The Cranberries shared on Instagram a photo of the test pressing of the new album “In The End”. A vinyl version will definitely be available! The album is to be released probably in Spring 2019. The exact date is not known yet. Hopefully soon…

Yesterday The Cranberries posted on Instagram a photo of their invitation to the “Conferring of an Honorary Degree of The University of Limerick on The Cranberries”. The band didn’t give any other info at the time, such as the date of the ceremony nor if this was going be a public event or not…etc.
Some fans then commented it could be an Honorary Doctorate.

The Cranberries’ invitation posted on Instagram

Today more details were given in three articles published online on limerickleader.ie, hotpress.com and irishexaminer.com  [edit: and even more articles were published during the day]

The ceremony will take place on Friday 18 January to honor all band members. Noel Hogan, Fergal Lawler and Mike Hogan will receive honorary doctorates while a posthumous award will be made to the family of the late Dolores O’Riordan.

The University of Limerick awards honorary doctorates to “individuals who have shown outstanding achievement, nationally or internationally, in the arts, sciences, business, industry, the professions, sport, social service or public service.”

It looks like ceremonies at the Limerick University are reserved to invited guests only, and that dress code applies. All details can be found on the “general information for invited guests” page of the UL’s website.

For those who are not invited to attend, the UL ceremonies seem to be live streamed on this link. For now, there’s no information whether the ceremony in which The Cranberries are part will be available for watching or not.

Our team just had a look at the French SACEM website (French professional association collecting payments of artists’ rights and distributing the rights to the original songwriters, composers, and music publishers) where the song titles unveiled yesterday by Itzik are indeed all listed, which confirms that these songs will indeed feature on the band’s upcoming album In The End!
See screenshots below:

Interestingly, when browsing the To The Faithful Departed era on the SACEM website, we also noticed a song we had never heard of before: “Angel” !!!

A fan called Itzik just posted the below message on our website, revealing the possible “In The End” album tracklist in no particular order (as we already know from a recent Noel Hogan interview that In The End is to be the last song of the album)

The following is a list (in no particular order) of 11 newly registered song titles for the new album.
Please keep in mind that not all might end up on the album and some could be just working titles.

 

All Over Now (O’Riordan/Hogan)
A Place I Know (O’Riordan/Hogan)
Illusion (O’Riordan/Hogan)
Crazy Heart (O’Riordan/Hogan)
The Pressure (O’Riordan/Hogan)
In The End (O’Riordan/Hogan)
Summer Song (O’Riordan/Brodbeck)
Lost (O’Riordan)
Wake Me When It’s Over (O’Riordan)
Catch Me If You Can (O’Riordan)
Got It (O’Riordan)

 

BMG are still planning an “early 2019” release.

Happy new year everyone!!
Itzik

IMPORTANT: We do not yet know what his source is, nor if this is official or not, although it is very likely these information may have leaked on the Internet in the past hours.

More soon as we’re investigating, and a major thank you to Itzik for his comment.

UPDATE – JANUARY 3

Although the source hasn’t yet been revealed, we are inclined to think this tracklist is definitely real as Dan Brodbeck was indeed writing a song with Dolores shortly before she passed as confirmed in his January 2018 CBC interview.
Moreover, the track Illusion does ring a bell as a demo song sharing the same name was accidentally uploaded onto JETLAG.NYC’s Soundcloud account in November 2017…

As Ireland just entered 2019 a few minutes ago, The Cranberries official website updated their home page to reveal what should be an artwork linked to the release of their upcoming – and last – album “In The End”, due in 2019.

If the exact release date isn’t known to this date, BMG is likely to release the album in Spring as September/October might be devoted to the 25th anniversary of the No Need To Argue album.

cranberries.com home page new artwork

The CW Team would like to use the occasion to send our fellow grieving fans our best wishes, hoping that this new year will bring everyone peace and closure.

x

“Rapturous Reception For The Cranberries 1993″
Following a hugely successful American tour supporting Duran Duran, The Cranberries return to Limerick and receive a Mayoral reception.

