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The early days of The Cranberries were marked by modest beginnings, rapid development, and the emergence of a unique sound that would soon resonate far beyond their native Limerick.
The band’s roots went back to 1989, when brothers Noel and Mike Hogan, on guitar and bass respectively, joined forces with drummer Fergal Lawler and a friend, Niall Quinn who had his own group The Hitchers but who now served as the band’s vocalist. They called themselves The Cranberry Saw Us, a play on words that hinted at their quirky, slightly offbeat approach.
The initial incarnation of the group played a handful of local gigs and recorded a short demo, but it quickly became apparent that Niall wasn’t committed to being the full-time frontman. Instead he suggested that the band look for a replacement, and that recommendation led to a pivotal moment in the band’s history. Dolores O’Riordan, a young singer-songwriter from nearby Ballybricken, auditioned for the role by singing and playing a rough version of what would later become "Linger." The band was immediately impressed—not only by her haunting voice but also by her melodic sensibility and lyrical depth. Her arrival marked the real beginning of what would become The Cranberries.
With Dolores now on board, the band shortened their name to The Cranberries and began to develop a signature sound that mixed jangly guitar textures with dreamy melodies and emotionally raw lyrics. In 1990, they recorded their first demo tape which included early versions of songs like "Linger" and "Dreams." This demo caught the attention of local music manager Pearse Gilmore, who helped them record a more polished demo, known as "Water Circle", at his studio. Distributed on cassette, "Water Circle" featured four tracks — "Linger," "Sunday," "Chrome Paint," and "A Fast One" and began circulating through industry hands in both Ireland and the UK.
Their demos eventually found their way to the desks of major record labels in London, sparking a bidding war that culminated in The Cranberries signing with Island Records in 1991. The band traveled to the UK to begin recording their debut album, but their initial sessions with producer Stephen Street were shelved due to pressure from the label and disagreements with an alternative producer imposed on them. The early recordings with the outside producer failed to capture the spirit and subtlety of the band’s demos, leading to a temporary loss of momentum.
However, the group eventually reconvened with Stephen Street, who had previously worked with The Smiths and Blur, resuming production under more favorable terms. Street’s sensitive approach and understanding of the band’s style proved to be a perfect fit, allowing the songs to breathe and giving Dolores O’Riordan’s vocals the space they needed to shine. It was during this time that the songs that would make up "Everybody Else Is Doing It, So Why Can’t We?" began to take their final shape.
Before the album’s release in 1993, The Cranberries toured extensively, opening for acts such as Suede and Duran Duran. These performances helped them hone their live sound and build a grassroots following. Though the music press was initially hesitant to embrace them, word of mouth spread quickly - especially after MTV picked up the video for "Linger." The blend of Dolores O’Riordan’s lilting voice, Noel Hogan’s shimmering guitar lines, and a rhythm section supplied by Fergal Lawler and Mike Hogan that prioritised mood over bombast, provided a refreshing departure from the grunge-dominated charts of the early ’90s.
By now, The Cranberries had already grown from a little-known Limerick band into rising stars of the alternative rock scene. Their early days had been marked by youthful determination, artistic intuition, and a quiet confidence that allowed them to stay true to their identity even as the music industry tried to mold them into something else. The band’s perseverance during those formative years laid the groundwork for the global success that was soon to follow.
The Cranberries’ debut album "Everybody Else Is Doing It, So Why Can’t We?", released on the 1st March 1993, stands as a poignant, dreamlike entry into the musical landscape of the early 1990s—a time when alternative rock was beginning to dominate airwaves, yet few bands approached it with the same delicacy and lyrical introspection that The Cranberries did. This album was not a bombastic declaration of intent, but rather a graceful unveiling: quiet, assured, and utterly disarming.
