30th Anniversary Retrospective: In a special interview, The Edge reminisces about the early days of Hotpress, explains Bill Graham’s role in U2’s development, and comes clean about what the band have been up to recently in Morocco.
With a new ‘Best Of’ bringing the band’s story up to date, U2’s guitar man steps forward to riff on good times and bad, the private life of a public figure, discovering the secrets of the universe on mushrooms, and why, after all these years, few things match the high of being a member of U2
The current issue of Hot Press includes an exclusive interview with The Edge in which he talks about meeting Michael Jackson, the singer's death, criticism of U2 in Ireland, blogging and the controversy over U2’s carbon footprint. He also gives a unique insider’s view of how U2’s 360º Tour works.
The Edge talks to Bill Graham about his soundtrack album "Captive" - and about the hidden reservoirs the band are charting in their search for the follow-up to "The Unforgettable Fire"
In The Time Of Shaking opens this week at the Irish Museum of Modern Art, with special guests Yoko Ono and The Edge lending their high profile support to the Art for Amnesty exhibition
Niall Stokes draws on his best-selling book Into The Heart: The Stories Behind The Songs Of U2 to offer a unique insight into the way in which some of the greatest songs in the history of popular music came into being.
Getting home early from the pub is recommended tonight as Harry Enfield and Paul Whitehouse debut their new sketch show, Ruddy Hell! It’s Harry And Paul, at 9.30pm on BBC One.
Bono, Adam and Larry. Not to mention the self-styled King Boogaloo himself, Mr B. P. Fallon, whose new book U2: Faraway So Close offers an intimate visual and verbal diary of the band’s world-record shattering ZOO TV tour. For good measure the, um, also self-styled Mr Ramalama talks about Jimi Hendrix and the Mafia connection, toting guns with Tone Loc, giving Little Richard a hard-on, and other little, um, side voyages into other territories, man. Er, tape recorder thingy: Joe Jackson.
With a new 'best of' bringing the band's story up to date U2's guitar man steps forward to riff on good times and bad, the private life of a public figure, discovering the secrets of the universe on mushrooms and why, after all these years, few things match the high of being a member of U2.
Special hotpress.com members edition: "director's cut" featuring interview sections unavailable anywhere else.
ADRIENNE MURPHY lived with the ecological vigil-keepers in the Glen O The Downs for two weeks leading up to the dreaded day when the chainsaws finally arrived. This is her report from the frontline of Ireland s latest environmental battle. Pix: Colm Henry
Fr Shay Cullen, an Irish Columban Missionary priest, tells Jason O’Toole about falling in love, the battle against corruption in the Philipines, the scourge of western sex tourism – and why the Irish government isn’t doing enough to protect children from paedophiles.
DESMOND HOGAN'S fight against both indifference and hostility towards his homosexuality has led him to Dublin, London, Berlin, North Yemen and the USA. Along the way he's produced *The Edge of the City* a collage of his observations on different cities, which is how he finds himself in the company of Joe Jackson.
Bono:
I can't imagine how the people in Hot Press are feeling right now. From the beginning there were four or five in there who were like a band - losing Bill, for them, must be like how I'd feel if something happened to Edge or Adam or Larry. He was like a brother to his colleagues and a cousin to us.
Damien Dempsey is back in town after a five month stint Down Under. Hot Press catches up with the Dublin balladeer as he kicks off a 50-date Irish tour, taking in Electric Picnic along the way. He talks about the success of his Rocky Road To Dublin covers record, the thrill of bestriding Croke Park – and having Bono and The Edge checking him out in Sallynoggin!
Nearly a decade after the release of their debut single, U2 are widely regarded as the No. 1 rock band in the world. But the album and the film "Rattle And Hum" depict another kind of reality entirely. Larry, Adam and The Edge talk to Niall Stokes.
Unofficial curator of the New York club scene and head of a creative emporium many have described as a contemporary version of Warhol’s factory, LCD Soundsystem mastermind James Murphy is rapidly emerging as one of the biggest players in the U.S. underground. He tells Barry O’Donoghue how it happened
The taut, stripped-down techno of Berlin's Get Physical is at the bleeding edge of contemporary dance music. Now the label has released its first mix album.
Vaguely punky in appearance, playing that surf festival thing, releasing her album exclusively on a mobile phone – if you hadn’t heard Majella Murphy, you’d guess that her music was pretty cutting edge. Well, nice it may be, but cutting edge it certainly isn’t. ‘Baby’s Broken Heart’ is immaculately presented and produced, but otherwise is a fairly standard singer-songwriter workout.
DISCO PIGS stars, CILLIAN MURPHY and ELAINE CASSIDY, tell CRAIG FITZSIMONS about how they were drawn to the intense relationship and Cork patois of Pig and Runt
Opening our U2 special, DERMOD MOORE catches up with ADAM CLAYTON during the UK leg of the Elevation tour, and delves deep into the physics of music celebrity, politics and, er, penises
It s taken ten years, but AGNELLI & NELSON have finally made it to the top of the DJ pile with their Hudson St. album. COLIN CARBERRY meets the Ulster dance merchants whose superstar fans include U2
With their biggest dates ever in Ireland looming, LIAM MACKEY dips into voluminous hotpress archives and selects a small sample of what the paper said about U2 over the years
The initial rumours were that it was going to be a rock n roll record . Then subsequent whispers hinted at everything from trip-hop to techno to ambient. But U2 s eighth studio album, Pop, is all of these things and more. It s the first album since 1983 that they ve made without the assistance of Brian Eno, it s been a long time in the making roughly a full year, all told and it s selling like the proverbial warm buns. Here, NIALL STOKES talks to BONO and ADAM CLAYTON, as well as co-producers FLOOD, HOWIE B and THE EDGE, about its lengthy genesis and what the band hoped to accomplish in creating it.
Pix: STEPHANE SEDNAOUI .
For many people it is U2's greatest album. Twenty years on, to mark it's re-release, Colm O'Hare talks to Daniel Lanois and reflects on the extraordinary background to a monumental album.
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
Guggi first emerged into the public eye as a member of the Virgin Prunes – the band that shared their early growth and development with U2. Having departed the Prunes fold, he turned his attention to art and has since become one of the country's most bankable painters.
On a fleeting visit to Dublin the legendary Jack White sat down with Hot Press' Stuart Clark to discuss his past life as an upholsterer, jamming with Bob Dylan. Jimmy Page and The Edge and going for dinner with Loretta Lynne.
The enigmatic DJ Shadow - aka Josh Davis - on why the time is right to speak politically, how hip-hop is regaining its radical edge and why most advertising sucks
The news of Rory Gallagher s tragic death has sent seismic shock waves through the music world. Here was a man who managed to combine the gift of being an authentic creative genius with the even rarer gift of being a genuinely decent, honourable human being. Over the next six pages, Hot Press pays tribute to both the legend and the person, with contributions from the stars, friends, fans and colleagues who were touched by the Gallagher magic, and takes a trip through the backpages of an extraordinary career.
Victor Bartley is on the edge - publicly humiliated by criticism of his son's ailing TV show, he has had enough. Once a successful showband manager in Ireland, he is now a sad resentful alcoholic. He bears most of this resentment towards the rock star Richie Earls, one of Ireland's rock and roll elite who has everything that Victor wants... But now Victor has what Richie wants... Murder, menace and middlemen from a great new Irish talent. Let the music begin...
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.
U2 are about to unleash their new album How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb. The world’s media are descending on Dublin. And Bono is back at the punch-bag, getting into fighting shape before the shit storm really explodes. The gloves are off. He’s got work to do. And he’s going to do it. Words Stuart Clark, additional reporting by Niall Stokes.
n a career spanning 25 years in the glare of the stagelight, CHRISTY MOORE has known every emotion from insecurity, despair and vilification to adulation, triumph and the warm glow of creative fulfilment. He has dabbed in drugs, drink to excess, suffered a heart attack for his troubles and made some of the finest records that have ever been subjected to critical scrutiny in this country. Now, in a frighteningly honest interview, he tells it like it is and was. Cross-examination: JOE JACKSON. Microscopic camerawork: COLM HENRY.
In time for our birthday issue, The Edge talks exclusively to Peter Murphy about 30 years of Ireland's premier music mag, and reveals that they're working on a "project" rather than a new album.
Iconic memorabilia belonging to Bono and The Edge helped to raise €1.8 million in an auction to benefit musicians left with nothing after Hurricane Katrina.
Art of gold: the opening gig of Neil Young's three-night stand at Vicar St makes Bono, The Edge, Ronnie Wood and of course your correspondent Stuart Clark swoon. Photo: Mick Quinn
‘Ghostdriver’ finds Hagelstein in darker than usual mode: the title track’s sharp, angular rhythms and metallic drums play host to menacing, claustrophobic FX and a break down that pushes the track over the edge and into insanity.
Junior Boys’ two originals are excellent electro-pop with a gritty edge – Alex Smoke’s melancholic remix retains the vocals but still brings a new dimension to the track, while Morgan Geist (re-)invents P-funk cosmic disco.
Art of gold: the opening gig of Neil Young's acoustic three-night stand in Vicar St makes Bono, Edge, Ron Wood and of course your correspondent Stuart Clark swoon. Pics: Mick Quinn
Label boss Ralf Lawson returns to his house roots after 2020’s recent, excellent, foray into electro/house – ‘Ran’ is no-nonsense house music with chunky beats, cool percussion and quite a big room edge.
Four tracks of raw analogue action with an agenda. The abrasive ‘Pimp My Glide’ keeps it simple and effective – rough drums, wild synth – but check ‘Auskeeping’ on the flip: although the percussion is similarly raw, the loose bassline gives it a surprisingly funky edge. One for the non-minimalists.