Watch the RTÉ News report broadcast on 17 December 1993 now available on the RTÉ Archives website by clicking this link.

On the Cranberries Italia Facebook group, Niall Quinn wrote, “That’s my dad Dolores is talking to at 0.37”
(Actually… the guy receiving an autograph, how cool!)

Great rare photos taken by Anne O’Connor during the recording of Everybody Else and posted by The Cranberries on Instagram yesterday.
[EDIT] Also shared 2 days after on The Cranberries’ Facebook in better quality:

Dolores, Mike, Rob Kirwan

Noel and Stephen Street

Rob Kirwan (on the left with striped tshirt) – Stephen Street (on the right)

This last photo was already posted by Anne O’Connor on Twitter on 15 March 2014 and in color:

On Thursday 22 November 2018, John Hennessy, Ber Angley, Máire Keary-Scanlon and Shane Curtin were honored by the city of Limerick for their contribution to the musical landscape of the city. People from the music community came out in support at the mayoral reception at City Hall and Noel Hogan was one of them.

Full details in the article “Limerick recognises its unsung heroes in music” published on limerickpost.ie

John Hennessy, Ber Angley, Mayor Daniel Butler, Máire Keary Scanlon, Shane Curtin
Photo: Keith Wiseman

The Cranberries are mentioned in the part concerning Ber Angley, who is synonymous with events at University of Limerick since the 1980s:

Professor Eoin Devereux spoke about Ber’s achievements.
“He had the capacity to imagine and dream and say ‘why can’t we do things like this?’.”
Ber also played a part in getting Limerick’s most successful music export signed to a major label. He played a very significant role in the history of the band, booking them for The Stables Bar and rostered them on national tours of the colleges in their early days.
Ber booked The Cranberries for a Rag Week gig at The Jetland on Ennis Road. (where Dunnes Stores / Woodies is now).
Prof Devereux told the audience, “There were 32 A&R men from the record industry hoping to sign The Cranberries.
At that gig a man called Denny Cordell of Island Records made a deal with The Cranberries. It was a historic night in the history of the band that went to global success.”

Mayor Daniel Butler, Ber Angley, Noel Hogan – Photo: Keith Wiseman

The day after, Ber Angley published on Twitter a photo of his award and a ‘thanks everyone’ message:

Posted earlier today by The Cranberries on Instagram and Facebook:

To mark the release of the 25th anniversary re-issue of Everybody Else is Doing It, So Why Can’t We? RTÉ is giving you the chance to win the boxset. Just answer the following question before November 12th:

The producer of Everybody Else is Doing It, So Why Can’t We? had previously worked with The Smiths and Morrissey. What is his name?

Send your answer, name and address, marked Cranberries Comp, to entertainmentonline@rte.ie
Full details on this link.

There is no information to know whether the contest is international or not, so the answer probably is yes, and if not… that’s only an email!

Thanks to Alex for the link!

In the new ‘Hot Press’ magazine Stuart Clark sits down with The Cranberries’ Noel Hogan. As the Everybody Else album gets a box-set re-release, Noel talks about the band’s formative years and the pain of losing Dolores.

Order this new issue (hard copy) online by clicking this link or buy it in-stores from October 25th.

Photo: Stuart Clark – Twitter

UPDATE – NOVEMBER 6

The full interview is now available online by clicking this link.
Thanks to ‘The Cranberries Newspaper’ for noticing!

The article “Memories that linger: Remembering the Cranberries visit to Cork in 1991” was published today on irishexaminer.com
As The Cranberries re-release their debut album in a 4CD anniversary boxset that includes a few live songs from Cork Rock 91, Ed Power looks back on a landmark gig at Sir Henry’s in Cork in 1991.

