You know that your pop star interviewee is confident about the quality of his splendid new album, when he's happy to talk about everyone else under the sun. So it is with Pet Shop Boy Neil Tennant as he gives the thumbs up or down to Eminem, Liza Minelli, Kylie Minogue, So Solid Crew, Boy George and Westlife. Keeping score: Stuart Clark
Top 20 singles, festival gigs – Boy Kill Boy have come a long way from the East End. But they know where they really want to end up – lovely Mullingar.
Taking time out from a hectic schedule of stage, studio and club work the one and only Boy George sets the record straight on Eminem, Graham Norton, Elton John and the new homophobia
WHIPPING BOY (Project Arts Centre, Dublin)
TO GET a crowd up and dancing requires something special - but then Whipping Boy have always had that something.
It might be the opening night of their first headlining tour, but Boy Kill Boy singer Chris Peck has already mastered every cheap trick in the book. He encourages the audience to clap along, reassures us several times that we’re “ace”, and seems to make eye contact with almost everyone in the enthusiastic crowd at least once.
From the tragic death of Cliff the fish to turning Madonna down, praise from Nick Hornby and fanmail from Bono, Badly Drawn Boy ’s life is certainly bewildering.
and that’s before you consider his hellenic aspirations…
Does anyone give a toss about Badly Drawn Boy anymore? A lot of people, judging by the sell-out crowd at The Village tonight, though I have to say I’m a little surprised.
Gough’s score for the film adaptation of Nick Hornby’s boy-meets-dad novel, wholly charming as it is, is not quite of the calibre of his staggering debut
‘Boy racer’ has been used as a catch-all term to explain the behaviour of teenage boys involved in a spate of recent road deaths. But that may be a simplistic view of the phenomenon.
Advertising maestro, Warhol/Burroughs associate and portrait photographer BRUCE WEBER talks about his re-released biopic of jazz lost-boy Chet Baker, Let's Get Lost.
If it wasn't for the attentions of the gutter press, NICK HORNBY's current lifestyle would be pretty much blemish-free. His new novel, About A Boy, is racking up the sales figures with Overmars-like speed; he's just sold the film rights for it to Robert De Niro for #1.8m; and to cap it all, his beloved Arsenal are poised to do the league and cup
double. Tape: STUART CLARK. Pix: Mick Quinn
The latest Boy to leave the Zone, the launch of Mikey Graham s solo voyage has been attended by
controversy and criticism. But don t underestimate his determination. I m not the passenger, he tells PETER MURPHY. Portraits of the Artist: DECLAN ENGLISH
Who ever thought that understated simplicity could be so damn beguiling? The ever-unassuming Archer came up trumps with this hookish single last year, and now that it’s been afforded the Steve Osbourne sheen, ‘Boy Boy Boy’ positively shimmers with summery, uplifting jollity.
Cellos, harps and horns collide with magical results on the album of the summer, if not the year, from cult \bermensch BADLY DRAWN BOY. KIM PORCELLI reads between the lines
Adapted from literary genius and uber-piss-head Brendan Behan’s auto-biographical account of an English borstal in the 1940s, Peter Sheridan’s Borstal Boy is never less than a magnificently faithful adaptation of its source, despite there not being a profanity in ear-shot.
PETER SHERIDAN has done a remarkable job in bringing Brendan Behan s Borstal Boy to the small screen. Here he talks to hotpress CRAIG FITZSIMONS and TARA BRADY about accents, alcohol and artists
A grim and miserable tale of relentless brutality, rape and buggery in an Irish industrial school, Song For A Raggy Boy was never likely to be a bucket of belly-laughs.
The Boy With No Name has a handful of absolute crackers, proving that Travis are still capable of penning a tune that wraps its tendrils around your ears and won’t let go until at least four minutes have passed.
It sounds like the stuff of hype and overnight success – from struggling garage band to next big thing and accolades from noel gallagher, morrissey and bono – but even at an average age of 23 The Thrills have paid their dues. Olaf Tyaransen hears how the summer’s hottest band went from worshipping whipping boy to having beck’s da play on their debut album.
Why Boy George has lost Sam’s respect. Meanwhile, Bono has taken some flack for moving his swag to the Netherlands – but it’s better than letting the Irish government fritter it away.
Coldplay's Viva La Vida is likely to see the end of its current reign at the top of the Irish charts as U2 release re-mastered versions of their classic albums Boy, October and War.
The whole exasperating but bloody entertaining farce is still part spoken word, part stand up, part witty raconteur and part carry on being a rock star.
One of the star attractions of Bud Rising, Badly Drawn Boy – AKA Damon Gough – explains his special connection with audiences in this country and his grudging regard for pop talent shows on the box words Tanya Sweeney
As wholly charming as it is, it's not quite of the calibre of Gough's staggering debut, and we quite miss the lowing cellos and doleful Northern brass of ex-backing band Alfie
Pulling every epic indie trick in the book, Boy Kill Boy come across like a more serious version of the Kaiser Chiefs. So ‘Back Again’ is dabbled in pop tunefulness, whilst front man Chris Peck’s soaring vocal remains franticly over-earnest. It makes for a gem to dance to while drunk. But a spin on the stereo reveals this to be more of the same Britrock drivel, from an act to file under ‘never-gonna-happen’.
A frisson of pure excitement waves through the capital upon hearing news of the band’s reunion, which does little to explain the somewhat muted reception the band receives tonight.
Badly Drawn Boy
‘Spitting In The Wind’ [XL / Twisted Nerve]
It’s not Damon Gough’s style to censor himself, but when he reworks the quirky Hour Of Bewilderbeast ballad into a jaunty ‘lil gem he redeems the whole exercise.
The media targeting of gay websites, following revelations that a 14-year-old boy had sex with men, is unhelpful, unjustified and contributes to an inaccurate picture of paedophiles ‘grooming’ young men for sex.
Damon Gough aka Badly Drawn Boy has been quoted as saying he doesn't mind if it takes twenty years for people to realise how good this album is, but hopes it will one day be considered a classic piece of work.
Life has been a bit of a rollercoaster for Ronan Keating since he left Boyzone for a solo career. But he’s not one for moaning or dishing dirt – even when conversation turns to Louis Walsh.
Not since the death of Elvis has the passing of a music legend so gripped the world. As fans and detractors alike struggle to come to grips with the sad, strange end of Michael Jackson we assess his legacy – as musician, celebrity and enduring icon and talk to some of the people who knew and understood him best.
JOHN FARRELL was brought up in an Irish working–class neighbourhood in Brooklyn. From a very young age he knew that he was gay. But it took twenty–five years before he could go fully public, with this powerful, funny and tragic telling of his own journey to sexual maturity.
Sting – all dull AOR anthems, mawkish charidee singles and empty celeb blather, right? wrong! The artist formerly known as Gordon Sumner here talks to hotpress about the lingering fall-out from the break-up of the police, hanging with über-hip filmmakers Terry Gilliam and David Lynch, and getting the seal of approval from the late Johnny Cash.
John Walshe talks to Jamiroquai mainman, Jay Kay, about the funk soul brother’s latest album, A Funk Odyssey, his testy relationship with British tabloids and why President George W. Bush is a “bad fucker”
The trauma of his mother's death; the joy of his marriage to Yvonne; the truth about his sex life; the pressures of growing up in public; the importance of peer respect; the offers of a solo career; and how America might hold the key to keeping boyzone together. In his most personal and revealing interview to date, ronan keating talks to joe jackson
The trauma of his mother's death; the joy of his marriage to Yvonne; the truth about his sex life; the pressures of growing up in public; the importance of peer respect; the offers of a solo career; and how America might hold the key to keeping boyzone together. In his most personal and revealing interview to date, ronan keating talks to joe jackson
The trauma of his mother's death; the joy of his marriage to Yvonne; the truth about his sex life; the pressures of growing up in public; the importance of peer respect; the offers of a solo career; and how America might hold the key to keeping boyzone together. In his most personal and revealing interview to date, ronan keating talks to joe jackson
and didn’t like what he saw... Fatboy Slim tells Stuart Clark about an encounter with Man Utd so unpleasant that even Zoe Ball is thinking of switching her allegiance to Brighton. Plus: the highs of Normstock and the lows of So Solid Crew
The journey from Tallaght to the Premiership hasn’t always been an easy one, but this season has found Richard Dunne in the best form of his career for both club and country.
In the second and final part of an extensive interview, MIKE SCOTT discusses inspiration and influences, recalls his difficult solo years and explains the death and resurrection of THE WATERBOYS. Interview: PETER MURPHY
EMINEM s Marshall Mathers LP has gone 12 times platinum in Ireland. He s been voted Time magazine s Man Of The Year. And, having broken through into the mainstream with the remarkable Stan , he s just been nominated for four Grammys. So why is the world suddenly falling at the feet of a venomous bottle-blonde rapper who s penned some of the most repugnant, hate-filled lyrics since the invention of the gramophone record? Peter Murphy tells one of pop music s most extraordinary stories ever
Two Icelandic natives who came together in London and have carved out a niche playing supremely melodic, melancholy pop music – boy-girl duo The Honeymoon look to be here for the long run.