This remix release would be stronger without Speakwave’s aggressive industrial version of ‘Hydrogen Bonding’: Alexander Robotnick delivers a DJ-friendly Italo remix of ‘Midnight Moroder’ and Marco Passarani tips ‘Acid Bosons’ over the edge and into a world of 303 mayhem.
A rewarding album of glitchy-dubby-downtempo-house. Intricate rhythms and percussion sit perfectly alongside shimmering, glacial keys, pads and chords – all infused with a simple playfulness and, in places, a harder, odder edge.It occasionally drifts into the mundane, but it’s worth sticking with.
Limerick’s Veneer caught the ear earlier in the year and this follow up continues the good work. The title track builds around some particularly effective guitar work, culminating in an emotionally charged indie epic, while 'Weeds (Beauty’s A Beast)' shows a more experimental edge, something that suits them a bit better. One to watch for next year.
Limerick’s Veneer caught the ear earlier in the year and this follow up continues the good work. The title track builds around some particularly effective guitar work, culminating in an emotionally charged indie epic, while 'Weeds (Beauty’s A Beast)' shows a more experimental edge, something that suits them a bit better. One to watch for next year.
Stop press! Song in rerecorded-version-better-than-original shocker! While the track from Through The Window Pane sounded like a Christmas bid for No. 1 – and we know how dire they are – they’ve beefed up the production whilst losing none of the track’s better qualities. The result is a pop song that’s as leftfield as you could get without tipping over the edge of the earth, and a fantastic choice of single.
Yet another band to receive a massive push from the BBC Sound Of 2007 poll, Ghosts display a similarly grit free approach to music as the hotly tipped Mika. Thus the sound of 2007 is clearly the sound of 20 odd years ago, bright and breezy but not entirely cutting edge. Think a sunnier Feeling, if such a thing were possible.
‘Pain’ has a slightly harder edge than anything from Jimmy Eat World’s eponymous breakthrough album, which could be as much down to the presence of Gil Norton (Foo Fighters, Pixies) behind the production desk as to any masterplan to outgrow the teeny-rocker tag they’ve been unfairly lumbered with on this side of the Atlantic.
In Dublin’s Nine IX Lives, we have that rarest of things – a convincing Irish rock band. Although they nail their colours firmly to the punk-pop mast, there’s a definite metal edge at work here, right from the opening riffs and their early Iron Maiden feel. It’s not perfect by any means (the production needs to be meatier and at six tracks they’re stretching their material a bit) but this is hugely encouraging stuff.
‘Click..Click..Boom!’ sounds for all the world like it should be a hip-hop track and there is a certain swagger and assurance at work here. Musically, this is a duet that sits on the edge of darkness and a track that places itself firmly in the eye of the storm. Producer Karl Odlum continues to bring out the best in Ham Sandwich (b-side‘Song In D’ is, to be honest, equally good) and there is a sense that they could take this anywhere they please. Best new Irish band? At the moment they’re a shoo in.
Having spent 10 years being beaten with a big stick marked ‘press’, Stereophonics found themselves in the rather strange position of being quite liked a couple of years ago, as they hinted at bringing a modern edge to their classic rock sound. Unfortunately, Kelly Jones has turned on his heels and retreated. ‘It Means Nothing’ is a big-hearted ballad that isn’t the most heinous thing out there, but doesn’t exactly set the world alight either. Business as usual then.
...so says School of Seven Bells frontman Benjamin Curtis, as he recounts how he was given a sneak listen to the No Line On The Horizon by his mates Edge and Bono.
‘Forwards’ has exactly the right amount of blissed out electronic ambience and wah-wah guitar drenched pop songs to appeal. It may not be cutting edge stuff, but with Zero 7 failing to impress with their recent album, this could well be the slow burning chill out hit of the summer.
With its driving, dirty, fuzzed-out guitars and frantic pacing, Kittser’s comeback single is as whiskey-fuelled as the weekend bender he describes in ‘Say No More’. Giving us a glimpse of his darker side, Kitt moves away from the cringe-worthy, lovelorn lyricisms which smothered 2003’s Square 1. The soppy innocence of the past has also been replaced by a new found edge, bordering on anger. The results are menacing and moody.Judging by some of the titles on his forthcoming LP (‘Don’t Fuck With Me,’ for example), there’s more to come. The honeymoon is over. And thank God for that.
From the moment the crash of Director’s instruments build to a wall of sound you know you’re in for something truly special. ‘Reconnect’ is one of the most impressive and intelligently constructed Irish debuts in an age. In parts as po-faced as Interpol, it is at its heart an abashed pop song fed astutely through new wave punk. Frontman Michael Moloney exudes an effortless cool with his sharp vocal delivery whilst those around him serve to make this one of the most exciting pieces of guitar music to come out of Ireland since The Edge struck the last chord of ‘Out Of Control’. Were it not for those pesky Flaming Lips, single of the fortnight without a doubt.
It only took Jay Haze and Samim, aka Fuckpony, a few months to write and record 'Children', but its underlying themes are the result of two lives spent on the edge. Haze and Samim's troubled experiences - including stints living homeless in San Francisco and selling LSD while touring with the Grateful Dead - are not obvious from the predominant musical soundtrack, an unusual mixture of deep old school house and wiry minimalism. However, scratch beneath the surface and cautionary tales like 'Cell Phone Hit' and 'Make Money Hoe' reveal the darker side of life. Their story probably warrants a good book or film, but until Sodebergh comes calling, we'll make do with 'Children'.
Don't let the tulle threads fool you - there’s a flinty edge in Maria Doyle-Kennedy's delivery that's far closer to Patti Smith or Marianne Faithful than any of the '90s vintage Lainey Keogh-goes-to-Lilith songbirds
Idlewild's follow-up to Hope Is Important shows no signs of any difficult second album syndrome. It is a vast improvement on their debut, as Roddy Woomble and friends seem to have discovered a more melodic nature, without sacrificing anything of their spiky, almost punk edge.
Out with the old, in with the new. Well, that’s the theory at least. In reality, the first singles review of the year is usually a pretty uninspiring experience, featuring as it does the warmed up leftovers of last year’s trends as opposed to the dawning of a brave new world, which doesn’t actually appear till around the middle of February.
Pats on the back all round then for Glen Wash, who at least offer the stirrings of something interesting. Based around one guy, Niall Glennon, from Longford but recorded in Milan, this is most definitely on the rough side (our copy comes with a hand drawn sleeve) but smacks of promise. Presumably recorded on a budget approaching zero, Glennon/Glen Wash still have the audacity to try and create a wall of guitar sound that pays homage to the days of Ride, Swervedriver et al and just about pull it off. This is deep down and dirty stuff, imbued with a rock ‘n’ roll edge that has been sadly missing from the domestic scene of late. Our advice to Glennon – get yourself a band together quick and start gigging.
To put it bluntly, they’re a bit rubbish. Third album in and not a lot has changed: this is a lightweight collection of cheery pop rock that pretends to have an edge.
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...
For all we might want to harp on about cutting edge this and radical that, the records which have made the big bucks over the past few years have been by nice, slightly middle-of-the-road, predominantly female singer songwriters.
Ronnie Drew has heard the song that was recorded as a special tribute to him by U2, Kila, Simon Carmody and a cast of leading Irish musicians. He talks to Hot Press editor Niall Stokes about his reaction.
Although the sound of 30 people making music is always going to have an uplifting edge to it, the songs here are less self-consciously happy-clappy than before.
Hot Press understands that there’s absolutely no concern in the U2 camp over four tracks from the band’s new album which leaked onto YouTube over the weekend.
Tara Angell’s Come Down has an edge which distinguishes it from the bland, ho-hum content of a lot of singer-songwriter albums. There’s a darkness undercutting her sensitive introspection. Thematically she is inspired by American Southern Gothic writers like William Faulkner, Flannery O’Connor and William Purdy, who focused on eccentric misfits and their search for love amid lives of crisis.
As I noted in my review of her 1995 album, Your Little Secret, it is about time Melissa Etheridge stopped screaming. Musically, lyrically, politically, as a lesbian. And she sure has. But don’t, for one moment, think she’s lost her cutting edge.
Perhaps I’m placing too many expectations upon the nine tracks that made the final cut, but suffice it to say that were it not for nostalgic value, this might well have been the album the discography forgot. Die-hard fans might well be appeased but for anyone seeking cutting edge, grab-you-by-the-cochlea dance music, then you won’t find it in this release.
Millar retains his own distinctive edge throughout, ensuring he can experiment with pop, folk and country styles yet keep a singular thread weaving through the album
It would be virtually impossible to get through a review of Mr. Estes’ teen murder movie without mentioning George Washington and River’s Edge, but if it shares plot points with these other fine dramas, Mean Creek is still uniquely, if often grimly compelling.
In common with most tales of childhood lost, Mean Creek’s dramatic fulcrum is a bully...
If there’s one thing that’s worse than a deathly dull sports movie, it’s a deathly dull American sports movie. Now dwell for a moment on the worst of this benighted genre (Hoosiers aka Best Shot may well have the edge here) and double it. That’s where Coach Carter’s at.
Baxter inhabits a soundscape very much of the moment, with lots of atmospheric noises, shuffling rhythms and shifting arrangements that have you on the edge of your seat for most of the album
Like Salvatores’ Mediterraneo, this is a beautiful, idyllic piece of cinema that feels like you’re sunbathing throughout, though the lazy, stifling sun is counterpointed by a lively child-centric zest and a dark, vaguely sinister edge. Indeed, I’m Not Scared is decidedly more thrilling than your average pretty Miramax chocolate-box picture.
Like the fine, if frequently disturbing, representations of wasted youth offered by Bully or The River’s Edge, Alpha Dog is drawn from a real life murder perpetrated by, you know, real live kids.
Steeped in classic sixties West Coast pop styles, albeit with a futuristic edge, this LA trio have a recent history that most like-minded outfits would kill for. They not only appeared on the first Austin Powers movie soundtrack but, far more impressively, they form the core of Brian Wilson's 12- piece backing band on his current stateside tour.