Photo: Siobhan Bardsley

Also available in print, thanks to Siobhan Bardsley on Twitter:

Irish Examiner

This week The Cranberries are sharing a series of short interviews with Dolores and Noel, filmed back in 2016 2017 when they were working on the release of the 25th Anniversary box set of “Everybody Else Is Doing It So Why Can’t We?”

Here is the third and last video posted on the band’s socials earlier today:

“The determination to make their first album – Dolores O’Riordan (2017)”

https://www.facebook.com/TheCranberries/videos/515522968858330/?__xts__[0]=68.ARB6Usz0nopsDN8wFwTabwj1_lzT4t2TG-OsWpv_6s8YUFBXDL4U6OcYogvd0PFBn1sBs1mU6DReNR-mZSjpraY1SCfAZu9gBGGDPB5BrkF2tXGfb8-MqczuxVgHkZRZj0v7lp1zXKLoeyRTmbxrcGiipH9RBoXE3PREBfEP0Skpz20LGiqh4yEZEsIn4DRj34IdgcIy6uOvbg&__tn__=-R

Here they are, the first pictures of the “Everybody Else Is Doing It, So Why Can’t We? 25th Anniversary Edition” box set and limited clear vinyl have surfaced:

We’ll add some more pics on this post throughout the day, stay tuned!

Sources: Instagram@startswithanf, Instagram/@vinylmojo, Facebook/The Cranberries Newspaper, Instagram/@caligula_would_have_blush

Here’s a first preview of what the “Everybody Else Is Doing It, So Why Can’t We? 25th Anniversary Edition” vinyl to be released tomorrow looks like!

Can’t wait to get our hands on this beauty!

“This album is dedicated to the memory of Dolores O’Riordan“

Sources: eBay , Instagram/@sck0rp , Instagram/@chandler002_officiel

This week The Cranberries are sharing a series of short interviews with Dolores and Noel, filmed back in 2016 when they were working on the release of the 25th Anniversary box set of “Everybody Else Is Doing It So Why Can’t We?”

Here is the second video posted on the band’s socials earlier today:

“Going from Limerick to global superstars – Noel Hogan (2017)”

https://www.facebook.com/TheCranberries/videos/502863873552978/?__xts__[0]=68.ARBQLtQ5_RYtAQ6sWpgIqrxAa3fQCVPAN75jS-tdJW-MuU3bjQ7gIAwcrYGznsPDs2XN4qBKJqF5acISHEWb6aEhq3ptxCvQ942mR8ie01Ha8Lh9ofD5nggI1_ypyrOX7rA29p5N2ryLigjiixxfuzhysVlBc19kFIIM6dCfgMcAp-RuIY_V&__tn__=-R

Two “retro” Cranberries t-shirts are now available to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the release of the band debut album “Everybody Else is Doing It, So Why Can’t We?”

Click the below link to buy this new merch:
https://thecranberries.shopfirebrand.com/

This week The Cranberries will share a series of short interviews with Dolores and Noel, filmed back in 2016 when they were working on the release of the 25th Anniversary box set of “Everybody Else Is Doing It So Why Can’t We?”

Here is the first video posted on the band’s socials earlier today:

“Linger and the sudden rise to fame – Dolores O’Riordan (2017)”

https://www.facebook.com/TheCranberries/videos/vb.43228062105/307785350003706/?type=2&theater

Dolores O’Riordan literally rules the Billboard chart’s History as top female artist in the alternative songs chart according to the article published earlier today on billboard.com

The Cranberries frontwoman counts 8 entries in the chart (Linger, Dreams, Zombie, Ode To My Family, Ridiculous Thoughts, Salvation, Free To Decide, Promises) including a pair of number 1s. Brilliant!

Thanks to ‘The Cranberries Newspaper’ on Facebook for finding the article.

Billboard.com just published a new interview with Noel Hogan featuring the track “Shine Down” that should be the “Nothing Left At All” cassette version of the song that we know (impossible to tell as their player does not seem to be working at the moment).

