When it comes to meeting musical legends, few people have hobbed with as many rock ’n’ roll nobs as Blondie.
Kicking back before their recent Vicar St. show – an amazing night, in case you’re wondering – Clem Burke and Chris Stein are recalling some of their choicest encounters.
20 YEARS ago, Blondie bangled the airwaves with ice-cream, obsession, sex and style - indeed, the sight of Debbie Harry cooing 'Heart Of Glass' on Top Of The Pops inspired the first significant twitchings in the Murphy pecker . . . but that's a little more information than you needed, Vincent.
Despite a mix that virtually eliminated keyboards and favoured bass and drums over vocals that needed all the help they could get, the hits came thick and fast.
Olaf Tyaransen sings the reunion city blues as an unhappy DEBBIE HARRY forces him to take the scenic route through the rise, fall and rise of BLONDIE. But, hey, it all ends happily ever after...
ON THE evidence of this seventeen-track live album recorded on the band's last tour featuring all the hits from Parallel Lines to No Exit, it's difficult to believe that these guys have been around for twenty-five years.
ON THE evidence of this seventeen-track live album recorded on the band's last tour featuring all the hits from Parallel Lines to No Exit, it's difficult to believe that these guys have been around for twenty-five years.
In the words of visionary film-maker David Cronenberg, "There are records you listen to when you want diversion, and there are records you go to when you're in spiritual trouble." We asked an array of today's brightest stars to tell us about the artists they feel provide the greatest sustenance in time of turmoil and upheaval.
Those left without a ticket for punk legends Blondie’s sold-out date at th Dubln Olympia on 20 December will be glad to know they’ve added a second date to their visit.
If anyone had told me a year ago that I’d be flinging my knickers at a bloke in a catsuit and another who used to be in a boy band I’d have told them to fuck right off. But, they wore me down and I eventually succumbed to the cock rockin’ charms of The Darkness (albeit with the help of a persistent Stuart Clark). And as for old Trousersnake, well, frankly, who wouldn’t?
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.
It wasn’t so long ago that The Chapters shifted focus to immerse themselves in a love of all things Americana. Maybe I’m misreading it, but ‘Looking For Love’ suggests another change of direction, this time in favour of a tight garage guitar sound. It’s not a bad song by any means, but ‘Heart Of Glass’ (no, not a Blondie cover) – which is closer to the Americana blueprint – is far better, succeeding more by trying less.
One of the more interesting all-girl guitar groups in years, LA three-piece The Like blend Blondie with The Clash through the upbeat bounce of their second single ‘June Gloom’.
Sounding not unlike ‘90s Brits Lush, there’s less bombast here and a greater focus on melody then their previous outing.
Sure, the single fizzles with punk pop values but it is remarkably low on angst. Impressive.
DOLORES O'RIORDAN may have the highest profile but the others are also here to remind you that THE CRANBERRIES are a group. and with the release of their new album wake up and smell the coffee, a happier, wiser, less embattled group than ever before. “all you need is love,” they assure JOE JACKSON
She’s the post-modern starlet who is stalked by paparazzi wherever she goes but is as comfortable talking about Andy Warhol and John Updike as she is hanging with fashionistas. Say hello to Lady GaGa the good-time pop princess who went to school with Paris Hilton, cultivated a drug habit ‘cos that’s what David Bowie did in the ’70s, but thinks fame is just a game.
She's the hard-rocking- and by all accounts, hard-drinking- Norwegian indie-babe sensation. Ida Maria tells us about the rare condition that lets her see music as colour and more.
STUART CLARK DISCOVERS HOW IT TAKES 14 YEARS TO BECOME AN OVERNIGHT SENSATION WHEN HE DISCUSSES FAME, FORTUNE AND BELINDA CARLISLE'S SEEDY PUNK PAST WITH REDD KROSS MAINMAN STEVE McDONALD
Growing up in Sheffield, The Long Blondes’ Kate Jackson was sick of boring indie bands. So she decided to put together a group with a little more glamour about it.
Taking surf rock, doo-wop and bowery punk down the Euro-autobahn, The Raveonettes have hit on a winning combination of the wild, the innocent and the sado shuffle. Sharin Foo tells the story.
Taking surf rock, doo-wop and bowery punk down the Euro-autobahn, The Raveonettes have hit on a winning combination of the wild, the innocent and the sado shuffle. Sharin Foo tells the story.