From sweeping the steps of lauren hill’s manager’s house to teetering on the brink of a massive hit – native american Jason Downs tells his story to John Walshe
The past year hasn't been the easiest for Whipping Boy and all who sail in him. Their debut album, though critically acclaimed, did not sell well and they've also had to weather their own share of record company hassles. But, as Gerry McGovern discovers, the band are still setting their own agenda, and forging forward with their own brew of hope, confidence and fuck-ye-all attitude.
The reviews may be mixed but Tim Burgess is chuffed to bits with his solo album. The moonlighting Charlatan talks to Eamon Sweeney about positive vibes,
marital bliss and why he’s not giving up the day job yet.
Twenty-four-year-old ANDY VOTEL is the man behind Badly Drawn Boy s Twisted Nerve label, and he s just released a self-penned new album. COLIN CARBERRY gets jealous RICKY ADAMS gets pics
Having scored huge critical acclaim and won the Mercury Music Prize for his debut album Boy In Da Corner, Dizzee Rascal has pushed urban music another rung up the evolutionary ladder with his stunning new record, Showtime.
Trip-hop legend Tricky on how he's falling in love with Europe, why he's dying to work with Kylie and why if you live in a rough part of the UK, it's best to carry a knife.
Tara Brady talks to Julie Brocquy, producer of Osama, the acclaimed Afghan film which tells the story of a young girl forced to disguise herself as a boy to survive life under the Taliban regime.
A mixture of singer-songwriter narrative and hip-hop savvy, courtesy of Milk D (of Audio 2 fame), the single and album opener serves as a perfect appetiser for what is to come.
The 20th anniversary of the death of Luke Kelly is being marked by a double CD The Best Of Luke Kelly, and a week-long tribute Remembering Luke at the Gaiety. The Dubliners are, not surprisingly, deeply involved in both projects, and bandmember John Sheahan here explains all.
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
Colm O'Hare talks to boy-girl sensation The Kills about their adoration of the US underground, touring with Franz Ferdinand and Primal Scream, and why those White Stripes comparisons are totally wide of the mark.
What has transformed 47-year-old boy Adonis TOM MATHEWS into a realistic simulacrum of that red-nosed little feeb in the Bamforth Comic postcards? Yes, readers, a punishing fortnight at the Galway Arts Festival. Now read on
Yup, we thought you'd like our stab at a tabloid headline. Thing is, there was a time when Danny Boy O'Connor looked inexorably set on a course for the California State Penitentiary. Then he discovered the therapeutic qualities of the House Of Pain and apart from the odd skirmish with the 2FM Roadcaster, there's been no looking back since. Crime reporter: Stuart Clark.
Even more than winning a Mercury Prize, you know you’ve made it when the disappearance of your woolly hat makes the news. with rave reviews for his album offset by damning criticism of his live shows.
NADINE O’REGAN talks to DAMON GOUGH about nerves, self-belief, and the birth of his daughter. Well-taken pictures: MYLES CLAFFEY
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]
John Walshe talks to the most exciting British band of the year, the decidedly Latin-monikered Gomez about their meteoric rise to fame and how shaggy-haired studenty types are suddenly going for the boy band look.
From the check shirts to the bolo ties to the facial hair, Dublin blues quintet HOT SPROCKETS are a band committed to their genre. Granite-voiced lead singer Wayne Soper lets Celina Murphy in on the secret of getting fans to scale your speakers and writing skanky lyrics about hoochies.
pat mcCABE is on a roll. Neil Jordan s film adaptation of his acclaimed novel The Butcher Boy has been rapturously received. His latest meisterwerk Breakfast On Pluto about a border county transvestite is about to be published. He s going on the road with Jack L. And what s more he was recently named Monaghan Man of the Year! Interview: liam fay.
Pics: Mick Quinn
Gosh. 2004. We came (almost literally when Quentin T. swaggered back into town), we saw, we felt gooey. An awesome, sweltering, overwhelming time was had by all – well, by movie buffs at any rate. Dead genres arose and appeared to many. Documentaries – long the bridesmaid of cinema history – got their groove back, thanks in part to that Moore fellow’s rants and raves.
It requires no great talent to reduce an audience to tears when your backdrop is a concentration camp. If your principals are potato-headed children, so much the better.
These days he may be more famous for his movies than his prose, but in conversation Neil Jordan remains linguistically precise as he dissects the Hollywood machine, reveals his love for Lord Of The Rings and discusses his latest movie The Good Thief, starring Nick Nolte.
With a little help from Timbaland and The Neptunes, Justin Timberlake’s debut solo album justified propelled him from N’Sync baby food salesman to purveyor of the slickest dancefloor pop since the days when Michael Jackson was black. here, via the wonders of modern technology, HP eavesdrops as the boy wonder receives a Woodward & Bernstein-style investigative enema from the Euro-press.
The Undertones were getting teenage kicks and SLF were snarling about suspect devices, but while U2’s sound was equally jagged and hormonal, their themes were already leaning toward metaphysical, if not existentialist.
From strange days coming second in a yoghurt-sponsored competition and playing awful gigs sandwiched between boy bands, Damien Dempsey, with a little help from Shane, Sinéad and Christy, has survived and thrived. Eamon Sweeney meets a rap balladeer with a hit album, a social conscience and more than a few stories to tell.
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
They've had their share of troubles but now arch Hollywood bad boy Robert Downey Jr. and Val Kilmer are back on the A-list - and fronting a movie together.
No mere actor boy moonlighting as a rock star, Billy Bob Thornton is steeped in music and also in the kind of brooding Southern gothic aesthetic which informs his compelling album of song and story, Private Radio. Peter Murphy meets a singular man of stage and screen
He pioneered the art of glam-punk excess with the New York Dolls and now he's learned to grow old gracefully. Peter Murphy meets the boy from New York City, the ever cool David Johansen. Photos: MYLES CLAFFEY
Following the lukewarm reception accorded Jackie Brown six years ago, Quentin Tarantino reached a crossroads in his career. now, following a prolonged retreat from the media spotlight, a rumoured struggle with writer’s block and his break-up with Mira Sorvino, the most influential film-maker of the nineties has made a stunning return to form with the explosive samurai thriller, Kill Bill. Craig Fitzsimons travelled to london to meet the director and discuss the film he describes as “the movie of my geek boy dreams.”
Jerry Fish – or if you prefer, Gerry Whelan – is what you might call a happy man right now. In fact, if the guy were any higher, the boys in blue would probably stop him on the street and ask him to piss into a cup. Not only is he preparing to close on his most successful professional year in a decade, he’s also received a rather momentous early Christmas present. Some 28 hours before our meeting, the singer’s partner Niki had given birth to a baby boy, their second child. Mr Fish, as you can imagine, is coasting on cigars and brandy and goodwill to all men.
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
He’s spent the past few years hanging out with Kate Moss and Primal Scream, but now it’s time for Irvine Welsh to look up some old pals. Yup, Begbie, Spud, Renton and Sick Boy are back in Porno, an XXX-rated tale which makes Trainspotting look like Harry Potter
JANE SIBERRY has a voice so exceptional it could stir absolutely anyone, even those whose idea of romance involves fifteen pints of Guinness and an eleventh hour lunge at the least intimidating person in the vicinity.
It’s telling that folk from the rap and hip-hop industry fare much better as thespians than the average errant pop star with screen aspirations. Regardless of Sam Jackson’s claims to the contrary, it’s hard to think of a single self-styled gangster that’s actually ‘unproven’ as an actor.
"U2 make me think", it's been said. That criterion is used a lot these days, because as rock'n'roll gets older, its priorities and values change. It spreads itself out and becomes more adjustable, like a toy.
Cracking double CD mix from the boy wonder – encompassing breaks, prog, glitchy house and techno – all mixed in his deft style. Very open-minded and very impressive.
Four jackin’ tracks for da floor: ‘New Jam’’s b-boy vox, jumping bassline, chopped horns and woozy piano loop make for a treat, while ‘Yayers’ is a simple and effective dancefloor cut.
Timely release from this NYC collective – sounds like a mix between !!! and LCD, with the right amount of Detroit, Berlin, glitch and lo-fi white boy funk in it to keep in interesting. Better still, this has songs you can sing. And plenty to dance to. Natch.
‘January’, the third single taken from the wonderful Eskimo Beach Boy album, is every bit as catchy as the pair that went before. If anything, it’s easier to be sucked headfirst into its western-tinged charms.
If the Single Of The Fortnight accolade were all about promise, St Julien would have been up there. Because, while the Dublin foursome’s debt to the Beach Boys’ is a little too obvious, their debut single shows that they’ve got proper songwriting chops. And boy, can they sing.
Love him or hate him (and he is the kind of artist to divide opinions) two things can’t be denied – it’s been an incredible year for the New York Brit and there really is no-one else out there like him. A duet featuring role model Boy George, this is absolutely beautiful and totalling uplifting in the way that his last single was heartbreakingly sad.
Love him or hate him (and he is the kind of artist to divide opinions) two things can’t be denied – it’s been an incredible year for the New York Brit and there really is no-one else out there like him. A duet featuring role model Boy George, this is absolutely beautiful and totalling uplifting in the way that his last single was heartbreakingly sad.
Love’s tough when it doesn’t work out. Most of us have been there. Boy meets girl, boy loses girl, boy chases girl… and fails to win her heart back. Where does boy (or girl, for that matter) go from there?
