He was one of the most controversial figures in the history of Irish broadcasting, turning Radio Nova into a money-making machine and courting confrontation with the gardai, RTE and the NUJ. With the end of the pirate era, he moved to England, where he came unstuck, following a scam that deprived Rupert Murdoch of millions. Many a colourful adventure later, Chris Cary is back in the news - and determined that he can convince the powers-that-be to let him operate the national long-wave frequency that once housed Atlantic 252.
They may (still) not be doing anything particularly new, but here at least Ocean Colour Scene sound like they really mean it, playing with a passion that so few of their Britpop contemporaries are able to muster.
Malahide’s DIRECTOR may not be any kind of tabloid headline generators, but with an accomplished second album produced by Pumpkins and Placebo veteran Brad Wood in the bag, they’re confident enough to let the music make the fuss.
And why is young America going overboard about over-weight, over-30 jazzers? john walshe forgoes the pleasures of Dublin versus Kildare to pop across the Atlantic and investigate one of the most unlikely success stories of recent years.
We are going to spare you all the obvious puns about going back to basics, catching this particular fish in the raw or even the irrefutable truism that fins ain t what they used to be. But as you can see from the accompanying pictures, there is something particularly vulnerable about people when they re naked. Dropped by Atlantic Records, stripped of all the corporate support, funding, and of course bullshit this is how An Emotional Fish stand before the public, on the launch of their independently-produced Sloper album. Not that either the band or lead singer are without the support of people who matter. Ger is photographed with his wife Lorraine . . . Interview: Colm O Hare.
It s the morning after the night before and BRET EASTON ELLIS feels like he s got Marilyn Manson playing inside his head. A dinner date with fellow penslinger Irvine Welsh has gone seriously pear-shaped and like his most famous literary creation, the Californian is fit to kill. STUART CLARK offers tea and solpadeine, and in return gets the lowdown on American Psycho, trans-Atlantic stalkers and why both Air Supply and the Teletubbies are evil. Pix: Cathal Dawson.
We are going to spare you all the obvious puns about going back to basics, catching this particular fish in the raw or even the irrefutable truism that fins ain’t what they used to be. But as you can see from the accompanying pictures, there is something particularly vulnerable about people when they're naked. Dropped by Atlantic Records, stripped of all the corporate support, funding, and of course bullshit, – this is how An Emotional Fish stand before the public, on the launch of their independently-produced Sloper album. Not that either the band or lead singer are without the support of people who matter. Ger is photographed with his wife Lorraine . . . Interview: COLM O’HARE. Pix: MICK QUINN.
Imagine the scene. It is August 15th, 1977. Joe Jackson of Hot Press arrives at Graceland, to do the ultimate interview with Elvis Presley. Elvis is in the music room,seated at the piano and singing 'Blue
Eyes Cryin In The Rain'. They sit down across the table, Jackson pushes the record button - and so begins the final interview with the greatest rock'n'roll star of them all
Another nod to trans-Atlantic guitar swinging, this time stemming from these very shores, by way of Scotland and Spain. There’s more than a hint of the Pixies in the urgent bass and drums, but also a welcome touch of alternative country in the twanging lead vocal.
Hailing from Dublin, making a name for himself in California; Owen Brady seems to take inspiration from both sides of the Atlantic. However, he manages to combine the worst of both worlds, introducing a bland singer-songwriter ethic to an overly familiar, middle-of-the-road sound. Not my cup of meat.
‘Pain’ has a slightly harder edge than anything from Jimmy Eat World’s eponymous breakthrough album, which could be as much down to the presence of Gil Norton (Foo Fighters, Pixies) behind the production desk as to any masterplan to outgrow the teeny-rocker tag they’ve been unfairly lumbered with on this side of the Atlantic.
This year’s Brits provided few moments of genuine horror, with the notable exception of Stone’s stupefying turn, who tottered around, sending out love to Robbie Williams in a god-awful trans-Atlantic accent and trying to upstage Amy Winehouse. A bad move and one that could single handily de-rail her comeback, which is a shame because ‘Tell Me ‘Bout It’ is a decent record, brimming with hip-hop attitude and Motown cool and perhaps the first real indication of what she could be capable of.
The feisty tyke is back with a song whose video was the first by a British artist to reach No. 1 on the US’s Total Request Live. While on this side of the Atlantic, the climate’s changed considerably since she left (Amy Winehouse has become wiser, people have forgotten about chavs, Lily Allen’s stolen her schtick but wears pink dresses), her grime rapping is an anti-establishment, bold statement that puts her firmly on the musical map again. To quote the young lady, “I ain’t got the biggest breastesis/But I write all the bestest hits”.
A bit like The Henry Sisters in that there’s actually a guy included amongst the girls. It’s there, some will say, where the comparisons end. Full of twitchy guitar lines, swaggering beats and call and response vocals, this mini-album attracted rave reviews upon its release across the Atlantic last year, and deservedly so.
Completing this triumvirate of albums from across the Atlantic is the latest release from Texas-based quartet Beyond The Pale. Their instrumental chops aren’t as strong as they might be however, they more than make up for any deficiencies in that department with superb vocals courtesy of three fine singers.
Crashing guitars and nice melody lines abound here, as Lit become the latest American power poppers to pound their way across the Atlantic and into the charts.
The miniscule number of you who bought their last album, La Peste, will know that the Alabama 3 have decided to tone down the Southern preacher bit and concentrate on the tunes. It's an attempt to get away from the "novelty band" image, which has resulted in savage critical maulings in the UK, and collective head scratching on the other side of the Atlantic.
These are strange times for Death Cab For Cutie. The success they’ve threatened for so long finally arrived in the wake of their fourth album Transatlanticism which, coupled with a guest appearance on The OC, saw their profile rocket. Major labels soon sat up and took notice with Atlantic eventually becoming the group’s new home.
If it's a roll-call of the best traditional musicians on the far side of the Atlantic you're after, then Cherish The Ladies' latest album will probably sate your thirst. It's brimful of magnificent talent, including the core sextet of female musicians who've paved such a fine path for others with their spunky, intricate arrangements of traditional tunes.
The term one-dimensional could have been created specifically for the duo of Alex Band and Aaron Kamin, who trade in the kind of sub-Nickelback rawk beloved of our counterparts across the Atlantic and in certain parts of Germany but generally derided in all places where intelligence isn’t rated by the capacity to absorb alcohol, and mullets are frowned upon.
Although Trent Reznor has been tried and been found guilty for taste crimes in the international court of pop-cultural opinion (his semi-legendary and frighteningly authentic pseudo snuff-movie, the Peter Christopherson-directed Broken, remains banned on this side of the Atlantic) personally speaking, I have generally found the singer’s fascination with extreme horror imagery, S&M and general underground depravity to be the least startling aspect of his estimable oeuvre.
Former Prayer Boat frontman Emmet Tinley on the break-up of his old band, the challenges of forging his own solo career and the joys of artistic independence.
Not content with bringing you the cream of new Irish and overseas talent, this year’s Hard Working Class Heroes festival has rounded-up some prominent industry names to participate in its workshops and panel discussions.
SINEAD O Connor has said that she will continue with her music career, despite having been ordained a priest in Lourdes by a bishop of the rebel catholic Tridentine church.
Many Irish radio fans reckon that the 2fm evening schedule is at its most exciting for years – from 6 pm, when a revitalised Dave Fanning comes on, right through to Hotpress columnist Cormac Battle signing off at 2am. One of the linchpins of that stretch is Dubliner Rick O’Shea. To celebrate his tenth year in radio we sent Jackie Hayden to ask O’Shea a few leading questions and to check out the great man’s credentials with his colleagues.
The Centre for Public Inquiry is a new Dublin-based and privately-funded organisation recently established in Ireland to monitor aspects of public importance in our political, public and corporate spheres. Frank Connolly, the investigative journalist given the role of the Centre’s executive director, helps Jackie Hayden with some inquiries of his own. Photography by Cathal Dawson.
Annual article: The arrival of Channel 6 was a boom – but music programming on television in 2006 was challenged by reality TV game shows and, increasingly, by YouTube.
Jackie Hayden looks back over the career of the legendary soul singer Wilson Pickett who died last month, and talks to Andrew Strong about the man’s impact on his own career.
Being evicted by Take That and hanging out with notorious Hollywood hellraisers like Matthew McConaughey are all in a day's work for keg-party rockers Iglu & Hartly.
Belfast filmmaker John T. Davis on Uncle Jack, a troubled but ultimately cathartic labour of love commemmorating his late uncle’s achievements as a cinema architect. Interview: Cathy Dillon.
Razor sharp lyrics, street smarts and a voice that most teenage pop sensations would give their breast implants for. Phil Udell discovers why Nellie McKay is being hailed as the anti-Britney.
Still most famous in this part of the world for ‘Gangsta’s Paradise’, la rapper Coolio has certainly kept himself busy in the eight years since that hit. Movies, charity work and an appearance on Open House are all in a day’s work for the artist formerly known as Artis Leon Ivey Jr.
CARLOS SANTANA has made one of the most amazing comebacks ever. After years in the doldrums, his new album has dominated the US charts, selling over 7 million copies. NIALL STANAGE reports.
