Long before The Glimmers were releasing mix CDs, The Idjut Boys were joining the dots between classic disco, funk, electro and house. ‘Press Play’ puts the new wave of eclectic DJs to shame, with long forgotten gems like Harry Thuman’s ‘Underwater’ and Willis’ incredible, slinky version of ‘Word Up’, made famous by Cameo.
‘Press Play’ puts the new wave of eclectic DJs to shame, with long forgotten gems like Harry Thuman’s ‘Underwater’ and Willis’ incredible, slinky version of ‘Word Up’, made famous by Cameo.
Music Ireland ’07 has scored a major coup by getting Prince drummer John Blackwell to grace the Sennheiser Live Stage at the October 5 to 7 event in the Dublin RDS.
In truth, Cave, vocally anyway, is more of an absence than a presence here. With little verse, chorus, verse action going on, he seems to float through the tracks – a whisper here, a murmur there – leaving Warren Ellis’s wonderful violin playing to carry most of the record’s narrative weight.
In fact, The Proposition is probably best approached as a powerful, brooding Ellis score with an atmospheric Cave cameo.
A slight change of pace can be seen in this EP with a hip-hop icon cameo and some Eastern embellishments that may hint to new musical endeavors for Coldplay.
Dublin’s newly-opened Gallery Number One was the venue last Sunday as The Frames played an acoustic gig to celebrate the publication of Zoran Orlic and Janine Schaults’ photo-book on them, Behind The Glass. View the photo gallery here!
You’d think that by now bands would be wary of promoting themselves through the celebrity endorsements of Noel Gallagher and Paul Weller but that’s obviously not the case with The Stands.
Floetry’s success in taking their brand of soulful hip-hop to million-selling status in the US is reminiscent of Bush taking their grunge coals to Newcastle, Delaware in the 90s – massive over there, hardly known back in Britain.
Ambient composer, Grammy winner, producer extraordinaire – there was a time when William Orbit's name was ubiquitous, but in the five years since the release of his critically acclaimed Pieces In A Modern Style, he seems to have retreated into semi-retirement.
For lovers of rhythym, this year's Music Ireland sees legendary dummer John Blackwell will give a special performance on October 6. Best known for his time touring with Prince, Blackwell now tours with Justin Timberlake.
Everlast, ex head jumper-type with House of Pain, has taken his lo-fi funk-rock fusion to disc number two, the admittedly difficult second album entitled ‘Eat at Whitey’s’.
Thundering out of El Paso, Texas with the ferocity of a guerrilla firebomb come At The Drive In, touted internationally, somewhat hysterically if the press cuttings are anything to go by, as this year’s saviours of the US punk underground.
This ethnic marriage comedy centres on the poignantly plain Toula who made for a ‘swarthy six-year old with sideburns’ and at thirty is even more badly in need of industrial-strength moustache bleach than ever
So too this fantastic film (honest), which makes for easily the best aquatic night out since they found Nemo. Preserving the quirky surrealist aesthetic of the sublime TV show (one part Tex Avery, two parts John K., one part anti-John K.), the movie sees our pure-hearted porous hero take off with Patrick the starfish on a perilous mission to rescue King Neptune’s crown and save township Bikini Bottom from the ever nefarious schemes of the Napoleonic Plankton.
Let’s try to imagine for a moment that this was a collection of duets that, somehow, managed to hook Brother Ray up with the guys and gals who benefited most from his example.
A pivotal figure within Dublin’s psycho-rock scene, he’s been threatening something special for some time, and praise be, The Sins of Sainte Catherine is a fine representation of his considerable talent.
This album, the follow-up to MC Lethal Bizzle's debut Against All Oddz, offers a frenetic trip through his hi-energy, skittish and colourful take on grime, and neatly encapsulates why he has been earmarked for crossover appeal.
When an established musician first branches into the world of the soundtrack, in most cases the review pretty much writes itself. First off: comment on how the relevant artist’s back catalogue has always had a ‘cinematic’ feel to it; then note how the film’s subject matter ties in with their particular world view; and, finally, conclude that, while the new record is an interesting curio, it merely whets the appetite for the next album proper.