In a ten-years-after-Kurt Cobain piece entitled ‘When The Edge Moved To The Middle’ published in the New York Times recently, Sonic Youth’s Thurston Moore made a point of dispelling alt-rock nostalgia by declaring: “You wouldn’t know it now by looking at MTV, with its scorn-metal buffoons and Disney-damaged pop idols, but the underground scene Kurt came from is more creative and exciting than it’s ever been.
The Hype are one of countless brave bands struggling to make headway with no money to spend on recording and saddled with a manager in a similar plight
IN HIS intro to the rather splendid anthology Poetry With An Edge, Bloodaxe Books mainman Neil Astley maintained that it's not tried and trusted forms of poetry such as the sonnet which get tired, but the practitioners of those very forms.
IN HIS intro to the rather splendid anthology Poetry With An Edge, Bloodaxe Books mainman Neil Astley maintained that it's not tried and trusted forms of poetry such as the sonnet which get tired, but the practitioners of those very forms.
Unpredictability was always Townes' middle name. Just when you thought he was giving it heaps, he'd zip off into the stratosphere, not to be found for days - or weeks even. And A Far Cry From Dead is his postcard from the edge. Funny thing is, it's more polished and poised than anything he recorded while he shuffled on this mortal coil.
There’s enough edge on his third outing, The Trinity, to suggest he has at least an even-money chance of cutting it as a more credible latter-day incarnation of chest-beating predecessors like Shabba and Shaggy.
Instead of trying to be self-consciously cutting edge, Bowie spends most of his 26th studio album belting out orthodox rock ‘n’ roll songs with a band that includes long-time friend, producer and vibemaster Tony Visconti.
The name Domino has deservedly become synonymous with the most cutting-edge and vital contemporary music. At the beginning of this year, Domino unleashed long-playing recordings from Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy, Smog and Sebadoh in quick-fire succession. Now they close their 1999 account with a similar burst of welcome activity.
To most clubbers Smirnoff Experience has become synonymous with cutting edge club-nights all around Ireland, representing house, progressive, trance and, tonight, the harder end of dance music
Elevator is safer-sounding, less adventurous and less exciting than their last blast Make Up The Breakdown, an evolution possibly not unrelated to their being snapped up by a major label. The intimidating energy level remains undiminished, and there still isn’t a note out of place - all that’s missing is anything resembling a sharp edge. At its worst, the frantic cramming of hooks and harmony vocals can create a faintly twee, sugary effect, conjuring spectres of an amped-up They Might Be Giants. At its best, there’s more than enough bite and balls in the guitar work to render such objections irrelevant.
Jay Z is, almost effortlessly, a star. After the opening few numbers, all he has to do is wander out to edge of the stage and stare out into the crowd for the whole place to go apeshit
Meet the new Boss - not the same as the old Boss! Or is he? When you think about it, this is quite possibly the least surprising album of Springsteen’s entire career. Despite his glory days as a rocker beyond compare circa Born To Run/Darkness On The Edge Of Town, he has always been a folk artist, in spirit if not in deed.
Cutting edge techno-tronica DJ John Braine’s dream of putting out a compilation of Irish dance music produced by members of an internet discussion group was recently realised, a year after he first asked for musical submissions from fellow IE-Dancers.
Darkness At The Edge Of Town was the album when Bruce Springsteen and his repertory of characters finally grew up. Which makes it a hard act to follow.
How do you follow an album that sells 26 million copies? Since Jagged Little Pill, this is the dilemma that has haunted Alanis Morissette. A decade on, she feels able to come to terms with her whirlwind success.
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.
An escalation of violence within certain deprived pockets of the Travelling community has provoked a Garda clampdown that many regard as heavy-handed. Meanwhile, despite some notable efforts to improve cross-community relations, Travellers must continue to cope with discrimination, alienation and a growing accommodation crisis. Mic Moroney reports on a people struggling to survive in the shadow of the Celtic Tiger.
At 21 years of age Roy Keane is potentially Ireland’s most expensive ever footballer. Growing in stature at International and Club level, his increasing profile has also brought media attention of a type that hasn’t always been welcome. Here, he talks of his mistrust of the tabloids, coping with fame, his fairytale breakthrough to the top and his ambition to play in Italy at some stage of his career
It was lost in the heart of a crowd, where recollections grow wild with fancy. Caught in a ... a ... landslide, a light show, a movement, a positive noise, ayee-haw, a whoopee cushion of gigantic proportions, and ...
1980s heroes Echo And The Bunnymen have pulled off the seemingly impossible - they ve made a credible, well-received comeback. Interview: peter murphy.
In summer 2003, Ash played their biggest ever shows to date at Knebworth and the Phoenix Park alongside Robbie Willaims. Tim Wheeler chose to sport a Thin Lizzy T-shirt for the occasion, paying homage to a lifelong hero.
In the words of visionary film-maker David Cronenberg, "There are records you listen to when you want diversion, and there are records you go to when you're in spiritual trouble." We asked an array of today's brightest stars to tell us about the artists they feel provide the greatest sustenance in time of turmoil and upheaval.
It s a bit of a mouthful but it s actually the multi-talented Parisian musician, photographer, sometime pop producer and film maker Jay Alanski in an ongoing process of aural and spiritual development.
20 years and the last seven days: U2 have gone through a whole heavenhell of a lot to get here. One can only guess at Bono’s state of mind, high on the euphoria of playing the most ecstatic shows of his band’s career, drained from the freeze-dried exhaustion of flying home to Dublin from all points around Europe to endure the dim purgatories every son goes through when his father is dying.
Noise terrorists Paranoid Visions have had their first hit record after 30 years. Is this mere carelessness or part of a cunning plan to subvert the nation?
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 don’t associate Cavan with a cutting edge music scene – but Michael O'Brien aims to change that with his Origins club night. Who knows? One day Neil Young might even decide to pay a visit.
A rockumentary with an edge, The End Of Innocence unflinchingly tracks sun-kissed Dublin popsters The Thrills from early success to difficult second album syndrome.
E-drums, synths and home digital pianos – as Gerry Forde explains, Roland have been at the cutting edge of music technology for decades, and show no signs of slackening off.
Now that minimal techno has become a trendy cliché, it’s time for the cutting edge of dance music to find a new direction. Trentemoller has pointed the way with a compelling new album.
While women are still far from achieving equality of opportunity in music, the last thing women artists want – or need – is to be ghettoised, writes musician and journalist Kim V Porcelli. The point about the women who are at rock’s cutting edge – from Sinéad O’Connor through PJ Harvey to Peaches – is that they defer to no one in their pursuit of greatness.
Texas native Jonathan Caouette has caused a sensation in underground circles in the US with his brilliant and groundbreaking debut, Tarnation. A dazzling mix of autobiographical scenes, TV clips, movie footage and cutting-edge music, it might just be the best movie you’ll see this year.
A former drug dealer, he’s been shot at nine times and lived to tell the tale, emerging as one of the most controversial and uncompromising figures in rap. But there's more to 50 Cent than the popular legend suggests. For a start, there’s a new commercial edge to the music, as his US and Irish number one album The Massacre demonstrates. Plus, as one of the new faces of Reebok’s ‘I Am What I Am’ campaign, he’s taken to the role of cultural icon with considerable zest. Oh, and besides, he’s a bit of a wow with the ladies.
He may be better known as manager of The Corrs – but John Hughes has been a musician for well over 30 years. Besides, with a US top 50 album to his credit in the 1980s, his new record – the remarkable Wild Ocean – is just the latest instalment in an extraordinary journey that has taken him close to the edge and back. interview: Niall Stokes
Art with a capital ‘F’ or the real, raw thing? In London, Phil Udell strolls among – and at one point nearly falls over – an exhibition of controversial, cutting edge, headline-grabbing work from Hirst, Emin et al. But is it, like, y’know, any good?
When Nirvana exploded out of Seattle with the classic grunge album Nevermind, they were hailed as modern primitives, punk upstarts whose hard musical edge and authentic street style were the antithesis of the dominant ethos of corporate rock. Two years on however, their reputation as Rock 'n' Roll rebels is somewhat less secure. Bill Graham sifts through two new biographies of the band, and talks to Victoria clarke, the co-author of a third which has been effectively surpressed by the Nirvana 'corporation'.
At the tender age of seventeen, Dubliner Sinéad O'Connor packed up Ton Ton Macoute, packed her bags and headed for London. Two years on she's had a few close shaves, recorded with the Edge and is on the verge of seriously launching her career with an album in January. Interview: Molly McAnailly Burke.
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
Hot Press readers worldwide want to know about Bono for president, Larry for lead singer, that mysterious tattoo, the greatest book, and more. Bono and Larry smoulder on the coals of the hp mixed grill
Every hip indie musician is namechecking (and soundchecking) Gang Of Four these days. But there’s more to the band than scratchy guitars and funky rhythms – as guitarist Andy Gill tells us, their unique sound was forged during a time of musical innovation and political radicalism.
Noko, squadron leader of dance cosmonauts Apollo 440 talks about his new album Millennium Fever and the small matter of what the universe will be like in the year 2,000. Ground control: John Collins
Award-winning shorts director Robert Quinn and actor Andrew Scott on their new movie, Dead Bodies, a highly touted comedy-thriller set in contemporary Dublin
YOU CAN pretty much guess what was said at the first editorial meeting.
We re going to produce a magazine like Loaded, except without the humour, irony and people who possess a modicum of journalistic talent.
Hey pal - fancy a record deal? We like your style, we luuuurve the music and we're practically guaranteed to make you a star. So what's the hitch? Absolutely nish, my friend. Just sign the necessaries, and we'll proceed.
