Live at The London Astoria II, 1994′ captures the band in the gap between ‘Everybody Else Is Doing It…’ and ‘No Need to Argue’, with an early performance of ‘Zombie’ months before its release
A long-lost recording of The Cranberries playing London’s Astoria II in 1994 is getting an official release. Live at The London Astoria II, 1994 comes out Friday August 28th via Island/UMe, available on 2LP limited edition molten lava vinyl, standard black vinyl, CD and digitally.
The show caught the band at a pivotal moment, fresh off a US stadium tour behind their debut Everybody Else Is Doing It, So Why Can’t We? and its hits ‘Linger’ and ‘Dreams’, but before the release of follow-up No Need to Argue.
Scaling back to an intimate London club gig after that run of American success, the band previewed six songs that would end up on the second album, including a performance of ‘Zombie’ captured seven months before the single’s release, a song that went on to top charts in Australia, Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany and Iceland, hit number one on the US Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart, and has since passed 1.8 billion YouTube views.
Guitarist Noel Hogan recalled coming back to headline the Astoria as a huge moment for the band after years of playing small London clubs, made even more special by seeing familiar faces from earlier shows in the crowd.
♡ Nialler9 is independent and reader-supported. Support us on Patreon →
Drummer Fergal Lawler remembers the gig as their first London show after their American success.
“It was such a buzz playing in The Astoria,” remembers drummer Fergal Lawler. “We had returned from the U.S. and taken a bit of time off for Christmas. This was our first concert back in London after achieving such success in America. We were delighted to see a few of our hardcore fans at the front of the stage, I think we felt proud that all our hard work had finally come to fruition.”
“Playing the Astoria after returning from the States was a real buzz. We’d started playing small clubs in London a few years earlier, so coming back to headline the Astoria felt like a huge show for us. Seeing so many familiar faces who’d supported the band over the years made it even more special. It was an exciting time for the band.”
– Noel Hogan, guitarist for The Cranberries
Live at The London Astoria II, 1994 tracklist:
- Pretty
- Dreaming My Dreams
- Linger
- Ridiculous Thoughts
- Daffodil Lament
- How
- Everything I Said
- Not Sorry
- Waltzing Back
- Dreams
- Zombie
- Liar
- So Cold in Ireland
- Empty
- Still Can’t…
The 15-track set pulls seven songs from Everybody Else Is Doing It, So Why Can’t We? and nine from No Need to Argue, plus two rarities: ‘Liar’, originally released on the Empire Records soundtrack in 1995, and ‘So Cold in Ireland’, a B-side from the ‘Ode to My Family’ single.
Live at The London Astoria II, 1994 is available for pre-order now.
Niall Byrne is the founder of the most-influential Irish music site Nialler9, where he has been writing about music since 2005. He is the co-host of the Nialler9 Podcast and has written for the Irish Times, Irish Independent, Sunday Times, Totally Dublin, Cara Magazine, Red Bull and more. Niall is a DJ, co-founder of Lumo Club, event curator, Indie Sleaze club promoter, and producer of gigs and monthly listening parties & events in Dublin.
