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Dolores O'Riordan
Background information
Birth name	Dolores Mary Eileen O'Riordan
Born	6 September 1971 (1971-09-06) (age 37) Limerick, Ireland
Genre(s)	Alternative rock Indie rock Post-grunge Celtic rock
Occupation(s)	Singer-songwriter
Instrument(s)	Vocal, Guitar, Keyboards, Piccolo
Years active	1989-present
Label(s)	Sanctuary Records
Associated acts	The Cranberries
Website	Doloresoriordan.ie

Dolores Mary Eileen O'Riordan (Burton) (born 6 September 1971, County Limerick) is an Irish singer and songwriter. She led The Cranberries to worldwide success and fame for thirteen years before the band took a hiatus in 2003. Her first solo album Are You Listening? was released in May 2007.

Early life

Dolores O'Riordan was the youngest of seven in Ballybricken, Limerick, Ireland. She was born into a Catholic family.¹

Career

1989–2003: The Cranberries

In 1990 O'Riordan auditioned and won the role of lead singer for a band called The Cranberry Saw Us (later changed to The Cranberries).

The band released five 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) and Wake Up and Smell the Coffee (2001) and a greatest-hits compilation entitled Stars - The Best of 1992 - 2002 (2002), before they went on hiatus.

Throughout the '90s, O'Riordan was recognized for her changing hairstyles, from shoulder-length to very short crop in myriad colors and shades. She usually performs barefoot on stage.

2003–present: Solo career

It has been said that in 2003 O'Riordan was to feature on the soundtrack to Spider-Man 2 with the song "Black Widow," which is featured on her first solo album "Are You Listening?". However, she dismissed this as an unfounded internet rumor during an interview in 2007.² In 2004 O'Riordan appeared with the Italian artist Zucchero on the album Zu & Co., with the song "Pure Love". The album also featured other artists such as Sting, Sheryl Crow, Luciano Pavarotti, Miles Davis, John Lee Hooker, Macy Gray and Eric Clapton. The same year she worked with composer Angelo Badalamenti on the Evilenko soundtrack, providing vocals on several tracks, including "Angels Go The Heaven", the movie theme.

In 2005 she appeared on the Jam & Spoon's album Tripomatic Fairytales 3003 as a guest vocalist on the track "Mirror Lover". O'Riordan also made a cameo appearance in the Adam Sandler comedy Click, released on 23 June 2006, as a wedding singer performing an alternate version of The Cranberries' song "Linger", set to strings.

The first single, “Ordinary Day”, was produced by BRIT Awards winner, Youth, whose previous credits include The Verve, Embrace, Primal Scream, U2 and Paul McCartney.

O'Riordan made an appearance live on the The Late Late Show (Irish television) on 20 April 2007.

Are You Listening? was released on 4 May 2007 in the Republic of Ireland. It was subsequently released in Europe on 7 May 2007, and in North America on 15 May 2007, with "Ordinary Day" as its first single, released in late April. The video for "Ordinary Day" was shot in Prague. In August "When We Were Young" was released as the second single lifted from the album.³⁴

On 19 November 2007 she canceled the remainder of her European Tour (Lille, Paris, Luxembourg, Warsaw and Prague) due to illness. O'Riordan went on to perform a few small American club gigs in December, including Des Moines, Nashville, and a well-received free show in Charlottesville, Virginia.⁵ On the last day of 2008, it was announced on her official website that her second album, No Baggage, featuring eleven tracks, will be released August 24, 2009.

O'Riordan is set to make her acting debut in the upcoming David Grieco film, Secrets of Love. Principal photography is set to begin spring 2009. "Secrets of Love is a story about obsession; an obsession concerning the mysterious murder of singer Sarah Blisset (played by O'Riordan)", "Sarah was beautiful, really special. She was a dream, a myth, an icon... Adored and desired by everyone, people carried on listening to her songs. No one could forget her because, of course, true stars never die..."⁶

Band members

• Dolores O'Riordan - vocals
• Steve DeMarchi - guitar, backing vocals
• Denny DeMarchi - keyboards, guitars, flute, wind instruments, backing vocals
• Marco Mendoza - bass guitar, backing vocals
• Graham Hopkins - drums, percussion, backing vocals

Personal life

On 18 July 1994, O'Riordan married Don Burton, the former tour manager of Duran Duran. Their first child, Taylor Baxter, was born on 23 November 1997, during the break between the releases of To the Faithful Departed and Bury the Hatchet. Molly Leigh was born on 27 January 2001, and Dakota Rain on 10 April 2005.

In 1998 she bought a 61 hectares (150 acres) stud farm, called Riversfield Stud, located in Kilmallock, County Limerick. She lived there for six years before selling it in 2004.⁷

She was unsuccessfully sued by a former nanny, Joy Fahy, in 2004 for breach of contract.

In 2006 O'Riordan was listed among the ten richest women in Ireland.⁸

O'Riordan lives in Howth, County Dublin with her husband and their four children (one is from a previous relationship of Burton's). The family also spends time at a log cabin in Ontario, Canada.

Discography

Studio albums

Solo

• Are You Listening? (2007)
• No Baggage (August, 2009)

The Cranberries

• 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)

Other appearances

• Moose "Soon Is Never Soon Enough" (1992) (backing vocals)
• Touch of Oliver "Carousel" (1993) (backing vocals)
• Jah Wobble "The Sun Does Rise" (1994) (duet)
• "God Be With You" on The Devil's Own soundtrack (1997) (solo track)
• "It's Only Rock 'n' Roll" (various artists benefit single for A Children's Promise, Rolling Stones cover) (1999) (vocals)
• "Ave Maria" on Songs Inspired by the Passion of the Christ (2004) (solo track)
• "Angels Go To Heaven" & "The Woodstrip/There's No Way Out" (composed by Angelo Badalamenti) on Evilenko soundtrack (2004) (vocals)
• Zucchero "Pure Love" (2004) (duet)
• Jam & Spoon "Mirror Lover" (2005) (vocals)
• Angelo Badalamenti "The Butterfly" (2006) (vocals)
• Movie, "Click (film)," dir. by Frank Coraci starring Adam Sandler. "Linger," lounge version; appeared as the singer for the band during the son's wedding reception scene (2006)
• Giuliano Sangiorgi "Senza Fiato" (2007) (duet)
• "Centipede Sisters" on Roll Play 2 digital soundtrack (2008)

References

External links

Official Links

• Official Website

Fan sites

• Dolores O'Riordan at the Internet Movie Database
• Gay Wired interview with Dolores O'Riordan
• O'Riordan interview by Rob Townsend