Swooping in on a wave of Doors-y keyboards, this promises a psychedelic style wig out and nearly delivers. Built around a back-and-forth boy-girl vocal, the title track does the retro ‘70s thing (Deep Purple even spring to mind) without sounding like a pastiche, which is a neat trick altogether.
It’s easy to dismiss Richie Hawtin as a poster-boy for minimalism. But on ‘The Tunnel’ and ‘Twin Cities’, he works in reverse to his peers, piecing together elements from a number of other tracks. Like his ‘Transitions’ mix, these tracks evolve into intricate, ever-morphing grooves that have Hawtin’s identity stamped all over them.
Hell stays away from techno with his effective ‘white boy does funk’ take – loose bass, analogue riff, cool disko FX – while Technasia lash out a jackin’, busy mix of ‘Way Of Life’ on the flip.
It’s refreshing to hear that party techno boy Valentino is moving with the times and this new mix includes slamming acid from the Dahlbacks and Nathan Fake’s tranced out dub techno alongside the ubiquitous rolling techno from Hardcell, Patrik Skoog and Marko Nastic.
The original's a fairly unlistenable Jagz Kooner-esque romp featuring The Chuckle Brothers aka Alan Vega and Bobby Gillespie. The big beats remain, but the hip-hop nods have been replaced by an almost industrial dirge. The diskoid Padded Cell remix of 'Boy Bitten' is far more palatable.
The boy Hannon can always be relied on to cobble together a cracking radio-friendly tune, and this is gladly no exception. As ever, Hannon’s honeyed vocals, ambitious production and expressive, masterful song-writing combine to stunning effect, and the result is an enchanting, catchy number that should serve only to consolidate Neil’s national treasure status.
Now you’re talking. Yes it’s from an advert, yes it’s been given a pointless remix and yes it all smacks of corporate box ticking but, boy, what a tune. I defy this not to put a smile on your face whenever you hear it and if it leads more people to discover Simone’s incredible ‘I Wish I Knew I Knew How It Would Feel To Be Free’ then who’s losing out?
With ‘Suffer So Well’ Eleanor McEvoy takes a look at break-ups through Americana-tinted glasses. And boy does she go all the way on this one; never mind Gillian Welch, the Carter clan would be impressed by this. And then there’s the beautiful take on Marvin Gaye’s ‘Mercy Mercy Me’ that is as touching as it is innovative. If we call it ‘new blue grass’ do you think more radio stations would play it?
Badly Drawn Boy would be proud – Q, aka Colm Quearney has decided to flout convention by drumming up an altogether more sunny, colourful strain of acoustica. With its lilting trumpets and upbeat vibe, ‘Baby Lets Dance’ is a hugely endearing, flavoursome number, and proves that Quearney has come a long way since his days in Lir.
Donegal outfit Boy Number Seven emerged victorious at the finals of the inaugural Youth Work Ireland/Garageland Seven Steps Up music competition, held in Dublin's Sugar Club over the weekend.
Whoever said old punks can’t dance had never heard of Dutch band Oil, who moonlight here as electro producers. With the same white boy guitar, nasal whine and indie strut that Happy Mondays used to sell before things got too druggy, ‘Crack…’ sees the boys’ track bubble with Italo melodies and benefit from a menacing EBM remix from Kid Goesting.
Having overcome their self-imposed mountain of a name to prove themselves worthy of our attention, ‘St Christopher’ finds the Kells band in a rather serene mood, with mid-tempo monotony highlighting their Sunday feeling. The girl/boy vocal interplay between front people Niamh and Podge isn’t as chilling in its juxtaposition here as Mark Lanegan’s and Isobel Campbell’s – but it’s early days yet.
For all the flak they get from parts of the press and large sections of music fans, you have to admit that at least the Fall Out Boy/My Chemical Romance/Panic At The Disco! axis are trying to do something different with what has become an extremely narrow-minded genre. The latest FOB is more of the same wordy, slightly too clever punk-pop but, next to the dreadful boneheadedness of Sum 41 (the cover features Mr. Avril gobbing), it sounds like high art.
They’re from Waterford, so given the city’s recent successes in the National Student Music Awards and Murphy’s Live, ‘Sticky Fingers’ should have no problem getting former Ten Speed Racer man Terry Cullen and co. international fame and fortune. The three sombre rock tracks here exude an unhurried, confident nature, complemented perfectly by the dynamic of boy/girl vocals. Promising stuff.
Gentle whispery vocals a la Badly Drawn Boy are the smooth chocolatey centre of this lovely airy-fairy song with some beguiling trumpets and oh-so-soft guitar. The “bah bah bah dah” lyrics will appeal to the Wannadies fans and smiley people hanging out in parks. So don’t listen to it while you’re burning dinner or reading Kevin Myers.
I advise Bell X1 to hold onto him, because this boy can cut it on his own. While the jazzy piano shuffle of the song owes much to ‘My First Born For A Song’, its bleary guitar solo and ghostly backing vocals makes it closer to Cathy Davey. Geraghty’s voice is like a more rough-edged version of bandmate Paul Noonan’s – something that suits this song well. He even pulls off a finale reminiscent of The Divine Comedy at their most flamboyant.
First album in four years from the flaxen-haired boy wonders who briefly tasted stardom in their early teens (their debut Middle of Nowhere sold a staggering 6.5 million copies!) Now in their early 20’s they’ve “matured” into a competent guitar-based outfit capable of well-rounded songs with impressive harmonies.
Slovenian golden boy Valentino Kanzyani drops his best record yet. The title track rolls brilliantly, with intricately woven percussion and building riffs. There’s also the groovy feel of ‘Major Improvements’ and the funky tribal rhythms of ‘House Soul Beats’, guaranteeing this record crossover success.
Now that has to be the best title ever bestowed on a song. Ever. The utter genius continues when you listen to it too. Like a catch-up with an absent friend, it only takes the first minute to become reacquainted with The Cardigan’s hip and laid-back attitude – perfect for driving to – and in the second minute it dawns how much you’ve missed those Swedish muckers. Commercially, it’s nothing on the same scale as ‘My Favourite Game’ but boy, it’s good to have them back.
Though he styles himself as a singer-songwriter, this English Son and former squaddie (who served in Kosovo) comes across as one of those earnest, Pop Idol pretty-boy types with acoustic guitar and floppy haircut – you know the kind!
The Australian born pin-up boy has racked-up 5 US no 1’s and a heap of Grammy nominations over the past couple of years with his country-inflected pop/rock. This European introduction to his undoubted talents compiles his two previous albums Be Here and Golden Road. It’s all very impressive stuff with Urban’s appealing voice matched with catchy songs. The undoubted highlight is the big-production ballad ‘Raining On Sunday’.
The Australian born pin-up boy has racked-up 5 US no 1’s and a heap of Grammy nominations over the past couple of years with his country-inflected pop/rock. This European introduction to his undoubted talents compiles his two previous albums Be Here and Golden Road.
The first thing that strikes you about ‘Stop’ is its complete lack of balls. There was a time when Turn were well on their way to becoming the best rock band this country has produced since Whipping Boy. However, the days of tracks like ‘Face Down’ and ‘Beeswax’ are seemingly over. Given the snip, ‘Stop’ is a slice of radio friendly day-time pop very much in the vein of Snow Patrol. There’s even East 17-style Christmas glistenings at the track’s close. Far from their best work.
National Student Music Competition finalists Monitor’s follow-up to the ‘Higher Than The Sky EP’ (a former Hot Press Single of the Fortnight) is full of promise. It conjures up the same dark spaces as Editors, but fills it with the clang and chime of Boy-era U2. Indeed, the sound, songs and skills displayed here reflect a band who’re eager to get out of here and fill some stadiums. With songs as compelling as ‘On The Verge’, they could yet make good on that ambition.
The most riveting track on their underwhelming Broken Boy Soldiers debut, ‘Hands’ is a combination of ‘60s infused power-pop and hardened guitar. It shows that, when they hit their stride, Brendan Benson and Jack White can crank out a decent racket together. Benson’s polished vocal is off-set by White’s spiralling, Jimmy Page-inspired guitar lines. ‘Hands’ does, perhaps, slightly overstay its welcome but is fun in doses.
Tipped as a cross between The Streets and Badly Drawn Boy – not a cross-pollination that sounds particularly edifying on paper, whatever the individual merits of each act – Jamie T actually manages to gel his disparate influences with no small amount of style. I’d say Dizzee Rascal’s frantic, high-pitched flow combined with The Magic Numbers’ sunny guitar pop is a more accurate description of ‘If You Got The Money’ – making it one of the more compelling singles of the fortnight, if not the year.
Twinkly piano? Check. Choir-boy falsetto vocals? Check. Windswept sentimentality? Check. Keane are turning out to be something of a one trick pony, but when the trick is this good, no-one really seems to mind.
Recorded and produced in Los Angeles with Tom Rockrock (Beck, Elliott Smith, Badly Drawn Boy) James Blunt’s debut album takes the listener through heartfelt songs of unattainable romances, lost loves and friend’s failures...
Having read about them in the Hot Press news pages, the organisers of Scotland’s Retrofest have added Dublin synth merchants Empire State Human to the August 30 and 31 bill.
