Living in the rock ‘n’ roll spotlight hasn’t always been easy for Dolores O’Riordan, who, at various times during the Cranberries’ conquering of the world, had to contend with stalkers, kidnap plots and the sort of tabloid intrusion that even Pete ‘n’ Kate would balk at.
Add in trying to raise two kids while on the album/tour/album/tour treadmill, and it was no surprise in December 2003 when she called a temporary halt to band activities.
Fast-forward two Christmases, and it’s a much more relaxed and cheery Dolores who’s sitting down for an exclusive chinwag with Hot Press.
“As wonderful and great as being in the Cranberries was, we’d been together 14 years and things had gotten a bit predictable and boring,” she reflects. “Having released and toured a Greatest Hits, it seemed a natural time in the band’s life to take a break.”
A few tweaks short of completing her solo record – late spring/early 2006 is the likely release date – the 34-year-old admits that she finds not being in a group liberating.
“I no longer feel the pressure of three people waiting on me,” she resumes. “I’d have a baby, nurse him or her for three months and then have to break the bond because there was an album to record or a tour to go on.
“As soon as the band was finished, I thought, ‘If I have another baby, I’ll be able to enjoy this one for six months’, which is exactly what happened. We also moved house, so I got to live my life for a change.”
Amidst all this domestic bliss, Dolores rediscovered the passion for making music that had evaporated somewhat with the Cranberries.
“I’ve been able to write songs in my own time and in my own way,” she enthuses. “There are lyrics on this album that I’d never have sung in a boys’ band that happened to have a girl singer. This time I could go anywhere and say anything without having to worry about the lads being comfortable with it. There’s just so much more freedom.”
While her approach to making it may be upbeat, the record deals in some decidedly dark and adult themes.
“There’s a very intricate and eerie song, ‘The Black Widow’, which is about watching my husband’s mum die of cancer,” she explains. “You might think, ‘Oh, that’s the same singer’, but otherwise it’s completely different to the Cranberries.’”
Dolores’ mother-in-law also appears to be the inspiration for ‘Letting Go’, another emotionally-charged song that includes such couplets as, “She’ll be with your father/And they will be the one/In heaven, in heaven.”
As revealed in our last issue – and archived on hotpress.com – the as-yet-untitled collection has been pieced together in Dublin, LA and Toronto with legendary hard rock bassist Marco Mendoza and hotshot Irish drummer Graham Hopkins among the supporting cast.
No mere studio project, Dolores will be giving it a live airing in the New Year.
“We’ll decide on the plans after Christmas, but I imagine we’ll start in America with a promotional tour and then do some theatre shows there. It won’t be a marathon Cranberries-style trek, but we’ll get to as many places as possible.”
In addition to her own album, Dolores has been indulging in some extracurricular activities with Twin Peaks and Blue Velvet composer Angelo Badalamenti.
“I’ve been working with him for the last two years, although we’ve never actually met!” she laughs. “We started talking on the phone, and then he asked me to work on some music for a film called Evilenco, which interested me because it wasn’t a big Hollywood glamour thing. It was a low-budget film noir about a cannibal, very dark and scary but fun to do because it was so completely different.
“He sent me these music parts on CD, and I added the vocals in the studio I have downstairs in my house. We’re now working on another script with David Grieco called Secrets Of Love. Again it’s weird and dysfunctional but dead interesting.”
I’d be guilty of gross dereliction of journalistic duty if I didn’t ask whether Dolores has been in contact recently with Mike, Ferg and Noel.
“Not for a while,” she admits. “We used to talk every now and again on the ‘phone, but we’ve all had our own music and families to concentrate on.”
Sadly for Cranberries fans, internet reports that the band gathered recently in a Dublin restaurant to discuss a reunion are totally false.
“Other than releasing my own record I’ve no plans for next year or the year after that or the year after that,” Dolores laughs again. “It really is a case of seeing what happens.”