From the opening notes of "I Still Do," the album announced itself with a softness and intimacy that was almost subversive for its era. The instrumentation throughout is clean and unassuming, built largely on Noel Hogan’s chiming guitars, Mike Hogan’s subtly melodic bass lines, and Fergal Lawler’s understated drumming. The production by Stephen Street — renowned for his work with The Smiths — allowed the songs to breathe, giving space to the real centerpiece of the album: Dolores O’Riordan’s voice. Her vocals on "Everybody Else" are arresting in their clarity and emotional honesty. Her ability to shift from a gentle murmur to a soaring lament, often within the same line, imbued the lyrics with a confessional quality. This was particularly evident on the album’s two standout singles, "Linger" and "Dreams." "Linger," a song of betrayal and yearning, was carried by a string arrangement that lent it a timeless elegance, while "Dreams," bursting with optimism and romantic wonder, captured the giddy ache of youthful love. Both songs remain among the most iconic of the decade, not only for their melodic beauty but for the way they seemed to tap directly into universal emotions with astonishing purity.
The rest of the album is similarly textured with longing and vulnerability. "Sunday" and "Pretty" explored themes of confusion, insecurity, and the search for self-worth, while "Waltzing Back" and "Not Sorry" hinted at a more assertive tone beneath the album’s surface gentleness. Even in its more upbeat moments, the album never strayed from its core emotional honesty. There was a quiet courage in Dolores O’Riordan’s writing — her willingness to express doubt, fear, and desire without posturing or artifice was rare in a musical climate often dominated by irony or aggression.
Lyrically, the album was steeped in personal reflection, yet its themes were universally resonant. Much of it was written while the band was still coming of age, and the songs reflect that sense of young adulthood teetering between innocence and experience. The title itself — "Everybody Else Is Doing It, So Why Can’t We?" —encapsulated the band’s outlook: a mix of self-doubt, quiet defiance, and a longing to belong.
Though the album was not an immediate commercial hit, it began to gather momentum thanks to the strength of its singles and the band’s persistent touring. With the support of MTV, radio play, and a growing fanbase, it eventually climbed the charts, particularly in the United States and the United Kingdom. By the end of its run, it had sold millions of copies worldwide, making The Cranberries one of the most successful new acts of the decade.
More than thirty years later, "Everybody Else Is Doing It, So Why Can’t We?" endures not only as a snapshot of early ’90s alternative music but as a deeply human, emotionally intelligent work of art. Its influence can be felt in the wave of introspective indie and dream pop artists that followed, and its songs continue to resonate with listeners across generations. As a debut, it was remarkably assured; as an album, it remains a quietly monumental achievement in emotional storytelling through song.
Released in October 1994, "No Need to Argue" was The Cranberries’ second studio album, and it confirmed the band’s transition from promising newcomers to one of the defining alternative acts of the decade. Building on the melodic foundations of their debut, "Everybody Else Is Doing It, So Why Can’t We?", the record presented a darker, more forceful tone both musically and lyrically, revealing a group newly confident in its identity. It combined the haunting intimacy of Dolores O’Riordan’s voice with a rawer, more guitar-driven sound that reflected both personal turmoil and broader political unease.
The album opened with “Ode to My Family,” a tender, reflective ballad that set a tone of longing and nostalgia. With its plaintive cello line, gentle strumming, and Dolores’ yearning delivery - “Understand what I’ve become / It wasn’t my design” - the song captured the tension between youthful ambition and the ache for simpler roots. It was one of the band’s most affecting works, both understated and emotionally direct.
By contrast, “Zombie,” the album’s most famous track, erupted with anger and despair. Written by Dolores in response to the 1993 bombing in Warrington, England, which killed two young children, the song represented a dramatic stylistic departure. Layered with heavy, distorted guitars and thunderous drums, it carried a grunge-inspired intensity that placed The Cranberries firmly in the mid-’90s alternative rock landscape. Dolores’ searing vocal performance - alternating between ethereal verses and an anguished, shouted chorus - channeled both fury and sorrow, transforming the song into an international anthem of protest. Its video, with its stark religious imagery and gold-painted Dolores, became one of the defining visuals of the MTV era.
Elsewhere, "No Need to Argue" explored the fragile spaces between love, loss, and identity. “I Can’t Be With You” combined ringing guitars and a driving rhythm with lyrics of separation and regret, while “Twenty One” and “Daffodil Lament” expanded the band’s emotional range, blending melancholy melody with dynamic shifts and delicate textures. The latter, in particular, was one of Dolores’ most ambitious compositions, evolving from soft introspection to a sweeping, cathartic close.