Damn you, Jack White, why do you have to seep talent through every pore that graces your seemingly flawless self? With The Raconteurs, the man with the Midas touch puts The White Stripes on hold and teams up with pals singer/songwriter Brendan Benson and members of The Greenhornes.
On the face of it, it’s a simple little track with an indie swagger that makes you feel like the coolest person in class just for listening to it. But, in fact, the arrangements, vocal and otherwise, are a work of intricate genius. How we look forward to their debut album, Broken Boy Soldiers.
Tales of Thomas Walsh’s exquisite, Beatles-esque songwriting bent have already been well-documented on these pages, and this latest single comes up trumps. Walsh is about two degrees of separation (literally) from the likes of Air, Beck, Paul McCartney and Aimee Mann, and boy does it show. Laden with summery strings and plodding with an endearing strain of psychedelia, this single brings to mind the cheerful, sanguine likes of the Beach Boys. It’s nice to be nice alright, but it’s even better to be brilliant.
Sometime in the past 12 months Razorlight’s Johnny Borrell took a long, unflinching look at himself in a mirror and saw Pete Doherty staring back. From such moments of clarity are great pop makeovers forged. No longer content to hawk pretty-boy Oasis pastiches, the sulky-looking Muswell Hill-ian, who embodies Razorlight even if he doesn’t write all of the music, has junked the bad-boy patois and cultivated his inner Bacharach.
Not content with just thrashing Offaly in the hurling, Carlow now turns its attention to music, and on the basis of this this offering, First Cuts pick of the fortnight The LeMons, are a stellar outfit.
It’s a relief to acknowledge the return of the electric guitar in the brooding and introspective 'Love Believes Us When We Lie', and the ‘90s Nirvana riffs and enigmatic Ferghal McKee lyrics are a great burst of school-disco sentimentality.
At a push, you’d emphasise a Whipping Boy/Jesus And Mary Chain flavour. We’re not quite in Kilkenny territory yet, but The LeMons are definitely potential champions.
The latest skinny-hipped addition to the Domino indie-boy roster, Clearlake stealthily deliver another impeccably detailed portrait of provincial ennui.
THIS WHOLE "Can Caucasians Rap?" claptrap is getting very tired. The US press might be having a field day over the fact that a new wave of white devils (Dr. Dre's boy Eminem, Remedy of the extended Wu-Tang Clan, Non Phixion) are moving in on the 'hood, but the race issue is as after-the-fact now as it was when The Stones and Led Zeppelin were committing grand larceny against Howlin' Wolf and Willie Dixon.
The second album from Manchester duo My Computer is a complete box of tricks, covering the ground from orchestral pop (‘The Boy I Used To Be’) to electronica (‘Dig A Hole’), country (‘Stumble’) and even balladry (‘Life’, ‘Heart’). What’s unusual is that they seem equally proficient in whatever genre they’re subverting, turning styles on their head and having fun while they’re doing it.
The Heat Can Melt Your Brain is the debut album from UK husband and wife team, Vida Voce, and it certainly bodes well for their future. Warm and fuzzy indie pop is the order of the day, with plenty of undulating rhythms, gently strummed guitars, weirdly wonderful sound effects and boy/girl harmonies, not a million miles away from The Delgados or Yo La Tengo, especially the beautiful ‘The Centre Of The Universe’ or ‘The Lucky Ones’.
The boy Kittser’s seemingly unstoppable rise towards world domination continues with the second single from this summer’s certifiable soundtrack album The Big Romance.
Stop press: Witnness have just confirmed some of the leading lights of this year's festival. Mercury Rev, Badly Drawn Boy and Chemical Brothers sound good for starters? Read on
Niall Quinn has lined up a live gig at Baker Place, Limerick on Friday, November 20 for his latest project Theme Tune Boy supporting the legendary Jinx Lennon.
Brazilian drum & bass superstar DJ Marky has been added to the list of DJs performing as part of the Soundtrack 08 festival with a set in Crawdaddy this May.
Greg McLean’s brilliantly nasty horror, the most disquieting Aussie debut this side of Bad Boy Bubby, is guaranteed to make you squirm like you’ve never squirmed before.
Blotooth’s pretty-boy vocalist Myles O’Reilly certainly casts a presence onstage tonight, all six foot five of him, and it seems as though the band are undergoing a transformation of sorts.
Van Morrison and Linda Gail Lewis
What next for Van Morrison? Already this year he's gone back to his skiffle roots with The Skiffle Sessions, hauling on board for that project the great Lonnie Donegan. And now Van-the-man returns to a time when he was Van-the-boy, digging the kind of pure country music made by Hank Williams and the frenetic rock 'n' roll sounds fashioned by Jerry Lee Lewis.
The most welcome of bolts from the blue. Envelope’s debut is the most gloriously delightful opener to come from an Irish group this year. A feast of pleasures, State and Nature shifts from the seductively visceral to deep and responsive melancholia. At its best, specifically on staggering second track ‘Cost of Living’, the Dublin trio eloquently spit contempt from the speakers, whilst locking their rage behind Simon Rand’s warm vocals to make for an uncomfortable hybrid of sound. It’s like Coldplay’s ‘Politik’, as executed by a crossbreed of Whipping Boy and Radiohead. The epic and the extraordinary continue to dominate on ‘Politis’ and ‘Store In A Dark Place’, with the sounds of Elbow, Doves and their closest Irish contemporaries God Is An Astronaut resonating throughout. An absolute gem of a debut.
There are plenty of reasons to like The Crocketts. This four-piece came together in Aberystwyth a few years ago, and their mixture of college boy angst, rock & roll and black humour, has resulted in some good singles.
The girls and the boys say that No Doubt - as well as Ian Brown and Green Day - are the latest additions to the bill for Witnness '02. And we've got a hunch that Primal Scream, Badly Drawn Boy, the Chemical Brothers, A and Gomez (just to name a few) shall also be getting a look in. Read on
Local hero Stephen Murphy, Revelino, The Alice Band, Juliet Turner and Glen Hansard all brought something to the Nowlan Park party but it's fair to say that things went into overdrive from the moment The Blind Boys Of Alabama (right) entered with an impossibly soulful and gospel-drenched ‘Danny Boy’.
Head Automatica’s 2004 debut Decadence was a dance-rock extravaganza. For the follow-up, former Glassjaw frontman Daryl Polumbo has crafted an altogether poppier affair, full of Fall Out Boy-style harmonies, meaty riffs and powerful choruses.
Ever since 'Trigger Hippie' hit the sophisto pop spot, Morcheeba's one girl-two boy chilled contemporary blues have slinkily found their place in the muso-sun.
Hellogoodbye are on a cool indie label and have played on the Vans Warped tour. It’s quite a surprise then to find out that they actually sound like Steps.
With Boyzone dangerously past their sell-boy date, the talented one's are venturing into George Michael territory in an endeavour to capture a more adult market.
…it’s a new video from Badly Drawn Boy! It is entitled ‘Silent Sigh’; it is by all accounts very lovely; and it is on tonight’s No Disco. Pencil it in, kids
Having stopped touring with the band two years previously, head Boy Brian Wilson set about creating what could really be his solo masterpiece, provoked by The Beatles’ most recent works to go beyond the formulaic limitations of your average pop song.
IN WHICH Liam Howlett, in the wake of the half-great but ultimately overblown shitstorm that was The Prodigy's Fat Of The Land album and panzer-campaign, holes up in the culture bunker, getting back to his B-boy bleach bum roots.
KNOCK, KNOCK. Who’s there? Gary. Gary who? Exactly.
It’s an old joke, but it still rings kinda true. It’s hard to believe now, but not too long ago the entire record industry seemed to think Barlow would be the only member of Take That to emulate that boy band’s success as a solo artist.
Boy George brought androgyny to Toy Town and made every gel wish he was their teddy-bear. Annie Lennox proved that women could take the harder part. Otherwise, Brit-pop melted down to pills and soft-soap.
Danielle Brigham caught the hililghts from last night's Witnness bill. Feast your peepers on reviews of Badly Drawn Boy, The Thrills, Lemon Jelly and The Streets
Like his compadres Dylan, Cohen, Nelson and Prine, Kris Kristofferson’s voice is showing the results of too much living, but it still can convey more passion and commitment than a chartful of boy bands.
Excuse me? You can’t help but do a double take when you learn that Danny Dyer, wide boy idol of Human Traffic and Severance, has teamed up with Gillian Anderson for a sick vigilante fantasy.
Danielle Brigham caught the highlights from last night's Witnness bill. Feast your peepers on reviews of Badly Drawn Boy, The Thrills, Lemon Jelly and The Streets
The lion’s share of I'll Be Lightning is an impressive, pleasantly surprising record. There's evidence of timeless songcraft, but there’s a welcome element of whimsy here, too.
His extreme sports stunt sequences, his supercool boy toys and his unceasing willingness to fuck everything in a thong will make this the most popular flick among teenage boys since The Matrix
This album leaves no doubt that the former Beach Boy is now fully recovered from the 1967 nervous breakdown that effectively stalled his career for decades.
Fall Down Seven Times, Stand Up Eight is by all accounts an album that has been in the making for several months, and boy does it sound it. Left to marinade in its own splendid creative juices, the 66e sound has morphed from something cutesy and introspective into a glorious sonic sprawl, with vertiginous climaxes and windswept hooks.
