The Cranberry released “Zombie” as a single from their 1994 album. No need to argue. The band’s late frontwoman Dolores O’Riordan wrote a song about the troubles in Northern Ireland. However, over the years it has become a staple of Irish rugby matches and a favorite among alternative rock fans. He recently reached the huge milestone of reaching 1 billion streams on Spotify.
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The rest of The Cranberry took to social media to celebrate the achievement. “We’re thrilled to hear that ‘Zombie’ has just surpassed one billion streams on Spotify,” the band wrote in a post. They went on to share how O’Rirodan would feel about this important event. “Dolores would be in seventh heaven! Thank you to all our fans for your incredible support.”
Spotify compiled its Billions playlist for the first time in 2020. It combines all songs to reach over one billion streams. There are currently only 486 songs on the Spotify Billions Club playlist. “Zombie” now sits alongside classics like “Sweet Home Alabama,” “Have You Ever Seen the Rain,” “Fortunate Son,” “Sweet Child O’ Mine” and many more. The list includes songs by Lady Gaga, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Lil Nas X, REM and The Beatles, to name a few. In short, The Cranberry is in good company here.
Unfortunately, O’Riordan did not live to see the poignant song she wrote reach this milestone. The singer-songwriter tragically passed away in 2018. She drowned in a London hotel bathtub after drinking too much before getting into the bath.
The Troubles was a violent conflict in Northern Ireland that lasted from the late 60s to the late 90s. In short, it was a struggle between the Protestant Irish, who wanted the country to remain under British control, and the Catholics, who wanted Ireland to be a sovereign nation. Bombing, guerrilla warfare and the death of innocent people were the main features of the sectarian conflict.
O’Riordan took inspiration from The Troubles to write the immortal hit The Cranberry. In particular, she was inspired to write the song by the bombing in London, which killed two children on Mother’s Day. “There were a lot of bombs going off in London and I remember one time a child died when a bomb was thrown into a bin – that’s why there’s a line in the song: The baby is slowly taken— the songwriter recalled in a 2017 interview.
She added that they were on a tour bus near the site of the explosion when it happened. As a result, the incident stuck with her and inspired her to create an angry song that became a huge hit.
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