Update: No Coldplay Cover of Linger

November 17, 2003  |  Comments Off on Update: No Coldplay Cover of Linger  |  by Zombieguide Archives  |  The Cranberries

Well, we knew something was fishy when Google could not produce more information about this supposed cover of “Linger.” According to witnesses (no pun intended) and several reviews of the Witnness Festival show that it was not “Linger” that Coldplay covered, but Ash’s “Shining Light.” Apparently the representative at the Coldplay Official Website didn’t bother to check to see what song was actually played.

Though the person who sent the question was clearly describing “Linger,” we’ve We will take our beating now, because we really deserve to be whipped for missing this spectacular news: The magnificent Coldplay performed a cover of “Linger” during their tour of Ireland this summer.

On July 13, at the Witnness Festival in Ratoath, Ireland, the sublime Chris Martin introduced a special addition to the setlist, saying “We love Thanksgiving food so you should all enjoy this one.” In the Q&A Section of the Official Coldplay Website, one concert goer asked about the cover of The Cranberries classic:

“I was at Coldplay’s gig in Ireland in July, they sang this beautiful song that I hadn’t heard from them before and was wondering what it was. They introduced it like this, “We love Thanksgiving food so you should all enjoy this one”, and he made it sound like it was a song the Irish should know. I think the song was was called ‘Linger’ or ‘Do you have to?’, the lyrics said ‘You know I’m such a fool for you, you’ve got me wrapped around your finger, do you have to let it linger’, what CD is that from? It was a beautiful song.”

One of Coldplay’s representatives responded to the question, saying, “Are you Irish? Shame on you for not knowing this if you are! The reason they played this song is because it’s originally by an Irish group, The Cranberries. It’s called Linger and was one of their biggest hits. Coldplay like to play a cover of a native band wherever they go.”

Oi!! The first person to send Alex an MP3 of this live cover will receive a shiny penny and his eternal gratitude! Seriously, if anyone can help us find a recording of this cover of a great song by another great band, we will gladly host it for everyone to download.

Thanks to Brad P for the tip!

Source: Official Coldplay Website

Cranberries.ie to Terminate Web Hosting with Elive

November 17, 2003  |  Comments Off on Cranberries.ie to Terminate Web Hosting with Elive  |  by Zombieguide Archives  |  The Cranberries

An employee of Elive has confirmed to Zombieguide that The Cranberries will soon be ending their hosting of The Cranberries’ Official Website with their company.

“My commercial dealings with the band will be ending soon,” Seanie Ryan, Managing Director of elive Internet Business Solutions, told us on Sunday. Ryan declined to comment further.

This leaves two options for the future of the Official Site: either the band’s management is finding a new hosting company or the Official Site is shutting down. Elive has hosted the Official Site since it opened in January 1998. Given the site’s severe lack of any signs of life since September does not make for a pleasant outlook for the website’s future.

Zombieguide is also negatively effected by this revelation, since our site hosting has been provided by Elive as a side product of The Cranberries’ business with them. Because The Cranberries have ended their business with the company, Zombieguide has been asked to move servers within “a timescale of 3-4 weeks.”

Given this information, we speculate that the Official Site will either move servers or close before the end of the 2003.

Meanwhile, Zombieguide will be moving the site to our Metropoliglobal account, where we host most of our media files. This account was set up for us as a favor by Diego, webmaster of ChocolateBrown.com. Most of the main site should move fine, since our fiasco this past March, we’ve gotten some education on site-moving. However, the Zombieguide Forums may need to restart once more; moving SQL databases is not exactly our expertise.

We are grateful to Elive for the service they have provided us with for the past several months

Coldplay Covers “Linger” Live!!!!

November 17, 2003  |  Comments Off on Coldplay Covers “Linger” Live!!!!  |  by Zombieguide Archives  |  The Cranberries

We will take our beating now, because we really deserve to be whipped for missing this spectacular news: The magnificent Coldplay performed a cover of “Linger” during their tour of Ireland this summer.

On July 13, at the Witnness Festival in Ratoath, Ireland, the sublime Chris Martin introduced a special addition to the setlist, saying “We love Thanksgiving food so you should all enjoy this one.” In the Q&A Section of the Official Coldplay Website, one concert goer asked about the cover of The Cranberries classic:

“I was at Coldplay’s gig in Ireland in July, they sang this beautiful song that I hadn’t heard from them before and was wondering what it was. They introduced it like this, “We love Thanksgiving food so you should all enjoy this one”, and he made it sound like it was a song the Irish should know. I think the song was was called ‘Linger’ or ‘Do you have to?’, the lyrics said ‘You know I’m such a fool for you, you’ve got me wrapped around your finger, do you have to let it linger’, what CD is that from? It was a beautiful song.”