Sandwiched between his Glastonbury triumph and his Live 8 appearance in Berlin, the former Beach Boy and pop genius came to Dublin for what surely must’ve been the most intimate show on his current tour.
Mmmm. He's gone and done it again. Dotted his i's and crossed his t's with little more than a guitar and a pair of vocal chords that must have been hatched somewhere between Sonny Boy Williamson's chest cavity and John Lee Hooker's pelvis.
It’s all very exciting, if entirely lacking in substance, but what would I know? Every boy I’ve spoken to thinks this an orgasmic masterpiece, what with the shiny things, car-chases and moody unattached protagonist.
Having recently become obsessed by The Arcade Fire’s Funeral, in all its glorious furious ecstasy (nothing bar ‘Neighbourhood #1’ has been in my head for a month), I had some difficulty adjusting when I Am Kloot arrived in the house. You may not know them; they are low-key and lugubrious, like a Mancunian Lambchop, or Badly Drawn Boy with scruffier hats. They’re not exactly Wagner. They’re wonderful.
THERE WERE two Irish records in the UK club charts simultaneously for the first time ever recently. As Belfast boy Wand’s remix of Dubliner Kerri Ann’s ‘Do You Love Me Boy’ slipped from number 27 to number 29, Northern duo Agnelli & Nelson crashed straight in at number five.
Though flawed, How Harry Became A Tree would probably qualify as the most effective example of homegrown bucolic melodrama since Neil Jordan's Butcher Boy adaptation
Set List is the sound of a band at the peak of their powers, from Colm’s stunning fiddle-work to Joe Doyle’s perfect backing vocals, with the boy Hansard as magical Master of Ceremonies, effortlessly guiding musicians and audience through their paces.
Debased Dubliners Republic Of Loose return, here serving up their second smorgasbord of gourmet sleaze for your delectation. What more could a poor boy ask for in a time of plenty?
The Heat marks an impressive progression for Jesse Malin, as this time it sees him stepping out from the shadow of best mate, collaborator and alt-country poster boy Ryan Adams to firmly establish himself as a formidable force in his own right.
Tonight’s noisily chatty office-party crowd are certainly excited about something, but it may or may not be Life After Modelling. They should be, though: the Lifers’ short set is a compact bang-zap of straight-as-a-die Noughties post-punk, leavened by dreamlike, hand-holdey boy-girl harmonies.
Television has given the US a PR platform on a plate, and boy have they used it well. American literature classes have played their part in the Americanisation of the planet too. Everyone from Henry Miller to John Grisham has helped the cause of the Great American Way.
Esentially a hip-hop version of Dirty Dancing (yes, that bad) Save The Last Dance is a crushingly predictable affair of the all-too-familiar 'boy meets girl from opposite side of the tracks and they get together through their mutual love of dance' variety.
We may never know what percentage of Troy’s substantial 175 million-dollar budget went on baby-oil, but I’m willing to bet it was a lot. Indeed, Brad Pitt’s Achilles is so greased and buffed up that you wonder how he can keep hold of his sword, let alone slay Hector (Bana) with it. He’s less a tragic Greek hero, more a slick, petulant surfer-boy.
It's been a while in the making, but boy is it worth the wait. Sliabh Notes, a.k.a. Matt Cranitch, Donal Murphy and Tommy O'Sullivan whetted our appetites royally back in 1995 with their eponymous debut. With their ears trained to the holy ground of Sliabh Luachra, they gathered up a gabháil full of the finest local tunes, much to the delight of the aficionado and beginner alike.
It’s unmistakably The Rolling Stones as we know and love them, down to the last chopped rhythm of Keith Richards’ telecaster, Charlie Watts’ snare crack and the mannered tics of Sir Mick’s white boy blues croak. Like The Ruttles’ clever pastiches of Beatles classics, the Stones appear to have perfected the art of parodying themselves to a point where you wonder if they might be having a laugh.
COLIN CARBERRY meets KIDD DYNAMo, the Northern outfit fronted by singer/songwriter colin campbell who numberS Joan Armatrading and the Webb Brothers among his fans
The school I attended, if some dirty little urchin broke foul wind in class, the boys seated around him would wrinkle their noses and say, ‘Something crawled up your leg and died inside you, boy.’ The way Lanegan sings, it sounds like something died inside him a long time ago.
Rarely a week goes by without the arrival of a comic adaptation promising to be the darkest, edgiest yet. Well, oh boy, do we have a winner. Sin City is drawn from the hard-boiled graphic-nasties of Frank Miller, who co-directed the movie with Robert Rodriguez (and received further assistance from Mr. Quentin Tarantino). Maintaining a grovelling S&M slave-dog obedience to the source material, their collective efforts prove every bit as brilliantly, imaginatively, gruesomely violent as one would have suspected.
The Boss is back, and boy is he pissed. Bruce Springsteen uses the language of classic American rock 'n' roll to address the disquiet and despair of the modern-day American nightmare. Hot Press bore witness to a cluster of exclusive warm-up shows in New York and New Jersey.
All Write Now, we said. And boy did you follow instructions! The entries poured in from all over Ireland, and further afield, in their thousands. We were snowed under – but, as the song says: That’s the way, uh huh, uh huh, we like it…
Why do so many gay men find it difficult to honestly express their feelings towards their partners? And would the introduction of gay marriage really change anything?
Five years since The Used released their seminal, self-titled album who would have thought we’d still be entertaining records that sounded like weaker versions of it?
Namechecked in Rolling Stone as one of Ryan Adams’ favourite songwriters,
Galway artists ADRIAN CROWLEY gets all pantheist on us for his fifth album Season Of The Sparks.
Acclaimed music writer Simon Reynolds has revisited the post-punk era with a fascinating set of interview transcripts. He talks about prising choice quotes from Phil Oakey, David Byrne and, after a tense stand-off, Pere Ubu’s David Thomas - and explains why the internet has taken some of the fun out of music
With a career-best new album under their belts, Razorlight's Johnny Borrell talks about bling, mid-career reinvention and Britain's battle with metrosexuality.
Ahead of their return to Ireland, Muse reveal they’re about to go through their U2 phase, talk about magic mushrooms and explain why, when it comes to conspiracy, they’re on Jim Corr's side.
He's the godfather of English whimsy, the spiritual successor to Syd Barrett. So why the hell is Robyn Hitchcock sharing a pokey tour bus with three fifths of REM?
The new album from Foo Fighters is an indie-rock tour de force, combining blistering anthems and delicate acoustic tracks (there’s even a cameo from dinner-party doyen Norah Jones). According to drummer Taylor Hawkins, it may just be the band’s masterpiece.
Damien Dempsey has battled his way centre stage, winning the support of luminaries as diverse as Morrissey, Robert Plant, Sinéad O'Connor, Larry Mullen and Brian Eno along the way. Now with the release of his third album Shots, he is poised to make a major breakthrough. Interview by Tanya Sweeney. Photos by Cathal Dawson.
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
Tommy Tiernan's latest concert tour contains tales of masturbation, marathon running and marauding donkeys. Stephen Robinson visits the land of Tiernan Og
BLOODHOUND GANG might not be paragons of good taste, but they do live out the rock n roll lifestyle like no other band. JIMMY POP talks to STUART CLARK about swearing, drugs, porn stars and amusing Germans! Pop Pic-er: Declan English
A defining personality of the seismic changes in Northern Ireland, Billy Hutchinson is a paramilitary turned politician, a convicted UVF murderer who spent 16 years in the Maze and who will now represent the PUP in the new Assembly. But if Hutchinson has abandoned violence, it hasn’t altogether abandoned him. As he reveals in this interview with niall stanage, there have been three attempts on his life by the INLA in the last 18 months.
Pics: Michael Taylor.
Kieran Kennedy has just released a solo album – the Donal Lunny-produced Pagan Irish – but, he tells Colm O’Hare, The Black Velvet Band are still alive and well.
JOHNNY ROGAN didn't write just any old biography - he wrote a book about MORRISSEY which brought down a virtual pop fatwah on his head, with his subject declaring in public that he hoped the author would die a grisly death. Now, with the paperback version just published, the 'controversy' seems to have been given a new lease of life. It's not by any chance a publicity scam, is it? CATHY DILLON puts Johnny Rogan on the spot.
Michael O'Higgins interviews Bertie Ahern, one of Fianna Fail's young tigers and a man many are tipping as a future leader of the party and possible Taoiseach
His take on crunk (which is so generic it feels generous to even call it a “take”) feels flimsy and devoid of hooks, although the lightly Carribean production touches do show a smidgeon of promise.
There’s a clear-eyed, sometimes sombre intensity you might not have expected from one so crusty-hatted, and indeed Gough knows when earnestness is oppressive. So One Plus One Is One ends on the note of optimism and tenderness on which it began.
BDB’s characteristic ramshackle guitar and endearingly imprecise vocal are this time combined with full string and horn arrangements, creating a kind of folksy motown feel, Detroit crossed with Devon
IT MAY be hard to explain, but we’ve all witnessed great acting – in our favourite movie, play or television programme (or simply when your lover claims that she, or he didn’t betray you, despite the fact that you caught them in the act).
