Cranberries singer Dolores O'Riordan sent once final voicemail before her death
Cranberries' singer Dolores O'Riordan sent one final voicemail before she passed away on January 15, 2018, and the singer gushed about a cover she was looking forward to and sounded enthusiastic in the voicemail, merely hours before her sudden death at the age of 46.
The message was sent at 1:12 a.m. on the morning of her demise, and she could be heard excitedly discussing a new cover of her hit song with the Cranberries 'Zombie' that she was scheduled to record later the same day with rock band Bad Wolves. She sent the voicemail to Dan Waite, her label executive, the Daily Mirror reported.
O'Riordan told Waite, "Hi Dan, it's Dolores. I'm in London, I'm at the Hyatt Park Hilton." She raved about the cover, saying, "Actually I think it's f***ing awesome. It sounds f***ing terribly good." She eventually ended the call with an invitation for the producer to join her in the studio and a message for his wife, adding, "Send my love to Irene. Love that leather jacket."
The singer was found dead hours later in her room at the same hotel she mentioned in the voicemail, the London Hilton on Park Lane, located in Mayfair, London. The news comes a day after the removal of an inquest into her death from the court's schedule, an event that was scheduled to take place on April 4, 11 weeks after her death.
Metropolitan Police had earlier confirmed that the singer's death was not being treated as suspicious, and the circumstances surrounding her death in her hotel room have been withheld from the public, sparking allegations about the reasons for and nature of her death.
The Irish songstress was revealed to have battled depression and bipolar disorder all her life, and her friends told TMZ that she had been "dreadfully depressed" in the weeks leading up to her death. This led to rumors that the depression had gotten the better of the singer.
Waite, who had known O'Riordan for a long time, spoke about the voicemail, saying, "She was looking forward to seeing me in the studio and recording vocals. She sounded full of life, was joking and excited to see me and my wife this week. The news of her passing is devastating."
Eileen O'Riordan, the singer's mother, was given a book filled with condolences from over 16,000 fans. She told The Times, "I read some of the letters, and everyone says how she helped them through the dark moments in their lives. I really feel she's happy now. I go to her grave, but I don't find anything there. I feel that her spirit is around all the time."
Eileen reminisced about her daughter, saying, "She was that type of person anyway, she would come into the room, even as a child, and she would grab the attention. I don't miss the rockstar, I miss my little girl. I always feel that she is around. I talk to her as if she's on the phone. I was the last one to speak to her the night that she died, it was Sunday night."
She confessed that she was having a tough time dealing with her daughter's sudden passing. She shared, "It's very hard to absorb it, you know ... It's difficult when I think about my little girl and what she did in her life." The Cranberries are planning to release her last album with them that will feature her vocals. She participated in recordings for the album shortly before she passed.