One of Coldplay’s representatives responded to the question, saying, “Are you Irish? Shame on you for not knowing this if you are! The reason they played this song is because it’s originally by an Irish group, The Cranberries. It’s called Linger and was one of their biggest hits. Coldplay like to play a cover of a native band wherever they go.”

Oi!! The first person to send Alex an MP3 of this live cover will receive a shiny penny and his eternal gratitude! Seriously, if anyone can help us find a recording of this cover of a great song by another great band, we will gladly host it for everyone to download.

Thanks to Brad P for the tip!

Source: Official Coldplay Website

Sunday Mirror: Noel Seen with Cranberries Ex-Manager in Limerick

November 17, 2003  |  Comments Off on Sunday Mirror: Noel Seen with Cranberries Ex-Manager in Limerick  |  by Zombieguide Archives  |  The Cranberries

Ireland’s Sunday Mirror must have a tracking device implanted in Noel Hogan’s body.

After spotting him buying CDs in Dublin last month, The Sunday Mirror has found him yet again. In yesterday’s issue of the tabloid, the Mirror ran a photo of Noel and his wife Catherine talking to Cranberries ex-manager Lewis Kovac at Limerick’s Trinity Rooms club.

Hmmm. And so the mystery grows. While Lewis Kovac has officially parted ways with The Cranberries, Hot Press hinted in September that Kovac will be working on a project with Noel, Mike, and Fergal, without Dolores. Or else, the meeting could have been related to Noel’s solo project. On another note, after hearing of Catherine Hogan’s sickness, it’s good to hear that she’s out and about with her husband.

Source: Sunday Mirror

Sunday Indie: Dolores to Fly Home in December

November 16, 2003  |  Comments Off on Sunday Indie: Dolores to Fly Home in December  |  by Zombieguide Archives  |  The Cranberries

According to a short blurb from the November 9th issue of the Irish newspaper “The Sunday Independent,” Dolores will be flying home to Limerick on December 12th, just in time for her mother Eileen’s birthday. The O’Riordan clan (that’s Dolores, Don, Taylor, and Molly) are currently in Toronto. Dolores is recording solo material at Metalworks with co-producerMatt Vaughan and engineer Mike Plotnikoff.

Sounds like the O’Riordan family will be spending Christmas at home this year. What, no third Pope performance? Dang it.

Source: Sunday Independent

Zombieguide’s Interview with Alan Swan

November 10, 2003  |  Comments Off on Zombieguide’s Interview with Alan Swan  |  by Zombieguide Archives  |  The Cranberries

Trying to find new interviews with The Cranberries this year has been a bit like hunting Yeti. But luckily, a new interview with Fergal Lawler is being published this week in book form, thanks to author Alan Swan. Alan has been working on his new book “From the Cradle to the Stage” for the past year and a half, and it’s turned into quite an impressive project with interviews from over 70 Irish musicians, including Damien Rice, Damien Dempsey, The Frames, Mundy, David Kitt, Christy Moore, The Corrs, Relish, Ronan Keating, Westlife, Bellefire, Six, and oh-so-many more.

Perhaps the best part is that it’s all for a good cause: all profits from the book will be donated to Irish charity Fighting Blindness. According to their press release, “Fighting Blindness has been in existence since 1983. It is a small but dynamic charity made up of families and individuals affected by progressive blindness. The charity is determined to investigate every avenue where a realistic hope of finding a cure exists. The projects it funds are at the cutting edge of international research and have become global leaders in the search for treatments for blindness. 65,000 Irish adults and children are currently losing their sight to progressive blinding conditions known as retinal degenerations. Funds raised through the sale of this book will ensure this vital work is maintained and developed, bringing hope of a bright future to those currently affected by blindness and to future generations.”

“From the Cradle to the Stage” will be released on Wednesday, November 10th for €14.99 ($15 US). You can order the book now from the publisher,Poolbeg (direct link to the book) or from Fighting Blindness.

A full review of the book will come soon, but in the meantime, Alan Swan sat down with Zombieguide’s Alex Kraus to talk about his interview with Fergal, Fighting Blindness, and the current state of Irish music…

Zombieguide: First of all, when did you come up with the idea for this book?

Alan Swan: It was brewing around in my mind for a long time but it
wasn’t until March of 2002 that I sat down and started the ball rolling
on the project. I was presenting a breakfast show on CKRfm, a
commercial station for counties Carlow and Kildare, at the time, so I was up early in the morning, in for work at 5 am, on air at 6 am, finished work at 11 am. I was getting into the habit of sitting down at home pottering around at this and that and not really making use of the time that I had in the afternoons. So one day I just switched on the laptop and got going.

