RAYTHEON, the armament-technology firm which manufactured Patriot and Sidewinder missiles, is establishing a plant in Derry and the local politicians couldn t be happier. EAMONN McCANN reports.
THE UNDERTONES have played a series of triumphant gigs since reforming. GEORGE BYRNE met the Derry punk legends, now augmented by Today FM producer Paul McLoone on vocals
The siege of Derry was a pivotal moment in Irish history. But contrary to popular opinion, it was fundamentally about land and not religion, says Carlo Gebler. Photography by Cathal Dawson.
John Walshe gets the lowdown on the release of
. . . And Finally, the second album from Derry guitarniks Scheer, released 15 months after they split up.
There s no sign of Derry s finest turning into the Rolling Tones but neither is there much sign of any new contenders ready to challenge the supremacy of THE UNDERTONES
Derry electro outfit The Japanese Popstars have come across some famous fans in the form of Groove Armada, who've asked the group to remix one of their tracks.
Everything about Derry electro three-piece Japanese Popstars’ debut effort is big. It’s got big beats, a big sound, big production and most importantly, big balls.
Derry punk legends The Undertones sat down with Stuart Clark in the Hot Press Chatroom for a great interview packed with anecdotes, jokes and hilarious impressions.
The second album from the Derry duo is a pleasant collection of acoustic, folk-based songs replete with laid-back melodies and lush harmonies. Think Simon & Garfunkle and you’re not far off the mark, though the country-ish ‘Faults And Gains’ might appeal to Americana fans. A tad too downbeat at times but a real grower.
Dynamic, combustible New Wave meets 70s rock anyone? You can’t budge for the youthful elasticity of widdly-widdly guitars and organ solos here, and the five Derry characters peddling this racket are well versed in the art of the smash-and-dash introductory signature tune. I defy you not to sing along by the second chorus.
Pic: Andrew Duffy
Spotted in their native Derry before they’d even played a gig, Kharma 45 are clearly taking the major label route of yore, setting up base on the mainland. The input of cash is easy to see in terms of sight and sound yet whether their take on Primal Scream style electro punk is all there yet is open to question. Sounds just like what you’d expect from a song with the word ‘man’ in the title.
When we first awarded The Basement the SOTF accolade three years back, they seemed destined to become the Derry wing of the psychedelic Scouse movement alongside The Zutons and labelmates The Coral. Biding their time has worked wonders though, for just as that whole thing has petered out, The Basement come back sounding truly out on their own. 'I Just Caught A Face' still buzzes with the ramshackle charm of their early singles, threatening to fall apart at any moment, but somehow keeping it all together to remind you of Dylan at his freewheelin’ best.
According to our good friends at BBC Radio Ulster, a backstage meeting at Oxegen has lead to Derry electro merchants The Japanese Popstars remixing The Ting Tings.
Tim Easton is currently delighting audiences around the country as part of Easton, Stagger, Phillips, with dates in Waterford, Dublin and Derry still to take place
Just confirmed to play support for the 22-20's, Mainline are enjoying some major label attention. Plus: Derry band Red Organ Serpent Sound sign to Universal.
Radioactive Man, Alloy Mental and Japanese Popstars are amongst the electronic gems taking to the stage in Derry next month as part of the Celtronic festival.
Derry dance mavericks The Japanese Popstars edge ever closer to the big time with a remix of ‘If I Were A Boy’, the lead single from Beyoncé’s new I Am… Sasha Fierce album.
Occasionally, music from Derry effects the wider scheme of things with spectacular results. This year, the fun centred on the use of D:Ream?s ?Things Can Only Get Better? as a Labour Party anthem. The touchy-feely, get-off-your-arse-and-participate message of the song was just what Tony Blair wanted for his born-again campaign theme.
Bounding between genres, Derry rocker Andrew Ferris would seem to suffer from the best sort of attention-deficit disorder. And he also has his own label.
Ever since last year's wonderful 'Laura Loves' single, I have been eagerly awaiting the debut album from Derry quartet Asterix, and now that I've got it, I can't help feeling a little disappointed. Not that it's a bad album. In fact, it's very good, but there is nothing present which can compare with the pristine pop that was their debut single, or indeed its follow-up, 'She's So Young'.
Some readers of this column may be surprised to learn that Judge Jules got one of the biggest cheers during proceedings at the recent BBC1FM One Big Weekend festival in Derry, for opening his set with ‘Teenage Kicks’, the seminal anthem from local heroes The Undertones.
Over the past twenty-five years, attitudes and experiences in the North’s two biggest cities, Belfast and Derry, have been markedly and vitally different. To understand why may help us to define both the opportunities for and the obstacles to peaceful change. Report: BILL GRAHAM
Parishioners and priests alike have responded angrily to attempts by the Bishop of Derry to surreptitiously impose a levy aimed at covering the costs of clerical sex abuse cases. Plus: The different face Sinn Fein presents in the US and the hypocrisy of Cardinal Cormac Murphy O-Connor.
Girls Aloud’s Nadine Coyle talks about her Derry childhood, drug use in the pop industry and explains why she gets irritated when the band are called “British”.
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.
When 28 people died in an Israeli massacre at Qana, Lebanon, the Derry Anti-War Coalition occupied Derry's Raytheon Plant. Eamon McCann reports on their visit to Qana.
Going on the road with Chris Rea was a once in a lifetime opportunity for Derry blues virtuoso Paul Casey. Here he opens his tour diary to Hot Press readers.