Noel interestingly mentions that he hopes the other Cranberries albums will be given the same anniversary treatment as Everybody Else Is Doing It, So Why Can’t We. However he notes that it “would be harder to find (bonus) things because with (Everybody Else…) we had all the years of build-up for us to get to that point, a lot of stuff between demos and gigs and things that we were able to include. The problem going forward is that album came out and became very successful, so everything we did after that was released or used straightaway. To find rarities may be a bit of a struggle — though I could be wrong. Things could pop up that I may have forgotten about“.

Definitely something fans should be able to help with 😉

Noel also confirms that the final Cranberries album, In The End, should be “very emotional, because of all the things that were going on in Dolores’ life“, and reasserts that “she was psyched about doing the album“, which makes “her death” something “very, very unfair” as “she was very, very positive” : “when she started writing this album it was all very positive and she couldn’t wait to get into the studio or back on the road again“, especially as the band was planning to tour in China in March.

Photo: Limerick Leader

Thanks to ‘The Cranberries Newspaper’ on Facebook and Diego on Twitter for noticing.

UPDATE – OCTOBER 11 – 10:24 PM (UTC)

“Shine Down (Nothing Left At All – EP Version)” also available on Apple Music from October 12th… meaning if it’s not midnight yet in your country, you’ll have to wait a couple of hours more!

The song also just appeared on YouTube/VEVO on the official channel of The Cranberries:

Third promo video shared by The Cranberries on their socials ahead of the release of “Everybody Else Is Doing it So Why Can’t We? 25th Anniversary Edition” out on 19 October 2018.
After Fergal 2 days ago, Noel yesterday, now it is Dolores’ turn.

Video is entitled “Dolores O’Riordan”

https://www.facebook.com/TheCranberries/videos/vb.43228062105/271893870110821/?type=2&theater

Pre-order the “25th Anniversary Edition” by clicking this link.

The Cranberries just shared a 2nd short video on their socials ahead of the release of “Everybody Else Is Doing it So Why Can’t We? 25th Anniversary Edition” out on 19 October 2018.
After Fergal yesterday, today is Noel’s turn.

Video is entitled “Noel Hogan”

https://www.facebook.com/TheCranberries/videos/336023916968662/?__xts__[0]=68.ARD6weg9yVmPE1syTPUQr4BUx5RIR1xG7biKF5beLDezq8FLapnejBzprOGP_Ca4DVHd6O-iEvYe7ZfXDxqeaaYu_NfSbO3QQrRngDlfsEhbzuxbr_6sUQWnyxMeYH_X0oN1mQNrSuySYJW3sMJIPIGloDwdS8uzapIPnAk–WwfPKBZRWyqtn0&__tn__=-R

Pre-order the “25th Anniversary Edition” by clicking this link.

Ahead of the 25th-anniversary reissue of EEIDI, rollingstone.com just published a new interview with guitarist Noel Hogan. He discusses the band’s early days as well as the upcoming final album with Dolores O’Riordan, “IN THE END” to be released early next year.

So there’s a song called “In the End,” it’s the last song on the album, and it just kind of summed up the whole album and the band. Because it’s definitely the end of it for us. So we’ve called it that. In the End. – Noel Hogan

Photo: Dermot Lynch/Limerick Leader

The Cranberries just shared a short video on their socials ahead of the release of “Everybody Else Is Doing it So Why Can’t We? 25th Anniversary Edition” out on 19 October 2018.

Video is entitled “Fergal Lawler – Quote”

https://www.facebook.com/TheCranberries/videos/vb.43228062105/342242212988602/?type=2&theater

Pre-order the “25th Anniversary Edition” by clicking this link.

As announced earlier today on Twitter, Professor Eoin Devereux of the University of Limerick will present an illustrated talk about The Cranberries early days, the making of their debut album, its influences and artwork at the Vinyl Festival that takes place in Dun Laoghaire (near Dublin) on November 17th 2018.