Songs like “Empty” and “Disappointment” revealed the band’s growing sophistication in arrangement and tone. The production, by Stephen Street, balanced clarity and atmosphere - retaining the clean, chiming guitars that had defined the debut, but grounding them with greater depth and weight. His experience with The Smiths and Blur was evident in the mix’s ability to let Dolores’ voice cut through the instrumentation without sacrificing the band’s collective cohesion.
Lyrically, Dolores’ writing was notably more confessional and direct. She sang of heartbreak and alienation, but also of strength and survival. Her Irish lilt and occasional use of Celtic melodic phrasing lent the songs an unmistakable sense of place, even as the themes were universal. Noel Hogan’s guitar work alternated between bright arpeggios and dense, distorted layers, while Mike Hogan’s bass and Fergal Lawler’s drumming gave the music a steady, understated pulse that anchored its emotional volatility.
The title track, which closed the album, stripped away much of the arrangement to leave Dolores’ voice and a spare organ accompaniment. It was an elegiac, almost hymn-like conclusion - a moment of weary reflection after the turmoil of what had come before. Its simplicity underscored the emotional sincerity that ran through the record.
Critically, "No Need to Argue" divided opinion upon release: some found its heavier sound a jarring departure from the debut’s pastoral charm, while others praised it as a bold and necessary evolution. Over time, it has come to be regarded as the band’s artistic peak - a record that fused introspection and outrage, melody and dissonance, with uncommon grace. Commercially, it was a major success, selling over 17 million copies worldwide and cementing The Cranberries’ place among the most influential alternative rock groups of the 1990s.
More than three decades later, the album endures not just for its singles but for its atmosphere - the mixture of vulnerability and defiance that Dolores conveyed so instinctively. "No Need to Argue" captured a band coming into its full power, and an artist whose voice could move from a whisper to a wail and make both feel utterly human.
The band’s third album, "To the Faithful Departed", was released in 1996 and further explored themes of loss, war, and personal introspection. Songs like "Salvation" took a more aggressive approach, both musically and lyrically, while "Free to Decide" and "When You're Gone" offered more reflective, melancholic tones. Despite mixed reviews, the album solidified the band’s commitment to using their music as a platform for commentary and catharsis.
In 1999, they released "Bury the Hatchet", which marked a return to more melodic and introspective songwriting. Tracks like "Animal Instinct" and "Just My Imagination" returned to themes of family, innocence, and hope, while maintaining the band’s signature emotional depth. The album reflected a matured sound, with a more polished production that retained the band's core identity.
Their fifth album, "Wake Up and Smell the Coffee", arrived in 2001 and continued in a similar vein, blending introspective lyrics with alternative rock arrangements. Though it didn’t achieve the same level of commercial success as their earlier work, songs like "Analyse" and "Time Is Ticking Out" reflected their ongoing engagement with both personal and global concerns. After its release, the band entered a hiatus, with members pursuing solo projects.
The Cranberries reunited in 2009 and went on to release "Roses" in 2012. This album revisited the atmospheric style of their early years, with tracks such as "Tomorrow" and "Conduct" drawing on themes of love, resilience, and memory. The album was seen as a return to form, appreciated by long-time fans for its melodic cohesion and lyrical sincerity.
Following the sudden death of Dolores O’Riordan in January 2018, the remaining members completed work on what would become the band’s final studio album. "In The End" was released in 2019 and served as both a tribute and a farewell. Featuring Dolores O’Riordan’s final vocal recordings, the album included songs like "All Over Now" and "The Pressure," which balanced the sorrow of her loss with a sense of closure and gratitude. The album was met with emotional acclaim, honoring the legacy of one of alternative rock’s most distinctive voices.
Throughout their career, The Cranberries sold over 40 million albums worldwide and left an indelible mark on 1990s rock music. The ability of Fergal, Noel and Mike to blend melodic beauty with emotional intensity, paired with Dolores O’Riordan’s singular voice, ensured their place in music history.
The above is just one of the many profiles of leading songwriters, singers, musicians and music industry personnel, published by the International Songwriters Association and "Songwriter Magazine". Please click HERE for more.
© Jim Liddane
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