Anybody who has lived their life up to this point without managing to see Alfred Hitchcock’s seminal 1960 horror-flick Psycho is hereby urged to drag their lazy ass down to the IFC
While it would be excessive to say it was worth the wait, Men in Black 2 still possesses enough goofy charm and (half-)wit to render it very agreeable viewing.
Hotpress.com got a sneak preview of Coldplay's musically adventurous new EP, which is due for release here on Nov 21. Could it mark the start of an exciting new direction for the band? Read on for the full verdict...
Yes, well, let’s remember our manners, shall we?A meticulously, lovingly crafted homage to the Art Deco aesthetic and early twentieth-century matinees, the film is entirely composed using only digital effects and actors, although Jude Law occasionally blurs the distinction between the two.
When Mr Smith went to Washington - or, actually, Hollywood - to perform his Oscar-nominated 'Miss Misery' from Good Will Hunting at the Academy Awards a few years ago, a worldwide audience of sensitive indie mopers cheered at the vindicating incongruity of it all.
The very recent success of The Truman Show has irreparably blighted ED-TV's chances of cleaning up at the box office, largely due to the fact that it's a variation on the very same film: a telly company films the life of an ordinary Joe Bloggs, the public go mad for it, the star himself slowly cracks up under the strain.
The thirteen tracks herein can be split roughly into two camps - the originals penned quick and recorded even quicker for soundtracks, and the covers dashed off as extra incentives on special edition albums, or just for pig iron
With the release of M!Zundastood, Pink has already played her trump card at an early stage in her career, abandoning the ubiquitous notion of poppy R’n’B for a new life as a tortured rock star.
This is a fairly bland, but nonetheless charming and inoffensive album that’s bound to sell in massive quantities to the same people who bought the last Dido record.
Continuing the Coen brothers’ ongoing flirtation with something resembling the ‘mainstream’, this wholly unexpected remake of Alexander Mackendrick’s 1955 screwball comedy The Ladykillers is a real curiosity.
On their last album Slang, Def Leppard moved away from the stomping, Glam-influenced anthems with which they'd earned their fame and fortune and slipped into experimental mode but that album's looser, funkier structures were met with a distinct lack of interest from their fanbase and so, for Euphoria, they're back on more familiar ground.
It was almost a year ago that I met my Swedish flatmate and first began my love affair with The Knife. I took one listen to ‘Heartbeats’ – the first and still the best track on Deep Cuts – and knew that I’d become privy to something very special. With repeated listening (and selective leaking), I kept The Knife close to my heart. So it was with great trepidation that I learned of the release of Deep Cuts in the rest of Europe.
You have to hand it to The Frames. Even Bruce and U2 baulk at starting new campaigns outdoors in front of 17,000 people – although Glen Hansard might claim that this is a farewell to Set List arms rather than the unveiling of Burn The Maps.
So then: a Francophile Belinda Carlisle album featuring Brian Eno, Sharon Shannon and Fiachna O Braonain on songs written and/or popularised by Piaf, Brel, Gainsbourg and Hardy. I swear, I haven’t been at the brown acid.
Twins Ellie and Louise – aka Heathers– are one of the most exciting new Irish acts around. Ahead of a marathon US tour, they talk about overnight success and explain why rumours of their love for Tegan and Sara are greatly overblown.
IN RESPONSE to the charge that his music was “predictable”, Ted Nugent once argued that the word could be applied to all the best things in life, namely eatin’, drinkin’ an’ ruttin’ – not to mention blasting small furry animals to blazes with a shotgun.
Newly crowned Rose of Tralee, Aoife Kelly, tells Amanda Allen her style secrets as well as a few style disasters – whatever you do don't call her ‘Socks’!
In theory, The Ring 2 ought to have been a ridiculously safe bet. Gore Verbinski had already delivered a clinically efficient Hollywood remake of the original J-horror Ringu, and the involvement of the original surviving cast (Watts and Dorfman) plus Hideo Nakata, the Japanese director behind Ringu, Dark Water and Chaos, promised chills, if not something more audacious. So what the hell happened?
