ROCK legend Dolores O’Riordan sounded happy and cheerful in a phone call hours before her shock death.

The Sun reports that The Cranberries icon recorded a final voicemail for a friend shortly before she was found dead in a London hotel earlier this year.

The Limerick singer, 46, called Dan Waite to discuss Bad Wolves’ cover of Zombie, which she was due to record later that day.

Tragically the mum-of-three was discovered unresponsive by a hotel staff worker hours after leaving the poignant message.

In a voicemail sent at 1.12am on January 15, O’Riordan gushes: “Hi Dan! It’s Dolores!

“I’m in London, I’m at the Hyatt Park Hilton, so if you want me to come in and question this …”

In the recording obtained by TMZ, she backs the Bad Wolves’ cover and praises: “Actually I think it’s f****** awesome, it sounds f****** terribly good.

“I’ll f****** come in to the studio, if you name me a time.

“OK Dan Waite, and send my love to Irene, love that leather jacket.

“I’ll talk to you later, bye.”

An inquest into the star’s death was due to begin this week but has now been put back until an unknown date.

Bad Wolves released their cover of Zombie after her passing, and are donating proceeds from sales to Dolores’ children Taylor, 20, Molly, 16, and Dakota, 12.

Meanwhile, O’Riordan’s family and friends have told how they are still trying to come to terms with their devastating loss.

Her mum Eileen O’Riordan was recently presented with a book of condolences signed by some 16,000 fans, and said the outpouring of support has helped enormously.

But she admitted that her “little girl’s” death has been “very hard to absorb”.

“I read some of the letters, and everyone says how she helped them through the dark moments in their lives.

“I really feel she’s happy now. I go to her grave, but I don’t find anything there.

“I feel that her spirit is around all the time. She was that type of person anyway, she would come into the room, even as a child, and she would grab the attention.”

Eileen O’Riordan continued: “I don’t miss the rock star, I miss my little girl. I always feel that she is around. I talk to her as if she’s on the phone. I was the last one to speak to her the night that she died, it was Sunday night.

“It’s very hard to absorb it, you know … It’s difficult when I think about my little girl and what she did in her life.”