Derry four-piece, cuckoo, have caught the proverbial worm, landing a world-wide deal with Geffen, and are finally ready to set the world on fire. Birdwatcher: john walshe.
La Rocca drummer and canine aficionado Alan Redmond relates how he and his bandmates have risen to the top in the dog eat dog world of greyhound racing
The Streets’ new album, A Grand Don’t Come For Free, looks set to skyrocket Mike Skinner’s status as the voice of hedonistic British youth. Hot Press meets up with Skinner backstage in Derry to discuss the creation of his latest masterwork, the perils of fame, superstar collaborations, hanging out in Ibiza and the art and artifice of his onstage persona.
After cutting her teeth (ouch!) in Bachelor’s Walk and Shimmy Marcus’s Headrush, Derry actress Laura Pyper has squeezed herself into thigh-high boots and corset for Hex, Sky One’s teenage witch riposte to Buffy.
Have a listen to our exclusive playlist of some of our favourite Northern acts who are appearing on July 25 at the small but massive Glasgowbury festival in Draperstown, County Derry.
Eamonn McCann accompanies The Pogues across the sea to Scotland s centre of Irishness, Glasgow, and enters a complex world of fiercely divided loyalties, joyous celebration and soccer madness.
When the IRA ceasefire began in the early minutes of September 1st last, nationalists in Belfast and Derry rejoiced in the streets. In the South Armagh village of Crossmaglen, however, there was barely a murmur. Over the past 25 years, the sniper’s bullet and the mortar bomb have claimed the lives of more soldiers and RUC personnel in this small area than anywhere else in Northern Ireland. Anne Connolly visits what has become the most militarised zone in western Europe and takes the post-ceasefire pulse of a stubbornly resilient little town. Pics: Jason Clarke.
Why Derry city fans can no longer stand up to be counted; why the rich are so disgusting; and why we haven’t heard much about the British-Al Qaida plot to kill Gadafi.
The debut album you’ve been planning for ages is finally in the can. But what happens next? Colm O’Hare accompanied Derry band Scheer to Trend Studios to find out . . .
Why aren’t more artists protesting against the US government’s refusal to grant visas to Cuban musicians? Plus: The inside story on Mark E. Smith’s infamous appearance on Newsnight and why the controversy over Derry airport has exposed the hypocrisy of Michael O’Leary.
Football fans in North Korea enjoy a good deal more freedom than many might have suspected. Plus: The story behind John Hume and David Trimble’s decision to bring arms manufacturer Raytheon to Derry and why Skruf are one of the bands to look out for in 2005.
Bowling down through the centre of the country on Friday afternoon en route from Derry to fabled Thurles I tune in to 2FM and hear that there are many thousands of folk already foregathered for the Féile. Also I hear the chief of the local gardai saying that so far the behaviour of all concerned has been 'perfect'.
Seize The Day, the new album by Damien Dempsey, finally due out next month. Read on for tour dates and news of the fate of that Massive Attack/Sinead O'Connor collaboration too
Canada's Juno award-winning Annabelle Chvostek kicks off her tour of Britain and Ireland with a gig in Belfast on Wednesday, November 11 at The Real Music Club at The Errigle Inn.
Alanis Morissette and Paddy Casey bobbing around together on a pontoon on the Lagan? If you lie awake nights thinking what a wondrous thing this would be, good news, April 30 finds the aforementioned tunesmiths appearing on a floating stage outside Belfast's Waterfront Hall as part of the BBC Music Live extravaganza.
Oh the irony, The Delays have announced that their Irish fans are going to have to wait a while before they get to see the Southampton collective perform live.
We arrived just in time for Ham Sandwich – soft vibes, floating vocals, bass-player with the best rhythmic leg scratch in Ireland. It might have been the midges.
This is a band bubbling and bristling with intelligent musical and literary references. Bowie, the Stripes, Cockney Rebel, Madness, D. H. Lawrence, the Wasp and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.
Three of the North’s most exciting new musical prospects, Fighting With Wire, General Fiasco and Skruff have announced a showcase in The Stiff Kitten in July.
After postponing their Irish tour due to have taken place earlier this month, Southampton's Delays have announced they'll be coming over in early 2006.
If it's "alternative organic pop" (ahem) you're after, your long lonely search is over with the release of Rory Faithfield's Blood, Bones & Soul later this spring
Those who missed out on Snow Patrol's outdoor concert in Dublin need not worry - because The Frames have announced their own special gig on the same day.
This album was recorded live at the Cross Keys pub in rural County Antrim. The sound quality improves markedly along the way, with the result that the overall standard could have been raised significantly without undue loss by leaving out the opening two or three of the 16 tracks here. The music itself is excellent, though.
The Belfast boys will follow up their 2005 success with a spate of dates which - fingers crossed - will elevate them to the next league of indie rock'n'rollers.
Cathal McConnell is possessed of a prodigious musical talent, being widely regarded as one of Ireland's greatest flute and whistle players, and no mean singer to boot.
Speaking as a holder of the Sam Maguire Cup, I can only concur in one GAA correspondent's description of the triumph by Henry Downey's heroes at Croke Park on September 19th as "the dawn of a new era".
Trad legends Martin Hayes and Dennis Cahill are in the midst of a hectic tour of the country, with a special date at Dublin's National Concert Hall on June 12.
The local support acts have been unveiled for the RTÉ 2fm 2moro 2our, which finds Messiah J & The Expert, Giveamanakick and The Flaws zapping round the country for a goodly part of May.
