LIMERICK

1990 -

OVERVIEW The Cranberries is one of the best known bands on the Irish music scene over the past few decades. The group came into being in 1990. A year earlier, Noel Hogan [Guitar], Mike Hogan [Bass Guitar] and Fergal Lawler [Drums] formed a band called 'The Cranberry Saw Us' along with singer, Niall Quinn. However, Quinn soon departed and went on to form The Hitchers. He was replaced on vocals by Dolores O'Riordan. The quartet soon opted for a name change and the shortened moniker of 'The Cranberries' was adopted. Little did anyone know that this would be the start of a union that would see the Limerick natives become one of the biggest bands on the planet during the 1990s. The band released a debut EP, 'Uncertain' in 1991. The debut album 'Everybody Else Is Doing It, So Why Can't We?' followed a year later. However, the band was not gaining much attention. In spite of this, they secured a support slot with Suede on their tour of America in 1994. This was to be a turning point in the band's fortunes. The Cranberries haunting sound caught the attention of MTV and the American public as a whole. By the end of the tour, The Cranberries were headlining. The Cranberries had made it. Re-releases on singles, which had earlier been ignored were now charting across the globe. By the time the band released its second album, 'No Need To Argue' in 1994, they were a global phenomenon. The album, supported by singles such as 'Zombie', 'Ridiculous Thoughts' and 'I Can't Be With You', went on to sell over 17 miillion copies worldwide. This was to be the high point in the band's career. Since then, they have gone on to release further albums 'To The Faithful Departed' [1996], 'Bury The Hatchet' [1999] and 'Wake Up And Smell The Coffee' [2001]. However, the band failed to capture the public as it had done on earlier releases. In 2004, the band members decided to spend some time working on projects outside of The Cranberries. Dolores has gone on to release a couple of solo records. Noel formed Mono Band as a solo project. He soon teamed up with vocalist, Richard Walters and the band morphed into Arkitekt. Fergal spent a time drumming with Limerick Band, The Low Network. In 2009, the band got back together and went on to perform a series of dates across the US, Europe and Latin America. On the back of these tours, the band released a live album 'Bualadh Bos' in 2009. In early 2011, it was announced that the band had started work on a new, as yet untitled, sixth studio album. 1989 - Band formed 1991 - Release of 'Uncertain' E.P. [28 October] 1992 - Release of 'Dreams' single [29 September] 1993 - Release of 'Linger' single [09 February] 1994 - Re-release of 'Linger' single [24 January] - Re-release of 'Dreams' single [19 April] 1995 - Release of 'I Can't Be With You' single [21 February] - Release of 'Ridiculous Thoughts' single [31 July 1995] 1996 - Release of 'Salvation' single [08 April] 2011 - Release of 'Tomorrow' single [November] 2012 - Release of 'Roses' album [27 February]