In a statement obtained by PEOPLE, late Cranberries singer Dolores O’Riordan’s longtime friend and Eleven Seven International Managing Director Dan Waite revealed the 46-year-old Irish musician had left a voicemail on his phone hours before she died.
“Dolores left me a voice message just after midnight last night stating how much she loved Bad Wolves’ version of ‘Zombie.’ She was looking forward to seeing me in the studio and recording vocals,” Waite said of O’Riordan’s remix of The Cranberries’ 1994 hit single with the hard rock band, Bad Wolves.
“She sounded full of life, was joking and excited to see me and my wife this week. The news of her passing is devastating and my thoughts are with Don her ex-husband, her children, and her mother,” he added.
O’Riordan was scheduled to record her vocals in London on the day of her death.
Bad Wolves singer Tommy Vext released a statement on O’Riordan’s passing on Facebook Monday.
“We are shocked and saddened at the news of Dolores’s passing, mere hours before she was to record vocals on our upcoming version of Zombie. We have always had deep respect for her as an artist and a vocalist and she was never afraid to bare her soul in her music and lyrics,” Vext said.
“Zombie is an incredibly personal song and although we are a hard rock band, we always felt the rawness and honesty she projected on stage and in her recordings was something to which all bands should aspire to, regardless of genre. When we heard she liked our version and wanted to sing on it, it was the greatest compliment a new band, or any band for that matter, could have received,” he continued.
Concluding, “Our hearts are broken that we were not able to see this collaboration through and our deepest condolences go out to her family, friends, loved ones and fans in Ireland and around the globe. We hope we can still make her proud by sharing our version of Zombie with the world.”
Eleven Seven Music CEO Allen Kovac, who previously managed The Cranberries, also released a statement.
“From the very first time I met Dolores, I knew she was a great talent. Managing the Cranberries and being part of making ‘Zombie’ one of the biggest records of its time was a great professional honor,” he said. “So when Dan Waite called me suggesting a collaboration with Dolores and Bad Wolves’ on ‘Zombie,’ I was excited to once again be a part of the magic she was able to create. My heart goes out to her children, I hope they can find some peace despite this tragic event.”