Having followed Kylie’s career throughout my Australian adolescence, it was with great excitement that I went along to the Point to be reunited with the diminutive singer for the Showgirl: Greatest Hits tour. On the final night of a five night run at the Point, I was intrigued, but not surprised, to see that Kylie had drawn such a cross-section of society.
Here he comes again, Tricky, leering out of the spliff-smog, all expectations of ever recreating the warped coffee table perversions of Maxinquaye well and truly dispelled by those difficult second and third albums.
Stephen Robinson meets Paths To Freedom creators Ian Fitzgibbon and Michael McElhatton to discuss their latest collaboration Fergus' Wedding, a comedy that looks at Dublin's growing swingers scene
Burton’s Planet Of The Apes is a visually lush affair, in no small part thanks to Rick Baker’s groundbreaking use of make-up and Burton’s ever-reliable visual flair.
He has one or two other things going on at the moment, but if The Edge happens to be free on the first day of the Electric Picnic there’s a good chance you’ll find him and his wooly hat front of stage for reformed post-punks Magazine.
You look up 'skiffle' in the Chambers 20th Century Dictionary and it says "a strongly accented jazz type of folk music, played by guitar, drums and often unconventional instruments etc. popular about 1957".
Her fans include David Bowie, Bono and The Cardigans’ Nina Persson – and now she’s released possibly her finest record yet. EMM GRYNER talks about raising her game and steering clear of the ‘indie-folk’ vogue.
If you’re looking for modesty, you’ve come to the wrong place. Colin Carberry meets Dirty Stevie, the balls to the wall rockers who are determined to become Belfast’s biggest band ever!
'I feel my quill is broken! The organ of my imagination has withered! The very towers of my genius have crumbled!' Aye, pal, I know that feeling well: it seizes me every fortnight as I sit down to crank out my copy. The difference is that people actually read Shakespeare, even many centuries after his departure.
From child actress to Emmy and Oscar-winning veteran, Helen Hunt exhibits Streep-like intelligence and versatility. She's now about to make her directorial debut with Then She Found Me.
These are strange times for Noel and Liam. Displaced by Pete Doherty in the stony hearts of tabloid editors; overtaken in the quotably-lippy stakes by Jose Mourinho; and more likely to find themselves gracing the pages of Heat than the NME, the terrible twosome have never skirted as close to the boundaries of cultural obsolescence as they do just now. After all, post-Shameless, they may not even be the most famous Gallaghers in Manchester.
It is, of course, exceedingly easy to ridicule the Flowers. Hardly Irish modernists they've often come across as dream-dazed in their Celtic haze, a band whose
emotions have outstripped their creative sense and whose neo-hippie leanings actually owe less to Timothy Leary, San Francisco et al than to the juvenilia of the
early Yeats before he most belatedly lost both his virginity and feyness at 29.
A rock star having sex with his 19-year-old girlfriend whilst drenched in blood – no, it’s not Sam Snort’s latest escapade, it’s the new collaboration between God of Fuck Marilyn Manson and Titanic director James Cameron.
It took ten years for debutante director Kerry Conran to complete his film, even though most part was done before he uttered the word "Action!". Tara Brady meets the brimming brain behind the film-geek opus, Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow.
Misdirected criticism of U2 for their Sarajevo satellitre link up has plagued publications as diverse as The Independent and NME. But none of these has bothered to ask BILL CARTER, the American in Sarajevo who actually conceived the idea, what he makes of the whole thing. Here BILL GRAHAM does just that.
Because the Fun Lovin’ Criminals never meant Bo Diddley in their home country, the band have always been at the whims of the British and Irish record-buying public, notoriously more fickle than America, where the sheer size of the land mass and populace means it takes longer to make a man as well as break one.
The glum view is easily stated: finally, after eight years, the Bay City Rollers revival. The dominant pop purveyors – Duran, Wham, Spandau, Culture Club, Young, Kershaw, and Jones – regressed to the most conservative models of teen exploitation.
