How Did Delores O'Riordan Die? New Details On The Tragic Death Of The Cranberries Lead Singer
She died January 15th.
Instagram How Did Delores O'Riordan die? Back in January, Delores O'Riordan, singer of the iconic 90's band The Cranberries was found dead in her bathtub. Ever since then, fans have wondered how she died. At the time, her death was preliminarily ruled a death by drowning in a bathtub at London's Park Lane Hilton hotel.
However, we all knew there was more to the story than that. O'Riordan's camp has been pretty quiet on that front ... until now. According to the Westminster Coroner's Court, the singer died by accidental drowning due to alcohol intoxication. The 46-year-old was taken way too soon. Let's take a look at the details surrounding her and her death.
1. At the scene
When police arrived on the scene at O'Riodan's hotel room, they found an empty bottle of champagne, five empty miniature bottles of alcohol, and a number of containers of prescription drugs that had pills left in them. Toxicology tests revealed that the Zombie singer's blood alcohol level was more than four times the legal limit for driving. As for the prescription drugs, she had therapeutic levels of those drugs in the blood.
2. The band's reaction
The surviving members of the Cranberries released a statement following the coroner's inquest saying, “On January 15th, 2018 we lost our dear friend and band mate Dolores O’Riordan. Today we continue to struggle to come to terms with what happened. Our heartfelt condolences go out to Dolores’ children and her family and our thoughts are with them today. Dolores will live on eternally in her music. To see how much of a positive impact she had on people’s lives has been a source of great comfort to us.”
3. Her personal history
O'Riordan's history of depression and hard boozing is well documented. In 2017, The Cranberries had to cancel a number of dates on their tour as O'Riordan was going through "recovery from her ongoing back problem." Over the years, the Linger singer has spoken out about her diagnosis of bipolar disorder and depression.
4. New album
O'Riordan was on tour at the time of her death. In fact, the band planned to release a 25th anniversary edition of their smash debut album Everybody Else Is Doing It, So Why Can't We? on October 19th. The Irish rock band started planning the project in 2017, but put it on hold after the singer's death. This spring, they announced that they would move forward with the reissue as well as the new album they had started recording before O'Riordan died.
5. The Cranberries
O'Riordan joined the Cranberries in 1989 when she was 18. The band had a number of hits including Zombie and Linger. The success of the band can be credited to O'Riordan's songwriting and distinctive voice. The band sold more than 40 million albums worldwide and had a number of Billboard Top 200 hits in the 1990s. The Cranberries broke up in 2003 and O'Riordan released a solo album called Are You Listening. The band got back together in 2009. In 2017 they released the acoustic album Something Else and started a reunion tour. Most of those dates were canceled due to O'Rioardan's ongoing mental health issues and back problems.
6. Her family
Delores O'Riordan is survived by three children, Taylor, Mollie, and Dakota, as well as her ex-husband Don Burton, Duran Duran's former tour manager, and her boyfriend Ole Koretsky.
Amy Lamare is a Los Angeles based freelance writer covering entertainment, pop culture, beauty, fashion, fitness, technology, and the intersection of technology, business, and philanthropy. She is deeply devoted to her chocolate Labrador and an avid long distance runner. You can find her on Instagram and Facebook.