Sheffield band Reverend and the Makers will accompany The Zutons, The Flaming Lips and The Go! Team on the line-up for the Belsonic festival in August.
Parallels between military action against civilians on Bloody Sunday and President George Bush’s actions, and inaction on September 11 suggest that we’re still getting nothing but the same old story – so far
David Kitt’s upward career trajectory continues with ‘Song From Hope Street (Brooklyn, NY)’ being co-opted onto the soundtrack of Josh “Pearl Harbour” Hartnett’s new movie, 40 Days & 40 Nights.
In the aftermath of the horrific report into institutional child abuse, let us not forget that the higher echelons of the Catholic Church was perfectly aware of the evil being perpetrated in its name – and refused to do anything.
THE CATHOLIC Church will legalise the pill. The IRA will cease firing. The reasons given in both cases will be fascinating, the language used a testimony to diplomacy and delicacy.
Garda corruption resulted in a Donegal publican’s false imprisonment under horrifying circumstances. But the input of Republican vigilantes in the framing of an innocent man should not be forgotten.
Newly signed to Universal, the Duke will release his new 'Sweet Sweet Kisses' single next month, followed by a nationwide tour taking in no less than 12 counties.
The sound of a band that has nothing left to prove and the freedom to explore new territory, which they do with much aplomb, displaying impressive versatility.
Dismissed in some misguided quarters as “merely” a bunch of singles with some other stuff to help make up the numbers, The Undertones debut album now sounds as it did back then, like a unique collection of rampant and furious stabs of instant, sunny, funny, glorious pop.
With rarely a dull moment over almost two hours, the Atlanta based duo entertained and thrilled a lively audience with songs from their 15-year career and a handful of teasers from their upcoming album
Here Dillon brings her warm, natural style to standards like ‘Black Is The Colour’, ‘Lark In The Clear Air’ and ‘I Am A Youth That’s Inclined To Ramble’.
Bomb materials made in Northern Ireland are killing people in the Middle East while the PSNI arrest protesters against the manufacturers, including this HotPress columnist.
The recording of a Horslips documentary has given the original bandmembers an opportunity to get back into the studio...
Politics | McCann
23% | 18 Feb 2003
Eamonn McCann
why unionists and nationalists helplessly wring their hands at job losses but go on the offensive over a city's name; the origin of the "axis of evil"; and a hail of abuse to the chief
Hot Press celebrates Irish Language Week with a series of features in both English and Irish, as well as interviews with prominent Irish-speaking personalities. Stay tuned for regular updates.
The long-awaited follow-up to the phenomenal Music In Mouth is nearly upon us, and just to build up the tension a little more, you can get a sneaky peek at the cover right here...
Rev. James Porter was a Presbyterian Minister who wrote savage satirical tracts for the United Irishmen's newspaper in 1798 - and was hanged for his efforts. There's a lesson in his story, 200 years on, for Catholic, Protestant and dissenter alike.
Not an official release in the strictest sense, this in-store sampler serves as a timely reminder – if one were needed - of the quality, variety and commercial potential of the current batch of homegrown releases.
With Archbishop Diarmuid Martin seeking to undo much of the harm and distrust caused by his predecessor, Cardinal Desmond Connell, could we at last be seeing a change in the Church's attitude to victims of sexual abuse?
Coldplay do big spaces extremely well, and considering that the only acts that genuinely wowed me in this horrible dockside barn are Primal Scream, the Pixies and Metallica, that is a telling indication of their calibre in 2002
This December 31st/January 1st when some drunk at whatever New Year’s party you happen to be gatecrashing starts mumbling sweet nothins in your ear about how bloody awful the last twelve months were for music, do me a big favour and clout him.
SOME people s spirits may have been lifted by the news that a British general election is likely to take place on May 1st, but not mine. Is there no way that anyone can engineer the termination of John Major s appalling government sooner than that?
"An end to the war, which means of course the forswearing of armed struggle on all sides, would be most welcome, wether or not it is accompanied by an immediate alleviation in the economic conditions of the working class."
1994 was the year when paedophile priests were finally forced out of the closet. But the Church is still refusing to answer the vital questions. Report: Eamonn McCann.
After the impressive reception for their top 10 debut single 'Reconnect', Director have announced details of their new single, album and a rather large tour to boot.
I think I know how Ireland could win more gold medals at athletics. The thought struck me as I watched the wondrous performances of the Kenyan squad at Stuttgart, and recalled both the role played in Kenyan athletic success by the Irish Catholic clergy and the rather different role played at home by the Christian Brothers.
why unionists and nationalists helplessly wring their hands at job losses but go on the offensive over a city's name; the origin of the "axis of evil"; and a hail of abuse to the chief
Hysteria sells well in the US; “the gentle, much-maligned torquemada”; Bin Laden’s reading habits; and the importance of thinking globally and acting locally.
Saturday was chatterday here in the Hot Press Chatroom, with appearances from Josh Ritter, The Stunning, Elbow, Oppenheimer, Cathy Davey and That Petrol Emotion.
From the name you might think Celtic trad, from the album title you might think indigenous Australian and on first listen you might assume French, but hip-hop three-piece Daara J are 100% Senegalese.
Larry Gogan, Cormac Battle, Jenny Greene and Dan Hegarty are among the panel of experts lined up by RTÉ 2fm, to offer advice and assistance to musicians and bands at The Music Show.
Are you a budding muso looking for that first big break? Then take your pick from the River 'Rock' Music Revolution or the Vigilanteism Battle of the Bands...