Just think of that lovely £500 advance. Sure, you're signing up for a six album deal, but what the hell? Maybe you fancy a management settlement for, say, 12 years? What is there to lose, little guy? In fact we're such an awesome organisation that you should maybe go for a record deal and a management contract, all in the same tidy package. Tell you what, my man, if you really want, we can throw in the publishing rights, also. Wouldn't that take care of all your problems at a stroke?
After the stadium rocking exploits of the Cranberries, Noel Hogan has taken a more experimental tack with his new electro-influenced project, Mono Band.
Closer, with its explicit language and nudity is one of the most controversial plays to grace the stage of Dublin's Peacock Theatre. Here one of its stars, ALI WHITE talks about her role
Trad quartet Lunasa, named to honour the Irish harvest god Lugh, who also gave his name to the month of August, have become something of gods themselves within the Irish trad scene. Jackie Hayden talks to them in the wake of the release of their new album Se.
The Police's reformation is the reunion they said would never happen, and according to guitarist Andy Summers the band is still the same mix of egos and visionaries.
Dara O'Briain has made it through hundreds of comedy gigs, only to come close to expiration in Dublin, choking on a grain of rice in the company of our interviewer.
PFM! Tolkien! Tales from Topographic Oceans! Myths and legends of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table! On ice!!! Yes, what fun we had back in the good old days of Prog Rock. GEORGE BYRNE outs himself as a recovered progster and recalls the glory days in the company of CHRIS SQUIRE from YES.
Jim Sturgess has attracted plenty of attention for his pin-up good looks and ability to master accents. He’s now further proved his diversity by adopting a Northern Irish brogue for high octane Belfast thriller 50 Dead Men Walking
Growing up in Sheffield, The Long Blondes’ Kate Jackson was sick of boring indie bands. So she decided to put together a group with a little more glamour about it.
Their contribution to Robbie Williams' 'Rock DJ' may have gone unacknowledged, but Soul Mekanik, aka brothers and acid house veterans Kelvin Andrews and Danny Spencer, are now earning kudos in their own right for their dynamic and eclectic '80s-influenced debut album, Eighty One.
MARK KAVANAGH reports on the continuing controversy over the awarding of Dublin's dance radio licence, while, below, EAMON SWEENEY, looks at the still- vibrant world of pirate broadcasting.
MARK KAVANAGH reports on the continuing controversy over the awarding of Dublin's dance radio licence, while, below, EAMON SWEENEY, looks at the still- vibrant world of pirate broadcasting.
U2 and Ash played Belfast to support the Yes Vote in the Belfast Agreement. Hot Press columnist Stuart Bailie was the compére for the evening. And it rocked, big style.
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.
On Belfast's Royal Avenue, there's a genuinely stirring event taking place. It's Saturday afternoon, the rain has held off for an hour, and the fourth Belfast Carnival is kicking in. Roll on the floats, the dance troupes, the chi-chi costumes, the giant skeletons and the enormous Picasso masks.
In a place where any parade - from St Patrick's Day to
As he limbers up for yet another sell-out Irish tour, guitar-picking hearthrob Tom Baxter is keen to scotch rumours of impending nuptials and wax lyrical about his love affair with this country
Declan Lynch's acclaimed account of an alcoholic coming to terms with his self-destructive past has been adapted for the stage and is proving to be a hit all over again.
Akron singer-songwriter Tim Easton has just settled in Alaska, a place where people “go mad or die”. Thankfully, he’s still alive and sane enough to tell the tale.
Irish football fans had plenty to cheer in 2004 as The Boys In Green marched to the top of their World Cup qualifying group, and Shelbourne went stud to stud with some of Europe’s finest.
With the countdown to the general election now officially under way, the most important aspect to remember amid all the hype is that the right to vote is both a privilege and a responsibility.
Colin Dale has had a long and impressive career. His love for music and his talent have cut through the dance scene s rampant egos and petty policking. He spoke to Richard Brophy
From being bottled off stage in Italy to supporting Garbage on a major European tour, to their excellent second album I Am Not A Doctor, life has certainly not been boring for Moloko. John Walshe caught up with them.
Paul Smith of Geordie punk-pop sensations Maxïmo Park talks to Phil Udell about breaking out of stylistic straight-jackets, the band's affinity with fellow northerners The Futureheads, and why Jose Mourinho's managerial philiosophy is equally as applicable to music as it is to football.
American singer-songwriter SHAWN COLVIN explains that her fourth and latest album A Few Small Repairs is about more than just her recent marital breakdown. Interview: JOE JACKSON
German dance music may be characterised by the likes of Paul Van Dyk, Sven Vath and Hardfloor, but the country has always boasted an underground
alternative. Richard Brophy talks to one of its main proponents, Pole.
"The Joshua Tree" clarifies how U2's vocation has become the revival and renewal of rock and the recovery of its most romantic values. It also highlights the group's new commitment to the song. Review by Bill Graham
Under the direction of Joe Devlin, the Focus Theatre has taken on an impressive range of projects – not least two plays that tackle burning contemporary issues. Devlin tells us how he’s been carrying on the Focus tradition.
RAIDIS NA GAELTACHTA seems an unlikely home for one of the most adventurous music shows on the Irish airwaves. Drop your prejudices and check out An Taobh Tuathail, says EAMON SWEENEY.
ED BYRNE can t wait to do The Late Late Show. Hopefully then, Irish people might realise who he is. BARRY GLENDENNING meets a young Dubliner who s being hotly tipped to win this year s Edinburgh Festival Perrier Award.
Having steamrolled its way across America, and through most of Europe, it seemed as if U2 s PopMart extravaganza might come to grief in the most unlikely of places their homeland of Ireland. Now however, one Supreme Court case on, U2 are scheduled to play not just two Dublin dates but a newly-added Belfast homecoming as well. Interview: MIKE EDGAR
Despite predictable criticism from certain quarters, Sarah McLachlan’s vision of “a celebration of women in music” has made the touring Lilith Fair one of the hottest tickets in rock in 1998. Tim Perry reports.
The show has already lost one team captain, EDDIE BANNON, and hasbeen devoured by critics, but producer COLM CROWLEY insists that Network 2 s Don t Feed The Gondolas is a big hit with the viewers. BARRY GLENDENNING reports.
The Flood Tribunal’s interim report has shaken the confidence of many voters in the government but as the Nice Treaty referendum approaches we need to keep a clear head
Veteran post-rockers Mogwai have just released arguably their finest record yet. On a suitably overcast day in France, band leader Stuart Braithwaite talks about the influence of Glasgow on their work – and explains the part played by ‘nonsense art’ in their music
Sunshine, killer skunk, low riders and being cool in the barbershop – even allowing for all the “shooting people and shit”, it’s easy to see why Tricky is happy with life in Los Angeles. And he’s also just made his best album since Maxinquaye.
Doctor John may be renowned as a laid-back Big Easy legend, but get him started on the Federal Government's treatment of his beloved New Orleans and he spits nails.
LCD Soundsystem's frontman James Murphy talks about working with Justin Timberlake, his Cork ancestors and recalls the time he almost hooked up with Arcade Fire
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.
He helped invent synth-pop and is famous for his huge open-air shows. Now Jean-Michel Jarre is going back to basics to reprise his landmark Oxygene album.
Comic book genius Alan Moore, who was also the original author of the big screen Jack the Ripper yarn, From Hell, has now turned his attention to fellow visionary/madman, William Blake. Peter Murphy reports
...Or at least it does where Halloween is concerned, as the old pagan feast is transformed into an orgy of amateur pyrotechnics, civil disobedience and open-air boozing.
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…
How Jools Holland, Jo Brand and peter alexander ended up wrestling on the floor while a woman dressed as a giraffe offered them beer. Or, if you prefer your sub-heads sedate: peter murphy meets The vivid.
Hunter S. Thompson gets the biopic treatment he deserves courtesy of Oscar-winning director Alex Gibny who wants to remind the world just how important a social commentator the Great Gonzo was.
Comedian JACK DEE, the supremo of sarcasm, the sultan of sardonicism, is back on the road and he s headed for this green and pleasant land, for a string of dates in April. Interview: Andrew Darlington
Sigur Rss are the latest highly-rated Icelandic export. They talk to PETER MURPHY about ambition, inventing their own language and the showband circuit
NO DOUBT word has reached you of the zealous young man who hot-footed it into the lions’ enclosure at London Zoo brandishing a bible and promptly got severely mauled for his efforts.
He’s one of the most modest figures on the Northern Ireland music scene. But with David Holmes and Duke Special among his cheerleaders, it’s clear that Robyn G. Shiels is a special talent indeed.
STUART BAILIE recalls some of the social and political movements that have occupied U2's hearts and minds down through the years... not least, the Springfield Garbage Dump campaign
But where would you be in the middle of the night with no bells and your knickers ringing? Or more to the point, where would you be without the new Hot Press/Heineken link up with Tower Records on Sundays?
NIALL STANAGE identifies the contenders in the race to put a new youth-oriented radio station on air in Dublin and speaks to FIONA McLOUGHLIN and DONAL SCANNELL, CEO and Head of Music respectively at FUSE FM, one of the applicants.
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.
MAZZY STAR are still going strong, but HOPE SANDOVAL has also got a side project up and running. She tells NICK KELLY all about
HOPE SANDOVAL AND THE WARM INVENTIONS and her collaborations with everyone from The Chemical Brothers to Bert Jansch
How Jools Holland, Jo Brand and Peter Alexander ended up wrestling on the floor while a woman dressed as a giraffe offered them beer. Or, if you prefer your sub-heads sedate: Peter Murphy meets The vivid.
You know him as the straight-talking turkey and Eurovision contender. But, in the confines of his 'pad', Dustin also turns out to be quite the indie rock connoisseur.
colin murphy is living proof that there is such a thing as a comedic afterlife. The Downpatrick funny man, who once "died every week for six months", tells barry glendenning all about heaven down here.
