The Cranberries

The Cranberries are an Irish alt-rock band who topped the charts in the mid-90s with tracks including “Zombie”, “Dreams” and “Linger”.

The Cranberries (originally The Cranberry Saw Us) comprise Dolores O'Riordan (vocals, guitar, keyboards), brothers Noel (electric and acoustic guitars) and Mike Hogan (bass), and Fergal Lawler (drums). The original male frontman left the band before they had even recorded a demo tape and was replaced with O'Riordan after an audition. Once they had the line-up set, they recorded a demo that sold well at shops around Ireland sparking a bidding war among various major labels.

Their debut album, Everybody Else is Doing It, So Why Can't We?, didn't originally make a dent in UK record sales and actually dropped out of the charts altogether, only to make a return (and eventually make it to No.1) after a tour that caught the attention of MTV, who put their video for the singles "Linger" and "Dreams" on heavy rotation.

The Cranberries' second release, No Need to Argue (1994), was their most commercially successful album to date, selling more than 16 million copies worldwide and spawning their biggest hit "Zombie". Things took a turn for the worse when their third release To the Faithful Departed (1996) came under scathing critical condemnation - it was even listed by Q Magazine as one of the 50 worst albums of all time.

Bury the Hatchet, their fourth album, saw the band return to touring and generated their most successful ever tour, including their first gig in Ireland in four years. Wake Up and Smell the Coffee proved to be not only their least successful album, selling less than 2 million copies worldwide, but also their last. The band decided to take a hiatus with all members now working with other bands or on solo projects.