Never again, I’d sworn to myself. “Mark my words,” I’d said following their dire Lansdowne Road show in 2002, “never again am I watching Oasis live.” Five years later, and I’m standing in Marlay Park for my 11th (yes 11th!) Oasis gig.
Why the similarities between FF and SF may be greater than first anticipated. Plus: linguistic weirditude on The Irish Times letters page and our columnist launches a new book which gleefully satirises the Northern political process.
ELVIS PRESLEY was so lonely he could die, and he did. Sid Vicious self-destructed, his way. But The Undertones, they just wanted to get teenage kicks all through the night. Now, tell me, which of those epitaphs would you prefer?
Mainstream opinion on Third World debt as espoused by Geldof, Blair et al is grievously wrong. Plus reflections on the many bitter ironies at the heart of the Bloody Sunday inquiry.
Happily denying themselves a break until the new year, The Frames have confirmed live dates in the US, Australia and even humble old Ireland over the next 3 months!
Any day now a hombre called Padre Alessio Parente will arrive on these shores to whip up support for the canonisation of an Italian madman who called himself "Padre Pio."
When the Northern powder keg went off, the conflict was painted as an ethno-religious one, rather than as a clash of political principles. But what was really going on remains unfinished business...
HMV has confirmed the purchase of five Zavvi outlets in Ireland to Hot Press. The acquisition is part of a deal that sees HMV purchase 14 Zavvi retail outlets in all and, as already revealed by Hot Press, will save over a hundred jobs.
For a man who generally guards his privacy with considerable zeal, this six CD box set is a generous entree into the private realm and thoughts of a man who has chronicled Ireland’s place in the modern world with all the passion, courage and clarity of a homegrown Woody Guthrie.
Pro-life campaigners have been celebrating the closure of one of the few organisations in Northern Ireland which provided information on abortion. NIALL STANAGE gets the other side of the story.
Sean O’Reilly, whose superb Watermark hit the shelves recently, has been hailed as one of the most important new voices in Irish fiction. So why has more widespread success eluded him to date?
ANY ALBUM that devotes its opening track to the cross-dressing antics of cartoon character Mr. Benn must have something going for it and as 'Festive Road' takes you strolling through the leafy streets of sixties' London suburbia, it soon becomes apparent that what we're dealing with here is songwriting of a vastly superior quality.
Presumably the fault lay with Oasis' techies rather than Witnness crew, but for an unforgivable dozen songs - the bulk of the set - Oasis battled to establish some sort of rapport with an underwhelmed crowd
Following the exhumation of Padre Pio's body, two teenaged entrepreneurs are asking ten grand for a phial of what they say is the bearded bi-locationist's blood.
The Ministry of Defence will have to come out of its hiding place declared Eilis MacDermott QC for the family of Bloody Sunday victim Patrick Doherty, at the Saville Inquiry. Here we reproduce the bulk of her powerful and hard-hitting opening address
STUART CLARK looks ahead to SOUTH BY SOUTH WEST 98, which gets underway in Austin, Texas on March 18h and which will
feature a varied Irish musical bill of fare.
The Moondogs were one of the original wave of late ’70s Northern Ireland punk bands. Now reformed, they have no less than two albums slotted for imminent release. Bassist Jackie Hamilton tells all.
25 YEARS ago this month, on January 30th, 1972, Bloody Sunday, British soldiers stormed up the street where I was born and shot 13 people dead. I watched some of it happen.
I’ve been driving in the west. Out there beyond the water margins of Yang Shang-Po, aka Oughterard, after which the landscape shifts into something quite different from that which has gone before.
The rock came to Eagle's Rock in Derry as the Glasgowbury festival brought together a host of small but mighty talent, including And So I Watch You From Afar, General Fiasco, The Mighty Stef and more!
Their name is full of Oriental promise but, far from growing up in the land of rice-bowls and speaking toilets, retro techno-heads THE JAPANESE POPSTARS hail from the mysterious land of, er, Derry.
t’s all going on north of the border this fortnight with a new imprint launching in Belfast and a Derry electro duo giving Beyonce a banging make-over.
County Derry-born Henry McCullough was the only Irishman to play Woodstock, joined Paul McCartney in Wings and lived the rock and roll lifestyle to the max.
The tour takes in dates in Auntie Annie’s, Belfast (September 26); Roisin Dubh, Galway (27); Savoy, Cork (28); Dolan’s, Limerick (30); Whelan’s, Dublin (October 1); and Nerve Centre, Derry (2).
Derry-born Nadine Coyle is very proud of her Irish roots – so much so that she insisted on an Irish flag being included on the cover of a Girls Aloud album.
Need help, advice or a second opinion? Put your music industry question to the oracle@hotpress.ie.
This fortnight, Christy in Derry has the same name as another well known Irish singer and wants to do live gigs in his home area soon. Will he need to change his name in order to do so?
This year’s Celtronic line-up is arguably the tastiest yet, with all manner of interesting personages journeying to Derry for the five-day dance festival.
What are Dublin Corporation up to? I know that not everyone in Ireland cares about the answer to this question: if you live in Cork or Sligo or Derry, why should you? Well, I'll give you one good reason: where public policy is concerned, if something is introduced in Dublin and it sticks, then almost inevitably, it's only a matter of time before the other significant cities and towns around the country at least south of the border follow suit. Think parking fines. Now think clamping. As the old town planner's song goes first we'll take Dublin city, then we'll take Athlone.