While 2004 has not been an especially spectacular year to date, there is good reason to believe that rocks big guns are likely to deliver the kind of records that will revive spirits in the industry. Chris Donovan previews some of the albums that are likely to top the sales – and the critical – charts before 2004 is out...
Funny, frightening and just about believable, Dig! is the ultimate indie-pop rockumentary. But the movie, which chronicles a seven year rivalry between The Dandy Warhols and The Brian Jonestown Massacre, only tells half the story says director Ondi Timoner. Interview by Tara Brady.
Mystery still surrounds the tragic death of a student whose body was found washed ashore on a Wexford beach exactly a year ago. Now, his mother has accused the Gardai of neglect.
UK white hopes mansun have toned down their visual image but their music remains as defiantly maverick and angular as ever. Interview: deirdre cartmill.
A breathtaking variety of acts have come together - as Lennon might have put it - to focus attention on the ongoing genocide in Darfur, under the auspices of Amnesty International.
Brendan Kennelly s Book Of Judas is soon to hit the stage. Peter Murphy reports on a work which had Bono enthralled, and predicted many of the more unappealing features of contemporary Ireland
Claudia Carroll is a busy actress and author, but she still allows our Jackie Hayden the time of day, gives him a hot scoop and introduces him to her haunted room.
Hosting his own chat-show, running away with the circus and wrestling David O’Doherty whilst swathed in bubblewrap – it’s all in a day’s work for Irish comedy’s busiest performer, Jason Byrne.
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
Hot Press’ senior art aficionado, john m. farrell, reviews the main attraction currently on s how at the Irish Museum of Modern Art and argues that the title of the exhibition may in fact be a misnomer.
CRAIG FITZSIMONS talks to KURT JONES and DAVID KELLY, writer/director and star respectively, of Waking Ned, a gentle comedy set in Ireland, but shot in the Isle of Man. Pics Cathal dawson.
A full 17 years after their acclaimed eponymous debut exploded onto the American alt-rock landscape, Milwaukee malcontents The Violent Femmes are back with a new album (Freak MAgnet) and the same old typically off-kilter worldview. Interview: PETER MURPHY.
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.
RICHARD THOMPSON s new album Mock Tudor consolidates his position as one
of the most articulate and influential songwriters around. GEORGE BYRNE met him.
“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.
While one Irish Ronan is currently attempting to break the US market, another already has. COLM O'HARE meets RONAN HARDIMAN, the music composer behind Michael Flatley’s successes and discovers a considerable solo talent
GREEN DAY have had a meteoric rise over the last 18 years, from poky Dublin dives to colossal international stadia. But despite their maturing worldview and increasing political articulacy, they’re still as exciting a kick-ass punk rock group as ever.
He’s the DIY pop genius who, in the space of a year, has gone from stacking the fruit shelves at Marks & Sparks to masterminding Kylie’s next record. Meet Calvin Harris the bedsit wunder-kind.
John Walshe had a ringside seat for all the music, speeches, laughs and tears that made the 2002 hotpress Irish Music Awards in Belfast a night to remember.
FROM A WHISPER TO A SCREAM is a major new six-part RTE series. Directed by DAVID HEFFERNAN, and featuring new interviews with the major players including Van Morrison, Bob Geldof, U2 and Siniad O Connor it traces the history of Irish music, from showbands to boybands and beyond. By PETER MURPHY.
David bickley, aka Mobius of hyper[borea], tells Olaf Tyaransen about dance music as gaeilge, Bronze Age atmospheres and how he came to throw his Hot Press Award off a cliff.
Having come to prominence as a pancaked drag queen in Cowboys And Angels, actor Allen Leech gets to massage canine testicles in Paddy Breathnach’s new film.
They’re the quirky electro-rockers who have got the music industry buzzing. But don’t mistake Passion pit for another bunch of MGMT clones. As their viral hit ‘Sleepyhead’ confirms, their whimsical sound is entirely unique – as is their enthusiasm for sampling obscure Irish harpists
Four Weddings And A Funeral and Notting Hill man Richard Curtis is back with another film that has heartstrings and funnybones in its sights. But is Love Actually any good? Craig Fitzsimons and Tara Brady endeavour to find out
In the following pages, hear about Bono's top secret solo album; meet The Joshua Trio, the band whose mission is to bring U2's music to a wider audience; thrill to an appreciation of The Fab Four in their native tongue; and, last but not least, discover The Greatest U2 Fan Letter Ever Written! And, remember, don't believe everything you read...
Initially billed as a celebration of gay culture by its organisers, the forthcoming DUBLIN MARDI GRAS seems to be splitting its supposed target community right down the middle. Although its supporters see it as a laudable complement to the long-established Gay Pride Festival, there are those who view it as simply a cynical money-making exercise on the part of businessmen unconnected with the gay scene. STUART CLARK reports on the brewing controversy.
Journalist NEIL McCORMICK was a schoolmate of BONO when U2 were taking baby steps. Over the past 25 years their paths have frequently crossed, inevitably in rather more exotic circumstances than a classroom. As another year draws to a close, they meet up again: the result is an unusually intimate portrait of a man who came not to save the world but to serenade it. Plus: a close-up look at some of the most striking songs on All That You Can t Leave Behind
To coincide with her first solo album, Imeall, Mairéad Ní Mhaonaigh talks to Jackie Hayden about the pleasures and pressures of inter-band relationships, motherhood, the Irish language and her solo adventure.
With their Adventura Majestica album currently enjoying critical and commercial success, Sack explain what a long, strange trip it s been. Stephen Robinson holds the tape recorder
As Beck contemplates a belated sequel to Odelay, feel free to ask him any old question you like – just as long as it isn’t about that recent break-up with his long-time girlfriend. Oh, and make sure you don’t have the sniffles. Nadine O’Regan packs a hankie
Indie-hit Once director John Carney talks to Tara Brady about how to make an Irish musical, while star Glen Hansard confesses he was pleasantly surprised at the film’s success.
In Vienna, along with another 99,999 people, LIAM FAY witnesses what may well be the finest rock n roll extravaganza ever mounted and discovers that its got both art and heart in abundance as well.
Colm O’Hare talks to Kerry King, guitarist with thrash-metal outfit Slayer, and discovers that under that murderous, violent exterior lies a great big pussy cat . . . almost.
It's been sniffer dogs and paddywagons all the way as The enemy visit some of Britain's less salubrious Rock n' Roll locales. If they can stay out of jail, though a support tour with Oasis awaits.
When Tommy Tiernan held court in the Hot Press Chat Room at Electric Picnic recently, he had no idea the kind of shit storm that would unfold. During what was in effect a spontaneous, unscripted live performance – not unlike an appearance on The Late Late Show that also sparked controversy – he told a story about a couple of Jews who reproached him after a performance in New York. The result? He has been accused of anti-semitism and widely vilified. But those who know Tiernan are quite clear that the accusations are completely wrong. So – in order to allow people to judge for themselves – here is the full text of the Chat Room interview.
Far from it in fact with even the world of advertising now bestowing its blessings, things seem to have come full cycle for one of
Ireland s most original and enduring songwriters. SIOBHAN LONG meets SONNY CONDELL.
Author and environmentalist JUDITH HOAD has stood fast against the modern gods of progress and profit. But, as concerns about GM technology grow, it becomes ever-more important that voices like hers are heard. By ADRIENNE MURPHY. Pic: Cathal Dawson
Having undergone a punishing regime of drink, drugs and debauchery during Guns N’ Roses’ heyday, few thought that iconic guitar-slinger Slash would ever again venture out into the mainstream rock arena. But having put together a motley crew of collaborators in Velvet Revolver, he’s now back at No. 1 in the album charts and rocking harder than ever.
In another case of “Bono made me do it”, former hotpress-er and U2 biographer Neil McCormick explains to Jackie Hayden how he ended up living near Bob The Builder and about the travails of interviewing all four U2 men on four different continents in the same evening. Photos by Mark Harrison.
It is 15 years, almost to the day, since sound engineer JOE O'HERLIHY did his first gig with U2. SIOBHÁN LONG profiles the man with the longest beard in rock'n'roll (well, nearly) . . .
It s been a long, long way from there to here and DONAL LUNNY has been at the centre of things every step of the journey. He has achieved enormous acclaim and considerable success with Planxty, The Bothy Band and Moving Hearts. Now with the launch of his latest band and their eponymously titled album COOLFIN, he takes time out to reflect on all of the major figures who have contributed to the extraordinary revival of folk and traditional music that has taken place over the past 30 years. He also recalls the highs and the lows the heartbreak, the good times and the great music that he himself has enjoyed as one of Ireland s finest and most influential musicians. Interview: Niall Stokes. Pics: Colm Henry
LIAM CLANCY is in sparkling form as he looks forward to the release of a documentary on his life, which explains how he escaped the Irish Ayatollahs and wowed a young Bob Dylan in Greenwich Village.
LIAM FAY investigates the strange phenomenon of the RAINBOW PARTY, a pseudo-democratic movement dedicated to the abolition of politics and politicians , and meets its leader, the enigmatic RAINBOW GEORGE.
Exclusive: The new Coldplay album, X & Y, is set to finally hit the stores next month, and Hot Press has been granted a special sneak preview. Ed Power here gives a track-by-track guide to one of the most anticipated albums of the year.
We asked the fans to vote for U2's Greatest Hits and they did - in their thousands. The result is a selection of 20 tracks which, without doubt, would combine to produce a record to rank among the weightiest and most powerful anthologies in the history of rock. The full track listing is not without its controversial selections and omissions, however. Bill Graham and Niall Stokes take us through the fans' vision of the fab four's dream album.
Contrary to popular belief, not all Australians are surf fanatics from birth. However, that doesn’t mean that participating in the sport isn’t a hugely rewarding experiance, as Hot Press’ resident Antipodean Danielle Brigham discovered when she travelled to Bundoran ahead of the town’s eagerly anticipated ocean festival.