He’s just staggered off a tour-bus and could sleep for a week. But The Dears frontman Murray Lightburn digs deep and talks about the success of the band’s best-selling No Cities Left album
Throughout the pioneering events of Band Aid, Live Aid and Live 8, Bob Geldof has repeatedly achieved the impossible, twisting the arms and consciences of self-absorbed rock stars to get them to think beyond their egos and stimulating recalcitrant politicians and a jaded media into doing things that are not really difficult at all but thinking makes them so.
rob thomas is cautiously optimistic that his multi-million selling outfit, matchbox 20, will not succumb to the Hootie syndrome. Interview: colm o'hare.
The next generation of Stanley Kubricks cut their creative teeth on some of Ireland's finest bands: hotpress.com brings you video streaming of the completed works from the Tisch film school in New York
Being sued for rape didn’t stop Snoop Dogg giving Phil Udell the benefit of his views on NWA, record labels, going solo and how the Bible encourages him to party. Photos by Liam Sweeney.
Not content to let other country stars record her songs and keep her in massive cheques for the rest of her life, gretchen peters has decided to do a little performing and touring of her own. Interview: colm o'hare.
To audiences on this side of the Atlantic, Janeane Garofalo is most familiar as an actress, thanks to her roles in US comedy and drama series such as The Larry Sanders Show, Seinfeld, The West Wing and 24. However, she is first and foremost a stand-up performer, and it’s in this capacity that she will visit Dublin to perform at the Bulmers Comedy Festival.
Life on the road isn't always a blur of parties and groupies. Sometimes it's exhausting, and oftn plain boring, as Irish hopefuls Director found out when they went on tour with Hard-Fi.
Welsh singer Jem Griffiths has become a firm favourite in the US purely on the strength of word-of-mouth. And if her debut album Finally Woken is anything to go by, audiences this side of the Atlantic are likely to follow suit very soon.
DESPERATE TO start your own white militia but don t know where to find the necessary hardware?
Well, fret no more my fascist friends, because The Small Arms Review has finally made it over the Atlantic. A must-read for anyone who wants to build their own fortified compound in the Wicklow Mountains, the magazine is packed with ads for companies like US Ordenance, who can fix you up with a Vickers Semi-Auto .303 machine gun for just $4,495 (including p&p).
Californian-born JIM PAGE is no ordinary protest singer. Best known on this side of the Atlantic as the writer of such classics as 'Hiroshima, Nagasaki, Russian Roulette', his music has continued to move hearts and minds well into the corporate nineties. Here, he traces his roots from Bob Dylan to Public Enemy, and explains why he wrote a special song in tribute to Sinead O'Connor. Interview: GERRY McGOVERN
In Francie Brady aka Frank Pig, author PAT McCABE has created one of the most unique characters in Irish fiction, an underground cult hero who's already been likened to Holden Caulfield and Huckleberry Finn. The novel from which he comes, The Butcher Boy, is a smash hit on both sides of the Atlantic and work on the movie adaptation is already well advanced. Here, the man who's made a silk purse out of a sow's ear (sort of) talks comics, showbands, the human condition and, of course, pigs, in the company of LIAM FAY. Pix: COLM HENRY
They may have a combined mental age of 12, but that hasn't stopped Goldie Lookin’ Chain from infiltrating the grown-ups' singles chart. Phil Udell talks bad heavy metal, secretarial work and burnt nipples with Newport's most notorious hip hop crew.
They started out as a bunch of punk rock misfits called the Sex Maggots but had their biggest hit with an acoustic ballad on a Meg Ryan movie soundtrack.
Akron singer-songwriter Tim Easton has just settled in Alaska, a place where people “go mad or die”. Thankfully, he’s still alive and sane enough to tell the tale.
Songwriter to the stars Gretchen Peters on record company inertia, the need for revolutionary new artists, and what it means to be an American musician in these highly fraught times. words Jackie Hayden
He's one of the most distinguised and individualistic figures on the folk scene, an artist who is not afraid to take risks or challenge convention. Now John Spillane has written a moving paean to Ireland - and to his mother.
After doing time in the greatest power trio of them all, the late Jimi Hendrix experience bassist Noel Redding spent the rest of his life coming to terms with being ripped off by the music industry.
Phil Udell talks to blink frontman Dermot Lambert about how he pulled through the dark times to re-establish his band as one of the leading lights of the Irish indie scene.
He debuted in East is East, became a household face in Eastenders and has finally gone west to star in the bollywood meets hollywood movie, The Guru. The son of an Indian father and Irish mother, he talks here about his thrash metal past, the difficulties of being an Asian actor and why Alan Hansen and Mark Lawrenson are his spiritual gurus.
Unreconstructed Downpatrick rockers The Answer are brewing up a whirlwind of hype. But frontman Cormac Neeson admits their good humoured hair-metal may never be cool
They may, for the moment, be garnering more press attention for their singer s love life than for their music, but THE warm jets are one hell of a fine band in their own right. Tape: NIALL STANAGE.
Bourne Supremacy director Paul Greengrass on making it big in Hollywood, usurping James Bond and why Hot Press’ Eamonn McCann is one of his heroes. words Tara Brady
With Kid Rock, Eminem and D12, Detroit has challenged the supremacy of east coast and west coast hip-hop acts.
COLM WALSH caught up with D12’s Kuniva and Wendy Case of the Detroit news to find out what’s going on.
If you’re gonna be a one hit wonder, you might as well invent the dominant form of music for the ensuing decades. Released in 1979, The Sugarhill Gang’s ‘Rapper’s Delight’ was the first hip-hop single to go gold, putting the group on American Bandstand and Soul Train long before Grandmaster Flash and Run DMC.
Derry four-piece, cuckoo, have caught the proverbial worm, landing a world-wide deal with Geffen, and are finally ready to set the world on fire. Birdwatcher: john walshe.
We’ve tipped them for success in the past, and now, with a New Year upon us, Laura Izibor, Dirty Epic’s SJ Wai and Fight Like Apes’ MayKay are set to sweep all before them.
A North Carolinian who speaks Irish and a country performer who only occasionally performs country,
jim lauderdale has a way that makes the seemingly contradictory work well. Interview: siobhan long.
Graduates of the Manhattan avant-garde scene The Virgins join us from somewhere to the left of the middle of nowhere – that would be Madison, Wisconsin – to talk hype, art and modelling shoots.
Colm O’Hare talks to local indie heroes Saville, the acclaimed quartet determined to make their inspired blend of ’60s pop and rock heard above the din of their hipper contemporaries
Comedy hit a spectacular high in 2002 with the success of The Office, The League of Gentlemen and Bachelor’s Walk. But there may be even better to come this year, as three generations of Irish comic talent tell us.
Having re-invented television drama with Lost and Alias J.J. Abrams now turns his attention to the Mission Impossible franchise. But what’s all about this about him saving Star Trek?
She is already established as Ireland’s most seductive screen icon. but in Sixteen Years Of Alcohol, Susan Lynch turns in a marvellously enigmatic performance.
The big time looms for Ed Zealous, but they're not fazed by the prospect of playing one of the world's most prestigious rock festivals. In fact, they can't wait to crash the mainstream.
You might think that the Crash Test Dummies are a strange bunch now but you should have seen them four years ago! Dan Roberts and Mitch Dorge tell Stuart Clark how a big-haired Winnipeg bar band with a penchant for the Clancy Brothers have managed to hit the big time. Pix: Cathal Dawson
They’re the quirky electro-rockers who have got the music industry buzzing. But don’t mistake Passion pit for another bunch of MGMT clones. As their viral hit ‘Sleepyhead’ confirms, their whimsical sound is entirely unique – as is their enthusiasm for sampling obscure Irish harpists
Four Weddings And A Funeral and Notting Hill man Richard Curtis is back with another film that has heartstrings and funnybones in its sights. But is Love Actually any good? Craig Fitzsimons and Tara Brady endeavour to find out
After making their name with the glacial atmospherics of Felt Mountain, Goldfrapp work up a sweat on their new album Black Cherry. John Walshe hear how they “defrosted” their sound
Forget all the chatter about solo albums and injuries sustained on the road: Snow Patrol are revelling in the end of a triumphant year, one which saw Eyes Open become the biggest selling album in the UK in '06, as well as making serious inroads Stateside.
Back at the turn of the decade there were three mad bands from Downpatrick Vietnam, Lazer Gun Nun and Confusion. The first of these dropped the dodgy heavy metal element and became Ash. The second toned down the Stooges sound to give room for the Backwater experience. Two-thirds of the last act have come back to haunt us in the form of Griswold.
Beloved of both nu ravers and Timbaland who neglected to ask permission before sampling one of their songs, Crystal Castles might just be the biggest band to come out of leftfield this year.
Author and environmentalist JUDITH HOAD has stood fast against the modern gods of progress and profit. But, as concerns about GM technology grow, it becomes ever-more important that voices like hers are heard. By ADRIENNE MURPHY. Pic: Cathal Dawson
Fresh from his recent success with the Xpress-2 collaboration 'Lazy', David Byrne reflects on a musical journey that began in 1977 with the legendary Talking Heads
Having undergone a punishing regime of drink, drugs and debauchery during Guns N’ Roses’ heyday, few thought that iconic guitar-slinger Slash would ever again venture out into the mainstream rock arena. But having put together a motley crew of collaborators in Velvet Revolver, he’s now back at No. 1 in the album charts and rocking harder than ever.
The college circuit is an important stepping stone in rock music around the world. While the potential remains unfulfilled in Ireland, there’s a new breed of Ents Officer who are aiming higher.