Revisit our Nirvana cover story from earlier this year, encompassing ten-years-on recollections from Butch Vig, Greil Marcus and Mark Lanegan and one of Hot Press' undisputed highlights of '02
He’s the hottest thing in boxing and has been tipped as a future world champion. Recently Amir Khan was in King’s Hall Belfast for a lightweight bout with Laszlo Komjathi of Hungary. Francis Jones was in the audience.
Donal Convery, lead vocalist of Co. Derry band Asterix talks to ADRIENNE MURPHY about the link between pain and creativity, and why he hopes to give up his day job.
Squeaky clean pop princess, MTV award-winning actress and all round nice girl Mandy Moore explains why she won't be flashing her knickers any time soon
Spitfire aeroplanes, dogs in disguise, aphex babies and karma police: founding No Disco producer Rory Cobbe waxes visual on ten of his favourite videos of all time
Having survived a flirtation with coke-addled infamy, nice-boy Britrockers Keane natter about the long road to recovery and how it feels to be Bret Easton Ellis' favourite band.
They've been known to hand-craft their own instruments and, just for the hell of it, once toured Korea. Little wonder that boy/girl partnership Mirakil Whip are fast earning a reputation as one of the country's most eclectic new bands.
Ronnie Wood reveals that his autobiography, a rather entertaining account of his hair-raising life as the 'new boy' in the Stones, was a toil of love to write.
One of Ireland’s outstanding violin players, Steve Wickham is a long-time member of The Waterboys and respected composer in his own right. Born in Dublin, he’s a country boy at heart.
From obscure Australian character actor to fan-boy pin-up, it has been a long, strange trip for Hugo Weaving. His latest turn, as a masked anti-hero, could be his definitive role.
The boy from San Diego, Jason Mraz, earned enough kudos with his debut album, Waiting For My Rocket To Come, to convince famed U2 man Steve Lillywhite to produce its sequel Mr. A-Z.
So what happens when an indie band goes major league? how can you stay cool when your date’s a Charlie’s Angel? how important is the boy/girl song in a flag-waving time? and like Alexander The Great, do you weep when you have no more worlds to conquer? in addressing these and other pressing questions of the day, The Strokes salute John Lennon, Bob Dylan and their own undying band of brotherliness.
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?
After what seemed like an eternity of enduring processed boy/girl band hell, 2003 was the year that pop became exciting again. Finally, we got a long hot summer soundtracked by Beyoncé (song of the year – hands down), 50 Cent’s awesome ‘In Da Club’ and even a band from my own ‘hood whose debut album was the feelgood hit of the season.
He's come a long way, baby - once a poster-boy for rampant hedonistic excess, Depeche Mode frontman Dave Gahan has since settled down and learned to channel his energies into the area in which he excels, haunting, dream-like though reliably attitudinal - rock n roll.
When your personal background includes dusting down knives for sex and walking up the aisle wearing a white shirt with your husband’s name written in blood on it, then playing all-action heroine Lara Croft on the big screen probably seems like the very essence of normality. Angelina Jolie describes the joy of death-defying work, explains why England is more attractive to live in than the US, underscores the importance of her UN role and, finally, talks about life and love post-Billy Bob. interview Tara Brady and Craig Fitzsimons
This is the Hotpress Student Guide 2002. We know that the last thing you want is a load of worthy and boring tips on how to be a good boy or girl. So instead, we thought we’d give you a little bit of help in the much more important task of being baaaaad.
As Dublin readies itself for the Holidays In The Sun festival, Stuart Clark talks to Menace mainman Noel Martin about the birth of punk, Shane MacGowan's Union Jack and why John Lydon wasn't the most popular boy in school!
Rregarded as the original, manufactured boy band, once upon a time The Monkees ruled the world. Now, half of television's fab four are back and, as you might expect, they have quite a tale to tell. Joe Jackson talks to Davy Jones and Micky Dolenz
The drink, the drugs, the fights, the sex, the loves, the hates, the hits and the Taoiseach's daughter - here are Ireland's most successful boy band as you've never heard them before.
Hearing their confessions: Joe Jackson
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.
These words of wisdom belong to jim kerr, a working-class boy from Glasgow who proved that he was as good at scamming it as the next man. Now he's back for one more shot with the new Simple Minds album Neapolis. Interview: colm o'hare.
White-boy soulsters daryl hall and john oates have returned to keep America safe for accomplished, slick R n B and they re still packing in the punters after all these years. Interview: colm o hare.
Neil Jordan's controversial new film Interview With The Vampire has angered both the gay community, who objected to the dilution of the movie's homoerotic content, and the author of the novel from which it is adapted, Anne Rice, who disagreed with the choice of Hollywood golden boy Tom Cruise in the starring role.
However, with Anne Rice conspicuously recanting and the critics in the U.S. responding rapturously, signs are that this is one Vampire which won't lay down and die. Report: Helena Mulkerns
From the early excesses of the Birthday Party through meisterwerks like The Good Son to his new release, Live Seeds, Nick Cave has spent nearly fifteen years probing those crevices of the human psyche that few care, or even dare, to venture into.
Here, in a highly personal, in-depth interview, Gerry McGovern grills the god of Goth about his ambivalence towards and obsession with religion, his love of dysfunctional people, his thoughts on the past and his hope for the future, oh, and how to reconcile life as an internationally renowned icon of doom with being a mummy’s boy! (Only joking, Nick!).
Once every four years we wave them off to do us proud. And this year it was to the home of the Olympics, to the birthplace of the modern athletic movement and the playhouse of the gods, to Athens.
The twisted dance-punk of Hard-Fi is inspired by the angst of suburbia. But that hasn’t stopped them reaching for the stars – or breaking into an airport.
Our correspondent gets his snout out of the suey trough long enough to watch Hal, The Revs and former Snow Patrol man Iain Archer participate in the Eurosonic talentfest in Groningen. Words and Photos: Stuart Clark
Shorn of his beard and pony-tail GERRY RYAN is to join forces
with Barney the dinosaur, Twink and OTT in a poptastic pantomime
in The Point, SLEEPING BEAUTY (SORT OF).
Interview: CHRIS DONOVAN.
Former Friends star David Schwimmer talks about his dark days of waiting tables and why his lawyer parents were perturbed by his determination to make it as an actor.
Having released one of hip-hop’s seminal records, DJ Shadow has struggled for years to leave behind his repuation as a sample wizard. He may finally have succeeded.
There is something mysterious and unpredictable about the things that make us horny, or that draw us to new lovers. The same is true of those features in potential partners that turn us right off. Here with the results of her own private survey of our likes and dislikes.
Daring Hot Press correspondent Danielle Brigham tells in her own words how she dodged knives, nibbled coat-hangers, fire-limboed – well, crawled – and pulled the world’s stretchiest man, all in the course of a day with the fun-loving freaks of the Circus Of Horrors. photos Liam Sweeney
Anna Nolan first shot to fame as one of the stars of the original Big Brother. A lesbian, guitar-playing ex-nun, she has gone on to make an impact as a TV presenter in the UK. Now, she's about to make her Irish debut
When PETER O CONNELL (not his real name) was charged with the molestation of two young boys in Kilkenny and Waterford in 1994, his statement to Gardai revealed for the first time, his own horrific saga of sexual abuse, and resulted in the conviction of a priest who had ostensibly taken him under his care. With full access to court documents, RICHARD BALLS reports on the case of a 33-year-old with a mental age of 12 who, for much of his grim, institutionalised life, had been in the words of the judge who sentenced him to 18 months imprisonment more sinned against than sinning .
A true-life tale of a once-famous Victorian murder investigation paints a fascinating picture of a society undergoing profound changes – and has eerie parallels with today’s fears about the rise of a surveillance culture, explains author Kate Summerscale.
By dragging leprechauns into the new millennium, Wexford author EOIN COLFER has enraptured children and adults alike and given Harry Potter a right run for his money. FIONA REID meets the brains behind Artemis Fowl
placebo have probably garnered more column inches in the British press for frontman
brian molko s effeminate appearance than for their music.
colm o hare meets the men who want to be a band that parents hate .
At the tender age of 20, he s already the most successful Irish DJ ever. Mark Kavanagh chats to Fergie, the first Irish DJ tipped for Premier League superstardom.
With a new album ready for release, Idlewild 's Irish bassist Gavin Fox talks about celebrity spotting in LA, touring with Pearl Jam and why Warnings/Promises is the best thing they've ever done. Interview by John Walshe
A surreal journey into the inner life of an Irish transvestite in ‘70s London is the basis of Breakfast On Pluto, the latest cinematic collaboration from writer Pat McCabe and director Neil Jordan.
Brian Wilson is among the most influential forces in modern music and created, in The Beach Boys' 1966 album Pet Sounds, what many music fans agree is the greatest record ever made. In February he takes his world tour to Dublin's Point Theatre and Stephen Robinson asks what's on the set-list
It s been an unhappy start to 2001 for BELINDA BRENNAN, with the father of her unborn child being forcibly arrested and deported back to Romania, Niall Stanage reports on her and her partner s plight
Running – appropriately enough – from the 26th to 29th of October in Dublin's IFC, the Horrorthon weekend is without doubt the ultimate word in non-stop guts and gore. The gruesome endurance test gets underway on the night of Friday 26th in IFC Screen One with a preview of John Carpenter's Ghosts Of Mars, a sci-fi/horror hybrid set 175 years into the future. Horrorthon highlights are as follows:
After an early string of synth-pop classics (‘Are Friends Electric’, ‘Cars’, ‘She’s Got Claws’) Gary Numan survived a two-decade slump and became a cult icon. Now he’s back in road-warrior mode.