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 a rare interview, Simpsons writer Mike Scully talks about the show’s A-list musical guests, his love for Ned Flanders and upsetting the entire population of Brazil. He also tells us what to expect from The Simpsons Movie, which blockbusters its way onto the big screen in the summer.
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.
...or was it? U2's recent Irish dates were greeted with everything from wide-eyed adoration to open hostility. BILL GRAHAM was in the crowd at Pairc Uí Caoimh and the RDS and puts the Zoo TV experience into perspective. Pix: COLM HENRY
They were the great new hopes of Irish rock. Until, with their second album in the can, they decided to, er, call it a day. Thankfully, Delorentos have changed their mind and are about to step back into the fray with new LP You Can Make Sound. Hot Press joins them for a contemplative walk by the sea.
Musical trends come and go but the blues continues to thrive. In Ireland, the scene is now stronger than ever. With her reputation growing internationally, Mary Stokes talks about her role as a performer - and her friendships with numerous blues legends. Oh, and Van Morrison's birth sign!
Well when you've conquered the world, what else can the biggest band on the planet do except go into space? BONO and LARRY discuss matters cosmic and personal with Olaf Tyaransen
The good and beneficial use of music and the hard and brutal treatment of junkies next big thing finley quaye delivers the sublime and the ridiculous in equal measure to jonathan o brien.
The outlaw French directors’ leading man of choice, Vincent Cassel is also a mainstay of the Kourtrajmé collective, husband to Monica Bellucci and the star of the comic-horror guerilla feature Satan.
Until now, that is! DAVID PUTTNAM is one of Britain s most successful film directors of the past 20 years. But, as the turn of the century approaches, he believes that the control exerted by Hollywood over the film, entertainment and information industries globally may yet inspire a violent reaction. Interview: CATHY DILLON
Cult actor Crispin Glover talks about his taboo-busting directorial debut What Is It?, playing George McFly in Back To The Future and meeting Andy Warhol at Madonna and Sean Penn’s wedding.
As U2 gear up for the release of No Line On The Horizon, they meet HP to talk about the creation of their latest masterwork, meeting world leaders, the way they’re perceived in Ireland, the current state of the music business and their future plans.
From Oasis to The Ping Pong Bitches, ALAN McGEE is living proof that there s life after
success, excess, Labour, near-death and, oh yes, Creation Records. Even if you re a Rangers
supporter. Interview: STUART CLARK
He’s collaborated with Bono, Mick Jagger, and Destiny’s Child, hung out with Bill Clinton and co-wrote the biggest selling rap album of all time. but that’s only the beginning. The multi-talented Wyclef Jean here discusses George W. Bush, the death of his father and why Michael Jackson might not be such a strange guy after all
With the new Outhouse Centre as its nucleus, South William Street looks set to become the cultural and economic hub of Dublin s gay scene. adrienne murphy reports.
Giant lemons, 100ft toothpicks and enough lights to put Las Vegas on full-scale UFO alert. Helena Mulkerns watches with gob well and truly smacked as U2's PopMart extravaganza opens for business at the Sam Boyd Stadium.
Pix: All Action
Freebird Records owner Brian Foley explains why over the past 25 years his store has become a firm favourite with such luminaries as Sonic Youth, Elvis Costello and U2.
This is the time of year when two major national events, the Galway Arts Festival and the Galway Races, make Galway the destination of choice for many Irish and international funsters. But the City of the Tribes has a lot more to offer – including some of the best live music and clubbing in Ireland.
In the magical, wind-swept landscape of Ireland's remote north-west the cameras roll as U2's Bono and Maire of Clannad make the video for their collaborative single "In A Lifetime". Bill Graham joins the entourage at work and at play and talks to the main protagonists.
Jeff Buckley, fresh from his recent triumphant gig in Whelan’s, and with his debut album Grace just released, tells Patrick Brennan why he doesn’t want to live or die in L.A., how Cooney and Begley are getting on in New York and about why he needed therapy after meeting Bob Dylan!
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.
On the occasion of the first Irish screening of Nagisa Oshima’s Ai No Corrida (In The Realm Of The senses), banned for 18 years because of its explicit sex scenes involving lead actor Tatsuya Fujii’s hardcore hard-on’s, Neil McCormick takes a ride through the history of the ’members’ of the film world’s penis colony and while he’s ‘at it’, talks to film sexpert David Sullivan about the ever narrowing gap between the porn film industry and mainstream cinema.
He’s been at the helm with U2 since 1979. In the intervening time he’s been involved in every aspect of the career of the biggest rock band in the world. In a rare in-depth interview, Paul McGuinness talks about the highs and lows of managing the fab four and reflects on the State of the Nation and the implosion of the Irish economy.
As host of her own show on Network 2, CLARE McKEON is no stranger to controversy. Here she talks frankly to OLAF TYARANSEN about abortion, drugs, motherhood and her legendary temper.
Great weather for ducks, they say. This island has been deluged. Inundated. East to west, south to north. And it is, if anything, worse to the east. The Rhine is already many metres above normal as far inland as Köln. By the time it subsides, billions of marks worth of damage will have been done.
They may be nothing more than a tribute band but if so, they re a damn good one. JACK L and his BLACK ROMANTICS have been unanimously lauded for their Jacques Brel-inspired Wax album: The idea was to bridge the gap between Brel and Scott Walker. Now Jack L himself talks to JOE JA
Now taking the solo route, Hugh Cornwell talks about his latest album, reminsces about kicking back with David Bowie, squaring off back-stage with U2 and cooling his heels in Pentonville.
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.
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."
Alryte! Liam Fay gets on the blower to Phil Redmond, the scouser who launched a thousand Brookside storylines, who chin wags about lesbianism, wife-beating, Emmerdale and, er, those Farm t-shirts!
During a career spanning almost forty years as a professional musician, Van Morrison has created an extraordinary body of work. A masterful musician, songwriter, producer, arranger and musical director, he possesses one of the most uniquely recognisable and powerful voices in music. His influence on contemporary music has been profound but far from resting on his laurels, his latest work Back On Top ranks among his finest albums to date. For Van Morrison, the search goes on. It was particularly appropriate, therefore, that he was chosen to become the first inductee into the Hot Press Irish Music Hall of Fame, at a special ceremony there last week. Report: Niall Stanage.
. . . by regular Hot Press contributor
HELENA MULKERNS, is one of nineteen short stories by young Irish writers collected together in Shenanigans, a compendium of darkly humorous end-of-the-century fiction.
ANI Di FRANCO has confirmed her position as one of the 90s most compelling performers with her new album Up, Up, Up, Up, Up Up. But there has always been more to Di Franco than her music. Here she talks to SIOBHAN LONG about her hard-won independence, corporate America and the stupidity of conservativism.
Siobhan MacGowan s debut album Chariot confirms that the sister of you-know-who is a force to be reckoned with in her own right. Here she tells Joe Jackson how her music charts an emotional journey from darkness into light. Pix: COLM HENRY
As the founder of Island Records Chris Blackwell can claim a unique role in the evolution of popular music. He pulls up a chair and shoots the breeze about his Jamaican heritage, his relationship with Bob Marley and taking power-lunches with U2.
David Gray's debut album A Century Ends signalled the emergence of an innovative singer-songwriter with forthright lyrics, a remarkable voice, and an unusual degree of integrity. Just, one warning: mention the words 'introverted' or 'soul-searching' and you run the risk of being beaten over the head with a guitar... Interview: Lorraine Freeney
JEAN BUTLER was at the very heart of the Riverdance phenomenon, as the original Eurovision interval set-piece was transformed into the most successful dance stage-show ever. Now, for the first time, she tells her side of that extraordinary saga. In a blistering broadside, she accuses her co-star MICHAEL FLATLEY of rampant egotism and argues that she's never been given the credit she deserves for the show's sensational impact. And then there's the question of money...
Interview: JOE JACKSON
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
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.
They may sport one of the most original sounds in rock’n’roll – but along the way they’ve been influenced by some of the greats.
STUART BAILIE identifies the ten (plus!) key influences on the music of U2
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.
Stylish purveyors of streamlined, controlled Pop, 'Til Tuesday were one of the late eighties most critically acclaimed acts. But for frontwoman, AIMEE MANN, life in that band was often a frustrating and demoralising experience. Now, however, having languished in record company limbo for far too long, AIMEE has re-emerged blinking into the daylight with an album which Elvis Costello says will have male songwriters blushing with envy. GEORGE BYRNE meets the Mann woman herself.
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?
From Kilkenny to LA, kerbdog have been on a seven-year learning curve that's produced a powerful second album, On The Turn. barry glendenning hears how, after an inauspicious beginning, they finally got their act together. Pic: cathal dawson.
He's shot U2 and Madonna and numerous nudes, formulated an "aesthetic of the dick", published the perfect magazine and, most recently, hit the headlines for endeavouring to make the Queen of England look "really fresh". He's Rankin Waddell, co-founder of Dazed And Confused and probably the most renowned fashion, music and pop culture snapper on the planet
With a new novel Eclipse published to universal acclaim, the enigmatic Irish writer emerges from the deep gloomy cavern he inhabits to discuss art, sex, love, hate, humour, death and the battle of the sexes. Interview: JOE JACKSON.
Portraits of the author: CATHAL DAWSON
Peter Murphy considers Nirvana’s legacy and wonders will we ever hear their like again. Producer Butch Vig and Josh Homme of Queens Of The Stone Age help him with his enquiries
CHRIS DONOVAN looks at the incremental progress of the would-be King of Slane, who tells him about life, love, Christianity, veganism and scoring for films Plus: Profiles of Slane s other attractions, MACY GRAY, MEL C, BRYAN ADAMS, THE SCREAMING ORPHANS and DARA. Also: A Quickie with LORD HENRY MOUNTCHARLES
In a heartfelt interview, Dolores O’Riordan talks to Hot Press about her new solo record, her decision to move to Canada and the debilitating effects of fame. Plus, why a Cranberries reunion may be a matter of ‘when’ rather than ‘if’.
