The Concert

O'RIORDAN'S DRUMMER 'COLLAPSES ON STAGE'

Former THE CRANBERRIES singer DOLORES O'RIORDAN's U.S. solo tour is in doubt after her drummer reportedly collapsed on stage on Thursday (19Jul07). Sticksman Graham Hopkins suffered a seizure on stage at the gig at Los Angeles' House of Blues, according to audience members, who discussed the horrific incident on a Cranberries fansite. ZombieGuide.com user 'New Zombie' reports, "The drummer had a seizure right on stage during the third song. They killed the lights and lowered a screen. He had to be taken by ambulance to the hospital after what seemed like 20 minutes of medical treatment while he was laying on stage." The website claims O'Riordan's tour has been cancelled because the band do not have a replacement drummer.

As I mentioned a few posts down, I was in the audience for this last night. It was terribly sad and a little scary, but the band and the House of Blues staff handled it well. Except for a few bad apples in the audience, everyone was sympathetic and behaved appropriately. My best to the band and a speedy recovery for the drummer.

UPDATE: From Hotpress

Graham Hopkins was admitted to hospital after suffering an on stage collapse at a Dolores O’Riordan gig in Los Angeles’ House Of Blues.

Posting on the Zombieguide.com fan site, a member of the crowd reports: “They killed the lights and lowered a screen. He had to be taken by ambulance to the hospital after what seemed like 20 minutes of medical treatment while he was laying on stage.”

Having been hospitalised in the initial aftermath, we're very pleased to report that Graham has now been discharged.

It’s not the first time that the Kilkenny drummer has suffered an onstage incident, with his former band Halite having to be put on ‘hold’ while he underwent medical tests that proved to be inconclusive.

An official statement on the continuation of the tour is to be released shortly, as Dolores & her team assess the situation.