Few things faze gary louris and marc perlman, the original members of the jayhawks. In fact, their only regret is that they don t have breasts. Interview: Peter Murphy.
Having admitted that he really doesn’t know what he’s talking about, Brendan Dempsey briefs Paul Nolan on the upcoming Montreal Comedy Festival. and other stuff
The son of a certain well-known ’70s rock star, DUNCAN JONES is clearly something of a chip off the old block: his new movie is a sweet, low budget space oddity that harks back to the golden age of sci-fi. He talks about growing up in the Bowie household and escaping his father’s shadow.
He found fame with his dorky turn in The Office. Now Rainn Wilson is trying to make it on the big screen. And yes, he's aware that it's easier said than done.
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.
Fun Lovin' Criminal, pizza joint owner and garbage mogul – Huey Morgan is a man of many talents. To that you can add a film stealing cameo as a psycho-tranny in Shimmy Marcus' beleagured but proud drug mule caper Headrush.
From Prince through playboy and baywatch to her current position as queen of the cameo, carmen electra has never been shy about making the most of her assets. But all in the best possible taste, of course, she assures tara brady
Hot Press persuaded NIALL STANAGE to become a busker for a day on the streets of Dublin. Here's his account of what happened. Cameo appearances: ALBERT REYNOLDS, TOM DUNNE, LORRAINE KEANE, LIAM MACKEY, 9-month-old EOIN BLAKELY, the GARDA SIOCHANA and a bunch of self-confessed "REBELS". Pics of the bunch: PETER MATTHEWS.
Having re-invented television drama with Lost and Alias J.J. Abrams now turns his attention to the Mission Impossible franchise. But what’s all about this about him saving Star Trek?
He's long been one of the North's most singular songwriting talents. Now ANDY WHITE is returning to Belfast to perform a show that sees him bringing together some of his earliest and most current compositions.
When Jackie Hayden was enlisted to interview Sugababe Mutya Buena, little did he suspect that he would be loudly upstaged by another woman as he tries to get the lowdown on the Sugababes’ near break-up, Mutya’s concern over the sexing-up of their recent video, the effects of her pregnancy on her career and who ‘Push The Button’ was really about.
Louth comic Patrick McDonnell has seen his profile rise of late, courtesy of TV appearances. But he d be quite happy to scratch my arse and watch Countdown , he tells NICK KELLY.
We all think we know what Belfast stands for, but beneath the headlines is a city with a very specific industrial sensibility – something constantly reflected in the bands it produces.
Ahead of a headline date at Vicar Street, David O’Doherty talks about hanging out with the Flight of The Conchords and about his new Channel 4 TV show.
From Timeless to Celebrity Big Brother to stopping Esso, and all points in-between – is it any wonder Eamon Sweeney has to ask if the real Goldie would please stand up
Meet hot new Dublin quintet THE HIGH BABIES. They re endorsed by Bret Easton Ellis, produced by Kim Fowley and wanted by Madonna. Could this be the first great Irish rock sensation of the 21st century?
PETER MURPHY reports. Cathal Dawson gets the pics in.
’85 was a remarkably stagnant year. Twelve months after the end of ’84, little seems to have changed or advanced musically and I only hope and pray we won’t be running on the same spot when ’86 ends.
Increasingly popular, critically acclaimed, a Grammy Award Winner - and yet, Shawn Colvin still sings those 'ol record company blues. Colm O'Hare lends a sympathetic ear.
Catherine Hardwicke won the Sundance best director award for Thirteen, her controversial and unflinching depiction of teen queen sex, drugs, shoplifting and self-harming. Moviehouse meets the director and co-star Holly Hunter.
In the five years since its debut, The Sopranos has grown from an underground show with a small cult following to one of the most successful TV series' of all time. Paul Nolan traces the show’s development from its inauspicious beginnings on HBO to its current status as a transatlantic cultural phenomenon, and also examines our enduring fascination with a man called Tony Soprano.