They pinched their name from the Old Testament and are quite partial to a bit of Moz. They are The Maccabees and just maybe they’ll rock your world in 2007.
Following on from Hot Press' extensive polling of musicians around Ireland, we herewith present The 100 Greatest Irish Albums Of All Time as voted by You, the population of hotpress.com
Two years ago Carrickmacross foursome Sanzkrit were on the brink of splitting but now they’re one of the hottest acts on the local scene. Vocalist, guitarist and Monaghan man extraordinaire Dave Marron shares the inspiration behind their drastic turnaround.
The mother of Philip Lynott has seen her home in Dublin double as a place of pilgrimage for fans of the Irish rock legend – and she wouldn’t have it any other way.
Back with another volume of Woody Guthrie songs, BILLY BRAGG talks to Siobhan Long about supersonic boogie, the act of collaboration and why Tony Blair s Labour Party still has his respect.
A sister group whose family name begins with ‘C’ – little wonder that The Conways are being compared to you-know-who. Find out what’s different about the Sligo foursome.
“Come up and see my snails sometime,” is hardly the best chat-up line ever coined, but an undaunted Jackie Hayden decides to brave all and call on Today FM jockette Ann-Marie Kelly.
Wank, bollocks, Chris Evans. These are dirty words.
Pop isn t.
STUART CLARK refrains from ruining their career for long enough to discover whether
IN UTOPIA have got what it takes to become Ireland s next three minute heroes.
Pix: Cathal Dawson.
Six months ago, Kaiser Chiefs were complete unknowns. Now, they’re making appearances on the Ant and Dec show, playing Letterman, being saluted by Damon Albarn and heralded as the spearheads of “the new Britpop” movement. The group here give the lowdown on what’s been a hectic 2005 to Ed Power.
JOHN WALSHE talks to fresh-faced Euro-pop outfit NV about their quest for pop superstardom, the new Coke ad, and the pros and cons of being a Friends lookalike!
THERE S NOTHING I enjoy more after leaving Hot Press than to go home, loosen my cravat and indulge in a good nutty shag. However, it is increasingly the practice of the working classes and newly-moneyed to pour scorn on such manly pursuits. The days of a public school education automatically earning one respect are, it appears, at an end. The landscape would be unbearably bleak were it not for The Chap, a new gentleman s quarterly which has become quite the rage in polite society.
Gigs with Mick ’n’ Keef and Angus ’n’ Malcolm, and a potential ding-dong with The Strokes – it’s only rock’n’roll but Jet like it as does Stuart Clark.
Katell Keineg confesses that she's lazy, eccentric and mis-understood yet she's back with a live appearance in dublin in February and a new EP due in the spring. Interview: Fiona Reid
They’re the hottest thing in British rock, four working class kids done good from the wrong side of the Glasgow tracks. At the start of what is shaping up to be a whirlwind year GLASVEGAS talk fame, football and fisticuffs.
Joe Penhall's Blue/Orange depicts the battle for one man's soul being fought in the arena of a psychiatric institution. The play's star George Costigan tells all.
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.
Twenty five years after The Jam went their separate ways, bassist Bruce Foxton and drummer Rick Buckler are back playing together under the name From The Jam.
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.
The recent release of the compilation album So Real: Songs From Jeff Buckley was a potent reminder of the extraordinary impact Jeff Buckley made during his short life. In an exclusive interview, on the 10th anniversary of his death, his mother Mary Guibert reflects on the singer’s legacy.
Somewhere on my shelves is a book called Hooligan: A History of Respectable Fears. Even the title summarises the way too many people think about crime, and particularly the Minister for Justice and the Gardam.
Playing a character "full of loneliness and happiness" proved something of a challenge for actress Marie Bunel in the Oscar-nominated French film The Chorus. But as she tells Tara Brady, working with director Christopher Barratier helped her discover that acting can be much like using an instrument.
SIOBHAN LONG meets RON HYNES, writer of Sonny and hears him talk about Paul Simon, Donegal and the lack of support for artists in his native Newfoundland.
The extravagantly monikered Chit Chat Von Loopin Stab of Oz crazies Machine Gun Fellatio assures Colm O’Hare that they’re a bit more Las Vegas than the Virgin Prunes
This year’s Cannes Film Festival is set to be the most successful yet for the Irish film-making community, according to film board chief executive Mark Woods.
rob thomas is cautiously optimistic that his multi-million selling outfit, matchbox 20, will not succumb to the Hootie syndrome. Interview: colm o'hare.
After a lengthy Facebook campaign by fans of leading man Rupert Grint, gritty Belfast-based drama Cherrybomb has finally secured a cinema release for 2010. We catch up with co-director GLENN LEYBURN to find out about the movie that the world nearly didn’t see.
He emigrated in '95, sang with jeff at sin-e, acted with denis leary, consoled nyc's firefighters and tripped around the planet with emmylou harris – but for mark geary, the adventure is only beginning
With the opposition parties in Ireland now all more or less occupying the centre ground, it's up to the country's youth to become the true voice of dissent.
Artist Michael Landy - this year's favourite for the Turner Prize - tells Kim Porcelli about the two-week process of destroying all that you can leave behind
The Divine Comedy return to the live arena in September and have recorded several tracks for a new album 'that's going to be fab', according to the ever-immodest Neil Hannon
As New Queer Cinema pioneer TOM KALIN returns with his long awaited second film Savage Grace, starring Julianne Moore, he reflects on the mainstreaming of the marginal.
Writer-director Christopher Smith has already curried a great deal of favour with such clever Brit horrors as Severance and Creep. Triangle, a smart and nifty psychological chiller, suggests that Mr. Smith has only been clearing his throat.
ALTHOUGH Poe senior was getting severely inebriated he came to the conclusion that he was having a splendid time. Having just finished a large four-course meal in the company of some charming friends, he had managed to play some Elgar on his guitar, had got involved in some riveting discussions on the state of music today and now, with a lopsided paper hat on his head, swayed off down the dark cobbled streets towards the bay for a bit of fresh night air.
As rock’n’roll’s finest get ready to remake ‘Do They Know It’s Christmas?’ Colm O’Hare talks to the man who kickstarted it and numerous other hits, Midge Ure.
We should be asking questions about Catholicism's warped teachings on sexuality, rather than wasting time on John Charles McQuaid's alleged homosexuality, writes NELL McCAFFERTY.
Perennial chart favourites of the early to mid ‘80s, Madness remain adored by their fans. Flying trumpeter Chas Smash explains why he wouldn’t change a thing.
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.
Enjoying parallels with works as diverse as Chekov’s Three Sisters and About Adam, Very Heaven looks set to be another success for dublin’s focus theatre. Joe Jackson talks to the show’s director, Bairbre Ni Chaoimh
Country rockers Richmond Fontaine are back with their most accessible LP yet. Frontman Willy Vlautin talks about juggling music and literary careers, and his recent foray into racehorse ownership.
Having survived being Macaulay’s youngest brother, delivered stellar turns in acclaimed movies like You Can Count On Me and Signs, and now in teen murder drama Mean Creek, wunderkind actor Rory Culkin has packed a hell of a lot into his fifteen years – and there’s the still the vexed question of what he’s going to study at college to mull over.
The distressing news from America is that one of George Bush’s mates has been implicated in a seedy sex for favours scandal. But that’s enough about being in the Republican Party…
Steve Lillywhite, who produced U2's first three albums – and has featured on the production team of almost all of their records – looks back over the band's career and recalls the highs... and the lows
EAMON SWEENEY meets LLOYD COLE to talk about his forthcoming Dublin gigs, the changing face of music, and why he doesn t want to write songs for a while.
Discovered that there is life after Brett-pop, that is. nick kelly gets the lowdown from "the bloke who left Suede", Bernard Butler, whose mightily impressive solo debut People Move On, has just been released.
I can still hear their taunts – “Clark’s talking through his arse again!”... “It’s not the ’70s anymore, Granddad!”... “I had my suspicions but now I know you’re a wanker!”
As it was my mother saying it, that last one was particularly hurtful.
They’ve been heralded as the biggest thing in Irish rock since U2 – a prediction that proved prescient when The Script romped to the top of the charts with their debut album.
Having unleashed one of the dance albums of the year, Fujiya And Miyagi's days of 9 to 5-dom are numbered. Barry O'Donoghue finds out what the Brighton threesome have been doing right.
They are senior members of the ‘frat pack’, the insider clique that rules Hollywood comedy. But do Vince Vaughn and Owen Wilson ever stop goofing around in real-life?
With the Belfast scene dominated by predictable indie males, it’s refreshing to hear from an ambitious young woman with talent to burn. Pixie Saytar may have a diminutive frame but her voice could blow your house down.
Goldfinger might be the intelligent face of punk-pop with politics, animal rights and MTV baiting their subject matter. But bassist Kelly Lemieux insists that they remain balls out rock'n'rollers
That's Brendan and Trudy, by the way, not RODDY DOYLE and KIERON J. WALSH, writer and director respectively of the new hit Irish film comedy. CRAIG FITZSIMONS meets them.