Zombieguide: What was the idea behind the book?

Alan Swan: The creative idea behind the book was very simple. I’m a massive fan of music, always have been. I wanted to put together a book where the artist, speaking in their own words could talk about there younger years and why they choose the road they travel. I’ve always been fascinated about what lights the spark. I wanted all original material. So I set about interviewing over 70-75 acts either face to face, by phone or by e-mail. Hoping that I could get little snippets of information that would give the book a little edge. Because I only had space for 80,000 words myself and my editor felt that we would have to give each artist around 800-1000 words each. Looking at the book now I feel we have a nice mix, some chapters run a bit more, some are short and get the message across. I’m happy with the finished product and extremely proud. I hope that someday someone might pick it up and that it might inspire them to take up music.

Zombieguide: How many pages will the final book have?

Alan Swan: Well it comes in at around 80,000 words, so 200 words a page, 400 pages. To tell you the truth, I have no idea. I still haven’t seen the finished product yet… I have seen the cover and it looks great. It has lots of different shots of different acts, including the Cranberries.

Zombieguide: Nice… when did Fighting Blindness come into the picture?

Alan Swan: Fighting Blindness came in from the start. I wanted a charity involved because I knew it would the perfect vehicle for them to promote themselves. I am good friends with one of there chief fund raising managers in Fighting Blindness and out of courtesy I asked him first before I pitched the idea to other charities. His Chief Exec. liked the idea, got the board to approve it and here we are. I’m thrilled the proceeds of this book is going to charity, Fighting Blindness are an incredible organization and quoting their Chief Exec. Micahel Griffith “Its flagship project in Trinity College is a world leader in the development of gene therapy for dominantly inherited retinopathies and the contribution of this group to the global research effort to find treatments for blindness has been truly outstanding by international terms.” I knew by having the charity on board that it would make it a lot easier to have all the other pieces to come together. The result is that from all of us combined, ie., from publishers to record companies, from artists to me, all our efforts will result in the proceeds from this book going to charity.

Zombieguide: I would assume then that not only was it easier to publish the book once you got a charity sponsor, but that it was a lot easier to get artists to jump in once you told them that it was for

charity?

Alan Swan: It was in a way – but there was an awful lot of work and presentations to do. Our publishers are great, like myself they are very passionate about the book and have put so much effort into it. The artists have been great too – a few due to work commitments weren’t able to contribute (which I totally understand) but I would hope they would make the second edition which I would love to put together in a few years time. Those who did contribute in fairness gave up there time to take part, for example Donal Lunny wrote a beautiful piece from Japan which he e-mailed to me. A lot of artists really took the project to heart and were very generous.

Zombieguide: It looks like the book has gone under a few changes since the first press releases were put out. Originally, the press release stated that Dolores wasto appear in the book, but now it’s Fergal who will appear in the final version. Was Dolores originally supposed to be interviewed? What happened?

Alan Swan: It was a simple case of crossed wires. Nothing more. It was a really early Press Release that wasn’t really finalized before it went out into the public domain. We are delighted to have Fergal on board and I think you will like his contribution. I honestly think that all our contributors have great little stories to tell.

Zombieguide: Yeah, can’t wait to check it out. This question comes from Brad from the Zombieguide Forums… What makes this book unique and not just a mini-biography? I mean, a lot of us diehard fans have already read many, many biographies already, especially about the band’s early days. Just last year, Niall Quinn published his own story online about the earliest days of The Cranberry Saw Us in his own words. Can you promise us something new?

Alan Swan: To be honest I can’t promise anything.

Zombieguide: Then can you give us a little taste of what to expect?

Alan Swan: Each chapter contains small snapshots of the artists life. In Fergal’s case he talks about his first gig, listening to the radio, singing songs in his father’s rocking chair and so on. It would be unfair of me to say “Ah yeah, it’s full of so much new info, lots of it, go out and buy it.” I wouldn’t lie to you, it’s only when you read through the whole book that you get a sense of Irish life and how these stories compare. I found Fergal’s chapter really interesting and I hope whoever buys the book finds this too. Remember too it’s in his own words like all the chapters in the book. I would hope that whoever buys the book would enjoy the other artists stories too, and go, “Jaysus did that happen to Jim Corr, or I never knew that about James Galway or Damien Rice, was THAT the first ever song he learned?” It’s really a celebration of Irish music and that we as a small country have such an array of different styles and singers. I think it’s unique in the way that I don’t think there has been a book that gives such a broad taste of Irish music through the artists own words.