Click here to buy tickets to attend.

Dún Laoghaire Vinyl Festival – Twitter

As a reminder, Professor Devereux’s 12,000 words essay “Waltzing Back: The Cranberries 1989-1993” will be published as part of 4 CD Box Set edition of “Everybody Else Is Doing It, So Why Can’t We? 25th Anniversary Edition” that is to be released on October 19th.

Thanks to doloresoriordanspain.com who just published the lyrics of “Íosa” with the English translation.

Dolores O’Riordan Spain thanks Sanela Nesensohn and Bitesize Irish Gaelic (https://www.bitesize.irish) for “an approximation to the lyrics of the song and its translation in English”.

Our ‘Song List A-Z’ page has now been updated with Íosa

ÍOSA

Suite ar chathaoir mhaorga ag smaoineamh …(?)…
Anois ar a laethanta saoire
Na blianta crua curtha síos
Seanathair, a sheanathair
(líne dothuigthe)
Saol le chéile le do chéile
Blianta caite ón am sin
Nócha trí bliain, nócha trí bliain

A Íosa
Cad é  …(?)…
A Íosa
Go dtaga do riocht
A Íosa
Cad é  …(?)…
A Íosa
Go dtaga do riocht

Suite ar an gcathaoir shoilseach
D’fhéach sé orm, cád é a dheir mé
Na laethanta crua curtha síos
Seanathair, a sheanathair
Mise …(?)… ar sheanathair
Suí/saol le chéile le do …(?)…
Blianta caite ón am sin
Nócha trí bliain, nócha trí bliain

A Íosa
Cad é  …(?)…
A Íosa
Go dtaga do riocht
A Íosa
Cad é  ...(?)…
A Íosa
Go dtaga do riocht

A Íosa
Cad é  …(?)…
A Íosa
Go dtaga do riocht
A Íosa
Cad é  ...(?)…
A Íosa
Go dtaga do riocht

__________________________________

JESUS

Sitting on a majestic chair (throne) thinking …(?)…
Now on his holidays
The hard years put down
Grandfather, oh grandfather
(Unintelligible line)
Life together with your spouse/companion
Years spent since then
Ninety three years, Ninety three years

Jesus
What is …(?)…
Jesus
May Your Kingdom come
Jesus
What is …(?)…
Jesus
May Your Kingdom come

Sitting on the luminous chair
He looked at me, what did I say
The hard days put down
Grandfather, oh grandfather
Me …(?)… grandfather
Sit/life together with your …(?)…
Years spent since then
Ninety three years, Ninety three years

Jesus
What is …(?)…
Jesus
May Your Kingdom come
Jesus
What is …(?)…
Jesus
May Your Kingdom come

Jesus
What is …(?)…
Jesus
May Your Kingdom come
Jesus
What is …(?)…
Jesus
May Your Kingdom come

UPDATE – 4 OCTOBER

English translation updated with the help of our Irish friends Kevin and Caroline.

Sitting on a lordly/majestic chair
Thinking back on his holidays
Difficult years put down
Grandad, oh Grandad
(Unintelligible line)
Life together with your wife
Years spent from that time
Ninety three years, Ninety three years

Oh Jesus
What is there to say
Oh Jesus
What is the end Thy kingdom come
Oh Jesus
What is there to say
Oh Jesus
What is the end Thy kingdom come

Sitting on a glittering chair
He looked at me, what did I say
The tough years put down
Grandad, oh Grandad
Me and my Grandad
Life together with your wife
Years spent since then
Ninety three years, Ninety three years

Oh Jesus
What is there to say
Oh Jesus
What is the end Thy kingdom come
Oh Jesus
What is there to say
Oh Jesus
What is the end Thy kingdom come

Oh Jesus
What is there to say
Oh Jesus
What is the end Thy kingdom come
Oh Jesus
What is there to say
Oh Jesus
What is the end Thy kingdom come

Special thanks to Aileen for her help. “Thy Kingdom Come”. Edited!