First kisses, hanging with the hip-hop aristocracy and why life is better on the wagon are some of the topics for conversation as Hot Press hitches a ride on the tour bus with domestic goddess and soapy bath enthusiast Amy Winehouse.
It seemed like a good idea, if only for a moment or two. Jackie Hayden had volunteered to sample a number of well-known liqueurs for an article for Hot Press and someone decided that Blink frontperson Dermot Lambert should accompany him, to offer, as it were, a second opinion. So we sent a very sober Chris Donovan to clean up the mess. In the interests of good taste we decided not to use a photographer.
With The Coral’s third album, The Invisible Invasion, set to seal their reputation as one of Britain’s foremost indie bands, guitarist Billy Ryder-Jones here discusses their desire to make a classic album, collaborating with Portishead’s Geoff Barrow, and why their reputation as Liverpool chavs is entirely ill-deserved. “We’ve never nicked anyone’s stereo,” he explains.
Contrary to popular belief, not all Australians are surf fanatics from birth. However, that doesn’t mean that participating in the sport isn’t a hugely rewarding experiance, as Hot Press’ resident Antipodean Danielle Brigham discovered when she travelled to Bundoran ahead of the town’s eagerly anticipated ocean festival.
There are no guarantees of success in the music biz, but if you have what it takes there is plenty of expert help available to ensure you give it your best shot.
Canadian songstress Emm Gryner has toured with David Bowie and released a collection of Irish rock covers. Her new album might just be her most ambitious, and mysterious, yet.
Could the legal status of E soon change? In the third part of Hot Press continuing investigation into drugs, STUART CLARK reports on the clubbers pill of choice.
They blasted into the public consciousness at the end of 2005, when 'I Bet You Look Good On The Dancefloor' became the year's biggest breakthrough No.1. Since then it's been an extraordinary rollercoaster ride for the Arctic Monkeys, with bass player trouble, celebrity fans, EastEnders appearances and a row with fellow newcomers The Feeling to show for their efforts. Oh, and then there's the small matter of shifting nearly two million copies of their debut album...
Peter Murphy meets former Led Zeppelin bassist JOHN PAUL JONES as he releases his first solo album. On the agenda pacts with the Devil, Jones musical education, and thoughts on Eno, Nico and Charles Mingus.
They may have been dismissed as your typical goofy American oddballs, but as Craig Fitzsimons discovers when he meets THEY MIGHT BE GIANTS co-conspirator JOHN LINNELL, there’s definitely some sort of method to their madness.
Getting behind the scary image of the world’s most notorious band is not easy but PHIL UDELL manfully plugs away as SLIPKNOT’s SHAWN CRAHAN plays hardball
If there were handouts for the shy and retiring, Dervish would be at the back of the queue. Never backward in coming forward, this Sligo/Roscommon ensemble have elevated audience rapport to an art form that's sadly all too rarely practised round these here parts. Lead singer, Cathy Jordan (the sole Roscommon interloper amid a quintet of Sligomen) delights in the more quirky and bizarre backgrounds to the band's songs and tunes. And somehow they all seem to treat a night flight to Kuala Lumpur with the same gravity as they would a skite to Kenmare. Dervish live and breathe on the road. Its interminable miles are the band's sustenance, its cat's eyes their compass to the next town, the next continent, and the next gig.
DOMINO RECORDS has released some of the most essential music of the 90 s by the likes of Sebadoh, Palace Brothers, and Elliott Smith. NICK KELLY talks to lynchpin Laurence Bell and one member of the label s current roster, Stephen Pastel of The Pastels.
After suffering from a particularly nasty bout of 'difficult second album' syndrome, GOATS DON'T SHAVE have come up trumps with a record that's destined to take them way beyond their present cult status. PAT GALLAGHER tells COLM O'HARE how they managed to avoid becoming the world's first folk techno band and why doing-it-yourself is definitely the best policy.
BARRY GLENDENNING visited the Leeds Town and Country to witness the BRUTUS GOLD LOVE TRAIN, an unfeasibly
popular 70s disco extravaganza that will soon be winging its way to Dublin.
BARRY GLENDENNING visited the Leeds Town and Country to witness the BRUTUS GOLD LOVE TRAIN, an unfeasibly
popular 70s disco extravaganza that will soon be winging its way to Dublin.
From piano-plonking crooners to nihilistic electro-pop duos, the UK and US are bursting at the seams with fresh talent in 2007. Could there be a new Arctic Monkeys out there somewhere?
Tom Foote came to writing late in life but in Undertow he s produced a fast-moving maritime thriller which reflects his own personal obsessions.
Interview:
Olaf Tyaransen.
PIX:
AONGUS McMAHON
Tom Foote came to writing late in life but in Undertow he s produced a fast-moving maritime thriller which reflects his own personal obsessions.
Interview:
Olaf Tyaransen.
PIX:
AONGUS McMAHON
Until now, that is! DAVID PUTTNAM is one of Britain s most successful film directors of the past 20 years. But, as the turn of the century approaches, he believes that the control exerted by Hollywood over the film, entertainment and information industries globally may yet inspire a violent reaction. Interview: CATHY DILLON
From Oasis to The Ping Pong Bitches, ALAN McGEE is living proof that there s life after
success, excess, Labour, near-death and, oh yes, Creation Records. Even if you re a Rangers
supporter. Interview: STUART CLARK
PROFESSOR RICHARD LYNN of the University Of Ulster has produced a body of research designed to prove that ‘blacks’ are less intelligent than ‘whites’. A major influence on the authors of the controversial bible of the New Right The Bell Curve, Lynn now stands accused of “a truly venomous racism, combined with scandalous disregard for scientific objectivity.” Report: Eamonn McCann.
It’s time for the singer-songwriter fraternity to move over and make room for the new generation of Irish guitar bands. Director, Marshal Stars and The Blizzards are just three of the acts who feature on the debut compilation from Faction Records, the new label which aims to promote and nuture the brightest stars of the Irish underground.
JOHN WALSHE talks to top Irish 400m hurdler Susan Smith about what it means to devote yourself completely to athletics and her need to challenge for gold at the 2000 Olympics in Sydney. Pix: COLM HENRY.
MACY GRAY’s latest album "THE ID" documents two years of “love-life changes, sex-life changes and body changes”. FIONA REID hears her tales of drugs, men, music and late nights
Fifteen years since they first topped the Irish charts, The Saw Doctors remain one of this country’s most successful bands. So why do so many people still consider them a novelty act?
Having first envisaged the film in the late ’80s, director Taylor Hackford has finally realised his long-cherished biopic of legendary soul performer, Ray Charles. Here, he talks to Moviehouse about the challenges of putting the singer’s tumultuous life onscreen.
Why have one of the most successful Irish bands of the past decade decided to split up? And who's going to get custody of the Fender-Rhodes keyboard? STEVE WALL tells STUART CLARK where it all went wrong – and right! Pic: CATHAL DAWSON.
Self-styled sex siren Diablo Cody has moved into the mainstream with the acclaimed, Oscar-nominated Juno. What’s more, the movie is so good, she might just prove to be a winner.
John Walshe meets Paul and Ashley from The Frank & Walters and hears all about their latest album, Beauty Becomes More Than Life, why they don t want to go to posh parties and how major labels take all the fun out of being in a band.
Accompanied by images from his photo diary, DONAL DINEEN takes us through a month-by-month guide to the records that kept himself, and the Today FM faithful happy in 2001
He helped invent disco, funk, r 'n' b and hip-hop. And when he wasn’t changing the face of popular music, Chic leader NILE RODGERS found time to chin-wag with pop’s best, bravest and weirdest. Here he talks about hanging with David Bowie, Slash and Madonna and reveals his oft-overlooked hippy leanings.
LCD Soundsystem's frontman James Murphy talks about working with Justin Timberlake, his Cork ancestors and recalls the time he almost hooked up with Arcade Fire
Well it’s one for the money Two for the show
US3 GET READY . . .
. . . Now go cats go! When a critic talks about awarding his favourite gig, album and band of the year accolades to the same outfit then we gotta be talking about something special. In this case it’s transatlantic Jazz Rappers US3. And the, er, critic in question: MR. STUART CLARK
Hot Press crime correspondent STUART CLARK
preaches zero tolerance to MASSIVE ATTACK and in return gets the
lowdown on their new album, Bruce n Tarby-style hobnobbing with Radiohead, and why Bristol City piss all over Bristol Rovers
With her superb new album Kelly’s Heroes, SANDY KELLY has established herself as Ireland’s undisputed Queen of Country Music. She has also consolidated her status as an international star of the highest calibre. Report: COLM O’HARE
Undiscovered genius, ahoy! liam fay finds Pierce TurneR still struggling for the recognition his rich talent deserves. And to coincide with the release of his own Best Of, he asks Turner to compile the album of his dreams.
With compass in hand and their newly unfurled Map Of The Universe nestling comfortably on their laps, Blink are boldly going where few Irish bands have gone before. But what happens when they get to Cork and Ballybunion? Intrepid explorer LIAM FAY dons his rucksack, climbs aboard the Blinkmobile and survives to tell the tale.
CHRIS BARRY's attempts to free himself from his FM104 contract have resulted in one of the messiest and most ill-tempered court battles seen in Ireland for a long time. STUART CLARK analyses the proceedings so far and profiles some of Barry's shock-jock contemporaries across the water.