Zombieguide: Oh, really? So the chapters are in first-person monologue style, like an autobiography? Dolores did something very similar for Liz Evans’s book “Women, Sex, and Rock ‘n’ Roll” in 1994, only Evans had to turn the interview into a monologue on her own, since Dolores was in a hospital bed from her skiing accident in the Alps.

Alan Swan: Yes they are. I felt it would be more personal to the reader if it was written like that. I tried to have it flow like a natural conversation, snippets here, snippets there. I hope it works.

Zombieguide: When exactly did you get to interview Fergal? Was it a face-to- face interview or by phone or…? What were your overall impressions of him?

Alan Swan: Because the band where busy, I conducted Fergal’s interview via e-mail and he was very open and obliging. He also wished the project the very best of luck.

Zombieguide: Wow, so did you get Fergal’s personal email address? If you did, I think you just captured the envy of everyone reading this.

Alan Swan: Actually, I have a good friend who acted as a third party for me. E-Mails were then just forwarded to me through that address. I was delighted Fergal had the time to do it because he was on tour at the time. He also left a lovely good luck message for me at the end which was very kind.

Zombieguide: We know that “Cradle to the Stage” covers artists’ roots and early days, but what other subject matter is in the book? Did Fergal get the chance to talk about The Cranberries’ current or future projects?

Alan Swan: No I’m sorry he didn’t, because we asked the artists to focus so much on the past we tended not to get so much info on the future, In some cases we did, but in Fergal’s case we didn’t. Sorry…

Zombieguide: It’s alright. Dolores has been quoted as saying that she doesn’t like to incorporate “trad” elements into The Cranberries’ music because she feels that it’s too much of a cliché for an Irish band. In a sense, its one distinction that separates The Cranberries from other modern Irish, particularly female acts like Enya and The Corrs. Do you feel that a lot of new bands agree with Dolores’ sentiment, or are there still a number that have that “Irish” sound?

Alan Swan: Not to be arguing with Dolores, but in my honest opinion and in a sense I think Dolores’s main instrument, her voice, has a massive Irish traditional Sean Nos sense to it. Her voice is sensational and much of their early material had an Irish feel to it. Recently it has shifted away from that. I can see her point though; some Irish acts do go with the trad element. I don’t think it’s a cliché, I think if it works for Enya and The Corrs and the fans like it well then it works. There are a lot of Irish acts that don’t go with the Trad slant — JJ72, Ash and The Frames. I think it’s great for the Irish sound to be still around, it’s what makes us distinctive, different.

Zombieguide: About the Irish elements, I think everyone would have to agree that Dolores’ voice has a very inherently Celtic quality. But what she means to say is that she’s very much against incorporating stuff like the fiddle or the tin whistle unless it’s absolutely necessary…

Alan Swan: I know exactly where you’re coming from. With regards to Enya and so if it works it works. What the Cranberries do also works and works incredibly well.

Zombieguide: On a broader scale, there is this fear among some cultural purists that Ireland is losing a lot of its ethnic identity and “Irish charm.” (Not to be confused with Lucky Charms, of course.) A hundred years ago, it was a fear of Ireland becoming Anglicized, but today, there’s just as much of a fear of becoming Americanized, or even just “globalized” in general. Do you feel this social trend is having a large impact on music?

Alan Swan: It is in a way. A few years back, and to some small extent now, an awful lot of bands were trying to sound like Radiohead, singer- songwriters were trying to sound like David Gray, and many would follow what was the in sound at the time. I think you will get that in every country though and not just in Ireland. I don’t think Irish music is dying though, I think it’s stronger the ever and a lot of acts are going back to basics and bringing an Irish folk kind of feel to there music. In that I mean that many of our best artists have always been unique story tellers. We have a new generation of artists such as Damien Rice, Glen Hansard, David Kitt, Mundy and so on who all have there own unique sound and bring something fresh to Irish music. I’ve always said it but for a country as small as Ireland we really do produce amazing things. On the other side Trad music is as popular as ever and seems to have lost the stupid stigma that was attached to it. Acts like Altan, Donal Lunny, Dervish and as always The Chieftains are leading the way.

Zombieguide: One radio-related website that I ran across said that “From the Cradle to the Stage,” is your first book but that you have “several others in the pipeline.” Is that right?

Alan Swan: It is, I’m going to take a bit of break from writing for a while, maybe six months or so. I want to write a book about my grandmother, it’s a personal story and really a celebration of her life, she was an amazing woman and I’m really looking forward to sitting down and starting the research work on that. I also want to work on some other biogs but that’s a long way down the road.