UPDATE – 6 OCTOBER

“Íosa” lyrics almost completed + PHONETIC TRANSCRIPTION added.
Special thanks to Sue Shearer and Dearbhail O’Mahoney, you rock!!

GAELIC

Suite ar chathaoir mhaorga ag
Smaoineamh anois ar a laethanta saoire
Na blianta crua curtha síos
Seanathair, a sheanathair
(líne dothuigthe)
Saol le chéile le do chéile
Blianta caite ón am sin
Nócha trí bliain, nócha trí bliain

A Íosa
Cad etá le rá
A Íosa
Go dtaga do riocht
A Íosa
Cad éta le rá
A Íosa
Go dtaga do riocht

Suite ar an gcathaoir shoilseach
D’fhéach sé orm, cád é a dheir mé
Na laethanta crua curtha síos
Seanathair, a sheanathair
Mise …(?)… ar sheanathair
Saol le chéile le do chéile
Blianta caite ón am sin
Nócha trí bliain, nócha trí bliain

A Íosa
Cad etá le rá
A Íosa
Go dtaga do riocht
A Íosa
Cad etá le rá
A Íosa
Go dtaga do riocht

A Íosa
Cad etá le rá
A Íosa
Go dtaga do riocht
A Íosa
Cad etá le rá
A Íosa
Go dtaga do riocht

ENGLISH TRANSLATION

Sitting on a lordly/majestic chair
Thinking back on his holidays
Difficult years put down
Grandad, oh Grandad
(Unintelligible line)
Life together with your wife
Years spent from that time
Ninety three years, Ninety three years

Oh Jesus
What is there to say
Oh Jesus
Thy kingdom come
Oh Jesus
What is there to say
Oh Jesus
Thy kingdom come

Sitting on a glittering chair
He looked at me, what did I say
The tough years put down
Grandad, oh Grandad
Me and my Grandad
Life together with your wife
Years spent since then
Ninety three years, Ninety three years

Oh Jesus
What is there to say
Oh Jesus
Thy kingdom come
Oh Jesus
What is there to say
Oh Jesus
Thy kingdom come

Oh Jesus
What is there to say
Oh Jesus
Thy kingdom come
Oh Jesus
What is there to say
Oh Jesus
Thy kingdom come

PHONETIC TRANSCRIPTION

Sitter er-a car-hear wer-ga
Smee-noff arnish lenta seera
No bleeanta cru-a cur-ha sheese
Shana-hear, a yhana-hear
…(?)…
Syal la khayla leh doh khayla
Bleeanta car-ter ohn om shin
No-kha tree blee-an, no-kha tree blee-an

A Eesa
Card aytar leh rah
A Eesa
Guh dag-uh duh rochkt
A Eesa
Card aytar leh rah
A Eesa
Guh dag-uh duh rochkt

Sitter er-a car-hear oilsha
Dechk shay orum, card er year meh
No lenta cru-a cur-ha sheese
Shana-hear, a yhana-hear
…(?)… er yhana-hear
Syal la khayla leh doh khayla
Bleeanta car-ter ohn om shin
No-kha tree blee-an, no-kha tree blee-an

A Eesa
Card aytar leh rah
A Eesa
Guh dag-uh duh rochkt
A Eesa
Card aytar leh rah
A Eesa
Guh dag-uh duh rochkt

A Eesa
Card aytar leh rah
A Eesa
Guh dag-uh duh rochkt
A Eesa
Card aytar leh rah
A Eesa
Guh dag-uh duh rochkt

UPDATE – 7 OCTOBER

(Unintelligible line) could be in Gaelic “Croí sin an a sheanmháthair” (no 100% garantee!) which possibly means “Grandmother’s heart” in English. Phonetic transcription: “Cree shin an ar yhanmo-hear”.

Full lyrics + full translation + full phonetic directly on our “Íosa” page by clicking this link.