Did you ever find yourself wondering ‘Where have I heard that song before?’ Well, Andy Darlington may be able to help as he trawls through the tangled undergrowth of that increasingly common phenomenon: The Cover Version
BRENDAN INGLE was born in Dublin, but made his name as a boxing trainer in Sheffield. He s the man who discovered PRINCE NASEEM and shared in the fighter s huge success until they fell out acrimoniously. ANDY DARLINGTON meets a man with a story to tell.
Stuart Clark joins Bon Jovi for one wild night in Mexico city and hears how the band survived drink, drugs, dodgy haircuts and, ah, parasitical infections to hobnob with a beatle and stake their claim as “one of the best rock ’n’ roll bands on the planet”
Each year, the BALLYBUNION BACHELOR FESTIVAL in Co. Kerry sees numerous unattached males flocking to the Kingdom for a week of boozing, carousing and
general merry-making, in a vainglorious attempt to prove their bachelorian credentials. OLAF TYARANSEN went along for this year’s ride. Pics (and occasional enraged outbursts): CATHAL DAWSON.
When Alan McLoughlin scored in Belfast on November 17th he not only set the entire country off on an orgiastic rampage but allayed the fears of a pair of filmmakers who’d gambled heavily on Ireland’s qualification of USA ’94. So, it’s happy endings all round as Robert Walpole and Paddy Breathnach of Treasure Films release our official World Cup video The Road To America and detail the trials, tribulations and traumas of the venture to a suitably impressed George Byrne.
If having your music featured on every TV programme from TFI Friday to England v Morocco is a measure of success, then CORNERSHOP are now one of the biggest bands in the world. Multi-instrumentalist BEN AYRES talks to STUART CLARK about Noel Gallagher collaborations, festivals, royalties, The Blind Boys Of Alabama and that Fatboy Slim remix.
The most famous beards in rock 'n' roll are back with a new album that's guaranteed synthesiser-free and hotter than a Tex-Mex jalapeno pepper. As ZZ Top do a John Major and return to basics, DUSTY HILL tells STUART CLARK about the danger of eating chili-dogs, what he used to get up to under the bed-clothes as a kid and the nature of his relationship with long-horned steers.
Fermanagh is a county that s accommodated a rake of musical traditions both past and present. Split by the sibling lakes of Upper and Lower Lough Erin, Fermanagh s musical identity is as diverse as her geography, to the extent that at times there s little or no crossover in musical style from north to south of the county and vice versa.
The Corrs Talk On Corners was the biggest-selling album of 1998 in the UK. So far it s shifted 6 million copies worldwide and rising. And now the band are set to embark on their American campaign, with who knows what ultimate destination at journey s end. So they ve had it easy, eh? It s all a big marketing scam, masterminded by the moguls in the American record company that signed them? We thought you d like to know so we put these and other accusations to someone who should know, their manager of nine years, john hughes. And got some interesting answers too. Interview: niall stokes.
With the release of his second solo album, Running Dog, Nick Kelly has cemented his reputation as one of the leading contemporary songwriters in Ireland. Here, the former Fat Lady Sings frontman talks to Jackie Hayden about the break-up of one of Dublin's most respected bands, financing his solo career through the largesse of his fanbase – and the ongoing joys of artistic independence.
It’s hard to think of two artists less alike than MUNDY and LAURA IZIBOR. But they do have one thing in common: they’re Irish outsiders who have overcome challenging circumstances and, with new albums under their belts, are set to sweep all before them in 2009.
It’s all about broken down tour buses, Alan Partridge, high speed collisions, Moby, broken ribs, Mina Suvari, MTV stars and David Bowie as Ash launch a sonic assault on America. So riddle me this: can Ireland’s hardest-working rock’n’roll outfit crack the big one?
RICHARD THOMPSON s new album Mock Tudor consolidates his position as one
of the most articulate and influential songwriters around. GEORGE BYRNE met him.
He can't sing, he can't play but Jim Rose can sure wail on a pile of glass! STUART CLARK meets the man behind the travelling freak show that took Féile by storm and Ray Darcy by surprise. Pix: CATHAL DAWSON
From Chet Baker through Joe Cocker to The Cranberries, the world of music owes the late Denny Cordell an enormous debt. Bill Graham pays tribute to an inspirational craftsman who made Ireland his final home and resting place.
Jinx Lennon is a true original, a rock'n'roll outsider whose music throbs to the pulse of rural Ireland. Here he talks about attending cocktail parties with David Norris and explains why Dundalk just might be the strangest town in Ireland.
Summer time, and the record stores are going to be full to bursting with some cracking albums across all genres. John Walshe examines the hottest album releases set to hit the shelves
Now that he's discovered the joys of the Dobro, are Frankie Lane's madcap, balcony-scaling days over for good? Not a bit of it. *It's all really just about finding a new way of being nasty.* He tells Siobhan Long.
Or not without crediting your sources at any rate! Their first three Top Ten singles sampled Annie Lennox, Kate Bush and Phil Oakey. Here modernist electric dance crossover ???? Utah Saints argue the morality - as well as the aesthetics - of sample-theft, explain its problems, name the guilty men, and then glimpse a vision of the future playing support to U2 in Portugal. Interview: Andy Darlington.
COLM O HARE catches up with MARY BLACK, as the singer helicopters her way around the country and talks about her new album, the song writing of Ron Sexsmith and unfair criticism. Pics: PETER MATHEWS.
I was living fast, planning to die young and I was probably gonna take a few people with me, says Fatima Mansions firebrand Cathal Coughlan of his descent into a personal and creative nightmare. Now back stronger, healthier and with an acclaimed new album, Lost In The Former West, under his belt, he retraces the highs, lows and kicks in the teeth of the last few years with Liam Fay.
The rise and rise of the female singer/songwriter is fast achieving phenomenon status in Ireland - here,
Peter Murphy profiles an eclectic mix of new and distinctive talent
Never mind the naysayers, Dublin 2006 is spilling over with white hot talent. Steve Cummins and Shilpa Ganatra run the rule over the capital's new breed.
“I was living fast, planning to die young and I was probably gonna take a few people with me,” says Fatima Mansions firebrand Cathal Coughlan of his descent into a personal and creative nightmare. Now back stronger, healthier and with an acclaimed new album, Lost In The Former West, under his belt, he retraces the highs, lows and kicks in the teeth of the last few years with Liam Fay.
American writer john horgan has earned the wrath of the scientific community and the unwelcome support of the fundamentalist Right for his provocative theories aimed at separating science fact from science fiction.
Interview: liam fay. Pix: CATHAL DAWSON
Sharing the spotlight with only his trusty guitar, Ireland's foremost troubadour Christy Moore prepares to take on audiences at The Point later this month. Here he tells Bill Graham of his growing sense of worth and self-confidence, defends Siniad O'Connor's right to free speech and explains just why good hecklers are worth their weight in gold.
Even though he s just as acerbic and witty as he ever was, these days GRAHAM PARKER isn t what you d call the man of the moment. Which is a shame, because the veteran new-wave critics darling is currently writing some of the best material of his life, including last year s Acid Bubblegum album, which he describes as a fucking great record . And as if that wasn t enough to be going on with, he s also got plenty of short stories on the go.
Tape: Peter Murphy
The Corrs hit paydirt with In Blue, an album of memorable pop songs that topped the charts in over twenty countries around the world. It gave them the breathing space they needed to re-establish their roots, to live a little and to reassess their purpose as a band. Now, with the release of Borrowed Heaven, they’re back in the music biz frontline – slightly older, considerably wiser, but still with the same hunger to make great and honest records.
LAURYN HILL s debut album, The Miseducation Of Lauryn Hill was the fastest selling album ever by a female artist in the United States. What s more it s just garnered her five Grammy Awards, confirming her status as one of American music s most important new icons. OLAF TYARANSEN went to London to hear the singer talk frankly about success, motherhood, the future of The Fugees and her father-in-law, Bob Marley.
Stuart Clark – himself a black belt in origami – discovers how The Ramones and kickboxing chinese detectives have helped Ash to overcome their sordid heavy metal past and become Top of the Chops.
You may well have thought Samantha Mumba had tumbled off the face of the earth. Not so. She’s been enjoying a year's break and plotting the next phase of her career. Ahead of the release of her new movie, the zombie comedy Boy Eats Girl, Mumba is in ebullient mood, as she talks about life in the goldfish bowl – and why she and Louis Walsh are still the best of friends. [Photos: Peter Evers]
Eamonn McCann accompanies The Pogues across the sea to Scotland s centre of Irishness, Glasgow, and enters a complex world of fiercely divided loyalties, joyous celebration and soccer madness.
For Gen X-ers like Kurt Cobain, Matt Groening and Sonic Youth, Daniel Johnston is akin to Syd or Roky, a gifted figure beset by the demons of delusional paranoia and manic depression. A 1994 tribute album featuring Beck, Tom Waits and eels showcased his ghostly and surrealistic folk songs, and now, as the remarkable documentary film The Devil And Daniel Johnston goes on release, hotpress is granted an audience with the man who isn’t there.
...And the kids just keep on comin’, as Hot Press investigates another assortment of motley crews with songs in their hearts and stars in their eyes, and concludes that the future is indeed so bright, you’ve gotta wear shades.
FLEXIHEAD, MEXICAN PETS, THE GLEE CLUB, IN MOTION
Champagne corks were popped last week as Snow Patrol joined that elite group of bands who’ve simultaneously topped the charts in Ireland and the UK. It’s all a far cry from the days when their fame was confined to the University of Dundee Students Union bar. Gary Lightbody takes time out from wowing the masses in Dublin and Belfast to tell Stuart Clark about their twisty and turny route to the top.