The joys of poetry: Abby Oliviera enlivens Pride Week with a little ditty about her Highness's oral expertise. Are you sure Willy Wordsworth did it this way?
With the sound of The Prodigy’s Marmite-esque set still ringing in our ears from last night, we arrive back on site to be greeted with some much needed Sunday morning sunshine.
A few hours after Bono hoisted up Trimble and Hume s arms at the Yes show, I found myself trying to buy drinks at a city centre bar and having a strange conversation with a well known local politician. A prominent face during the pro-Agreement campaign, I d assumed that he d be delighted with the way that the gig had panned out. But no, he shrugged off the entire occasion as a bubbly inconsequence and said that the Yes camp would be lucky to get 68% of the vote. For someone convinced that his cause was on the cusp of a massive historical defeat, he didn t appear to be overly upset. In fact, he seemed happy enough showing off his Larry Mullan Jr autograph and blaming the Unionists.
From Dr Strangelove to Eyes Wide Shut, film director Stanley Kubrick cast an enigmatic shadow over film. Since his death, the director’s widow, Christiane Kubrick, has dedicated herself to preserving his legacy. Here she offers a glimpse of the man behind the legend.
When he first arrived in the Northwest to attend college last year, Josh Clarke had no aspirations of becoming a radio DJ. Pretty soon, though, he had caught the bug in a serious way.
There is a dearth of established Irish songwriters among those selected by RTÉ to compete in the Eurosong final, which will take place on Friday Feb 20.
As a long time acquaintance of Pete Doherty, Steve Cummins was looking forward to a fly-on-the-wall seat on the Babyshambles tour bus for the band’s five day jaunt around Ireland. But no-shows, court appearances and the attentions of one Johnny Headlock gave him a rather different perspective on the Doherty circus.
Is it credible that the man who commanded the British Army in Iraq never voiced his misgivings about the war to the British Prime Minister, Tony Blair?
Filí, amhránaithe and ceoltóirí na héireann member Steve Cooney on the rights of trad acts to travel, get paid… and obtain a cup of tea when playing Dublin castle. Folk Centre with Sarah McQuaid
Fresh from the success of ‘Shrooms, in which she has a leading role, Lindsey Haun shoots the breeze about music, film and growing up as the daughter of a soft-rock legend.
“There’s no sense running for election unless first you suspend all sense of shame.” From that starting point, Eamonn McCann went on to exceed all expectations in the Northern Ireland election. Here, he recalls the highs and lows of the campaign.
“There’s no sense running for election unless first you suspend all sense of shame.” From that starting point, Eamonn McCann went on to exceed all expectations in the Northern Ireland election. Here, he recalls the highs and lows of the campaign.
Could we organise the Second Coming for January 1st 2000? Yes. We have the technology, in the fields of embryology, genetic engineering and the application of DNA to the study of miracles.
Charlotte Hatherley doesn’t do stockings, but she would like to have it off in a thunderstorm. And she wears nothing in bed but a smile. Oh, sweet Jesus.
From the biggest international names to the most dynamic local creations, festivals make Ireland a good place to be in summer, even when the sun refuses to put in an appearance
We’re completely aware that it’s a ridiculous band name,” groans Organized Confusion singer Niall Doherty. “But we’ve come this far with it, so it might be a bad idea to get rid of it now."
He’s best known for his bout of fisticuffs with Jack White but nowadays it’s the dire situation of his native Detroit that is foremost on the mind of The Von Bondies’ Jason Stollsheimer.
A Soldier’s Song With A Difference
Although the Northern Irish conflict has been the subject of countless books, many authors have become bogged down in an attempt to explain the major issues, and have thus neglected the individual testimonies which are often more revealing.
What’s come over Eamonn Dunphy that he’s writing sensible? A fortnight ago on the back page of the Sunday Indo, he lashed out at Liam Hamilton, the man who wrote the report of the Beef Tribunal and was soon afterwards appointed Chief Justice by Albert Reynolds’ Government.
It's eyes down and no conferring as Colm Russell asks We Are Scientists about their new album, intra-band bullying and why Alex Turner wouldn't know a hit single if it bit him in the ass.
From the sophisticated noise rock of Fighting With Wire to the joyous indie pop of Clone Quartet, the 12 months ahead are shaping to be a bumper year for music north of the border.
Kildare’s favourite son and godfather of the singer-songwriter scene, Luka Bloom, talks to Jackie Hayden about his most intimate album to date, Innocence, gigging with The Frames in Australia and hanging backstage with Gabriel Byrne.
With 1993 going down as the year that Irish rock finally emerged from U2’s shadow, HOT PRESS takes an introductory look at four of the rapidly emerging outfits that are poised to make headlines and sell bucket–loads of records in ’94.
Schtum, Ash, Joyrider, Compulsion.
As the Northern Irish nights draw in, the gigs get better. Coldplay, Ryan Adams, Beverly Knight and Teenage Fanclub are just some of the acts who are flying North in the coming months
BellX1 have announced a run round Ireland in support of their Blue Lights On The Runway album, which is due on February 20 and is preceded by the lead single, ‘The Great Defector’.
Or how the Christian right detected family values in the sex lives of penguins. But only the heterosexual ones. Plus: the bizarre parable of the Eyeballs In The Sky.
A friend of mine who works in the music business in London recently received an unsolicited demo tape from an Irish band. Nothing exceptional in that alone, other than the fact that it had seventeen tracks on it and was accompanied by a note to the effect that tracks 5, 8 and 11 were, in the band's opinion, the best and should be listened to first.