Zombieguide: Any chance of another Cranberries-related book?

Alan Swan: Who knows, maybe some day… never say never!

Zombieguide would like to thank Alan Swan for his time and wish best of luck to him and Fighting Blindness.

Source: Exclusive!

Cranberries Parody on French & Saunders DVD

November 9, 2003  |  Comments Off on Cranberries Parody on French & Saunders DVD  |  by Zombieguide Archives  |  The Cranberries

Before they appeared on the show “Absolutely Fabulous,” British comedy duo Jennifer Saunders and Dawn French carried their own series called “French & Saunders,” which is now getting a flurry of releases on DVD. Their newest DVD release, Living in a Material World has something to offer which will amuse — or infuriate — Cranberries fans.

“Living in a Material World” includes one skit that impersonates Dolores O’Riordan. DVD Talk laments that the parodied lyrics are tough to make out, but hilarious none the less. “Bjork and the Cranberries… also get intricate send-ups… although the musical tributes are a bit less effective as the jokey lyrics are a bit tough to make out. Still, these skits are all awesomely funny.” Björk and Dolores aren’t the only ones getting a jab; Madonna also gets the shaft.

“French and Saunders – Living in a Material World” is now available on DVD in the US for a retail price of $14.98.

Source: DVD Talk

“Whisper to a Scream” DVD Retitled, Re-released

November 7, 2003  |  Comments Off on “Whisper to a Scream” DVD Retitled, Re-released  |  by Zombieguide Archives  |  The Cranberries

The Irish rock documentary “From a Whisper to a Scream” has been picked up by Eagle Vision USA for a re-release this week on DVD. The new version, entitled “Out of Ireland: From a Whisper to a Scream” was originally released by Fox Lorber under the title “From a Whisper to a Scream: The Living History of Irish Rock” in March 2001 on DVD and a VHS set. The documentary was produced in 2000 and was originally aired on national network RTE in Ireland. The documentary includes a brief segment on The Cranberries and an exclusive interview with Dolores O’Riordan as she comments on Sinead O’Connor, Thin Lizzy, and Irish traditional music.

The new version boasts new packaging (including a shot of Dolores on the cover), but the content appears to be the same as the original release.

Check out Zombieguide Europe for scans of the original release and screen captures.

(IMAGES NO LONGER AVAILABLE)

Source: Eagle Vision USA

“Stop The Rumors!” An Artistic Look at the Two-Year Break

November 3, 2003  |  Comments Off on “Stop The Rumors!” An Artistic Look at the Two-Year Break  |  by Zombieguide Archives  |  The Cranberries

It’s too bad the album title “Rumours” has already been done (snatched up by Fleetwood Mac in 1977), because lately, it seems that this would be the ideal title for the Cranberries’ sixth album. Amidst all of the mayhem of “will they or won’t they” ever return to the studio, fans are left wondering: how are The Cranberries coping with the allegations, insinuations, and the ever popular out-of-context publications?

Well, for a little poetic answer to that question, Zombieguide presents an astonishing creation by mesmerizing cartoonist, Maurizio di Bona aka The Hand. Cranberries fans may remember that it was The Hand who, earlier this year, was asked by The Cranberries to produce artwork for official band merchandise. Created in an attempt to portray The Cranberries’ struggle to balance personal with professional, this one-of-a-kind illustration, entitled “Stop Rumours” was submitted to Zombieguide in an effort to help stifle the whirlwind of conclusions and remind fans that The Cranberries remain individuals with significant responsibilities that lie beyond the group itself.

Special thanks to the astonishing artist, The Hand, for kindly allowing Zombieguide to post this terrific piece of art!

Source: Exclusive

Dennis Storhøi Names Cranberries As Favorite Artist

November 3, 2003  |  Comments Off on Dennis Storhøi Names Cranberries As Favorite Artist  |  by Zombieguide Archives  |  The Cranberries

What do The Cranberries have in common with Chopin? How about a top- ranked spot in the personal favorites list of Norwegian actor, Dennis Storhøi! In an IGN Filmforce online interview, actor Dennis Storhoi (The Thirteenth Warrior) named The Cranberries, alongside Chopin, as his personal favorite musicians…as odd of a combination as it might seem.

The accomplished actor has performed in numerous on-stage productions as well as silver screen projects. In IGN Filmforce’s brief ten questions spanning everything from favorite film to greatest influences, his reference to The Cranberries as favorite musical artist took first line in the interview.

Source: IGN Filmforce

News

Cranberries World (Present - 01/2012) Cranberries Press (01/2012 - 10/2011) Zombieguide (09/2007 - 07/1999)