Please understand all those different translations/transcriptions might still include a few mistakes!

The photo was posted yesterday on Instagram by user joanna.cran.pic

We’re delighted to find out that the “Everybody Else Is Doing It, So Why Can’t We? 25th Anniversary Edition” 4 CD boxset due for release on October 19th will feature a 12,000 words sleeve note essay from Professor Eoin Devereux (University of Limerick) : “Waltzing Back: The Cranberries 1989-1993”

Quite exciting as fans shall expect to discover interesting anecdotes, as well as never seen before pics and memorabilia.

Eoin Devereux’s tweet this morning

As a reminder, you can preorder the boxset on this link.

Rare audio from the audience. “False” recorded live in concert on 23 February 1993 in Portsmouth at Portsmouth Pyramids Centre. The Cranberries were opening for Belly. Thanks to Luis Hernández for sharing.

History: clashmusic.com just released for the first time ever the studio version of “Íosa” as a teaser of Everybody Else Is Doing It, So Why Can’t We? 25th Anniversary Edition.

Known as the only track written by Dolores O’Riordan in Irish Gaelic, “Íosa” had only been known through 1990s live recordings of Cranberries performances that did not enable lyrics to be deciphered. It was unknown whether the song had ever been recorded in studio or not… Today is thus a day to be remembered!

For those who are ready to get spoiled and be overwhelmed, here is the MASTERPIECE:

Click here

:’-(

EDIT#1: Available on Spotify and Apple Music from Sept 28th on… meaning if it’s not midnight yet in your country, you’ll have to wait a couple of hours more!

EDIT#2: Official release date: September 28, 2018
Now midnight in Ireland, it’s available on the official The Cranberries account on YouTube/VEVO:

The upcoming month edition of Q magazine (Q391 / November 2018 / order here), out tomorrow Tuesday 25 September, will apparently be featuring a 2-page interview of the boys as The Cranberries are about to release next month the 25th anniversary edition of their debut album.

“You remember what she was like then, what we were like, and that sometimes is more difficult than remembering her later on in life.”
– Noel Hogan

Thanks to The Cranberries Newspaper for the info!

“I Heart the Cranberries raises fund in aid of Adapt House and Limerick Mental Health Association” article published on ilovelimerick.ie today.

ilovelimerick.ie

We may know Olivier Dahan as the director of La Vie en Rose, Le Petit Poucet or Grace de Monaco, but to us, he is the iconic director of four music videos for The Cranberries as well as one from Dolores O’Riordan’s first solo album.

A few weeks ago, Olivier Dahan was kind enough to answer our questions and revisit his fruitful collaboration with The Cranberries.

Cranberries World: First, let’s start by talking about your first project with the band, how was your first collaboration in 1996, on Salvation?

Olivier Dahan: I worked at the time at ‘Bandits’, the production company owned by JB Mondino. The band contacted me and left me carte blanche for this clip. Dolores had sent me the lyrics telling me about the main theme: a song against drugs. At the time I would always start working with preparatory drawings: so I began drawing this scary clown, then other characters that I placed in some frames that made sense with the lyrics of the song.

Two of Olivier Dahan’s drawings he kindly agreed on sharing with us
(More drawings to be uploaded soon on our “Salvation” video page)

CW: How was your work received by the band, specifically Dolores?

OD: Dolores was more involved than the rest of the band, because she was the one writing the lyrics – but also because of her strong personality. At the end of the day, most of my exchanges at the time of the development of the concept were almost exclusively with her. She would then debrief the rest of the band on the ideas that she and I were contemplating.

CW: What were her expectations for the Salvation video?

OD: Beyond the anti-drug theme, one of the first things that she told me when we talked about the concept of Salvation‘s video was that she wanted her bones to be seen. She liked provocative or disturbing things sometimes. I understood that she was ready to go far and, as a matter of fact, our video was censored in some countries: we thus released a “light” version where scenes of violence, like the scene where the parents are tied on a chair, were blurred.
In general, Dolores was very attentive and wanted her clips not to be formatted. She always tended to want to go beyond mainstream.