He's familiar to Northern listeners as a super-smooth middle of the road DJ. But in his misspent youth as a guitarist, Gerry Anderson lived a life of rock and roll abandon.
SUSAN McKAY has just published a startling book about Northern Protestants. Here, NIALL STANAGE meets the Dublin-based journalist and, below, relates his own experiences of life as a Belfast-born Prod. Portraits: Cathal Dawson
In Case Of Fire are one of a clutch of NI bands that are helping to spearhead a new alternative Ulster. With a string of high profile festival dates on the cards, they talk about their plans for world domination.
When art student Roger Herbert set up fastfude.com as part of a term project, little did he know that five years later it would be one of Northern Ireland’s most popular and controversial music sites
As the country’s largest music festival, Oxegen is a crucial shop window for Irish acts. From main-stage headliners Snow Patrol through new kids on the block The Script. Here are some of our favourite Irish picks.
PETER TAYLOR is one of the most experienced journalists to have covered the Troubles. Midway through the screening of his most recent TV documentary, Loyalists, he spoke to NIALL STANAGE about the North s pivotal personalities, his hopes for a peaceful future, and why Provos was keenly watched by Loyalist paramilitaries.
THE CATHOLIC hierarchy won't get away for much longer with its lack of response to the rush of revelations about physical, sexual and psychological abuse done to children placed in its care.
Get ready for a whole new kind of weird as avant-gardists THE SUMMER EXPERIMENT prepare to hit the live circuit, touting a unique mix of folk, indie and classical.
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.
It hasn’t been an easy time to raise political arguments. I was on UTV’s Counterpoint programme the Thursday after the Greysteel massacre and had sharpened my thoughts in advance for cut-and-thrust interplay with ex-UDA chief Glen Barr, Gregory Campbell of the Democratic Unionists and Mark Durkin of the SDLP.
They toured the world throughout the ‘70s, earning rave notices from Bono, The Edge and Melvin Bragg, upsetting the clergy, terrifying the American public in the company of Blue Oyster Cult and the J Geils Band and out-glamming even Bowie with their flamboyant sartorial taste. With a new DVD on the way and much speculation about a possible tour, legendary Celtic rockers Horslips here talk to Hot Press about a decade of adventure, decadence and great music.
EAMONN McCANN journeys to America s west coast and encounters the same GLOBAL issues of bigotry and prejudice. To compensate, though, he also savours the pleasures, musical, cultural and alcoholic, of San Fran.
She’s worked with film makers as diverse as Alan Parker and Quentin Tarantino. For her latest role Bronagh Gallagher found herself in a Middle Ages love triangle. No wonder she kept breaking out in giggles.
THE UGLY scenes concerning Shamrock Rovers and Shelbourne over the transfer of players and bad vibes all round, are symbolic of a recurring syndrome in League of Ireland football.
A FREE and unsolicited tee-shirt came through the post for me from a company which is advertising a campaign for something or other – the slogan emblazoned on the garment is totally meaningless. Above the saintly face of a bearded man are written the words “Do something good this year.”
Some good news for clubbing fans – the annual 12 hour dance marathon at Fairyhouse Racecourse is to go ahead in the summer. And this time, it’s got a brand new name.
Cuckoo could be heard all over Ireland and Britain during June and July as the northern band toured the two countries. They’ve just released their new album, Breathing Lessons, but aren’t stopping to catch their breath.
There s a school of thought that says it s not the damage that s done when a child is hurt that causes problems later in life; it s the failure to repair it. Mistakes are made by parents all the time; after all, they are only human.
You know them as heartfelt songwriters. But when they’re not mucking about in the studio, Neil Hannon and Thomas Walsh enjoy nothing more than a game of cricket. And they’re not just in it for the cucumber sandwiches, either.
Let us call them the Birmingham Four. It is a collective description with many overtones of the Irish abroad, battling with the British system.
The Birmingham Four are, of course, Paul McGrath, Steve Staunton, Ray Houghton, and now Andy Townsend, who has joined in solidarity with his Republic of Ireland colleagues at Aston villa.
On a bright, crisp, autumn day in 1975, the attention of the universe was focused on St Mel’s Park, Athlone and a UEFA Cup clash between The Town and A.C. Milan...
Martin McGuinness was one of the key figures in the troubles in Northern Ireland . Many unionists believe that the one-time IRA man was at the heart of much that was wrong and divisive in Irish life. But ultimately the quiet Derryman has taken on the role of peacemaker – and he is now the Deputy First Minister in the new power-sharing administration at Stormont.
Over 2,000 Northern Irish women leave the province every year to have abortions elsewhere usually in England. STUART BAILIE examines the many anomalies in the law on this subject, and talks to some of the people fighting to change it.
As 1993 draws to a close, considerable optimism is being expressed about the possibility of bringing peace to Northern Ireland. But no process or initiative grounded in Catholic Nationalism can bring about enduring peace, says Eamonn McCann.
Journalist Susan McKay's new book, Bear In Mind These Dead, revisits the families of victims, for many of whom the emotional scars have been slow to heal.
Belfast, like Dublin, is getting a bit frisky with the promise of spring. Loads of music initiatives are being planned and the landscape is looking better than ever. The difference between the two social diaries is that Belfast stops having fun at the end of June, to allow the marching season to have its ruinous way. By the time we pull out of that regular mess, the summer is packing up and it s time to go indoors again.