Taking surf rock, doo-wop and bowery punk down the Euro-autobahn, The Raveonettes have hit on a winning combination of the wild, the innocent and the sado shuffle. Sharin Foo tells the story.
NIALL STANAGE talks to a six-months-pregnant DEIRDRE O NEILL of JUNKSTER, and hears all about the band s forthcoming album, sharing a studio with Axl Rose, and her reactions to journalistic brickbats.
Glaswegian indie outfit Sons And Daughters are set to make a big impact with their most pop-influenced album to date. They talk about surviving Bernard Butler bootcamp, touring with Morrissey and, er, covering Adamski.
There is many a haven for shunners of the Christmas Cheer like myself. Lots of lovely bands, singers, comedians and even hynotherapists are at hand to entertain the life out of us, and distract Santa while we throttle him. Right up to the New Year there’s so much going on you needn’t come home till Easter.
Marley, Merlin, Christ, coke, the mighty wind and extraterrestrial healing - EAMON SWEENEY hears the gospel according to LEE SCRATCH PERRY, currently starring in the latest cult commercial for Guinness stout
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.
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
Even before we get through the opening credits, a Molotov of freak show lettering, crude animations and Ennio Morricone’s galloping theme, you know you’re in the Western’s answer to Latin mass.
They were the coolest band on the planet – until the backlash started. Now The Strokes have released their most ambitious album yet. Can they leave their past behind?
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.
Back in the '60s the MC5 made it on to the CIA's 'Most Wanted' list. Now, they're a chi-chi fashion accessory beloved of Jennifer Aniston and her Hollywood pals. Guitarist Wayne Kramer explains it all to Stuart Clark.
PIGEON-HOLE THEM AS BELFAST HARDCORE MERCHANTS AT YOUR PERIL - IN THE PAST FEW MONTHS THERAPY? HAVE RELEASED TWO CLASSIC PUNK-POP EP'S THAT SHOOK THE BRITISH CHARTS, AND EVEN GOT THEM INTO THE PAGES OF TEEN-BIBLE SMASH HITS. AS THEY BEGIN RECORDING THEIR NEW LP, THEY TAKE TIME OUT TO GET NERVOUS ABOUT FEILE, GET ANGRY ABOUT THE BEATLES, AND EXPLAIN WHY THE DAYS OF THE NINE-MINUTE INSTRUMENTAL EPIC ARE OVER. INTERVIEW: LORRAINE FREENEY
Pigeon-hole them as Belfast hardcore merchants at your peril in the past few months Therapy? have released two classic punk-pop EPs that shook the British charts, and even got them into the pages of teen-bible Smash Hits. As they begin recording their new LP, they take time out to get nervous about Fiile, get angry about the Beatles, and explain why the days of the nine-minute instrumental epic are over. Interview: Lorraine Freeney.
The star of cult movies such as Natural Born Killers, Kalifornia and Strange Days, Juliette Lewis appeared to have a direct entry to rock's premier league when she turned her attention to her punk outfit The Licks. Instead, she opted to embark on a small-scale tour and play a series of small venues throughout the US and Europe. Peter Murphy was on hand as Lewis' magical mystery tour reached Ireland, and was witness to some truly fascinating scenes as the singer and her band bewitched the Dublin indie cognoscenti, travelled south to rock Limerick and strolled the red carpet to join the glitterati backstage at the Meteor Awards. Photography by Liam Sweeney.
Perhaps the most influential punk band of the ‘70s, The Ramones were nonetheless riven with internal divisions and a variety of personal traumas, both psychological and pharmaceutical. All this and more is covered in an excellent new documentary on the band, End Of The Century – The Story Of The Ramones. Here, Tommy – the last surviving member of the original line-up – looks back on the dark times and discusses the group’s legacy with Tara Brady.
The boys are back in town for Galway s Big Beat and SHAUN RYDER is back in the saddle. I m actually now becoming some sort of poet-film-directing-intelligent-motherfucking-artist-luvvy-darling sort of guy and it s wonderful, he tells PETER MURPHY. Pics: Michael Quinn
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.
Ahead of the band s heineken green energy gig in Dublin, PETER MURPHY talks to
NINA PERSSON of THE CARDIGANS about success, sexuality, self-esteem and joyriding!
Beaten down by the acrimonious collapse of In Tua Nua and lifted up by a hard-fought victory over cancer, leslie dowdall is back with a new album and new outlook on life. I m just delighted to have been given a second chance, she tells joe jackson. Pix: COLM HENRY.
