Authority could applaud, as Gay Byrne cosied up to Dolores onLate the Late. On the surface, The Cranberries seem the most Irish of all our suc­ Great Series To Cut Out And Keep cesses. Yet dig deeper and the evidence appears to contradict that N A to Z series in which a lusty squad of Hot Press lexicographers scour the dictionaries, ency­ comforting view. For really, The Cranberries may be the most isolated clopaedias and history books of the world to unearth the precise and formal terminologies for some of all our famous Seamuses and Siles. A unusual, not so unusual and very fucking unusual sexual practices. Though they are still based in Limerick, The Cranberries are curiously detached from the wider Irish music community. Delete a spell support­ Apart from affording one a rare opportunity to talk dirty while simultaneously sounding intelli­ ing Hot House Flowers in America and there’s scant record of them gent, the listing of these terms of endearment should serve as a source of warm reassurance for having any allies or friends among other major Irish musicians. Despite many readers. In other words, if it has an official name then you can’t be the only person to have sharing the same label and following the same America-first path to thought about doing it. success, relations with U2 were patchy and diplomatic, at least until O ’Riordan recently teamed up with Bono and Pavarotti on Warthe Child benefit. Nor did they appear to associate with the wider Irish pop-culture com­ Balinese Marriage: Bali is an island of one million inhabitants off the coast of Java. Among their customs to BILL GRAHAM examines THE CRANBERRIES' dramatic fall from grace with the UK media, and fears that their peculiar isolationmunity. No contacts with Jim Sheridan or Neil Jordan. No other artists this day is the belief that adult twins of different sexes should marry each other because they have already or musicians emerging from Limerick in their wake. “been intimate” in the womb. They also have a taboo against teacher/student marriage which they regard as from the music scene at home may not augur well for the future. There was a further odd factor. Quickly correct me if I’m wrong but a form o f incest. this most volkish of Irish bands never seemed to have crossed the Beast Fetishism: A term coined by the German neurologist and student of sexual aberration, Baron Richard county border into Clare. No associations with such as Sharon von Krafft-Ebbing (1840 — 1902), for the fact that contact with animal furs, pelts or skins may have an aphro­ a s t s u m m e r , pop Shannon or Martin Hayes. No exploration of all the musical stimulants disiac effect producing “peculiar and lustful emotions.” weather forecasters waiting for them in the next parish. Berdache: A term used among certain Native American nations, especially in the North-west U.S.A., for a This isolation goes even further. Though the late Denny Cordell was a male transvestite who not only dresses as a woman but performs ‘women’s tasks’ and adopts the feminine predicted that thun­ prime player in their original American success, The Cranberries have L role in sexual behaviour with male partners. derclouds were about to been detached from the broader Irish music business Murphia, as their Bestiality: Sexual relations with animals through intercourse, masturbation, fellatio, frottage (rubbing), anal management moved from former Rough Trade chief, Geoff Travis, to surround The Cranberries. penetration or having one’s genitals licked. According to the Kinsey report, 17 percent of male farmers have the West Coast company, The Left Bank Organization. They do have It started with the rustle of reached orgasm through sexual activity with animals. an Irish office and an Irish accountant and local Irish publicists - but rumours about Dolores there appears to be little Irish input into their strategic decisions. Bone Marrow: Human bone marrow has been regarded by many cultures as the ultimate aphrodisiac. The poet Homer tells us that bone marrow was especially popular in Roman love potions and pates during the O’Riordan’s role and the In consequence, they remained enigmas and unknowns, vulnerable to a swirl of unflattering rumours before Michael Ross broke the log­ first century BC. band’s business affairs that jam. The Cranberries lack friends and allies in the Irish media; that Brank: A medieval device consisting of a helmet with an iron bit or gag with which to restrain the tongue. could neither be denied nor same media also now feels that it owes The Cranberries few favours. Branks were formerly used to punish ‘nagging’ women but are now popular in erotic bondage games. Also confirmed. Then Dolores Bands are vulnerable once they reach The Cranberries level of star­ known as a scold’s bridle. O’Riordan’s press relations dom. The national media become insatiable for a