Springsteen's Irish love affair resumes in July, with a deluxe edition of Working On A Dream now available, and a Darkness On The Edge Of Town box-set in the works...
Unconfirmed: Springsteen to play Ireland before the end of the year? Totally definite: fantastic new album - and his first with The E Street Band since 1984 - on the way
Unable to deviate from their set lists, 99% of bands now play the same show night after night. They get bored and jaded; so do their audiences. How did this horrible situation evolve?
Of the dozen or so Springsteen shows I’ve witnessed over the years, this was without doubt the most memorable, and certainly the most emotionally intense of them all. Shorn of the formidable might of the E-Street Band, the man-they-still-call-The-Boss arguably had to work harder than ever. That he pulled it off so successfully in the acoustically-unfriendly environs of The Point was a testament not only to his talent and experience but to his willingness to experiment.
“One… two… three… four. Is anybody aliiive out there?” Recorded at the final two shows of his record breaking ten-night stand at Madison Square Gardens last summer, this is The Boss’ most anticipated release in years.
It's Bruce and the band given a new coat of paint by producer Brendan O’ Brien, who through his work with bands like Pearl Jam, knows a thing or two about gut feeling and mile-high noise
Last winter, as the cold set in and rock ‘n’ roll seemed about as useful as a paper piss-pot, you could almost hear the voices from the back of Madison Square Gardens hollering, “Bruce, why hast thou forsaken us?”
He plays guitar for Springsteen, plays The Clash on his radio show and plays it fast and loose as Silvio Dante in The Sopranos. Colm O’Hare meets the three-in-one Steven Van Zandt
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.
Amid rumours and press reports that his career could be at an end, Larry Mullen reveals the truth about the extent of an injury to his hand that is becoming a common problem for rock drummers. Interview: Niall Stokes
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.
A North Carolinian who speaks Irish and a country performer who only occasionally performs country,
jim lauderdale has a way that makes the seemingly contradictory work well. Interview: siobhan long.
In the past, many Irish people suffered from an inferiority complex about their own culture – about the language, music, film and literature of this island. But music is one arena where things have changed dramatically. Report: Jackie Hayden
Ian Hunter, the former voice of MOTT THE HOOPLE, is back with a 38-track Greatest Hits & Rarities double-CD, plus an all-new album, From The Knees Of My Heart, to follow later this year. Now, from where past and present collide, he explains how he once broke into Elvis Presley s Gracelands, how he produced hits for Billy Idol and what it was like to tour with Queen as your support act. He even finds time to tell tales about Marc Bolan, Mick Ronson, and, incidentally, Mott The Hoople too Andy Darlington listens in.
As the General Election looms, many polls suggest Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny is the next Taoiseach in waiting. So what is he really like? And where does he stand on the issues that matter to Hot Press readers?
While the entity that is U2 continues to be the dominant focus in the creative lives of its four members, away from the band, Bono, The Edge, Adam and Larry have all indulged in extra-curricular activities, bringing them – and their music - into contact with such legends as Bob Dylan, Robbie Robertson, Keith Richards, and Roy Orbison, By Dermot Stokes
As you might expect from a bunch of Springsteen-loving misfits, Stay Positive is delivered with a generous amount of their now trademark skewed cynicism.
Music Review | Live
28% | 14 Oct 2003
Eamon Sweeney
I don’t necessarily think Frank should play more or less Pixies numbers, even though that’s exactly what his audience want.
With his blonde strands thinning noticeably and his trademark feline features becoming bloated, time appears to be taking a particularly heavy toll on the once vital Tom Petty. Performing 'Room At The Top' recently on Later with Jools Holland he looked and sounded jaded. Such is the mood on Echo his "long awaited" follow up to 1994's Wildflowers.
You know you’ve been to a bloody good Bruce gig when he can omit ‘Born To Run’ or ‘Thunder Road’ and nobody notices. Most of these young whippersnapper acts regard touring as a PR chore. Bruce, on the other hand, treats his job like a vocation.
Ten Feet High is surprisingly playful, but in a serious way. For the most part, Corr and producer Nellee Hooper have fashioned a hybrid of high street pulses, airy melodies and acoustic chamber pop.
From Radiohead to Springsteen, the twelve months ahead are already packed with highlights. But will Led Zeppelin be among the group’s hitting the comeback trail?
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.
In a mediocre year, there was one album which offered a complete vindication of our continuing belief in the power of rock’n’roll. Just one – but that one is enough.
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.
That’s the philosophy behind Cross Border Media, a label which has had a remarkable impact on Irish music since its foundation just three years ago. A special report by Colm O’Hare and Jackie Hayden
