New video interview with The Cranberries published yesterday on German website dw.com
Entitled “The Cranberries’ comeback”, the video is about 2:30 min. long.
It’s a mix between 2 sources, one recorded on May 2, 2017 in Berlin during the first show of the European acoustic tour and the other one recorded during the band’s rehearsals in Limerick at ICO Studio possibly in March 2017. Both sources contain live footage and interview.

Journalist Nadine O’Reagan met the band back in April in a Dublin pub. The interview was then published in the Business Post Magazine issued on May 7th which featured Dolores O’Riordan on the cover (“She’s beautiful, Dolores O’Riordan. Sometimes the cameras don’t capture that. Today, as she sits in the Cobblestone pub in Smithfield in Dublin, the Limerick-born singer looks as dainty as a doll – her skin is porcelain, her close-cropped hair is a shiny black, and her military-style jacket from Marc Jacobs in Brown Thomas is on trend: tough, but also reinforcing her fragility”):

“You have to keep going,” O’Riordan nods. “You just have to be strong. And keep soldiering on. You just can’t lay down and die. There’s light at the end of the tunnel.”

Noel, Dolores, Fergal and Mike sat down to discuss various topics ranging from their early days and sudden fame to hobbies. Here are a few extracts (full interview is avaiable on the Business Post site – subscription required):

About the early days:

“For us, four kids from Limerick, who did a demo, took a chance and posted it to London – for us to get a positive letter, we were ringing each other, going: ‘Oh my God’,” says Lawlor, the gregarious drummer, as he sips a soft drink around the small table in the Cobblestone. “You have that buzz. Geoff [Travis, the founder of Rough Trade Records] was managing us a year later.”

About their relationship:

“We found that, for us, any problems have come from outside influences,” Hogan says, adding that it’s better when he and O’Riordan sit down and “thrash out” issues.

About hobbies:

O’Riordan enjoys swimming and meditating – she’s not into Spotify; she’s not much of a music listener by her own account, but she downloads meditations from iTunes. She travels with a yoga mat, she says, and she’ll meditate every day if the hotel room she’s in has space for her to lay out her mat. I ask her why she likes meditating so much, in particular.

Dolores also gave an insight on her back injury that would later prevent her from completing their summer tour:

“I love to swim (…) the breaststroke and the backstroke. Because I had a herniated disc last year. I had to cancel a couple of festivals. I’m hoping it doesn’t come back to haunt me. If I had this disc out, I’d have to be in a wheelchair, so that would be bad. I also like walking and painting”

The journalist also talks about Something Else defining it “gentle, uplifting and worth hearing”

The Business Post Magazine

After the first image of the Analog Spark reissue 3 days ago, here comes the Barnes & Noble version. Below the first image posted on Instagram by abruptmodulation.

This is the translucent red version. There’s no image of the red vinyl itself, hopefully soon!

Concerning the sound inside, it is the same as the Analog Spark one. “turk99”, a user at the “Vinyl Collective” boards, contacted Analog Spark and they confirmed it’s based on their mastering.

UPDATE – June 29, 5:15pm (UTC):
Analog Spark just twitted a great picture of the B&N version including the red vinyl, have a look below:

UPDATE – June 29, 8:15pm (UTC):
Another picture posted by cloie78

UPDATE – June 30:
Another picture by Instagram user beatlevinyl including sticker

UPDATE – July 2:
Another picture by Instagram user beatsofdestruction

As you may remember the album “Everybody Else Is Doing It, So Why Can’t We?” is going to be reissued on vinyl. Two different pressings are expected: the Barnes & Noble translucent red and the Analog Spark 180 grams.

Both versions were a little delayed for unknown reason. 2 days ago, the first image of the Analog Spark version was posted on Instagram by encorerekkids. Here it is below.

No image yet of the Barnes & Noble red vinyl version but it should appear pretty soon…

UPDATE July 3:
2 more pictures by Instagram users alwaysbeenmad and vauxhallvillian

“Love Letters from Limerick” is a short film (approximately 4 min. long) which was shown at the LIT presentation last Friday where the “Everybody Else Is Doing It, So Why Can’t We?” giant sign was donated and unveiled. It showcases the creation of this inspiring project.

