When in doubt, just make something up! That’s apparently the general rule of thumb used by journalists time and time again when it comes to The Cranberries. Fortunately, we have the Official Site to continuously and diligently keep the record straight. With an official update yesterday, The Cranberries laid to rest a plethora of rumors that have suggested so much as a band “crisis”: everything from Dolores ditching The Cranberries for a “solo” career (this one’s gotten really old) to the notion that Dolores is co-writing Brain Johnson’s (AC/DC) on-stage musical rendition of “Helen of Troy”. So, to clear the air and state the facts, here are the meat and potatoes of what The Cranberries want fans to know, according to yesterday’s official update:

Everyone’s all smiles! Right now, The Cranberries are on vacation. The band and their families are spending time now in Canada, Ireland, Spain, and Italy. Everyone in the band remains optimistic; and the opportunities are pouring in. For one thing, alternative rock’s Moby has supplied The Cranberries with several songs to use at their discretion. For now, however, The Cranberries have decided that Moby’s material isn’t right for the band; but Dolores is keeping the door open to the idea, and hopes to be able to use the material in some form or another sometime in the future. And in addition to attention from the likes of Moby, members of The Cranberries have had lots of invitations to take part in films, television, soundtracks, collaborations with other artists, and more.

Though most of these projects haven’t been confirmed as of yet, it has been confirmed that Dolores has completed her recording of “Puro Amore” with Italy’s Zucchero. Contrary to assumptions from a recent LA7 interview with Dolores, the Official Site notes that Dolores did not record the song entirely in the Italian language. Instead, she worked alongside another lyricist to adapt portions of the song for English translation, although she does indeed sing some parts in Italian.

Speaking of false suggestions, the granddaddy of all rumors has surfaced once again. After Hot Press published snippets of Dolores’s interview with Hot Press staff writer Stuart Clarke for an upcoming Ritz Magazine Yesterday (Irish newspaper) article, “The Star” distorted the facts of the interview to suggest, yet again, that Dolores is striking out on her own to form an exclusive solo career. But The Cranberries Official Site seeks to clear out that tired notion once again to reveal that Dolores is indeed always interested in individual projects while simultaneously working alongside Noel and other members of The Cranberries to create Cranberries-related material. Over the coming years, Dolores and other members of the band will be involved with side projects such as their opportunities noted in the arenas of film, television, soundtracks, etc. The Cranberries reaffirm, however, that these side projects are not intended to abolish The Cranberries’ union. They’re merely future opportunities, with no known time frame of completion.

As to Dolores’s proposed solo work with Brian Johnson (AC/DC vocalist) on his play “Helen of Troy”, the Official Site states that Dolores is not co-writing any of the material. She is simply listening to Brian’s work, and being considered, as are other artists, for inclusion in the project. As Zombieguidereported earlier, “Helen of Troy” has been Brian Johnson’s project for a number of years. After his meeting with Dolores during The Cranberries tour with The Rolling Stones, he and Dolores spoke about a future collaboration. Naturally, Johnson brought up his pet project, “Helen of Troy”. Dolores’s final involvement in the play remains yet to be determined.

And finally, there’s Dolores’s autobiography. The Official Site reports that author and record producer Paul Russell, has already completed eight chapters, and the finalized project is expected to be released some time in 2004.

So, when they’re not busy dispelling rumors, it looks like The Cranberries are continuing to work in the same fashion that’s brought them to 2003: writing, recording, touring, vacationing, and keeping their options open for new projects that come their way. Doesn’t sound too complicated to understand… yet as long as there are tabloids, there’ll be rumors. Here at Zombieguide, we’ll keep you up to date. For now, you can check out the unabridged facts straight from the source at Cranberries.ie

Source: The Cranberries Official Web Site