Journalist, essayist, atheist, author and, above all, agent provocateur, Christopher Hitchens has not shied away from controversy over the last 30 years. But in his new book, the writer takes on his biggest adversary to date – God.
In a candid interview, Sylvester Stallone talks about his lost years and explains why he’s happy that America’s Christian right has embraced the new Rocky movie as a ‘spiritual’ film.
Avuncular Belfast-born writer brian moore may continually encounter difficulties in getting people to pronounce his name correctly, but one thing he s never had trouble with is the quality of his literary output. His latest effort, The Magician s Wife, is yet another effortlessly elegant concoction of seamless prose. Interview: liam fay. Pix: Cathal Dawson
DAVID HOLMES new album is likely to
elevate him to the world s DJ-ing A-list.
STUART CLARK visited him in Belfast to hear tales of voodoo, punk, Primal Scream and, er, Gilbert O Sullivan.
Pictures: MYLES CLAFFEY
Dana may be trying to shunt him into the background, but TCG O?Mahony is adamant that it was he who inspired the former Eurovision winner to run for the presidency. And while he is confident that ?she will win if it is God?s will?, he warns of serious repercussions from above should one of her opponents triumph in the race to the Aras. Our man with the locust repellant: liam fay.
To mark the occasion of the release of a near definitive punk compilation, GEORGE BYRNE fondly recalls the days when pogo was go-go and gabba gabba was hey.
FUN LOVIN’ CRIMINAL Huey Morgan offers stuart clark a guided tour of the rotten apple, detouring occasionally to take in topics such as California Mist, London gangsters, Tricky, Ian McCulloch and Tony Bennett, as well as his high-profile relationship with Jerry Hall’s daughter. And, let’s see now, there was one thing . . . oh yes “every American’s inalienable right to have nails hammered through their scrotum if they want”.
With a hit Colin Farrell movie to his name, Martin McDonagh mulls over his early rejections at the hand of the Abbey, his "rivalry" with Conor McPherson and his run-in with Sean Connery.
They re the biggest new band in Britain, but
all saints didn t always inhabit a world of no.1 singles,
million-selling albums and media limelight.
shaznay
and melanie
talk to jonathan o brien
about stardom, tattoos, tabloids and why they definitely aren t a bunch of porn obsessives.
1 guitar + 1 drum kit + 1 boy + 1 girl = The White Stripes. In other words, sweet, sweet noise meets the best brother and sister penned pop since The Carpenters. Eamon Sweeney meets Detroit's finest, who play Dublin Castle on Saturday, May 4th as part of the Heineken Green Energy Festival
When The Wind That Shakes The Barley, Ken Loach’s dramatisation of the Irish War of Independence, won the Palme D’Or at Cannes last month, it triggered a vociferously hostile response from right wing British pundits, who branded the director as a terrorist-sympathising Commie. Few of them, however, had actually seen the film.
The release of Born may confirm that hothouse flowers are back to their blooming best, but as john walshe discovers, liam, peter and fiachna have a few vinyl skeletons in the closet. Readers of a nervous disposition are advised to proceed with care.
Since Dolores O'Riordan appeared on the cover of Hot Press at the beginning of the year, her life has changed dramatically on both a personal and professional level. Not only has she starred in the Wedding Of The Year, but she's also sustained a serious leg injury, appeared on the Late Late show, and became a dab hand at dealing with media begrudgery. In between all this, The Cranberries found time to record a new album, No Need To Argue. Interview: Cathy Dillon.
How did Brandon Flowers, Ronnie Vannucci, Dave Keuning and Mark Stoermer go from the Las Vegas dive bar circuit to selling four million copies of their debut album, Hot Fuss? On the eve of the band's highly-anticipated Oxegen 2005 appearance, Stuart Clark talks to the people involved in the making of The Killers.
Over the past five years, Oklahoma psych-pop practitioners The Flaming Lips have become perhaps the foremost cult band of their generation. Olaf Tyaransen caught up with the Lips’ main man Wayne Coyne at the Jack Daniels birthday bash in Tennessee to discuss life, love, major label patronage and the vexed question of whether or not there’s life on Mars.
A year ago they were being paid fifty quid a gig, now they’re one of the biggest rock ‘n’ roll bands on the planet and about to take the Oxegen main stage by storm. A pun loving Stuart Clark discovers how Franz Ferdinand have become Top of the Fops.
Cameron Crowe's Almost Famous offers a pleasant and almost innocent view of the life of a rock hack - sort of Little House On The Road. The reality, as PETER MURPHY explains, is rather different. Certain names in this harrowing saga have been changed to protect the guilty - and the author's delicate bone structure
The release of Born may confirm that Hothouse Flowers are back to their blooming best, but as John Walsh discovers, Liam, Peter and Fiachna have a few vinyl skeletons in the closet. Readers of a nervous disposition are advised to proceed with care.
STUART CLARK meets man-of-the-moment NORMAN COOK (aka FATBOY SLIM). On the agenda - tabloid intrusion, drugs, his love affair with Zoe Ball, and The Housemartins.
She’s no saint. She swears and smokes and doesn’t think she’ll go to heaven. But the one-time Dublin street kid has used the nightmare of her own past life to help make unlikely dreams come true for abandoned children across the world. Peter Murphy hears her extraordinary story.
Heard the one about the Irishman, the Bronx and the tab of industrial-strength acid? Stuart Clark hadn t either until that most eligible of bachelors, David Holmes, talked him through the mad month in New York that inspired his Let s Get Killed album.
As Barack Obama gets ready to take up residence at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, Bob Geldof, Josh Ritter and Laura Izibor offer their views on his presidency. Plus what the rest of the rock ‘n’ roll community including Bruce Springsteen and Ani DiFranco are saying about the new man in the White House.
The star of what s set to be the summer s hottest movie, High Fidelity, on love, obsession, movies, rock n roll, his pal Bruce Springsteen and the records he turns to when he s had his heart broken. With support from co-star Lisa Bonet and director Stephen Frears. Text: CRAIG FITZSIMONS
The grand dame of country and western music tells Olaf Tyaransen about her enduring passion for her music, her attachment to her tennessee roots, the ups and downs of her 36-year marriage and her ambitions to record an album of traditional Irish tunes
It's off to the most Northerly gig in the country with the island angels of Altan as Bill Graham spends a weekend in Donegal with our most dynamic traditional outfit and posits the theory that by looking to the past for inspiration Altan may hold a significant key to the future.
Funky Ceili, non-conformist politics and the approval of Bob Dylan, Robin Williams and Johnny Cash to name but a few. Larry Kirwan tells Liam Fay how Black 47 have become the hottest band in New York and one of 'The Ten Most Hated Things About America
Hot Press is 20 years old? Drokk it , so is 2000 AD! The mag edited by an Alien, produced by Art & Script-Droids, and read by Earthlets everywhere the one which revolutionised the comic industry, and of the Graphic Novel. ANDY DARLINGTON assesses its cultural impact and legacy.
1998 Bloom With A View
John Walshe talks to Luka Bloom on the eve of the release of his fourth studio album, Salty Heaven, about his return to Ireland, the inspiration behind the songs, older brother Christy Moore and the latest generations of the Moore dynasty.
Luka Bloom doesn't look 43, when I walk into the room in the Berkeley Court Hotel where our interview is to take place, he's standing in front of the window, guitar strap around his neck and an acoustic six-string in his hand - he strums it and I'd swear that he's 12 years of age. Every time he plays on stage the look is the same, one of wonder and even serenity.
The success of The Frames, Juliet Turner and Damien Rice, amongst others, has inspired a new do-it-yourself attitude among Irish musicians and bands, who are no longer prepared to wait for the imprimatur of a major label to get their records made. Here, Hot Press presents a step by step guide to becoming a DIY record magnate
The success of The Frames, Juliet Turner and Damien Rice – amongst others has inspired a new do it yourself attitude among Irish musicians and bands, who are no longer prepared to wait for the imprimatur of a major label to get their records made. Here Hot Press presents a step by step guide to becoming a DIY record magnate. Words: Tanya Sweeney. Additional reporting: Jackie Hayden
The success of The Frames, Juliet Turner and Damien Rice – amongst others has inspired a new do it yourself attitude among Irish musicians and bands, who are no longer prepared to wait for the imprimatur of a major label to get their records made. Here Hot Press presents a step by step guide to becoming a DIY record magnate. Words: Tanya Sweeney. Additional reporting: Jackie Hayden
It’s off to the most Northerly gig in the country with the island angels of ALTAN as BILL GRAHAM spends a weekend in Donegal with our most dynamic traditional outfit and posits the theory that by looking to the past for inspiration Altan may hold a significant key to the future.
At the end of a year which saw (most of) Fleetwood Mac reunited, on CD and stage, drummer Mick Fleetwood recounts the story of a legendary band and the making of a classic album – Rumours.
THE CHARLATANS are back firing on all cylinders, and talking global domination. TIM BURGESS and JON BROOKES talk to STUART CLARK about the joys of L.A., the dangers of Jack Daniel s and falling down Noel Gallagher s
marble staircase. Pics: MICK QUINN
He’s the joker in the Irish music pack, a working class hero who has at once conquered and subverted the mainstream. For his first album in six years JERRY FISH and his MUDBUG CLUB have also roped in some top-tier collaborators including rockabilly queen Imelda May and Carol Keogh.