Stylish purveyors of streamlined, controlled Pop, 'Til Tuesday were one of the late eighties most critically acclaimed acts. But for frontwoman, AIMEE MANN, life in that band was often a frustrating and demoralising experience. Now, however, having languished in record company limbo for far too long, AIMEE has re-emerged blinking into the daylight with an album which Elvis Costello says will have male songwriters blushing with envy. GEORGE BYRNE meets the Mann woman herself.
Beaten down by the acrimonious collapse of In Tua Nua and lifted up by a hard-fought victory over cancer, Leslie Dowdall is back with a new album and new outlook on life. “I’m just delighted to have been given a second chance,” she tells Joe Jackson. Pix: COLM HENRY.
As his singular contribution to the birthday party, guest writer Elvis Costello offers a handful of stories from his ten years on the beat, which serve to illustrate why, in his own words, “I’d rather be a folk music fan than a teen idol.”
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.
GARBAGE are a band who absorb all the detritus, darkness and despair of the pre-millennial zeitgeist and spit it back out in a torrent of searing guitars, futuristic technological trickery and lyrics that freeze the blood. They've also made two of the most sinister pop records of modern times - the second of which, Version 2.0, is due for imminent release. PETER MURPHY met them in London to discuss sex, surveillance, studio strife, pre-2000 tension and their special fondness for The Beach Boys.
Having been catapulted to fame by their debut, the knives came out for GARBAGE with the release of Version 2.0. But their crifical mauling has only served to bring the band closer together. PETER MURPHY saw them triumph at The Point, and spoke to SHIRLEY MANSON about fame, performance and one-night stands.
The fascinating story of how four Tallaght schoolfriends – and unofficial fifth member Shuggy – made a new home and a career playing music in the USA. All with a little help from their many friends.
Greetings From LA
beck and tom petty get together in Los Angeles for an impassioned rap on songs, songwriting, showbiz, the Unplugged phenomenon and how too much music can boggle the mind. mark rowland listens in.
Sci-fi revolutionary and reluctant cyberpunk, William Gibson marks the publication of his new novel pattern recognition by offering Peter Murphy a peek into the present and a brief history of the future.
Liam Fay calls on Shane MacGowan at home, where over mugs of brandy, the singer cheerfully rationalises his notorious alcohol-intake in the face of widespread concern that he might be drinking himself to an early grave. The premier Pogue disagrees, predicting instead a happy fulfilling life away from the stage, in which he would own and run a fully-licensed restaurant in London and face extended vacations in Thailand.
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
Long before boomtime Ireland there was boomtown Ireland, a country where the national symbol was not a tiger but a rat. to coincide with the release of the best of the boomtown rats, Bob Geldof looks back to the tepid Irish scene of the mid-’70s from which the rats emerged, biting, snarling and laughing, to take on the establishment, Britain and, almost, the world.
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 . . .
Aiken Promotions have just announced details of an Irish tour Morrissey is undertaking next year to celebrate his 50th birthday – God, we feel old! – and the February 16 release of his Years Of Refusal album,
That's co-producer Nick Seymour's verdict on Bell X-1's forthcoming LP, due out early in the new year. But first: a visit to the Temple Bar Music Centre later this month
Jill Furmanovsky will add significantly more culture into Dublin's 'cultural quarter' when she opens the Rockarchive photo gallery in Temple Lane South
Fashion mags have been drooling over Sheffield’s Long Blondes for months now – a pavlovian reaction, one guesses, to frontwoman Kate Jackson’s knack for looking quite dapper in a vintage neck cravat.
The former Bowie backing singer and occasional member of The Cardigans is an award-winning solo star in her native Canada, but given her frequent visits here she seems doggedly determined to break out on this side of the pond. Following her eclectic take on a bunch of Irish classics on last year’s Songs Of Love And Death, she wastes little time in returning with this album of her own material recorded on and off over the past three years.
Russell Crowe, Keanu Reeves, Minnie Driver, Bruce Willis, Eddie Murphy, Gwyneth Paltrow, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Jeff Bridges, David Hasselhoff, Patrick Swayze…the list of Hollywood A-Listers who’ve made unlistenable records is depressingly long.
It was therefore with much trepidation – and a fresh bottle of vitriol – that I approached this debut six-tracker from Juliette Lewis who’s suddenly decided she wants to be a punk.