The film is now available on Vimeo and features a new track by Fergal Lawler simply called “Love Letters”

And as Tom Collins says about the sign: “I love where it is now, it’s on a great blue wall, it looks like a big cloud on a blue wall, it’s a happy cloud”

Everybody Else is Doing It So Why Can’t We?
Texas based sign painter and illustrator Sean Starr collaborated with Limerick sign painter Tom Collins to create a 10ft high 15ft wide hand painted sign placing the title of The Cranberries debut album centre stage on a large cloud. This video showcases the creation of the sign and its installation in a permanent home where it’s elevating message can inspire future generations. Featuring a new track by Fergal Lawler of The Cranberries.

For those who wanted to see the giant sign “Everybody Else Is Doing It, So Why Can’t We?” in the streets of Limerick it’s too late! The sign has now moved and found a new home at the Limerick Institute of Technology also known as LIT.

Last Friday, June 16 at 4pm, there was a special presentation/ceremony with special guests Tom Collins (the local artist who created the sign) and a famous drummer named Fergal Lawler to unveil what has become the new sign on LIT’s campus.
Here below some pictures:

Sources: LIT Facebook, LIT Twitter, Ken Coleman, Oliver Smith

Since the band had to cancel the remaining European shows due to take place this summer, many fans have commented their social media, whether to support the band and send good vibes to Dolores or to express their disappointment.

Concerned by these comments, the band just posted a message a moment ago on their socials to explain into more deep why Dolores’ back problems do not allow her to perform on stage.

Indeed, it appears that the pain does impact her singing which increases the problem.
We strongly encourage everyone to read their below post, which is very clear and will be much appreciated by those who were seeking for an explanation.

Again, we’d like to underline that Dolores health is paramount, as the band already explained earlier, and wish her to get well soon with fond thoughts.

BREAKING NEWS: Following Wednesday announcement by French Promoter -GDP- that the May/June shows will in fact NOT be rescheduled, the Swiss promoter -Opus One- just emailed customers who had bought tickets for the show in Genève to let them know that “all dates due to take place between May 20th and August 30th are cancelled“. Here below a screen capture of their email in French:

Opus One then quotes the band as Ticketmaster.nl did earlier:

“We have really been thrilled to be back on the road and sharing our music with everyone and it’s with a heavy heart that we have had to pull these shows. Dolores is making good progress though we understandably do not want to jeopardise a full recovery. “

We can’t help but being saddened by the news, but as the band mentioned late May, Dolores health is paramount. Let’s note the band has not made any official statement yet regarding the situation.

Source: Opus One

UPDATE 7:00pm (UTC):
A fan sent an email through the official website a moment ago to be confirmed the announcement from Swiss concert promoter and was told pretty much the opposite as: “all shows are still going ahead apart from those that were cancelled a couple of weeks ago“.
Here’s a screen capture of his email below:

Whatever is going on, one can really question communication between management and promoters here…
Could the webmaster of the band’s official website possibly not be aware of these cancellations?
And could a local promoter make such an announcement up?
The situation is quite confusing…

We strongly advise fans to wait for official announcement from the band’s official website and socials. Also, if ever you receive an email from a promoter/ticket retailer we could have missed, please feel free to let us know so that we can keep everyone updated.

Source: F Andrew Matus

UPDATE June 17, 9:00pm (UTC):
The band just released an official statement on their Facebook page to confirm full cancellation of the European shows due to take place between May 22nd to August 30th. Let’s note that the US tour starting on September 11th will go ahead as planned.

BAND’S OFFICIAL STATEMENT:

***** The Cranberries – Statement *****

Most regrettably, Dolores O’Riordan has been instructed by her doctors to not resume touring as planned to help facilitate a full recovery to an ongoing back problem that she is currently receiving treatment for.

The Cranberries commented “It is with a heavy heart that we have had to pull these shows. Dolores is making good progress however we understandably don’t want to jeopardise a full recovery. We have really been thrilled to be back on the road and sharing our music with everyone, and so look forward to seeing everyone as soon as possible”.

All the band’s shows from 30th May to 30th August have been cancelled.
Where The Cranberries were playing a headline show, this event will now not take place and ticket holders should seek refund at point of purchase. These are marked with a (*) on the list below. The Festival Appearances that the band were due to undertake have also been cancelled, these events will go ahead without The Cranberries present.