CW: Your second collaboration with The Cranberries was in 1999 for the video for their fourth album’s first single, Promises. How was this concept born? Tell us about the idea of having the ‘Robins des Bois’ in the casting.

OD: I wanted a gap between the seriousness of the lyrics and an almost burlesque visual. The Cranberries did not know the ‘Robins des Bois’ and, as far as I’m concerned, I had only seen some of their sketchs. I believe they were only starting out back then, but I thought they could fit what I had in mind. That being said, I have been able to work again with Jean-Paul Rouve or Maurice Barthélémy since, who I both really appreciate. Maïwenn is also featured in this video. She plays the role of the scarecrow.

CW: And what about the atmosphere on the set with the band?

OD: The atmosphere was always very pleasant. I was given lots of freedom for creation; and the band would place their entire confidence in me. Their success, at the time, would allow them to be granted significant budgets for their clips and therefore to have lots of fun. They were always very enthusiastic and excited about our projects. We would get along quite well actually, each of them were very friendly. We spent a fair amount of time together later in Toronto when shooting the video for Animal Instinct. We would go out, attend gigs together, etc.

CW: Animal Instinct is quite different from the two other clips we’ve discussed so far. Where did you get the inspiration for that video?

OD: On this third collaboration with the band, I wanted to do something much more down to earth, with a direct link to the lyrics. This time, the shooting lasted for almost a week, in similar conditions to that of a movie, in Toronto. We worked out an entire story, set up a casting to find the actors… I wanted something that looked realistic. When it was broadcasted, we had to submit an alternative edit of the videoclip, a version that did not feature the intro, for MTV. This story with those kids who are removed from their mother was obviously something somehow too harrowing for them!

CW: At last, the band called on you once again in 2002 to work on the This Is The Day videoclip. What was the idea behind this?

OD: The goal was clearly to make a spectacular video with powerful images. In the end, it was not the link with the lyrics that mattered most here, but the aesthetic side with a rather baroque universe.

Preview of the storyboard of “This Is The Day” that Olivier Dahan kindly shared with us
(See more images taken from “This Is The Day” storyboard on the video page by clicking here)

CW: Dolores would always have those looks, and different haircut in your videoclips…

OD: Something was very clear on each of our collaboration: she had to be transformed, change her appearance. These transformations would motivate her a lot. On each of our collaborations, she wanted her look to be completely different from all the previous ones. Actually, among the first questions she would ask whenever we would start working on a new video concept was: “Alright, so what’s my look on this one? Which costume? Which make-up? Which hairstyle?” That would amuse her a lot. Gigi Lepage, the designer I work with, loved working with her.

CW: In 2007, you worked on the videoclip of When We Were Young, from Dolores’ first solo album. How was this collaboration different from those you had experienced with the band?

OD: Actually, it was not any different. The one main difference was the budget! The challenge here was to find some aesthetic ideas that could fit within this limitation. We shot the video in Paris, with sequence-shots, within a day. We made several sequence-shots this way, and chose the right shot together, there was no montage. Shooting started in the morning, and by the end of the day, the clip was done.

CW: Throughout all of these years, did you ever get to see the band play live?

OD: I did, several times! They had even asked me to film one of their concerts back then, though, unfortunately, I was already working on other projects at that time.

CW: Last question, which of these videoclips would you consider your favourite among all of those that we’ve discussed?

OD: The one that marked me most is probably Salvation, because it was our first collaboration and the concept worked very well. This Is The Day was also a beautiful collaboration: I produced this clip with Hervé Humbert, and worked with a graphic designer, Marc Latil, who I appreciate a lot; and I think the result is very powerful, visually speaking. The concept actually evolved throughout the process. During the shooting, we had not yet considered projecting images in space. We only got to improvise this later.