Belfast, like Dublin, is getting a bit frisky with the promise of spring. Loads of music initiatives are being planned and the landscape is looking better than ever. The difference between the two social diaries is that Belfast stops having fun at the end of June, to allow the marching season to have its ruinous way. By the time we pull out of that regular mess, the summer is packing up and it s time to go indoors again.
Belfast, like Dublin, is getting a bit frisky with the promise of spring. Loads of music initiatives are being planned and the landscape is looking better than ever. The difference between the two social diaries is that Belfast stops having fun at the end of June, to allow the marching season to have its ruinous way. By the time we pull out of that regular mess, the summer is packing up and it s time to go indoors again.
The Concert – Running Order:
James 1.00pm
The Seahorses 2.15pm
Finley Quaye 3.30pm
Robbie Williams 5.00pm
Manic Street Preachers 6.30pm
The Verve 8.30pm
A note dropped through the letter-box last week from the British Home Secretary Michael Howard, telling me that I’m not welcome at his place any more, which was a surprise and a sore disappointment, since not only has there been a cease-fire in the meantime but I was welcomed in by kind strangers the last time I called.
Rosa Luxemburg once wrote that anyone who steps needlessly on a worm on the road to revolution has committed a crime. But even she might be dismayed by how daft the British media sometimes go about animals.
If we can force the Western armies out of Iraq then we will have put a halt to the gallop of those who are using the might of the US military to impose their brute agenda on the world.
It's been 33 years since Belfast girl Ruby Murray topped the UK charts with 'Softly Softly'. Since then, the female singers from the North have rarely scored internationally. Dana last hit the top 50 in '79. Newry stomper Clodagh Rodgers wowed Eurovision in '71 with her hot pants and a rendition of the oompah crowd-pleaser 'Jack In The Box'. And, er, that's about
While my own, personal sporting highlight came in the unlikely shape of a Scottish Premier League fixture in August (see below), there can be no doubt that Euro 2000 was the main dish on the year s sporting menu.
The time of the year that is in it, I suppose you are all expecting me to say a few words about the ancient sport of Bogball, what it means, and where it is headed.
A very eminent British QC was passing through town recently so we finished up in the Dungloe Bar listening to the Jim Armstrong Band singeing the ceiling with John Lee Hooker, Eddie Boyd and Eric Clapton (eh?) numbers, and getting drunk. Us that is, not the band, necessarily.
On the eve of his appearance in the Dublin Theatre Festival and with a nationwide Irish tour pending, Jimeoin, the award-winning Irish comedian, talks to Tony Clayton-Lea about his journey to fame, from his early jobs as a builder in London and a carpenter in Sydney to his current status as the funniest man in Australia. He may own ten Van Morrison albums but he's still the best man around to liven up a night on the town.
On the eve of his appearance in the Dublin Theatre Festival and with a nationwide Irish tour pending, Jimeoin, the award-winning Irish comedian, talks to Tony Clayton-Lea about his journey to fame, from his early jobs as a builder in London and a carpenter in Sydney to his current status as the funniest man in Australia. He may own ten Van Morrison albums but he's still the best man around to liven up a night on the town.
AMID ALL the brouhaha – and indeed the brouhoho – about the IRA cease-fire and the promise of peace in our time, it seems to have escaped the attention of many commentators that the agenda being pursued was fully outlined in these very pages last year. By me, Samuel J. Snort, of course.
The emergence of The Boomtown Rats inspired a new generation of in-your-face Irish bands who re-energised an Irish music scene that has become moribund and predictable.
It took some old duffer in the House of Lords last week to bring back to mind one of the great crimes of recent years – the deaths of more than nine hundred people when the roll-on roll-off car ferry Estonia went down in the Baltic at the beginning of October.
Mother Records' expansion plans receive another major boost with former Sugarcube Bjork signing to the label for all European territories excluding the UK. Mother will also be handling Irish distribution for The Levellers and are about to release a new 12" by Bumble, suggesting that earlier reports of their demise were decidedly premature . . .
Keyboards at the ready, modems on standby: here it is, a quick-fire tour of some of the entertainment websites from the north that matter. In theory, we were going to give you the definitive A-Z guide, but we couldn't find anything beginning with a Q or an X . Neverthless, here we go . .
More than four years ago, Hot Press called for a Tribunal of Inquiry into the Catholic Church s handling of the issue of child-sex abuse by priests. We have regularly repeated the call since. Now it has been taken up in another publication. Maybe we are getting somewhere.
The evidence of two British soldiers about the shooting of unarmed civilians, heard in public for the first time, but largely overlooked in coverage of the Saville inquiry, is a direct challenge to the “official” line on bloody sunday which has held for more than 30 years.
All the lobby correspondents at Westminster seem agreed that Paymaster General Geoffrey Robinson is for the chop. The urbane member for Coventry, they say, is soon to be shifted to a less high-profile position.
Pelvis are a band going places. To London for a start, where they are playing every fleapit dive, indie emporium and up-market lounge bar that will have ’em.
Belfast filmmaker John T. Davis on Uncle Jack, a troubled but ultimately cathartic labour of love commemmorating his late uncle’s achievements as a cinema architect. Interview: Cathy Dillon.
PHIL COULTER is far from the muzak-producing bore of caricature. Here, he talks to JOE JACKSON about family tragedy, northern politics, drink binges, having songs covered by Elvis and his experiences working with stars like Van Morrison, Siniad O Connor and Luke Kelly. Portraits: MYLES CLAFFEY
Planetlove has always represented the best of Irish dance culture. Now celebrating its tenth anniversary, the event is going from strength to strength.
