Linger: quick facts
- Band: The Cranberries, from Limerick.
- Written by: Dolores O’Riordan and Noel Hogan.
- Released: February 1993, on the debut album Everybody Else Is Doing It, So Why Can’t We?
- Charts: number three in Ireland, number 14 in the UK and number eight in the US, the band’s first big hit.
Before “Zombie”, before the stadiums and the millions of records, there was “Linger”: a gentle, heartbroken love song from a young Limerick band with a singer whose voice nobody could forget.
How The Cranberries started
The Cranberries began in Limerick around 1990, when brothers Noel and Mike Hogan and drummer Fergal Lawler needed a new singer. A teenage Dolores O’Riordan turned up to audition, and when she came back with lyrics and a melody for one of Noel’s guitar pieces, the band knew they’d found something special. That song became “Linger”.
A slow-burning hit
Produced by Stephen Street, who had worked with The Smiths and Blur, “Linger” was released in February 1993. At first it didn’t do much. But when the band toured the US and American radio and MTV picked it up, it took off, reaching number eight on the Billboard Hot 100. Back home it went to number three. Suddenly The Cranberries were one of the biggest new bands in the world.
The song itself is simple and devastating: a young woman realising that someone she fell for didn’t feel the same, and wishing she could let go. Dolores’s voice, soft one moment and soaring the next, with her unmistakable Limerick lilt, made it unforgettable.
Remembering Dolores
The Cranberries went on to sell tens of millions of records, with songs like “Zombie”, “Dreams” and “Ode to My Family”. Dolores O’Riordan died in London in January 2018, aged 46. Her voice remains one of the most recognisable in Irish music, and “Linger” is still where many fans’ love of the band began.
Linger FAQ
Who wrote Linger by The Cranberries?
Dolores O’Riordan and Noel Hogan.
When did Linger come out?
February 1993.
Where are The Cranberries from?
Limerick, Ireland.
More Irish music
- Irish Women in Harmony sing Dreams
- Kodaline’s All I Want
- Zombie by The Cranberries
- Sinéad O’Connor’s Nothing Compares 2 U
- Enya’s Only Time
- U2’s rooftop gig
Featured image: still from The Cranberries’ official YouTube (Vevo) channel.
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