Sexually outrageous on stage, potty-mouthed Canuck Peaches turns out to be rather a sweet-heart in person. And for the record: no, she’d rather you didn’t stick your hand up her crotch.
the jon spencer blues explosion
are the hippest, baddest,
sleaziest, sweatiest, sexiest, sickest, noisiest,
in-your-face-est rock n roll
act to come out of America
for a loooooong time.
colm o hare joined them on the road to Manchester.
There's another Belfast, an alternate dimension populated by C.S. Lewis, Van and your host and spirit guide, Duke Special, who's just released his latest album.
What would the old bishop of Down have made of the avowed feminist who made her name singing about blow-jobs in public places? The answer is open to debate, but as Colin Carberry discovers, maybe the bishop and Alanis Morissette have more in common than you might think.
From seven long days journey into nightmare, from a city where the Medjugorge Herald is displayed hard by Big Uns From Fiesta, from a city where the local headline runs Padraic O Conaire s Head Recovered and everyone else wishes theirs would; in short from the Czirt Festival Of Literature in Galway the writers week that makes writers weak what s left of TOM MATHEWS sends this report.
He has warts on his face, chemical paste in his blood, viagra in his dick and a heart full of rock 'n' roll. "There are occasions when I do preach temperance," Lemmy tells a startled STUART CLARK Woooooargh! Photography: SIMON ROCHE
In his heyday, Larry Hagman was the biggest television star in the world, portraying the manipulative and ruthless oil baron JR Ewing in the kitschy Dallas soap.
‘That’s entertainment’ was the message of the year but not as Paul Weller intended it, for in 1986 popular music was closer to mass entertainment as Declan McManus’ pater knew it than any year since Elvis Presley swivelled his hips on the Ed Sullivan show.
Attending the infamously repressed St Peter’s College in Wexford gave a young Colm Tóibín an insight into ‘70s Ireland’s twisted attitudes to sexuality.
Has Madonna become the immaterial girl? Or will the Re-invention tour re-establish her as the foremost female icon on the planet? On the eve of her first ever Irish appearance at Slane, Peter Murphy takes a look at the strange twist the Queen of Pop’s career has taken – and how she is now fighting back, for all she’s worth.
It’s Star Trek Jim, but not as we know It. Over tea and biscuits, Mr Spock and Captain Kirk – aka actors ZACHARY QUINTO and CHRIS PINE – talk about filling the most famous boots in science fiction – and explain why JJ Abrams’ sexy new Trek movie is anything but a nerd-fest. words Tara Brady
Best known for his mirth-inducing, deadpan quips on Have I Got News For You, paul merton is travelling to Kilkenny this year for the Murphy's Cat Laughs comedy festival. A typically upbeat barry glendenning asks him about bad comedy, failed marriages, mental breakdowns and Don't Feed The Gondolas.
Best known for his mirth-inducing, deadpan quips on Have I Got News For You, paul merton is travelling to Kilkenny this year for the Murphy's Cat Laughs comedy festival. A typically upbeat barry glendenning asks him about bad comedy, failed marriages, mental breakdowns and Don't Feed The Gondolas.
Best known for his mirth-inducing, deadpan quips on Have I Got News For You, paul merton is travelling to Kilkenny this year for the Murphy's Cat Laughs comedy festival. A typically upbeat barry glendenning asks him about bad comedy, failed marriages, mental breakdowns and Don't Feed The Gondolas.
The Walls and The Jimmy Cake do their bit for European unity by bringing their music – and an insatiable appetite for the craic – to Poland, Hungary, Slovakia and the Czech Republic. Our reporter Danielle Brigham survives to tell the tale.
A MAN U DON'T MEET EVERY DAY
Oui, c'est Eric Cantona: le nouveau enfant terrible de la Premièreship or ze man vu
'stud up' zu de football yobs? Mise-en-scène: Neil McCormick.
Carl Perkins, the rock pioneer who wrote Blue Suede Shoes and no less than four songs for the Beatles, is dead. ANDY DARLINGTON remembers his career from Sun Records and the legendary Million Dollar Quartet , through to Johnny Cash s Live At San Quentin . . . and a movie knife-fight with David Bowie
With the launch of a commemorative series of Irish postage stamps celebrating four of the nation's most important rock legends, we revisit some of the seminal moments in the careers of Phil Lynott, Rory Gallagher, Van Morrison and - first - U2
Don’t go, they said. but they didn’t follow their own advice. Now, after much professional and personal upheaval, the Hothouse Flowers are back, once more in love with the idea of “ringin’ the bell”.
