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Fans of Irish rock star Dolores O’Riordan were in mourning Monday after learning that the Cranberries singer died suddenly while visiting London.
Police said O’Riordan, 46, was found in a room at the Hilton London on Monday morning, but could not comment on how she died, the Daily Mail reported. Police classified her death as “unexplained.”
The band’s publicist said that the singer had been in London for a short recording session, adding that her family is “devastated.” O’Riordan is survived by her ex-husband and three children, Taylor Baxter, Molly Leigh and Dakota Rain.
The Irish Times noted that the Cranberries had been forced to cancel tour dates in 2017 due to medical issues O’Riordan had related to “a back problem.”
But in May 2017, O’Riordan also opened up about her recent diagnosis of bipolar disorder in an interview with Metro.
Bipolar disorder is a mental illness associated with unusual shifts in mood, energy and activity levels and the ability to carry out day-to-day tasks, according to the National Institutes of Mental Health.
O’Riordan said she had struggled with extreme mood swings throughout her life.
“There are two ends of the spectrum — you can get extremely depressed and dark and lose interest in the things you love to do, then you can get super manic,” she said.
“I was at the hypomanic side of the spectrum on and off for a long period, but generally you can only last at that end for around three months before you hit rock bottom and go down into depression,” she continued.
During a hypomanic episode, people, including those in the arts, may be highly productive, confident and function well, with the ideas and motivation pouring out of them. But with severe episodes of mania or depression, a person can also have psychotic symptoms, such as hallucinations, delusions or paranoia.
O’Riordan had apparently dealt with some of the extreme symptoms of mania, saying, “When you’re manic you don’t sleep and get very paranoid. So I’m dealing with it with medication.”
But O’Riordan’s mental health issues had arisen earlier, the Associated Press reported. In 2014, she was accused of assaulting three police officers and a flight attendant during a flight from New York to Ireland. She pleaded guilty and was fined $6,600.
Medical records given to the court indicated she was mentally ill at the time of the altercation. After her court hearing O’Riordan urged other people suffering mental illness to seek help.
She acknowledged that “Rupture,” a song on the Cranberries’ new album “Something Else” addresses depression. The lyrics include: “Save me save me save me save me someone/Save me save me save me save me something … You put a hole in my heart … Rupture the hole in my heart.”
O’Riordan told Metro that her future musical goals included doing another album and working with more artists. “I haven’t been doing too much over the last five years,” she said. “Sometimes you go through periods where you’re not writing music, you’re just dealing with your personal life.”
Born in Limerick, Ireland, O’Riordan joined the Smiths-inspired Cranberries in 1990. Fronting the alternative rock quartet, she helped make the Cranberries into what Rolling Stone in 1995 called “Ireland’s biggest musical export since U2.”
The band enjoyed multi-platinum success with the albums “Everybody Else Is Doing It, So Why Can’t We?” and “No Need to Argue.” The latter featured the hit lead single “Zombie,” a politically tinged song about a young child killed in a terror attack.
The band’s popularity began to recede in the 2000s, and O’Riordan briefly embarked on a solo career in 2007 but reunited with the band in 2009.
Even though the band cancelled its U.S. and European tour dates in July due to O’Riordan’s health issues, they were gearing up to tour again. On Dec. 20, O’Riordan tweeted from the band’s official account, saying that she had performed in New York at Billboard’s annual staff holiday party.
“Hi All, Dolores here. Feeling good!”
Hi All, Dolores here. Feeling good! I did my first bit of gigging in months at the weekend, performed a few songs at the Billboard annual staff holiday party in New York with the house band. Really enjoyed it! Happy Christmas to all our fans!! Xo
— The Cranberries (@The_Cranberries) December 20, 2017
“Late Late Show” host James Corden was among those mourning O’Riordan’s death. He tweeted:
I once met Delores O’Riordan when I was 15. She was kind and lovely, I got her autograph on my train ticket and it made my day. She had the most amazing voice and presence. So sorry to hear that she’s passed away today x
— James Corden (@JKCorden) January 15, 2018