John Walshe talks to Luka Bloom on the eve of the release of his fourth studio album, Salty Heaven, about his return to Ireland, the inspiration behind the songs, older brother Christy and the latest generations of the Moore dynasty.
Pics: Colm Henry
After a lengthy period spent "feeding my brain" CERYS MATTHEWS insists she’s really "up for it" again. Although our stop press news suggests her optimism may be slightly premature. Meantime, OLAF TYARANSEN hears about love, politics, presidents, boy bands and CATATONIA's best album yet
Or, Augusten Burroughs And The Art Of Magical Thinking. Peter Murphy talks to the bestselling author about his troubled upbringing in rural Massachusetts, the long and strange series of events that led to him becoming a writer, and why his current personal and professional happiness may just mean that his extraordinary story has a happy ending after all. Photography by Emily Quinn.
When Richard O' Brien put Dr. Frank' N' Furter into fishnets just over 20 years ago, few could have predicted the cult that would grow up around the Rocky Horror Show. Fay Wolftree genderbenders her way through a history of Transylvanian transvestism.
In 1993 she was broke, broken-hearted and reaching for a gun. Ten years on she’s a rich, famous, happily married author, celebrated worldwide as the creator of Sex And The City. Candace Bushnell tells Olaf Tyaransen how she got from there to here – even if she claims she still can’t write good sex!
With his first two albums, Streets mastermind Mike Skinner established himself as one of the most eloquent, idiosyncratic and gifted vocalists and worsdsmiths of his generation. But the 27 year old came close to blowing it all on spread-betting and crack, not to mention engaging in an XXX-rated tryst with an unnamed pop starlet. Thankfully, he’s bounced back with the tell-all confessional of The Hardest Way To Make An Easy Living.
The first rule of interviewing LOU REED is that you don t: he interviews you. Peter Murphy survives the turning of the tables and is rewarded with thoughts on Joyce, Wilde, Dylan, Ginsberg and on becoming an elder stateman for the alternative thing .
Ten, nine, eight… we count down the contenders for 2003. Words Hannah Hamilton, Colin Carberry, Niall Stokes, Richard Brophy, John Walshe, Eamon Sweeney and Stuart Clark
From hip replacement to hip and onto hip-hop, the second coming of texas has been one of the most unlikely artistic and commercial triumphs of recent years.
But as olaf Tyaransen discovers, the new-look
sharleen spiteri remains very much her old self.
Former London Mayor Ken Livingstone talks about toffs in politics, Tony versus Gordon and sheds light on his own intervention in the Troubles, at the height of the bloodshed.
It's Christmas, 1997 is drawing to a close and Noel Gallagher is in suitably reflective mood. "I can't be bothered writing music anymore", says the Oasis mainman before telling Stuart Clark precisely what he thinks of Liam, Meg, Sinéad O'Connor, that cunt Mick Jagger and England's chances of lifting the World Cup.
It's time to lock up your sons, daughters, pet poodle and drinks cabinet, as eight of Ireland's top bands descend on the venue, london, for the first major Hot Press-sponsored musical event of the year.
It’s been ten years since his last novel, but Neil Jordan has now reprised his role as one of Ireland’s finest contemporary prose writers with the dark gothic drama, Shade. In a wide-ranging interview with Olaf Tyaransen the Oscar-winning writer/director discusses the challenges of literary craftsmanship, swimming with sharks in Hollywood, working with Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt, his disinterest in celebrity and why Ireland continues to be his preferred place of residence.
Having already conquered Ireland and the UK, SAMANTHA MUMBA is poised to join Britney and Christina at the top of the American pop chart. Not bad for someone who two years ago was fired from a panto by Twink! Now, with her new album Gotta Tell You ready for release, the Dublin singer talks candidly to JOE JACKSON about drugs, sex and the break-up of her parents marriage
Ahead of his 50th birthday, Morrissey talks exclusively to Hot Press about the sexual nature of singing, letting go in the studio, being blacklisted by the UK's Radio One and how he approaches songwriting.
In the second and final part of an extended interview with Limerick's very own Fab Four, STUART CLARK travels back in time to their humble beginnings and charts their extraordinary transformation into one of the supergroups of the 90s. From shiny pink tracksuits to shiny platinum discos, here's the whole unexpurgated story.
In his first major interview, Aengus Fanning, editor of the Sunday Independent, discusses how he manages the most successful paper in Ireland and the death of Veronica Guerin.
Coke is it. Coke is the real thing. It's not the choice of a new generation but the choice of countless generations past, present and future. Coca-Cola knows how to get American presidents elected and is even responsible for Santa Claus as we know him.
Here BILL GRAHAM delves into Mark Prendergast's unauthorised history of the company, For God, Country and Coca-Cola, and discovers over a century's worth of evidence that Coke is no ordinary soft drink.
Christmas wouldn’t be Christmas without the dissection of the rock ‘n’ roll year that is the Hot Press Summit. Gathering round the table are the good and great of Irish music, but who let Podge & Rodge in?
He was a literary sensation, a writer with the outlaw charm of a rock star. But when rumours began to circulate that JT LeRoy was nothing more than a post-modern media prank, Peter Murphy, a friend and confidante, found himself caught up in an extraordinary story.
It's been over four intriguing years since Damien Rice's extraordinary debut album O was launched. That record went on to become a huge underground international hit, selling in excess of 2 million copies. Now his long-awaited follow-up – the similarly simply titled 9 – is finally ready to hit the shops. So how did Rice so successfully capture the collective imagination? And will the latest instalment in the Rice musical biography propel him to even greater heights? Hot Press talks exclusively to some of the key players in his remarkable rise and rise.
SINEAD O'CONNOR has been many things - bona fide pop star, tabloid target, controversial activist, mother and priest. But, above all, she is one of Ireland's most compelling musicians.
With a new album due for release, she talks to NIALL STOKES about love, sex, the Church, fame, racism and why "it's important to make it soul music." Pictures: MYLES CLAFFEY
During the late eighties, Aslan were among the most celebrated of Irish rock acts, immensely popular at home and signed to EMI, a major multinational label, on which they released their debut album, Feel No Shame. And then it all came unstuck, amid squalid tabloid accusations of drug addiction, egotism and recrimination. Now they re back, older, wiser and more resolute but with their musical batteries recharged, a new contract with BMG under their belts and that old emotional band intact. Report: Liam Fay (with additional reporting by George Byrne).
During the late eighties, ASLAN were among the most celebrated of Irish rock acts, immensely popular at home and signed to EMI, a major multinational label, on which they released their debut album Feel No Shame. And then it all came unstuck, amid squalid tabloid accusations of drug addiction, egotism and recrimination. Now they’re back, older, wiser and more resolute – but with their musical batteries recharged, a new contract with BMG under their belts and that old emotional band intact. Report: LIAM FAY (with additional reporting by GEORGE BYRNE). Pix: MICK QUINN
With a new tribute album to Gram Parsons on release, PETER MURPHY enlists the help of co-executive producer EMMYLOU HARRIS to recreate the tale of Southern Gothic that was the late singer s life.
The Manson Family at work, rest and play, in sickness and in health. Peter Murphy travels to britain and the US to bring back the full, intimate story of a band on the run
While the entity that is U2 continues to be the dominant focus in the creative lives of its four members, away from the band, Bono, The Edge, Adam and Larry have all indulged in extra-curricular activities, bringing them – and their music - into contact with such legends as Bob Dylan, Robbie Robertson, Keith Richards, and Roy Orbison, By Dermot Stokes
As U2 gear up for the release of No Line On The Horizon, they meet HP to talk about the creation of their latest masterwork, meeting world leaders, the way they’re perceived in Ireland, the current state of the music business and their future plans.
They love Ireland and Ireland loves them. As the Arcade Fire ramp up for world domination, the band talk about love, death, war and making music in churches.
DENIS LEARY, sultan of sneer, is en route to Dublin to star in the Murphy s Ungagged Comedy Festival. By way of a little limbering up, and proving that there s no smoke without fire, here he lets rip on Noraid, The Kennedys, The Royals, Bill Hicks, Dean Martin, Oasis, Father Ted, drugs in Kerry and, oh yes, why he d like to go to Riverdance with a sniper s rifle . Interview: LIAM FAY.
Never mind pressies and OD’ing on cranberry sauce, the important thing about Christmas is that it signals the return of the HP-10 Summit. Absolutely no blushes are spared as Ireland’s rock ‘n’ roll elite dissects the musical year that was 2006. Keeping order: Stuart “Paxman” Clark. Taking photos: Graham “Paparazzi” Keogh. Taking the piss: Eyebrowy
Never mind pressies and OD’ing on cranberry sauce, the important thing about Christmas is that it signals the return of the HP-10 Summit. Absolutely no blushes are spared as Ireland’s rock ‘n’ roll elite dissects the musical year that was 2006. Keeping order: Stuart “Paxman” Clark. Taking photos: Graham “Paparazzi” Keogh. Taking the piss: Eyebrowy.
After being a magnet for A&R men during the 80s, Dublin has recently developed into something of an underachiever. The city may have the second biggest growth-rate in Europe but there are a hell of a lot of gigs and records that simply aren t selling. peter murphy casts a critical ear over the capital s music scene and decides that what s required is a full-scale artistic enema.