Watching an Oscar Wilde play in full flight is one thing, right? As in Alan Stanford s meticulously directed version of An Ideal Husband, now running at Dublin s Gate Theatre.
DIY r’n’b artiste, support act to the new-garage glitterati and unlikely sex-bomb Har Mar gets undressed for success. Superstar skinning up Kim Porcelli
The Camden Crawl: 40 buzz bands play across 10 venues on one night, in indie’s capital of cool. In the green corner are The Chalets, who pit their musical talent in a predominately London-led line-up.
CATHY DILLON chats to Dubliner JIMMY SMALLHORNE, writer and director of 2by4, an acclaimed new film charting the lives of young gay Irish immigrants in New York.
Internationalist jet-setting dance-pop playboy Sam Sparro has been propelled to ubiquity by the single 'Black And Gold', but he's not above offering HP a bite of his cheese toastie. Ahem.
She’s a mouthy young Londoner who knows how to strum a guitar and isn’t afraid to diss ex-boyfriends in song. Just don’t call Kate Nash the new Lily Allen.
Harmonica virtuoso DON BAKER has been busy recently adding another string to his bow, in the form of an acting career which has so far seen him work with Jim Sheridan and Richard Attenborough. And in between takes he s even managed to put the
finishing touches to his latest album, Just Don Baker. Interview: PETER MURPHY. Pics: cathal dawson
DAVE FANNING meets the inimitable ROBBIE WILLIAMS to talk about his latest album, his battles with the booze, the Take That legacy, his desire to play a politically incorrect James Bond, a vaguely remembered visit to Bono s loo and why he loves and hates The Beatles
Having previously worked with directors of the stature of Danny Boyle and Anthony Minghella, and with a role as the main villain in the next Batman movie in the offing, Cillian Murphy is one of the hottest young actors around. Joe Jackson caught up with murphy to discuss his central role in Garry Hynes’ version of Synge’s famous play, the Playboy of the Western World.
Gavin Friday’s been a Virgin Prune and a glam cabaret torch singer, he’s done Brecht and Weill, and most recently stole the show at Hal Willner’s Leonard Cohen tribute concert Came So Far For Beauty.
Taking time out from his stag weekend, baroque retro-rocker The Mighty Stef talks about the influence of film on his writing, his enduring love for Nick Cave and his friendship with Shane MacGowan
Primal Scream bandmate Kevin Shields may be complaining about the neighbours, but Mani hasn’t thrown the towel in yet. He tells us why things are looking up for the Scream.
From his early punkish, defiantly anti-establishment indie flicks like The Doom Generation and Nowhere to his latest effort, the child sex-abuse drama Mysterious Skin, Gregg Araki has remained the most uncompromising alumnus of the early ‘90s new wave of queer cinema.
Country music’s stock has never been higher. First Johnny Cash gained an entire new generation of fans, then Hollywood began to pepper its films with bluegrass and roots music. Now, everyone from Jack White to Van Morrison is waking up to the magic of country. Ireland's getting in on the act too, with the launch of the Midlands Music Festival, a two-day celebration of all things hatted and booted. Colm O’Hare traces the rebirth of a genre.
With his latest opus Team America upsetting everybody from Sean Penn down to the White House, South Park co-creator Matt Stone sounds off to Tara Brady...
When she learned that she had a fatal illness, the British feminist writer Jill Tweedie was much comforted by her friend Jon Snow, the Channel Four television news presenter.
Cockney football pundit Tony Cascarino recently paid a visit to the Ballydung abode of potty-mouthed puppets Podge and Rodge. Here both sides reflect on the historic get-together.
'Sectarian conflict, bigotry and racism, coming soon to a city near you'
In a column published two days before the unspeakable massacres at New York and Washington, THE HOG mourns the dawning of the most 'violent and polarised' era for the Middle East since WWII, and suggests, with tragic prescience, that the greater world would soon feel the reverberations
Consistency and continuity. Hmmm. These are things we value. Like when Ireland used to be hard to beat at football. That was good, wasn t it? You ll never beat the Irish. Not at football. Not then, anyway.
It would be different if we were talking about rugby. But that, sadly and predictably, is another story. A very other story. About which nobody can do nothing. As it were.
If it s sombrely beautiful, slow-moving, Mogwai-esque instrumental mini-epics you re after, you ve come to the right place. EAMON SWEENEY meets THE REDNECK MANIFESTO.
Robyn Hitchcock – wayward musical genius or fruitcake, depending on your point of view – is on the brink of even greater notoriety with the patronage of REM and the release of his strongest album to date. Andy Darlington does his best to uncover the man behind the mayhem.
After a long hiatus in the studio, London-based psychedelists saint etienne are back with an acclaimed new album, Good Humour. adrienne murphy finds out what they've been doing in their spare time.
It started in Brooklyn and is set to take over the world. STUART CLARK talks to Kamal, one of the, er, brains behind the cult phenomenon of the year, THE JERKY BOYS.
After what was at times a stressful year, Damien Rice is on the verge of a major international breakthrough. Fiona Reid gets the inside story from the hungover but happy singer
Rising Irish star ANTONIA CAMPBELL HUGHES talks about her starring role as a sulky teenager alongside Jack Dee in the BBC’s Lead Balloon, her ringside view of the Pete Doherty circus and being ogled by Bryan Adams
Despite the continued absence of Phil 'The Power' Taylor, the Embassy World Darts Championship at Frimley Green made for essential viewing. BARRY GLENDENNING reports.
Cat Malojian may be one of the most promising acts to have emerged from the north in recent times, but why are they obsessed with food? It is, they say, a metaphor for loneliness. Wow.
The Subtonics first came to our attention when they attempted to sabotage last year's hotpress award's ceremony with a nearby rooftop gig. But what have they done for us lately? Stephen Robinson Sub-scribes
With Ruud Van Nistelrooy possibly about to leave for Chelsea and Arsenal nine points ahead in the premiership, things are growing increasingly precarious for Alex Ferguson and Man Utd.
Mothers of autistic children in Ireland have their heart-rending experiences made worse by inadequate government support. One mother, who’s also a hotpress writer, explains just how despairing it can get.
“The world’s in a state of chassis,” to paraphrase that great, unforgettable actor whose name I can’t quite remember right now. At least, that’s the thought that struck me while entering Eamonn Doran’s Theatre in Dublin’s Crown alley (ex-Rock Garden) to see Shoot, If You Must.
With their debut album about to hit the streets on a hip French label and some prestige support slots in the offing, 202s are one of Ireland’s hottest properties.
Tobias Wolff’s new novel returns him to his schooldays and memories of classmate Oliver Stone and the towering influence of Ernest Hemingway. Interview by Peter Murphy.
They’ve turned their back on breezy pop production and embraced a soulful, indie groove. Belle And Sebastian talk about the making of what might just be their finest record to date.
The godfather of the modern Irish gothic tradition, Patrick McCabe, has released what critics are hailing as his darkest, and arguably finest, novel yet, Winterwood.
A year after Mic Christopher’s untimely death, his family and friends are celebrating his life and music with the release of his Skylarkin’ album and a star-studded gala live performance
He s so vain, but brian molko is also one of the most astute men in rock n roll. Having put his hedonistic days behind him honest! the placebo mainman talks to stuart clark about martyrdom, maturity and Marilyn Manson.
Despite plenty of years of mayhem, Therapy? are not only surviving but thriving – at least in Amsterdam where, as you might expect, Stuart Clark spends a nice restful time with the boys.
Like the Loch Ness Monster and The Abominable Snowman, doubts have long been cast over the existence of a recording of beat master JACK KEROUAC reading from his classic On The Road. Now, not only have the legendary tapes finally materialised, they also show that the man was no mean crooner and songwriter to boot. PETER MURPHY reports.
Like the Loch Ness Monster and The Abominable Snowman, doubts have long been cast over the existence of a recording of beat master JACK KEROUAC reading from his classic On The Road. Now, not only have the legendary tapes finally materialised, they also show that the man was no mean crooner and songwriter to boot. PETER MURPHY reports.
John Walshe talks to World Party mainman Karl Wallinger about his quest for independence, his growing profile as a songwriter and his plans for a new online news channel
Hilary and Jackie director Anand Tucker’s latest film And When Did You Last See Your Father is an even more heartbreaking version of the story first told in Blake Morrison’s memoir of the same name.
Having put his psychiatric problems very firmly behind him, hip hop genius Rodney Smith aka Roots Manuva has returned with another landmark album, Awfully Deep. Interview by Danielle Brigham.
They’re German, they’ve been making music for years, have been unfairly compared to Daft Punk, and are about to blow up with their debut album, Selected Funks. Richard Brophy meets the strike boys and says ‘gut, gut super gut!’
Having learned his trade with Muddy Waters and just about any other blues legend you care to mention, BUDDY GUY has long since become one himself. On the eve of his showcase gig in Dublin's Olympia, he tells PETER MURPHY of his struggle to pass the blues torch on to another generation.
Hearts In Armor is the latest album from Trisha Yearwood, the most hotly-tipped of the new breed of female artists shaking life into country music. It looks set to better the success of her million-selling debut. Report: Oliver P. Sweeney
