The Cranberries were one of the biggest Irish bands of the 1990s, even featuring in movies you wouldn’t expect such as Clueless. It’s no surprise then that their songs have been covered by many other artists over the years.
One particularly wonderful cover of Zombie was recorded by Polish band Clödie in 2018, in memory of the Cranberries’ lead singer Dolores O’Riordan who tragically passed away earlier in the year.
Zombie is one of the Cranberries’ best known songs, a protest to the sectarian violence that had raged in Northern Ireland for almost forty years. It was written after two children, Johnathan Ball, aged 3, and Tim Parry, aged 12 were killed with a bomb planted by the IRA while out buying Mothers Day cards in Warrington, England. The song conveys the senselessness of the deaths, two of hundreds on both sides of the conflict.
It also reminds listeners that only a small part of the Northern Irish people were involved in the troubles with the line “but you see, it’s not me, it’s not my family.” It’s a powerful, emotional song and definitely not one you’d want to cover badly. Luckily, Clödie nails it.
Although they are Polish, lead singer Klaudia Trzepizur‘s voice sounds eerily similar to Dolores O’Riordan’s and the use of an acoustic guitar takes the song in an even more plaintive direction than the original. The video is set in a park and the serenity of nature contrasts beautifully with the conflict which forms Zombie’s theme. The addition of candles highlights this is a song of remembrance for Dolores herself and all those killed in the troubles.
YouTube exploded with views and praise for Clödie‘s rendition, to date it has been viewed thirty-five million times and received 412,000 likes. One fan exclaimed, “Wow. This is really perfect cover of Zombie. It brings a different element to both the acoustic and voice and equally haunting aspects yet for its own reasons. Unreal voice. First I’ve heard of you. I’m a fan now”
Clödie was formed in 2012 by lead singer Klaudia Trzepizur and initially just covered popular songs on their YouTube channel. Klaudia was already a well-known vocalist in Poland as she had previously the lead of another band named Latent Effect before appearing on the talent shows Tylko Muzyka and Voice of Poland.
Clödie were not particularly well known until 2018, however. The released a song in English called Go and submitted it to be considered for Poland’s entry into the Eurovision Song Contest. It was not selected but it brought Clödie to the public’s attention. They made their cover of Zombie later that year and its immense popularity on YouTube put Clödie in touch with musicians and songwriters worldwide.
Since then, they have released over 30 singles and an EP called Memories. Although they are mostly still popular only in Poland their following online has grown steadily. They now have 203,000 subscribers to their YouTube channel and the comments are in multiple languages including Polish, Russian, English, German and Spanish.
Zombie is by far their most popular video, but you should also check out their cover of Blondie’s Maria. It’s an amazing version and well worth a listen. If you would like to see more from Clödie, you can subscribe to their YouTube channel or follow them on Facebook or follow them on Instagram.