They go together like a horse and carriage. You can't have one without the other - or words to that effect. In fact, however, even rock 'n' roll has yet to invent an erotic language that does justice to the breadth and complexity of human desire. In pushing out the boundaries, madonna has taken on the role of sexual pioneer, and done it with courage and no little success. Niall Stokes weighs up the evidence . . .
With a new 'best of' bringing the band's story up to date U2's guitar man steps forward to riff on good times and bad, the private life of a public figure, discovering the secrets of the universe on mushrooms and why, after all these years, few things match the high of being a member of U2.
Special hotpress.com members edition: "director's cut" featuring interview sections unavailable anywhere else.
Colm O’Hare reports on the latest developments in the Irish film world which – thanks to initiatives spearheaded by Michael D. Higgins, Minister of Arts, Culture and the Gaeltacht – is experiencing an unprecedented boom period.
A special report on the arts in Northern Ireland which is alive and rocking with the whole gamut of cultural activity. Here James Elliott and Margaret F. Grundy give the lowdown on the province’s artistic and creative hub.
The future is here. Well, somehow it always is. And, as usual, it is both familiar and strange. Nothing seems to change, but one day you turn around, it is 1995, and you are cybersurfing on the internet, summer seems to last all winter, ambient-acid-techno is bubbling away on the radio, your fax machine shows up on the Antiques Roadshow and papa’s got a brand new drug.
From "Out Of Control" to "All I Want Is You", Neil McCormick presents a major critical retrospective on the complete recorded works of U2, the band who went from being one of the world's worst cover groups to become a leading force in modern Rock'n'Roll
If the exclamation marks are anything to go by, you should start getting excited now, as You Say Party! We Say Die! line up an Irish date for November.
Things are hotting up for Dublin songstress Shelley with the 25-year-old being taken on by ex-Madonna, Joss Stone, Paula Abdul, Ricky Martin and Jessica Simpson manager Caresse Henry.
Three of the North’s most exciting new musical prospects, Fighting With Wire, General Fiasco and Skruff have announced a showcase in The Stiff Kitten in July.
With Cee-Lo recovered from the throat problems which forced them to cancel their Electric Picnic appearance, Gnarls Barkley have confirmed their debut Irish performance.
Rock has lost one of its most colourful characters with Cramps frontman Lux Interior passing away yesterday in a Californian hospital from a pre-existing heart condition.
This debut recording by young Tyrone-born fiddler Donall Donnelly and singer, guitarist, bouzouki and bodhrán player Brian Hanlon (who also designed the nifty CD jacket) was recorded in Sligo, Cork and Boston.
Current toppermost of the poppermost Enrique Iglesias joins Westlife, the Cranberries and (possibly, ssh!) U2 and the Corrs at this year's Meteor Awards
For the last decade, Germany’s Tresor has been the most consistent supporter of US influenced techno, and, as many independent record labels continue to fold, it’s testament to Tresor’s lasting power that they’ve managed to reach their eighth compilation in as many years.
Laura Izibor will be showcasing songs from her upcoming debut album – including new single 'From My Heart To Yours' – when she plays Dublin’s Crawdaddy next month.
This third album has gone platinum in the US, and Robin Thicke now counts 50 Cent and Pharrell among his showbiz pals. Is it hard to see why? No. Is it a good album? Not really.
The Feeling are being hailed as the pioneers of the new soft rock movement. Twelve Stops And Home isn’t exactly the REO Speedwagon tribute you might expect, but it does come free of any rough edges.
Rob Thomas has got a voice that manages to transcend the limits of the material and his band are accomplished at producing a classic rock sound that is certainly preferable to the horrors of Nickelback and Creed.
The die-hards up the front were hanging on Dave's every strum, but the constant hum of conversation from those further back suggested he’d failed to win over agnostics.
THERE CAN’T be that many people, of a certain age, who don’t know the music of Kris Kristofferson in one form or another.
His early songs were covered by a wide variety of performers, from Janis Joplin to Johnny Cash, and this collection, which revisits and reworks many of those hits, confirms his status as a writer.
Rising Irish soul star Laura Izibor was thrust centre stage last night, as a contingent of UK record company executives and media people descended on Crawdaddy to catch her latest home-town appearance there
There was no getting hammered and doing fuck all work over Christmas for Damien Rice with the Kildare man journeying to Oslo for the Nobel Peace Prize Concert.
Let’s try to imagine for a moment that this was a collection of duets that, somehow, managed to hook Brother Ray up with the guys and gals who benefited most from his example.
Students bands from across Ireland will compete for an attractive grand prize which includes Grouse Lodge studio time and entry to the UK's equivalent competition
rom its sumptuous packaging onwards, there’s obviously been a bucketful of record company money spent here, perhaps in the hope that this will be the one to break the band on a worldwide level. It might well do that, but it won’t be down to any compromise on the band’s part.
It’s all pretty brave – the faithful may scratch their heads and the detractors probably won’t even listen but just maybe they’ll find themselves reaching a whole new audience.
Annoyance, anger and extreme frustration, that's what it's about, and I'm not describing song themes either. This is just the way I usually feel when listening to a Sebadoh album.
Clearly no-one in the recording process knew when to say “that’s enough”, layering each track with overdub after overdub.
Beneath all this is an obviously talented artist struggling to get out.
His eight album in a decade sees the Toronto-based troubadour re-united with producer Mitchell Froom (Crowded House, Costello etc), who helmed his first couple of albums.
The three 16 year-old girls who met at a party a couple of years ago have become one of the UK’s brighest MOBO hopes, as evidenced by their smash hit ‘Overload’.
Tuesday, February 3, 2009 will be the 50th anniversary of the death of '50s rock legend Buddy Holly, “the day the music died” according to Don McLean in his hit song ‘American Pie’.
Heart's Quest is the brainchild of David Downes (oboe, cor anglais) and David Agnew (whistles, keyboards) augmented by whatever musical battalions they need from track to track.
Ms Dynamite may have found common cause with the international pop Mafiosi, but this is an LP rooted in specifics, the grime and grey of London’s inner-city.
Antony is one of those rarities for whom the term 'born to sing' is instantly applicable. The deft way in which his voice draws you in is hugely impressive.
The Rentals are fronted by former Weezer member Matt Sharp and buddies, and the sound is not a million miles away from the geeky American college kids style of Matt's previous band.
That the Irish music industry is in its healthiest state for a while is, by now, a given and it’s probably time to stop congratulating ourselves and start figuring out where it goes next. The answer, at least according to new label Faction, is to start thinking bigger than the DIY own-label approach that has dominated of late.
The first time I saw Ron Sexsmith live, I was immediately struck by the gentle, almost unobtrusive way in which his songs meandered into my head. I was so impressed that the next day I rushed out and purchased Other Songs, a quite beautiful album in its own, unique, low-key way.
THE CRITICS PANEL WHO VOTED FOR THE TOP 30 ALBUMS AND SINGLES OF THE YEAR ARE AS FOLLOWS: BILL GRAHAM, LIAM FAY, GEORGE BYRNE, STUART CLARK, LORRAINE FREENEY, TARA McCARTHY, GERRY McGOVERN, NEIL McCORMICK, DERMOT STOKES, OLIVER P. SWEENEY, SIOBHAN LONG, STEVE AVERILL, ANDY DARLINGTON, COLM O’HARE, JOE JACKSON, HELENA MULKERNS, DAN OGGLY, CATHY DILLON, NIALL CRUMLISH, OLAF TYARANSEN, PATRICK BRENNAN, JACKIE HAYDEN AND NIALL STOKES.
WHAT NEVER happened to dEUS? Four years ago the Belgian band had the respect of their peers, the adoration of the indie cognoscenti, and the ears of the inkies.
What A Girl Wants suffers from a typically unpleasant chick-flick worldview, purporting to condemn snobbery while unconsciously embracing it at every single turn.
This is depressing stuff – stagnant lyrical miserablism, copping optimistic nods at Morrissey and Curtis but entirely lacking in any poetry, mystery or romance. Timid, by the numbers rock that, while affecting to shake up a transatlantic rumble, falls resoundingly flat.
John Hughes used to make movies about alienated teenagers (The Breakfast Club, Pretty In Pink, Ferris Bueller's Day Off) but now he is more likely to make movies that will alienate them.
If anyone, up to and including those who receive special messages from Jesus during weather forecasts, gets anything at all about Revolver, I’d be terrifically surprised. Frankly, it’s the most godawful mess of this or any other year.
It's the way that the movie business works. It took 15 years to raise the money to make the biopic of Ray Charles life. It got done in the end, as they say, but Ray himself couldn't wait around to see its release: he died at the age of 73, in June of last year.
Sno Angel Like You manages to retain the scuzzy, down-home, come-into-the-parlour-and-take-a-microscope-to-my-heart feel of Howe Gelb’s previous work, while delivering some of the most uplifting, enthralling, soaringly beautiful and gloriously soulful music you’re likely to hear this year.
If their rapid ascent has left Alex Kapranos & Co. gasping for air it doesn’t show as Franz Ferdinand launch into their Olympia set with a breakneck ‘Michael’. All that having to grab American audiences by the scruff of the neck has toughened them up to the point where on occasions they’re bizarrely redolent of Live & Dangerous-era Thin Lizzy.
Creep is a lo-fi, subterranean British horror with a nasty shock at the centre. Could it be the film’s monster, a flesh-craving abomination stalking late night tube commuters?
