It was 1994. Bands like Nirvana, Green Day, Metallica or Aerosmith, together with pop legends like Madonna, were on top of the world, and music was very present in people’s lives thanks to radio stations, the rising of the videoclip and the appearance of new TV formats like MTV, which made a major impact in our culture. It was commonplace to enjoy the best live performances in TV shows and this is how my first encounter with Dolores and The Cranberries took place.

Zombie changed my life completely – says one of our team members – It is a before and after. It had been a few months since I had received my first guitar and I was learning to play. I was going to high school when one Saturday afternoon on the program Del 40 al 1, I saw the video for Zombie and I was literally speechless. When it finished I said to my sister: this is the group of my life. So it was. Dolores’ voice captivated me, but also the strength of the song, those drums… Thanks to Zombie I was able to learn more about No Need to Argue later on, and to verify that I was right: I was spellbound by each and every one of the tracks. The same thing happened months and years later when I was discovering the first album and then the ones they were releasing. I couldn’t stop listening to them and the waiting between one album and the other without having any news of them, on those no-Internet times, was eternal. I learned English and guitar thanks to Dolores and today this is what I do, I am both a teacher and a musician. I literally owe her who I am. Although I used to like music and English before, she was the one who motivated me and made it even more clear to me what I wanted to do in my life, what I really liked. So thanks to Zombie I met my greatest influence and my guardian angel and since that day of 1994, Zombie has been in my life.

And as for me, it must have been The Cranberries’ performance for Concierto Básico in Los40 that caught my attention that evening. It was 1994, maybe 1995, and I was 5 years old. Dolores’ presence caused a strong, but positive impact to my child eyes. With a shoulder-length bleach blonde wig and red lips, that little lady with the most outstanding looks I had seen happened to have the strongest and most powerful vocals I had ever heard. An image I would never forget, same as I would never forget that song that was stuck in my mind. I could have found it kind of funny, the attractiveness of the unusual, the uncommon… something we were not used to see every day. At my young age, I somehow knew that what I had just witnessed was extraordinary. I would be singing that song in the car for ages, putting emphasis on the “zombie, zombie, zombie” chorus that had grabbed my attention. I didn’t know it, but the most fantastic, passionate and enthusiastic sphere of my life had just begun. Incidentally, 1994 was designated “The International Year of the Family” and never would I find a more suitable expression to describe the bonds I had unconsciously attached to this band and that would change my life forever.

I feel vertigo of looking back and recalling how that little lady with bleach blonde wig and red lips would become such an important part of my life. How she would make me feel the most devoted fan love, would make me start a huge collectiong of CDs, vinyls and all kind of memorabilia, would take me on a few tours around Spain and a few shows abroad for the most wonderful 10 years of my life… I saw her grow up and she saw me grow up, and that tiny little bond we had would change my life for the better forever. It is still strange to think how she made me forget the traumas that would have shaped my character the wrong way hadn’t it been for her influence and presence, her life lessons through her music, her support through the warmest and most comforting hugs that would make all my broken pieces stick back together every time. Sometimes I felt we could read each other’s mind. The day she got her angel wings, my life was irreparably broken.

Today, 18th of April 2020, Dolores’ “Zombie” performed and recorded with The Cranberries has reached 1.000.000.000 views. As described by Dolores’ official Facebook profile “a truly monumental achievement making it one of only a handful of songs from before 2000 and the first ever from an Irish band to achieve a billion views on the channel. It’s a testament to her pure honest creative genius.”

In celebration for this achievement, a new 4k version of the official videos will be uploaded on YouTube.

Click here to view the video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Ejga4kJUts

The fact that this videoclip has reached 1.000.000.000 views makes me hope that maybe, somewhere, a little child is fascinated by Dolores’ outstanding looks and powerful vocals, and maybe, who knows, this changes their life forever.

I can’t help feeling emotionally drained thinking how she would have received this news, although she was never interested in prizes or recognitions. Dolores wrote songs and blessed the world with them as a way of living. Sadly, she is no longer here with us, but I want to emphasise the word “here”, because I know she IS still with us, and is sharing our pride and joy receiving this news… somewhere in between here and heaven.

Hugs to Heaven, Princess.

Dolores O’Riordan Spain Team