Hot Press is 20 years old? Drokk it , so is 2000 AD! The mag edited by an Alien, produced by Art & Script-Droids, and read by Earthlets everywhere the one which revolutionised the comic industry, and of the Graphic Novel. ANDY DARLINGTON assesses its cultural impact and legacy.
Hot Press crime correspondent STUART CLARK
preaches zero tolerance to MASSIVE ATTACK and in return gets the
lowdown on their new album, Bruce n Tarby-style hobnobbing with Radiohead, and why Bristol City piss all over Bristol Rovers
With her stinging one-liners and droll, deadpan delivery, JO BRAND has established herself as the Queen of British comedy. In the run up to her Dublin appearance, she talks about men, booze, cakes and Gary Bushell to LIAM FAY, and explains why she would eventually like to become an MP.
With his pounding third novel, The Rooms, Declan Lynch has written one of the books of the year – a driven story of love, lust and alcohol that introduces one of the great anti-heroes of contemporary fiction.
A flyover near the old Harland & Wolff shipyard was the starting point for a remarkable three months that has seen Franz Ferdinand challenging U2 and Coldplay for the title of ‘Biggest Band In The World'. Daredevil photographic exploits completed, Hot Press jumped on their tour bus and got the lowdown on Snoop, Bono, Kanye West, Natasha Bedingfield and nights of debauchery with the Scissor Sisters.
U2, Elvis Costello, The Pogues, The Waterboys, Emmylou Harris, Hothouse Flowers, The Everly Brothers, Christy Moore just some of the dozens of artists who contribute to an adventurous new five part TV series which traces the extraordinary return journey that Irish traditional music has made to America and beyond. Here, Liam Fay previews the programmes, talks to Philip King who originated and nurtured the project and hears many of the participants explain how they discovered the importance and influence of Irish music.
As the management force behind Boyzone, Westlife and Samantha Mumba, LOUIS WALSH is Ireland s Mr. Pop. In a candid interview with Joe Jackson he talks about his relationships with his acts, the ones that got away, the importance of the producer, the uselessness of critics and why he s unlikely to end up managing Van Morrison. Portraits: Cathal Dawson
CHRIS BARRY's attempts to free himself from his FM104 contract have resulted in one of the messiest and most ill-tempered court battles seen in Ireland for a long time. STUART CLARK analyses the proceedings so far and profiles some of Barry's shock-jock contemporaries across the water.
Arriving in Dublin in the last sixties as a 16 year old guitar wunderkind, Belfast born Gary Moore embarked on a musical career that has seen him go through several metamorphoses and achieve numerous notable success in the process.
Who better to launch this year’s Music Show than Irish band of the moment The Script? In a taster of what to expect from October’s RDS weekender, Danny, Glen and Mark treated a roomful of fans, music students and industry professionals to their thoughts on illegal downloading, songwriting, the dreaded Auto-tune and touring with Macca and U2.
With his work on the soundtrack to In The Name Of The Father bringing him into the full glare of media attention Gavin Friday takes this opportunity to put to rest any accusations of riding on U2’s coat-tails. Confident and brimming with ideas for his solo career, The Spotlight Kid gives the lowdown to an eager BILL GRAHAM.
Padraig Harrington talks about gay golfers, stalkers on the tour, the potential of Rory McIlroy and the death of his father. And, he says, his Open win was just the beginning.
Well, so would you be if you had to wear all that hideous make-up. Barry Glendenning meets FRANK KELLY, the long-established actor and comedian who now finds himself in the curious position of being best-known for shouting 'Feck!', 'Drink!', 'Girls!' and 'Arse!' fr. Jack hackett, this is your other life . . .
Black & White Pix: CATHAL DAWSON
. . . Or not, as the case may be. In this extremely revealing interview with peter murphy, henry rollins speaks frankly about relationships, violence, depression, squaring up to Al Pacino and the problems that come with a life lived on the road
Although critics have discerned all manner of political and religious significance in There Will Be Blood, director Paul Thomas Anderson insists that it's a horror film about the birth of California.
As the punk revolution took hold in the UK, Manchester was notable for the bleak, industrial soundtrack even its most successful bands were making. But that all changed with the explosion there of a new and hedonistic culture, centred in and around The Hacienda, a club run by the city's most influential music biz entrepreneur, the boss of Factory Records, TONY WILSON. The story of the transformation of the city into the centre of rock'n'roll's emerging drug and club culture – of the change from Manchester to Madchester – is told in 24 Hour Party People. With the Happy Mondays as it primary musical focus, there's no shortage of on-screen drugs and fighting – but this is really the extraordinary saga of one of the great rock'n'roll towns, in all its gory glory… Tara Brady reports
Formula One's plucky outsider Eddie Jordan talks about motor sport's party-hard reputation, jamming with Bryan Adams and winning to the British national anthem.
It’s been 25 years since the legendary Dr. Strangely Strange last toured. Now they’re back on the road, in the Highlands and Islands of Scotland. Tim Booth kept this diary.
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.
The Stunning's new EP, Deja Voodoo, features cover versions of Beatles, Byrds, Dylan and Captain Beefheart tracks. But what about the more intriguing and embarrassing records that lurk within Steve Wall's collection? Olaf Tyaransen investigates and unearths a few surprises like The Goons, BBC sound effects albums, and ...Barry White?!
From pioneering ambient-trad with Clannad, through to her brand new concept album 'Two Horizons', Moya Brennan can now look back on 30 years of lending her voice and harp to some of the most distinctive music ever to come out of Ireland.
After an undoubtedly slack 2003, 2004 was the year in which TV comedy once again came into its own. In addition to to further series from Monkey Dust, Peep Show, Little Britain, 15 Storeys High and Curb Your Enthusiasm, there were also excellent new shows in the shape of The Smoking Room, The Mighty Boosh, Nighty Night and Catterick. In particular, the forum for alternative humour provided by BBC3 and BBC4 continued to provide an invaluable creative outlet for the oddballs, misfits and mavericks of British comedy.
Advances in computer technology are set to have a more dramatic influence on our lives than eighty years of developments in motor transport. In this, the first of a new regular column called Cyber Walking, Gerry McGOVERN puts you under starter’s orders.
The fourth series of RTÉ Two's highly-acclaimed Other Voices, presented by John Kelly, was recorded over an extraordinary eight days during the madcap run-up to Christmas, in the thoroughly invigorating coastal environs of Dingle. Hot Press reporter Craig Fitzsimons was there to soak up the phantasmagoria, as some of the hottest talent from Ireland and abroad descended on the tranquil Kerry town to make heavenly music.
Barry Glendenning had a good idea: as a journalistic exercise – and a guarantee of public humiliation – someone should try their hand at stand-up comedy. Indeed, it was such a very good idea, that he was promptly Hot Press-ganged into doing it himself. This, then, is the true-life story of one man who stood up to be counted.
...IS COMING TO TAKE YOU AWAY! WHEN JOE JACKSON WENT TO INTERVIEW BONO AT U2'S SECRET DUBLIN RECORDING BASE, HE HAD NO IDEA WHAT TO EXPECT. WHAT HE GOT WAS A CRAZY ROLLERCOASTER RIDE THROUGH THE EXTRAORDINARY WORK-IN-PROGRESS WHICH WILL BECOME U2'S FOLLOW-UP TO THE ACCLAIMED "ACHTUNG BABY!", WITH BONO AT THE WHEEL AND AN UNSEEN PRESENCE WORKING THE ACCELERATOR LIKE A DEMON. "RECORDS SHOULD BE MORE OF A TRIP," SAYS THE MAN IN THE WRAPAROUND SHADES. FASTEN YOUR SEAT BELTS THEN. THIS WILL BE NO ORDINARY RECORD. AND THIS IS NO ORDINARY INTERVIEW.
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
BERNADETTE SANDS-McKEVITT, sister of Bobby Sands, is vice chairperson of the 32-County Sovereignty Committee, a body which has taken the lead in offering public opposition to Sinn Féin's peace strategy. Over the course of an historic weekend in Ireland north and south, NIALL STANAGE spoke to her about life as a Republican dissident.
Last month, An Bord Pleanála gave the green light for a Superdump in Kildare which would take all Dublin’s commercial and domestic waste for a decade. Roddy O’Sullivan reports on the reaction in Kill, where local residents are convinced that there was political interference with the planning process.
Michelin star man Dylan McGrath has brought something of a rock ‘n’ roll aesthetic to Irish cooking. In a slap-up feast of an interview, he talks about his West Belfast childhood, kitchen stabbings and why he’s no time for mumsy housewives' choice chefs.
With their latest album Riot Act, Pearl Jam have recaptured the blistering form of their first three albums. Matt Cameron, once of Seattle comrades Soundgarden, gives an insight into how the band has outlasted and outperformed most of its contemporaries
ned o'hanlon and maurice linnane, the men behind media company dreamchaser productions, aren't given to false modesty. And why should they be, given that their recent list of clients includes Garth Brooks, U2 and the Rock 'N' Roll Hall Of Fame? siobhÁN LONG meets the men who once adopted Gary Oldman for an all-night bender in America.
Allen Long put his own life on the line, smuggling dope from Colombia to the US in massive quantities. The business made him wealthy and gave him a taste for both the good life and the fast, white powder. But then it all went wrong: after some years on the run, Long was caught and sentenced to five years in jail.
Now author Robert Sabbag has put his extraordinary story in print. hotpress meets "the American Howard Marks"
From a commercial point of view it hasn't exactly been all sweetness and light for SONNY CONDELL but his new album Someone To Dance With should bring a smile to his face. Interview: Siobhán Long
Ross Fitzsimons goes to Portugal’s Euro 04 in search of the beautiful game and the perfect bowl of cataplana, and discovers more than he bargained for – including the ribbon of death.