Stunning is only the start of it. To come back from a showcase having seen one great new band is an achievement. To see three is staggering. From the off it seemed destined to be a special night.
Rock ’n’ roll has also long been obsessed with the dual totems of cars ’n’ girls, and of contemporary bands the likes of Mercury Rev and the Vulgar Boatmen have made sure the Americana idyll doesn’t run out of gas.
You could call it mass-market pop and dismiss it. Or you could do as Bono has done and acknowledge that this group are seriously vying for the position of best band in the world
The superstars of today are inevitably the unknown newcomers of yesterday. In the final countdown to Oxegen 09, we trace the journey of two of the New Band Stage’s previous headliners, who have gone on to have glittering careers – and who feature at this year’s event.
You know you’ve been to a bloody good Bruce gig when he can omit ‘Born To Run’ or ‘Thunder Road’ and nobody notices. Most of these young whippersnapper acts regard touring as a PR chore. Bruce, on the other hand, treats his job like a vocation.
Watermark is reminiscent of lots of things - yet it's like nothing you've ever heard before. Traces of classical, traditional and rock are easy to spot but Enya and crew haven't been content to drink only from established sources - rather they've managed to come up with a potion all of their own.
While Dracula 2001 is by no means as godawful as some other entries from the Wes Craven Presents… cano, it is still terrifically unaccomplished, and highly unlikely to inspire round-the-clock vigils outside the nation’s plexes
Apart from saving time, money and sanity when touring America, one o the best things you can do is try and get some American radio play. Here are some of the best online stations and guides to doing that.
“An awful idea.” That’s U2 manager Paul McGuinness’ verdict on the free Spiral Frog download service, which launches in the US in December and on this side of the Atlantic in early 2007.
Having been snapped up by Atlantic Records in the UK and touted by Hot Press as one of the most exciting bands to emerge from Ireland this year, Director prove their worth with 'Reconnect'.
JUST THINK of all those symbols of American culture that have found their way across the Atlantic over the years and which have come to symbolise the ultimate teen-age American dream. Rock 'n' Roll, Wurlitzer Jukeboxes, Harley Davidson motorcycles, Coca Cola, Rayban Shades, Levis, '57 Chevvies - the list is endless.
In an ideal world, nobody would have been allowed to write anything about The Blair Witch Project before its release, and everybody could have experienced the shock at maximum impact. That might have carried its own dangers, however: people might literally have died from the terror.
There’s nobody else quite like Damien Dempsey. His vocal style is very much an acquired taste. It takes a few listens before you start liking it, but after a while and you wonder where he’s been all your life.
WELCOME TO the car smash. The Birthday Party were, like all the great bands, a good five years ahead of the pack: it would take that span of time before another remarkable 4AD act, The Pixies, would smash through the vapidity of the ’80s, eating rock ‘n’ roll’s carcass alive and spewing chunks of it back up into grotesque new configurations.
BellX1 have announced a run round Ireland in support of their Blue Lights On The Runway album, which is due on February 20 and is preceded by the lead single, ‘The Great Defector’.
“One… two… three… four. Is anybody aliiive out there?” Recorded at the final two shows of his record breaking ten-night stand at Madison Square Gardens last summer, this is The Boss’ most anticipated release in years.
Andre Antunes, ace percussionist with Republic of Loose, was born in Brazil. Here, he waxes lyrical about his memories of his native country, and offers tips on where to visit.
I think it is the saddest thing that I have ever read. As my old buddy ‘Smokey’ Robinson used to say, it is sadder than sad. But it demands to be investigated, and when it comes to thorough investigations, Sam is your proverbial man.
Returning to vintage mode of several venues for year six Hard Working Class Heroes 2008 in Dublin from 12-15 September was the finest installation yet.
Cuckoo could be heard all over Ireland and Britain during June and July as the northern band toured the two countries. They’ve just released their new album, Breathing Lessons, but aren’t stopping to catch their breath.
As cats all over Ireland prepare to have their fancies tickled, Jackie Hayden reflects on the comedic talents of one of the star turns at this year’s Smithwick’s Cat Laughs Festival, Tommy Tiernan.
Considerable as the controvery has been over the decision of Judge Kevin Haugh to send questionnaires to the 1,100 potential jurors in Charles Haughey case, one significant factor has been missed.
A former member of Shane MacGowan’s band the Popes adds his voice to the criticism of Shane’s manager Joey Cashman. And Shane’s father Maurice also rejoins the fray.
Now that American rock ’n’ roll has succumbed to its self-destructive urges and with its British counterpart reduced to self-indulgent navel exercises, the stage is now set for the radical rejuvenation of Irish music both as an international commercial viability and as a cultural touchstone for the new generation at home. Bill Graham meets philip king, the captain of the flagship of the latest revival river of sound, and finds that in the wake of the Riverdance phenomenon, it’s full steam ahead for Irish trad. Pix: NUTAN.
AS you all know, I have always been of the view that popular culture is useless. Rock music is a tuneless, repetitive irritant, recorded by people who can t play and listened to by people who can t hear. Cinema is a playground for perverts and fools. And as for cartoons? Nothing could be more puerile and irrelevant.
The Americans have been listening, with their redundant anti-Soviet submarine technology, in the waters now known as the Malin Sea. They've heard whalesong, which is not unusual; but for the first time in decades they've recognised the song from the Mother of them all, the Blue Whale. In the past couple of years, according to a report in the Independent, five of these animals, the biggest ever to inhabit the Earth, have been seen in this part of the world.
Rosa Luxemburg once wrote that anyone who steps needlessly on a worm on the road to revolution has committed a crime. But even she might be dismayed by how daft the British media sometimes go about animals.
12 steps to help you take on the Portuguese city of Porto, with all the best hotels, restaurants, and hot spots. Plus, top travel news from around the world
This year sees the launch in Ireland of Rock The Vote, a campaigning organisation dedicated to promoting voter participation among 18 to 25 year olds. Hot Press is one of the key organisations that has joined forces with Rock The Vote.
There's no middle ground with Prince - you either love him or you loathe him. And so it is with his music; he either touches the skies or plummets the depths.
Opinions are somewhat divided on the future of trad – some feel the music should retain its explicit links with the past, while others contend that the only way for the genre to survive and flourish is through stylistic diversification. Plus the usual round-up of news from around the country.
In 1972, the British government “swept clean” the Chagos Islands and handed the biggest – a tropical paradise called Diego Garcia – over to the US. 30 years later no one seems to care what happened to the natives who were uprooted and exiled. words Eamonn McCann
Sarah McQuaid rounds up the news from the folk, trad and roots scene for one last time as her tenure as HP’s resident folk columnist draws to a conclusion.
Why Derry city fans can no longer stand up to be counted; why the rich are so disgusting; and why we haven’t heard much about the British-Al Qaida plot to kill Gadafi.
Reading a controversial article on “bug chasing” – gay men who deliberately have bareback sex with HIV positive men – inspired our columnist to go public for the first time about a traumatic episode in his own love life.
The time has come when we can no longer pretend that we’re in control. An incipient sense of cosmic disorder, for the past year gnawing away at the fringes of our collective consciousness, has suddenly become devastatingly palpable.
You pick up your newspaper or switch on the television these days and there's a good chance you'll encounter an attack on political correctness - or "PC".
The Irish were out in force at MIDEM, the annual music industry bash held in Cannes, in the south of France last week. With Irish music’s international stock running high and the Minister for Arts, Culture and the Gaeltacht Michael D. Higgins on hand to lend his support, it proved to be a very interesting year. Report: Niall Stokes.
Have a listen to our exclusive playlist of some of our favourite Northern acts who are appearing on July 25 at the small but massive Glasgowbury festival in Draperstown, County Derry.
Talent will always be the most important prerequisite for a career in music, but you’ll find the going a lot easier if you understand what makes the industry tick. Colm O’Hare looks at the specialist music courses which have helped the likes of Sinéad Lohan, The Thrills and Mundy to steal a march on the competition.
30th Anniversary Retrospective: From indie flicks to Hollywood classics, Irish gems to world cinema masterpieces, Tara Brady here selects the top 101 films of the past 30 years.
Colm O’Hare previews MIDEM, the music business trade fair to end all music business trade fairs held each year in Cannes, France and talks to Irish delegates about the increasing possibilities it opens up for Irish labels.
RTE2 have plenty of live music action to keep us placated for the next few weeks - here's the line up of bands and when to catch them. For more about the Other Voices series, click on the link at the very bottom.
Richard Lynn is the University of Ulster’s dirty secret. He is Professor of Psychology at the university’s Coleraine campus. The authorities there hope that he will go away quietly when his tenure ends next year.
REMEMBER the Beef Tribunal? Forget it. There were other issues, too, which might have brought Reynolds to grief before now, and didn’t. But he could well come a cropper even yet, over Parkingate.
Well, reader, we ve finally reached the end of our journey, after navigating our way across the length and breadth of the 32 counties (and detouring briefly to New York for a tincture of the tastiest in that honorary 33rd county).
ANDY DARLINGTON reflects on how the role of women-in-rock has changed from making tea and sandwiches for the boys to demanding – and more often than not gaining – access all areas.
On Tuesday 23rd November, at the National Concert Hall in Dublin, the Church & General Insurance Company present The Celebration Concert, featuring an extraordinary array of Ireland's finest contemporary songwriting and composing talents. In this four-page special, Jackie Hayden explores the background to the event and we profile the leading players.