Luscious Jackson have created possibly the album of the summer in Electric Honey, a wonderful mixture of experimentalism, bubblegum pop, hip-hop, folk and rock, all served up with a dollop of sunshine and a smile.
Who Are These People? is an expertly produced record that oozes high street style, a masterclass in how the home recording and digital editing set-up can easily replicate and/or sync with big budget deck-of-the-Starship-Enterprise technology.
Expectations for new material are, understandably, quite high, both from long term fans of the band and the ever-broadening circle of new admirers, Indeed, the days of Bell X1 filling medium size stages could well be numbered – as it is, tonight’s stage can barely hold the band’s enthusiasm and confidence.
With something of a renaissance having taken place in the Dublin independent scene over the past few years, now seems as good a time as any to bring ourselves fully up to speed with the sounds emanating from the Belfast underground.
Like Dinsdale Piranha in the old Monty Python sketch, Cathal Coughlan uses sarcasm. Sometimes with a sledgehammer, elsewhere with a stiletto - but he never stoops to the tender, poisoned compliments of polished English irony. Cathal Coughlan is no member of the loyal opposition.
As the flagship DJ for the newly-launched Dublin indie station Phantom FM, Edel Coffey is undoubtedly dripping with cool. Yet her friends can cast their minds back to the days when her fashion taste was… well, let’s say, misguided.
Quite how Texas found themselves transformed from worthy but dull, blues-obsessed write-offs to fashionable multi-platinum pop merchants is one of the more remarkable career spins of recent years.
Rock Steady comes with aspirations towards roots-reggae by way of dancehall beats, but the band have made a wise choice in plumping mostly for luscious cherry pop here, crafting a bunch of tunes that can slot easily between nu-punk and the new Pink.
The third Dublin heat of this year's increasingly interesting battle saw five very diverse acts slugging it out for a coveted place in April’s grand final
Breathless, sexy, frantic – the album’s forty minutes include five minutes waiting around for a hidden extra track; don’t bother, it’s shite – Fever To Tell is a racket but an undeniably glorious one.
TRAGIC MAGIC, the third album from archetypal 30-something ex-No Wavers Madder Rose, originally only got a release in the US and Japan in 1997, hence this European version's three new tracks, plus a selection of remixes.
In an ideal world where people of consummate good taste (Er, anyone we know,George? - Ed) ruled the radio waves, the much-maligned genre of power pop would - by rights - be an airplay staple and practitioners of this noble art such as Fountains Of Wayne …
HAILING FROM Macroom, Co. Cork are the recently formed Coil, a four-piece who trade in a type of narcotic Goth pop music. The group’s line-up is Ann-Marie Ryan (vocals), Mark Tangney (guitar), Paul Kelleher (bass) and Rory Hanly (drums).
In pop art, acts of grave-robbing and cradle-snatching go largely unpunished. The Strokes are not what you’d call the most original of bands, but they’ve always excelled at petty larcenies.
Have a gander at the 15 weird and wonderful covers from Hot Press in 1980. Featured are Siouxie and the Banshees, Bob Marley, U2, Sting, Blondie and an amazingly multi-coloured Christmas issue.
'91 was the year The Commitments rocked our world, along with Blondie, Bowie, The Wonder Stuff and An Emotional Fish. Plus, "The Begrudger's Guide To Irish Rock" (and no, we're not sure what that is either)!
ABBA have seldom been acknowledged by those who arbitrate or presume to arbitrate on matters of rock taste. Apart from a brief flirtation about five years ago, rock culture – in as much as the phrase actually signifies anything concrete – has continued to stick them with the legacy of their Eurovision success.
You may love them or loathe them but we'll bet you never thought THE CORRS played "British regional music". Peter Murphy observes The Observer getting its nationalities in a twist
Musicians Pat Clafferty, Amanda Claxton, Eoin Young, Darren Nolan and Fiachra McCarthy pay tribute to their friend and comrade-in-arms, the late Derrick Dalton.
Just because older women have a bit of experience under their belts doesn’t mean they have a license to start fondling twenty-something blokes when they're on the town.
Turbulence, the debut album proper from Saucy Monky, is one of those records. It is at once rich, smart, sexy, thrilling, entertaining, diverse and hugely accomplished. It is a great, rock’n’roll record, both playful and deep, its sometimes dark indie heart-core spangled with enough sparks of pop magic to light up the western sky.