Fianna Fail justice spokesperson John O Donoghue wants the Gardam to pursue a policy of zero tolerance. But how would it work in reality? liam Fay conducts a social experiment. Artist s impression: david rooney.
In the run-up to the long-awaited reunion gigs by the legendary eighties folk-rock-jazz band Moving Hearts, Jackie Hayden talks to saxophonist Keith Donald and percussionist Noel Eccles.
NIALL STOKES takes a very personal journey back through the music and memories of a friendship with a man he was proud to have known
THE DRIVE to Cork was a lonely one. Ry Cooder on the deck, that sweet slide guitar shooting off tracers: the memories, stacked up like a vast
rack of on-line CDs, kept slipping in and out of the engagement slot. No need ever to press the play button. Now and then I had to hold back the
tears as the music of past friendship flooded the car and, with it, a terrible awareness of all the things that might have, but hadn't, been done.
On the release of a double CD retrospective of his forty years as a performer-songwriter, Johnny McEvoy talks to Jackie Hayden about his early days as Ireland’s answer to Bob Dylan, meeting the great man himself, supporting and introducing The Rolling Stones, defending The Wolfe Tones, not apologising for the troubles in the North, U2 and the key albums that have inspired him.
There s not a Keith Chegwin in sight as STUART CLARK visits L!VE TV, the station that could soon be introducing Ireland to the delights of Rusty the bouncing dwarf weatherman and the rabbit who wants to present Newsnight.
Some cities have all the luck - Los Angeles is not one of them. As it begins rebuilding after its third major disaster in as many years, our man on the spot, Tomas Conlon, writes that, when not even the ground beneath your feet can be trusted, you see life differently.
A new album, an exclusive gig and opinions on Velvet Goldmine, the Internet and life, love and happiness. STUART CLARK meets the legendary DAVID BOWIE.
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.
When massive attack decided that they'd meet the press in Dublin, stuart clark got just thirty minutes to prepare for the
interview. But he still manages to talk to 3d about music, football, the band's new album Mezzanine - and the difficulties of making sweet leurve to the sound of your own records.
We re surrounded by American culture from the breakfasts we eat through the beer we drink to the music and movies we define our lives by. And with Independence Day coming on July 4th, you might as well go ahead and enjoy it to the full. Here EAMON SWEENEY suggests how to become an American for a day.
He may have done time in Long Kesh for possession of explosives but Progressive Unionist leader DAVID ERVINE has left behind his terrorist past and embraced a future based on shared social democracy which, he says, the peace process can bring about. Interview: JOE JACKSON.
Summer time, and the record stores are going to be full to bursting with some cracking albums across all genres. John Walshe examines the hottest album releases set to hit the shelves
Fresh from the success of THE DIVINE COMEDY in the Hot Press Readers Poll, NEIL HANNON drops his guard(s) for some candid talking on love, sex, aesthetics and the whole damn thing. Interview: JOE JACKSON
From "Out Of Control" to "All I Want Is You", Neil McCormick presents a major critical retrospective on the complete recorded works of U2, the band who went from being one of the world's worst cover groups to become a leading force in modern Rock'n'Roll
Comedian of the moment Andrew Maxwell talks about his recent car-crash gig in Dublin, in which he staggered on stage drunk and promptly blacked out, the controversy over Tommy Tiernan's comments on the holocaust and his love/hate relationship with Ireland. Plus, why we're to blame for our current economic crisis and how going to the same school as U2 helped turn him into ther performer he is today.
One of Ireland’s leading young painters, Rasher has had his work collected by Colin Farrell, Louis Walsh and Ali Hewson, and has also contributed a cover image to the new edition of Declan Lynch's The Rooms.
Sprawling across four restless, angry and sometimes contradictory sides, "Rattle And Hum" is nothing less than U2's most ambitious album yet. Review by Bill Graham
With preparations well underway for Cork city’s hosting of the European City Of Culture festivities in 2005, the indigenous music scene is already rising to the challenge
Having scored critical and commercial success – not to mention putting Irish cinema on the map with the likes of My Left Foot and In The Name Of The Father – Jim Sheridan has now mined his own past for in America, a haunting remembrance of the film-maker’s time as a struggling immigrant on the streets of New York.
The outrageous diaries of the late Carry On star KENNETH WILLIAMS, are now in the bookshops - often unsavoury, irascible, candid and scurrilous, but seldom boring. Williams dishes the dirt on Tony Hancock, Joe Orton, Stanley Baxter, Barbara Windsor, and on his own tortured homosexuality. ANDREW DARLINGTON reports.
He may indeed be from Limerick but if you think you’re going to get a subheadline that mentions bringing home the bacon, acting the ham or even being on the pig’s back, then you’re sadly mistaken. Instead we’re going to keep things simple. Mick Hanly has just released a new album entitled Happy Like This. What better occasion for Jackie Hayden to visit him in his Kilkenny home and look back over his career to date, and to remember the days when he hadn’t a sausage (would you cut the crap, please? – Ed)? Pix.: Brendan Fitzpatrick.
Or not without crediting your sources at any rate! Their first three Top Ten singles sampled Annie Lennox, Kate Bush and Phil Oakey. Here modernist electric dance crossover ???? Utah Saints argue the morality - as well as the aesthetics - of sample-theft, explain its problems, name the guilty men, and then glimpse a vision of the future playing support to U2 in Portugal. Interview: Andy Darlington.
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
IN THE FIRST PART OF A WORLD EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW IN THE LAST ISSUE OF HOT PRESS, BONO UNVEILED THE NEW U2 ALBUM, SPOKE ABOUT ITS GENESIS IN CYBERPUNK LITERATURE AND THE BAND'S HUNGER TO PUSH ROCK'N'ROLL TO ITS LIMITS. HERE HE ELABORATES ON HOW U2 GO ABOUT WRITING THEIR SONGS AGAINST THE BACKGROUND OF GLOBAL CHAOS, HIS ARTISTIC REFERENCE POINTS OUTSIDE MUSIC, THE SUBVERSIVE POWER OF HUMOUR, AND HOW HE ADMIRES THOSE WHO 'PARTICULARLY AGGRESSIVELY' DON'T BELIEVE IN GOD. AND THEN THERE'S THE STORY ABOUT JOHNNY CASH AND THE EMU. CAN THIS MAN BE FOR SURREAL? INTERVIEW:JOE JACKSON.
Edwyn Collins, late of Orange Juice and whose third solo album was recently released, gets all acidic about the state of the music business. Interview: Patrick Brennan.
Deciding he d achieved as much as he could within the confines of the music scene in Ireland. Barry Moore changed his name, packed his bags and took off for the USA. There, as Luka Bloom, he was fjted for his live performances, awarded a major international record deal and his debut album, Riverside, given the four-star treatment by Rolling Stone. On a visit home, he tells Bill Graham about his emigrant s success story and explains how a man who was regarded as a folky in Dublin came to cut a rap track in New York.
KATHRYN BIGELOW is one of the few women directors to break through the glass ceiling in Hollywood. What’s more, she makes action movies of a kind not normally associated with ‘girls’. The release of her latest meisterwerk, The Hurt Locker, an extraordinary movie about the activities of a US Army bomb disposal unit in the war in Iraq, sees her being tipped as a contender come Oscar season next year.
THE PRODIGY may be one of the biggest dance acts in the world but, increasingly, they’ve been developing a rock ’n’ roll attitude. As the band line up for their Friday night headlining slot at Féile, techno guru LIAM HOWLETT talks to STUART CLARK.
While Zinedine Zidane's return makes the task considerably more difficult, Ireland have both the players and mental strength to beat France in next week's crucial World Cup qualifier. That's the verdict of our panel of celebrity fans who tell Killian Murphy why they're looking forward to another night of international footballing glory.
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.
In his first major interview, Aengus Fanning, editor of the Sunday Independent, discusses how he manages the most successful paper in Ireland and the death of Veronica Guerin.
That was the original headline, back in November 1985, when Tony O'Donoghue - now best known as a presenter on RTE radio - spoke to Joe O'Herlihy (sound engineer with U2, we called him) about the torturous life of the roadie for the following year's Hot Press Yearbook. This is what went down . . .
Actress, singer, chat show host, Vogue model and girlfriend to Mick Jagger and Marc Bolan – Marsha Hunt was all of these things and more, and survived to tell the tale. And then she became an acclaimed best-selling author. Interview: Olaf Tyaransen.
Pix: Mick Quinn
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
Sharing the spotlight with only his trusty guitar, Ireland's foremost troubadour Christy Moore prepares to take on audiences at The Point later this month. Here he tells Bill Graham of his growing sense of worth and self-confidence, defends Siniad O'Connor's right to free speech and explains just why good hecklers are worth their weight in gold.
Sex & Death & Rock 'n' Roll
With The Divine Comedy's new album Casanova, the dreamily romantic Neil Hannon has come over all carnal. "I felt I had to get an awful lot of real shit out of my system", he tells Niall Crumlish. "Sometimes you've got to get a bit scummy".
Back in the saddle with their eagerly anticipated second album Demon Days, subversive animated quartet Gorillaz here talk to Paul Nolan about striking out against celebrity culture, what went wrong with the Gorillaz movie, collaborating with Shaun Ryder, Roots Manuva and Dennis Hopper, and why they didn’t vote Labour. Oh, and Mexican brothels.
This is THE CHIEFTAINS as you've never encountered them before - more like mad, trad and dangerous to know than the grand-daddies of Irish traditional music. Smoking dope with Philip Lynott! Busting muscles through wild sex! Yes, it's the bits that aren't in the official biography. But, soft, not a word to Paddy, OK? Part One of an exclusive two-part interview. By JOE JACKSON.
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.