storyany - story. Brown Boy: A slang term for a male who derives sexual gratification from the eating of his or another per­ With the possible exception of Brian Boyd of theIrish Times, news edi­ so n ’s faeces. soured in a trio of unhappy tors have no experts with whom to check. Nobody to partially defuse or Bundling:An early American custom of courtship in which a man and a woman shared a bed but were encounters withVox, the deflect any hostile stories or comments. Nobody on the inside track to required to remain fully clothed. In some cases, they also were separated by a board installed between the SundayTim es and NME. explain the band’s internal chemistry. head and foot of the bed. A boy and girl were thus allowed to become acquainted in a cold room under warm Indeed the reverse applies. After O’Riordan dissed her former So what?, the devoted circumstances. Despite the restrictions, history records a high number of “bundling pregnancies.” boyfriend Mike O ’Mahoney in herQ interview, Eugene Masterson was Cranberries fan might object. Bustle Punching:A slang term for the male practice of standing very close to women in crowded trains, available to scout out the scorned O’Mahoney for theDaily Star. Earlier These were minor squabbles, buses, etc. and pressing the penis against them. this year, Masterson had been barred from The Cranberries'company. much media ado about noth­ Butterfly: A flat, non-penetrating latex vibrator that is mounted against a woman’s pubic area, with straps The veracity of her statements became irrelevant. In effect, O ’Riordan ing. Every act has its edgy going around her legs and waist. It may be positioned to give general stimulation or may be directed against had scored two own goals. The controversy can hardly have helped her phases and given the surprise, in Ireland. Neither did it improve her credibility Qat or in London jour­ the clitoris. It is designed to touch all the erogenous zones simultaneously. scale and suddenness of their nalistic circles. success, The Cranberries are And The Cranberries’ Irish media relationships could get even worse. entitled to their own few bouts Of course this may not matter commercially since Ireland accounts for of the moodies. Besides, Except Anne Scanlon wasn’t some ratty amateur; she’d already writ­Listening to it without the dubious benefit of the lyricTo sheet, The hardly 1% of their sales. But it does matter personally, if they wish to Dolores O ’Riordan was far Faithful Departed happily live here. And to say the least, the creative impact is highly ten the officially authorised Pogues biography and thus might have isn’t as bad as its most hostile reviewers claim. from the first and won’t be the Beyond reining back some of O’Riordan lyrical gaucheries, I don’t think unpredictable. been a potential friend. Likewise Gavin MartinNME, of the who like fel­ last to behave temperamental­ Now let’s try to see it from The Cranberries’ side. Success was so low Belfast man, Stuart Bailie, has long looked favourably on any anyIrish A&R advisors would have been panicked by any early demos. The ly on the road, often a more sudden that it left little time for reflection. Besides, having leap-frogged talent. Yet Martin was another early entry into The Cranberries’ blackCranberries hadn’t been suddenly bereaved of their melodic and song­ stressful situation than the both Dublin and London, their priorities didn’t extend to conciliating thebooks. structuring gifts. usual round of interviews in Pic: Cathal Dawson metropolitan media, of whatever stripe. With such potential friends eliminated, no wonder that the trio of True,But it is patchy, scrappy and obviously a transitional work. Bad pro­ the record company offices. An early pic of The Cranberries: trouble in store duction and arrangement calls are often made. ‘Forever Yellow Skies’ Success can breed suspicion. Why extend the hand to those who did­Parkes and Mulvey were left free to hammer Dolores O’Riordan and Last week, however, Melody n’t help and maybe hindered them? And who knows what home-grown her band. skitters aimlessly, with Feargal Lawlor’s stampeding drums and Maker opened a new barrage parasites might have since exploited them. O’Riordan playing not so much Sinead Lite as Sinead Crude. with a coruscating review of Catholic girl, all right: when not holding up the spectre of death to terrifywise, The Cranberries were portrayed as Dolores plus three, a group Are these the only reasons whyTo The Faithful Departed has been And if their loyalty to Limerick has forfeited them allies, they’ll claim Here, but also elsewhere, the production exaggerates her vocal man­ their third albumTo The her congregation, she’s full of little finger-wagging lectures about suchwho through the lead singer’s insistence had regularly dumped on pre­ so scurrilously slammed? Again the promotion was mishandled.