30 May – Le Vinci, Tours FRANCE (*)
31 May – Amphitheatre de la Cite International, Lyon FRANCE (*)
2 June – Cite des Congres de Nantes, Nantes FRANCE (*)
4 June – Auditori Forum, Barcelona SPAIN (*)
5 June – Barclaycard Centre – The Ring, Madrid SPAIN (*)
7 June – Le Silo, Marseille FRANCE (*)
9 June – Palais des Congres, Salle Erasme Strasbourg FRANCE (*)
10 June – Theatre Du Leman, Geneve SWITZERLAND (*)
12 June – Teatro degli Arcimboldi, Milano ITALY (*)
16 June – Rai Theatre, Amsterdam, NETHERLANDS (*)
23 June – Anfiteatro Camerini, Piazzola sul Brenta ITALY (*)
24 June – Firenze Rocks (Arena Visarno), Florence ITALY
26 June – Auditorium Cavea, Rome ITALY (*)
27 June – Arena della Regina, Cattolica, ITALY (*)
29 July – Trollrock, Beitostølen NORWAY
3 August – Expofacic Festival, Cantanhede PORTUGAL
5 August – Starlite, Marbella SPAIN (*)
7 August – Cambrils Festival, Cambrils SPAIN
8 August – Summer Sporting Festival, Monte Carlo MONACO (*)
11 August – Fete du Bruit, Landernau FRANCE
13 August – Theatre Antique, Orange FRANCE (*)

The previously cancelled UK dates in May will also not be rescheduled; ticket holders should seek refund at point of purchase.

22 May – Colston Hall, Bristol UK
24 May – Sage, Gateshead UK
25 May – Royal Concert Hall, Glasgow UK
27 May – Barbican, York UK
28 May – Bridgewater Hall, Manchester UK

The North American tour dates starting 11 September will go ahead as planned.

For those who have missed our post on Wednesday, French fans who had bought tickets for the shows in May and June that were to be postponed in the upcoming months received an email two days ago from French promoter -GDP- to inform them these shows “could not be rescheduled in the end”

UK, Spanish, Italian, Swiss, and Dutch promoters had not given any news on their side yet, though Ticketmaster.nl just sent customers who were owning tickets for the show due to take place tonight at RAI the below email (screen captured):

None of our team members at Cranberries World can speak Dutch language though here’s an approximate translation made through Google:

We hereby inform you that the The Cranberries concert has been definitively canceled. As you may know, this even was already rescheduled once to a different venue before it got postponed indefinitely due to singer Dolores O’Riordan’s health issues.

Unfortunately, today, Dolores health does not allow her to be back on stage to perform (CW note: we’re not quite sure of the translation here). She needs time to recover from a back injury, and going back on tour prematurely could bring back the medical issues. Therefore, we can not guarantee to reschedule the concert in the short term and thus do not have any other choice but to cancel the show.

Below you can read the statement of the band:
“We have really been thrilled to be back on the road and sharing our music with everyone and it’s with a heavy heart that we have had to pull these shows. Dolores is making good progress though we understandably do not want to jeopardise a full recovery. “

We understand that you were looking forward to a nice performance, and we’re really annoyed to bring this news. We apologize for any inconvenience.

How can you get your money back?
You do not have to do anything. We will automatically refund the amount to the bill or credit card used to pay for the tickets. Within 14 days, the money will be credited by the credit card company. You can only expect a refund if you have purchased the tickets through Ticketmaster.

This new pieces of information are quite worrying and may imply that some more dates could be cancelled in the upcoming days. Indeed, the band is expected to play four electric shows in Italy next week to start their European summer festivals tour. It now looks very unlikely that these shows will take place.

We’ll keep you updated as soon as we know more on Dolores’ current state and if the situation is to impact -or not- the other European dates starting on July 29th in Norway up to August 13th in Orange, France.

Again, the CW team wishes Dolores a speedy recovery.

It seems that things do not look good for European fans who are awaiting for the 15 cancelled shows to be rescheduled.

Indeed, on May 24th, the band stated that they were working hard with local promoters to reschedule these shows.

This message was then quoted by the different promoters such as Opus One in Switzerland, who emailed customers to inform them that the rescheduled date would be announced “mid June”.

