Cranberries singer Dolores O'Riordan dies aged 46

Dolores O'Riordan, frontwoman of Irish soft-rock group Cranberries, performs on stage at the open-air festival 'Out In the Green' in Frauenfeld, Switzerland, in July, 2000. (EPA photo)

LONDON: Irish singer-songwriter Dolores O'Riordan, frontwoman of the multi-million selling rock band The Cranberries, died suddenly in London on Monday aged 46, her publicist said.

"Irish and international singer Dolores O'Riordan has died suddenly in London today, family members are devastated," Lindsey Holmes said in a statement.

"The lead singer...was in London for a short recording session," she added.

The band achieved international success in the 1990s with their debut album Everyone Else is Doing it, So Why Can't We?, which included hit single Linger.

Follow-up album No Need to Argue went to No.1 in Australia, France and Germany, and No.6 in the United States.

The album also gave rise to the single Zombie, which was the No.1 in Thailand and across Europe. The band sold around 40 million records worldwide.

O'Riordan's last social media posting came shortly before Christmas on the band's Facebook page.

"Hi All, Dolores here. Feeling good! I did my first bit of gigging in months at the weekend, performed a few songs at the Billboard annual staff holiday party in New York with the house band," it read.

"Really enjoyed it! Happy Christmas to all our fans!! Xo".

The band, formed in 1989, went on a break in 2003 but reformed in 2009, releasing their final album Something Else last year.

They had to cancel several concerts and said at the time that this was because O'Riordan had a back problem.