The Cranberries

The Cranberries were 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.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. Niall Quinn, who also lived in the region, played with his own group called Hitchers and occasionally shared his experiences with the trio. Thereafter, they moved towards the idea of a four-piece ensemble and Quinn decided to stay on with the band. In mid-1989, Mike (16) and Noel (18) Hogan formed the Cranberry Saw Us with Lawler (18), and singer Quinn. The initial release from the Cranberry Saw Us was the demo EP Anything in January 1990. Shortly afterwards, Quinn amicably left the band to return to his previous group, Hitchers. 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. Lawler and the two Hogan brothers then placed an advertisement for a female singer. 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.

Biography summary from English Wikipedia, photograph via Wikimedia Commons.