Later on, Spanish promoter – Doctor Music – posted on their Facebook page that both Spanish shows would take place and that the rescheduled dates would be known during the second week of June – which did not happen.

Today brings a much more worrying news as French promoter – GDP – emailed customers to explain that none of the French shows would be rescheduled in the end, as opposed to what they had stated on May 24th. Below the screen capture of the email in French:

Here’s our translation:

Dear customers,
Following our email dated Wednesday May 24th, we regret to inform you that, unfortunately, the concerts of The Cranberries that were due to take place in May and June could not be rescheduled. The below concerts are thus cancelled:

30 may: Tours – Le Vinci
31 may: Lyon – Amphithéâtre – Cité internationale
2 june: Nantes – Cité des Congrès
7 june: Marseille – Le Silo
9 june: Strasbourg – Palais des Congrès – Salle Erasme

Fans are invited to ask for a refund as per info below:

– Will-call tickets or e-tickets: Please send us your order number by e-mail and confirm that we can make the refund on the credit card used for the payment. If you changed your credit card, please send us your new credit card number and expiration date only (no security code needed for refunds). We will refund you within 2 to 3 business days.

– Tickets received by mail or DHL: please send us your tickets by mail at our address hereunder together with your bank account information. We will refund you by bank transfer within 2 to 3 weeks.

Please note the refunds will be closed after 09/09/2017
(no refunds after this date)

Thank you very much, kind regards

It would not be surprising if UK, Spanish, Italian, Swiss and Dutch promoters were to announce the same in the upcoming days.

We can’t help but hope this is not due to Dolores health but a schedule conflict, as this would imply that her medical issues have gotten worse.

Time will tell if the band will perform or not at the four Italian shows due to take place next week. As a reminder, Dolores doctors have advised her on May 22nd “to immediately cease work for the next 4 weeks” so one may imagine that Dolores is to meet her doctors again in the upcoming days to decide whether she can go back on tour or not.

As announced on May 24th, The Cranberries were forced to cancel 15 dates of their European semi acoustic tour with String Quartet due to take place in May & June as Dolores had “been instructed by her doctors to immediately cease work for the next 4 weeks for medical reasons associated with a back problem.”

The band immediately explained that her health being paramount, they would work hard to try and reschedule these shows and advised fans to “hold on to [their] ticket until [they] can update further“.

While some promoters have already processed to refund the customers with no more delay, hope comes back today as the Spanish promoter – Doctor Music – just announced that the rescheduled dates would be known next week!
Let’s note Doctor Music is refunding everyone at the moment, stating that tickets bought for June 4th and 5th won’t remain valid, which means that fans will be invited to buy some brand new tickets for the rescheduled shows later on.

Here’s their statement below:

Earlier this week, fans who had bought their ticket for the concert in Genève, Switzerland had also received an email from the local ticket retailer to explain the new date would be announced “mid June”.

We’ll keep you updated as soon as we know more.
In the meantime, we wish Dolores a prompt recovery.

More awesome pro pics of The Cranberries in Esch-sur-Alzette, Luxembourg at Rockhal by 3 different photographers:

Claude Piscitelli on Flickr:

David Robson/ARA City Radio on Facebook:

Simon Engelbert/Photogroove on Facebook:

Following the cancelation of the Bristol and Gateshead shows, the band just announced a minute ago on Facebook that all the upcoming concerts due to take place in May and up to June 16th would not go ahead:

Following the cancellation of Bristol’s concert at Colston Hall this Monday, the Sage just announced on their socials that tonight’s show in Gateshead (Newcastle) would be postponed too “due to illness” :

Regretfully, due to illness, @The_Cranberries show at Sage Gateshead tonight will not go ahead…https://t.co/tPc4c4ik5G

— Sage Gateshead (@Sage_Gateshead) 24 mai 2017

As a reminder, here’s the complete announcement from Colston Hall in which they explain that “Doctors have ordered lead vocalist Dolores O’Riordan to take ”immediate rest” leaving the band with no option but to postpone this show while she gets further medical opinion and advice on treatment options.”

EDIT : The band just confirmed the cancellation on the below Facebook statement :

We strongly advise all the fans who are travelling to keep checking the band’s official page as well as venues websites for some more news.

D.A.R.K. LIVE PA – CHINA GIRL

THE CRANBERRIES – ANIMAL INSTINCT