Cranberries singer Dolores O'Riordan dies suddenly at 46

Meteoric rise

The Cranberries shot to fame with their 1993 debut album "Everybody Else Is Doing It, So Why Can't We?" after the hit song "Linger" was picked up by MTV. The band's first three albums sold a combined 28 million copies.

But the strain on O'Riordan, who was so shy that she performed with her back to the audience during some early concerts, was also becoming clear, with the band cutting short a tour in 1996 citing exhaustion and disillusionment.

O'Riordan left the Cranberries in 2003 and recorded two solo albums, before the band reformed in 2009.

O'Riordan pleaded guilty to headbutting and spitting at an Irish police officer in 2014 following an alleged air rage incident.

Last year the Cranberries cancelled a number of concerts in North America and Europe, saying O'Riordan was suffering from back problems.

British pop band Duran Duran, whose tour manager, Don Burton, was O'Riordan's husband from 1994 until they separated in 2014 and was father to her children, said in a twitter post that they were "crushed" by the news.

Irish singer Hozier said he was "shocked and saddened".

"My first time hearing Dolores O'Riordan's voice was unforgettable," he said. "I'd never heard somebody use their instrument in that way."

REUTERS