022
| rowspan=2|"Dreams"
| 4 Million Award
|
| style="text-align:center" |
|-
| 2025
| 5 Million Award
|
| style="text-align:center" |
|-
|scope="row"|Brit Awards
| 1995
| Themselves
| International Group
|
| style="text-align:center" |
|-
|scope="row" rowspan=4|Cash Box Year-End Awards
| rowspan=3|1994
| rowspan=3|Themselves
| Top Alternative Crossover Artist
|
| rowspan=3|
|-
| Pop Albums: Top New Alternative Crossover Group
|
|-
| Pop Singles: Top New Alternative Crossover Group
|
|-
| 1995
| No Need to Argue
| Top Pop Album
|
|
|-
| Echo Music Prize
| 1996
| Themselves
| Best International Group
|
|
|-
|scope="row"|Grammy Awards
| 2020
| In the End
| Best Rock Album
|
| style="text-align:center" |
|-
|scope="row" rowspan=2|Ivor Novello Awards
| 1995
| "Zombie"
| Best Contemporary Song
|
| style="text-align:center" |
|-
| 1997
| Noel Hogan and Dolores O'Riordan
| International Achievement
|
| style="text-align:center" |
|-
|scope="row"|Juno Awards
|1996
|No Need to Argue
|International Album of the Year
|
| style="text-align:center" |
|-
|scope="row"|Pollstar Concert Industry Awards
| 1993
| Tour
| Best New Rock Artist Tour Tour
|
| style="text-align:center" |
|-
|scope="row"|MTV Europe Music Awards
| 1995
| "Zombie"
| Best Song
|
| style="text-align:center" |
|-
|scope="row" rowspan=4|MTV Video Music Awards
| 1994
| "Linger"
| rowspan=2|Viewer's Choice — MTV Europe
|
| style="text-align:center" |
|-
| rowspan=2|1995
| rowspan=2|"Zombie"
|
| style="text-align:center" rowspan=2|
|-
| Best Alternative Video
|
|-
| 1996
| "Salvation"
| Best Art Direction in a Video
|
| style="text-align:center" |
|-
|scope="row"|World Music Awards
|1995
|"Ode to My Family"
|Best Irish Recording Artists
|
| style="text-align:center" |
|-
| scope="row" rowspan=2|Žebřík Music Awards
| rowspan=2|1994
| Themselves
| Best International Breakthrough
|
| rowspan=2 style="text-align:center" |
|-
| "Zombie"
| Best International Song
|
|}
Band members
Principal members
- Mike Hogan – bass <small>(1989–2003, 2009–2019)</small>
- Noel Hogan – guitar, mandolin, keyboards, synthesizers, backing vocals <small>(1989–2003, 2009–2019)</small>
- Fergal Lawler – drums, percussion <small>(1989–2003, 2009–2019)</small>
- Dolores O'Riordan – lead vocals, guitar, keyboards, mandolin <small>(1990–2003, 2009–2018; her death)</small>
Former members
- Niall Quinn – lead vocals, guitar <small>(1989–1990)</small>
Touring musicians
- Russell Burton – keyboards, guitar <small>(1996–2003, 2012)</small>
- Steve DeMarchi – guitar, backing vocals <small>(1996–2003)</small>
- Denny DeMarchi – keyboards, guitar, backing vocals <small>(2009–2011; died 2020)</small>
- Johanna Cranitch – backing vocals <small>(2012–2017)</small>
- Olé Koretsky – guitar <small>(2017)</small>
Discography
Studio albums
- 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)
- Roses (2012)
- Something Else (2017)
- In the End (2019)
See also
- If I Were a Carpenter
Notes
References
Sources
Further reading
External links
- The Cranberries Tiny Desk Concerts by NPR (23 February 2012)