That, according to Shane MacGowan, will be the title of his next, and exceedingly long-awaited album. in the meantime there’s Sean Nós, the war, his dad, drink and Celtic football legend Jimmy Johnstone to be going on with.
The star of what s set to be the summer s hottest movie, High Fidelity, on love, obsession, movies, rock n roll, his pal Bruce Springsteen and the records he turns to when he s had his heart broken. With support from co-star Lisa Bonet and director Stephen Frears. Text: CRAIG FITZSIMONS
It's off to the most Northerly gig in the country with the island angels of Altan as Bill Graham spends a weekend in Donegal with our most dynamic traditional outfit and posits the theory that by looking to the past for inspiration Altan may hold a significant key to the future.
His career was almost over before it began. But hard work - and a surprise hit - have turned Edmund 'Mundy' Enright into one of Ireland's most widely adored stars. Here he reflects on some of the high points of what has been an amazing journey, during the course of which he has rubbed shoulders with some of the greats.
Back in their terrifying heyday, they threw pigs’ heads around on stage, covered themselves in muck, provided Marilyn Manson with a career and wrote ‘Community Games’ for Aidan Walsh. Having escaped the clutches of a sinister born-again Christian turned transvestite, they’re now making movies with Neil Jordan, dining with Damien Hirst and consorting with Tony Blair. All in all, it’s been a long, strange trip for The Virgin Prunes
It’s off to the most Northerly gig in the country with the island angels of ALTAN as BILL GRAHAM spends a weekend in Donegal with our most dynamic traditional outfit and posits the theory that by looking to the past for inspiration Altan may hold a significant key to the future.
The still vibrant 64-year-old on why Morrissey’s like Father Frank, why Iraq is like Vietnam, and on her meetings with Elvis Presley, Marilyn Monroe, Bono, Phil Spector and a whole Oval Office full of presidents.
That a bonefide Irish film industry actually exists is no small achievement, but with a new Minister For The Arts now in place, this is hardly the time for complacency. To ascertain how best the industry can be maintained and developed, Hot Press film critic, cathy dillon, canvassed the views of a number of key players.
With his first two albums, Streets mastermind Mike Skinner established himself as one of the most eloquent, idiosyncratic and gifted vocalists and worsdsmiths of his generation. But the 27 year old came close to blowing it all on spread-betting and crack, not to mention engaging in an XXX-rated tryst with an unnamed pop starlet. Thankfully, he’s bounced back with the tell-all confessional of The Hardest Way To Make An Easy Living.
At the ripe old age of 50, when most of his peers are floundering in the doldrums, Nick Cave has hit a purple patch with Dig, Lazarus, Dig!!!, his most commercially successful and critically acclaimed album to date.
Former London Mayor Ken Livingstone talks about toffs in politics, Tony versus Gordon and sheds light on his own intervention in the Troubles, at the height of the bloodshed.
Peter Murphy takes a train to the wild west (Galway that is) with the original Texas Jewboy, crime writer and legendary stardust cowboy Kinky Friedman. Peter Matthews has the negatives.
No one has their ears sadistically sliced off with a cut-throat razor but there's savage revelry aplenty as Siobhan Long sets her watch to Hiney time and spends 24 hours in the dangerously
danceable company of Speranza.
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
It’s been ten years since his last novel, but Neil Jordan has now reprised his role as one of Ireland’s finest contemporary prose writers with the dark gothic drama, Shade. In a wide-ranging interview with Olaf Tyaransen the Oscar-winning writer/director discusses the challenges of literary craftsmanship, swimming with sharks in Hollywood, working with Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt, his disinterest in celebrity and why Ireland continues to be his preferred place of residence.
Hard rock has taken on many forms, but if it's loud enough to annoy the neighbours, it should be categorised as good old-fashioned metal. Peter Murphy guides you through our choice of the Top 30 metal albums of all time.