Snow Patrol and Ash are just some of the North’s rock ambassadors who have given their backing to the Oh Yeah Music Centre, a state-of-the-art multi-media development which will put Belfast on the international musical map.
STEPHEN ROBINSON meets author JAMIE O’NEILL, who’s acclaimed first novel At Swim Two Boys, which concerns a sexual relationship between two Irish boys and an older Englishman set against the background of the 1916 rising
As the summer finally begins to fade and the dark nights of winter start to creep in, many of us look for a last chance to get an away break before the build-up for Christmas begins. Jackie Hayden reviews some of the options countrywide.
Bigotry is alive and kicking in 21st-century Ireland – in the form of anti-traveller discrimination. Plus: why croquet is more genuinely Irish than Gaelic football.
On the face of it, the show is like any other Brian Kennedy night. Young girls become giddy. Mothers are impassioned as they shove themselves to the front, wailing along with the words and leaving piles of flowers at the singer s feet. The singer, bless his heart, is trilling and wowing at the reception, resplendent in crushed velvet, letting his all-embracing charms soften up the crowd.
Pet sounds of Ulster: Kharma 45, The Undertones, Triggerman, Red Organ Serpent Sound and the late great Billy Browne. Not to mention masturbating monkeys.
With politicians up in arms about flower-beds while Raytheon helps destroy Lebanon, it’s enough to make even Tony Blair frown. Thank god we still have rock.
PROFESSOR RICHARD LYNN of the University Of Ulster has produced a body of research designed to prove that ‘blacks’ are less intelligent than ‘whites’. A major influence on the authors of the controversial bible of the New Right The Bell Curve, Lynn now stands accused of “a truly venomous racism, combined with scandalous disregard for scientific objectivity.” Report: Eamonn McCann.
Freddie Middleton, the General Manager of BMG Records in Ireland has been twenty years in the music business. Here Hot Press, and his many friends in the industry, pay him a special tribute.
I’m sorry to hear of an old acquaintance, John Eddie McNicholl, taking a hit from the Bush regime, and even sorrier to note the reaction of an influential element of Irish-America.
New album, new look, new attitude: having turned the big three-oh, DIVINE COMEDY's Neil Hannon says he's much more sure of his place in the world. "Basically, the one thing I have to offer humanity is a good time with interesting words," he tells Olaf Tyaransen. Divine camera intervention: MICK QUINN
RELISH
Another Downpatrick act with the chance to make good. Now signed to EMI Ireland, a single is due presently. Previous demos found them mixing a gleaming American rock sound with soulful vocals, not unlike Roachford or Terence Trent d Arby. A challenge to anyone s marketing department, but still preferrable to the average indie toss.
The major political event in the Republic was the abortion referendum. Hotpress made its position clear in the run-up to that particular farce, but the polls were telling us that it was going to be a Yes vote
Having spent the summer in Europe wowing huge festival audiences, Royseven are now concentrating on matters of a domestic nature. Phil Udell joins them as they experience the highs, lows and drunken dancing eejits of the Irish live circuit.
The conflict in the North is commonly analysed in terms of the kind of people involved in the violence. Paramilitaries, for example, are frequently explained, or explained away, as psychopaths or racketeers.
To DECLAN LYNCH in Foul Play it's "bogball" but to GERRY McGOVERN it's a thrilling sport "created out of the imagination and genius of the Irish people." Here he writes in praise of gaelic football and declares: "I'm a bogman and proud of it."
Our columnist wasn’t exactly popping open the champagne at the news that Mark Thatcher had escaped with a suspended sentence for his part in the attempted coup in Equatorial Guinea. Plus: why Bono’s gushing endorsement at the Labour Party Conference has allowed Blair and Brown to continue to get away with murder.
He’s spent years trying to live down his bubble-gum pop days but, two decades after the event, former hearthrob Jason Donovan is finally going back to his roots.
REMEMBER the Beef Tribunal? Forget it. There were other issues, too, which might have brought Reynolds to grief before now, and didn’t. But he could well come a cropper even yet, over Parkingate.
Having crammed more into their first four years than some acts do in a decade, Gomez took a much-needed break. But now they’re back with a new album in our gun. "We just got pissed, played a few tunes and started recording," they tell John Walshe
No-one knows a city like a local and so we asked Mike Edgar to be our guide to Belfast. Here he chooses ten things for visitors to do in the North s leading city. Only one problem: he forgot to tell us where to get an after-hours drink!
“Bigots obsessed with men’s bums”. That was one commentator’s apt description of the galoots who gathered in the House of Lords at Westminster last month to vote down a proposal to equalise the age of consent for gays.
It’s Christmas time and, as far as the hotpress journalistic elite are concerned, there’s not a turkey in sight. JOHN WALSHE, COLIN CARBERRY, CHRIS DONOVAN, EAMON SWEENEY and BARRY O'DONOGHUE report on the Irish acts who are going to be huuuuuuuuge!
over the next 12 months.
There are fewer refugees living in Ireland than there are Irish emigrants in Munich, but that hasn’t stopped Justice Minister John O’Donoghue, however inadvertently, whipping up race hate on the refugee issue.
Down in Dublin for a couple of days a fortnight ago, I bumped into a rubicund retired diplomat in a Merrion Row pub. How long will Albert the Statesman last? he enquired. And we had a warm chuckle to ourselves over hot ports and brandy.