The outlaw loved by the in-law, Willie Nelson can draw 4,000 people outside Dublin virtually by word of mouth. But it ain't all middle of the road: as befits a veteran of the honky-tonks who had done battle with the IRS and the law, the country music legend can still get in touch with the dark side of Hank
Full profiles on Faithless, Antony & The Johnsons, Slayer, The Who, Bell X1, Status Quo, The Flaming Lips, 50 Cent, Madness, Christy Moore, Elton John and Lionel Richie.
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.
It's been over four intriguing years since Damien Rice's extraordinary debut album O was launched. That record went on to become a huge underground international hit, selling in excess of 2 million copies. Now his long-awaited follow-up – the similarly simply titled 9 – is finally ready to hit the shops. So how did Rice so successfully capture the collective imagination? And will the latest instalment in the Rice musical biography propel him to even greater heights? Hot Press talks exclusively to some of the key players in his remarkable rise and rise.
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.
With the death of Johnny Cash two weeks ago, music’s Mount Rushmore finally crumbled. From the hell-raising country outlaw of the ’60s to his final incarnation as a patriarchal figure intoning songs of guilt and redemption, Cash’s voice resonated down through the years with undimmed intensity. In this special Hot Press tribute to the Man In Black, Peter Murphy talks to Cash collaborators Sandy Kelly and U2, and recounts the turbulent life and times of one of the most iconic figures in 20th century music
From dark age to middle age, Nick Cave is such a far cry from the blood-spilling junkie of rock legend that these days you’re likely to encounter him commuting to his 9 to 5. Except of course that his job is writing and making music, his new album is called Nocturama and there are, he admits, some sizeable blow-outs in the memory banks.
Are Bono and the boys just a really good rock band or have they succeeded where the priests and politicians have failed and unlocked the neuroses of our colonial past? Joe Jackson indulges in a spot of cultural sparring with John Waters and finds the author of Race of Angels: Ireland and the Genesis of U2 well able to maintain his guard.
One of the music world s best-loved and most charismatic figures, IAN DURY finally lost his battle with cancer in March of this year. But as this edited extract from a major new biography by author RICHARD BALLS shows, Dury left life as he lived it fighting and smiling all the way
He may have ranked among the biggest-selling artists in the world in 2002 – but the ambition that has driven Eminem to pop’s dizziest heights shows no sign of abating with the release of his own biopic, 8 Mile. On track to becoming Hollywood’s latest darling, with all the attendant pressures and provocations that entails, will his art survive?
lthough left broken-hearted by the demise of the Irish Press, CON HOULIHAN s latest collection of prose, Windfalls, confirms that his pen, like the Castle Island colossus himself, is still mightier than the rest. Now, at 71, a novel is in the works. SIOBHAN LONG embarks on a long night s journey into day with the legendary journalist.
Pix: COLM HENRY.
lthough left broken-hearted by the demise of the Irish Press, CON HOULIHAN s latest collection of prose, Windfalls, confirms that his pen, like the Castle Island colossus himself, is still mightier than the rest. Now, at 71, a novel is in the works. SIOBHAN LONG embarks on a long night s journey into day with the legendary journalist.
Pix: COLM HENRY.
lthough left broken-hearted by the demise of the Irish Press, CON HOULIHAN s latest collection of prose, Windfalls, confirms that his pen, like the Castle Island colossus himself, is still mightier than the rest. Now, at 71, a novel is in the works. SIOBHAN LONG embarks on a long night s journey into day with the legendary journalist.
Pix: COLM HENRY.
It is five years since rapper TUPAC SHAKUR was gunned down on the streets of las vegas in a gangland-style shooting that took place on September 7, 1996. Since then he has become the subject of one of modern music’s most bizarre death cults, as he continues to sell millions of records and to top charts all over the world. but behind his death lies a story of hip-hop babylon – a sordid tale of intrigue, egos, drugs, sex, intimidation, violence – and, almost by the way, some great and enduring music.
By PETER MURPHY
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 . . .
