Derry-born Nadine Coyle is very proud of her Irish roots – so much so that she insisted on an Irish flag being included on the cover of a Girls Aloud album.
This song has a nasty whiff of autopilot about it. All the hallmarks of a great Girls Aloud record – turbo-charged guitars, tag-team vocals brimming with attitude, a stomping disco backbeat – are here, yet something is missing. It could be the absence of any effective melodic hook to speak of: the Girls did not get where they are on style alone, and the substance of their previous work is in disappointingly short supply here.
There are cooler, more credible pop records out there (The 411’s fantastic debut for one) but Girls Aloud look to be sitting pretty for the next while at least.
Can there be anyone out there more tuned into the pop zeitgeist at the moment than this lot? With single after single proving the case, the serious critics are now falling in line as well and See The Day is more of the same. It pulls that old stunt of covering a forgotten ‘80s song (‘Dee C. Lee’ in case you were racking your brains) and turning it into a modern, state of the art tune. Tut all you want purists, but you really can’t beat Girls Aloud, so you may as well join them.
As girl band the saturdays prepare to play this year’s Oxegen, Edwin McFee gets a frosty reception when he talks to Irish member Una Healy. Undeterred, he manages to find out about their bust up with Basshunter, their admiration for Girls Aloud and more.
Not content with storming straight into the UK album chart at number one – they’re number seven here – Girls Aloud bring their Out Of Control tour to Belfast and Dublin.
Girls Aloud’s Nadine Coyle talks about her Derry childhood, drug use in the pop industry and explains why she gets irritated when the band are called “British”.
Their fifth single sees them still coming up trumps with their choice of producers, and with some sex-sized synth hooks and lyrics about hanging around the kitchen in their underwear is bound to be another huge hit.
Following the failure of their chief songwriters to scratch out much of a solo career, All Saints/Take That are back to have another pop. It’s a risky tactic, the stakes raised by a feeling that these tracks sound a bit like a Girls Aloud/Westlife album rather than anything new and exciting. Not bad but certainly no ‘Pure Shores’/‘Back For Good’.
Whilst Girls Aloud’s debut album, Sound Of The Underground, is a reasonably diverting slice of mainstream pop, it’s about as substantial as tissue-paper and twice as expendable.
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
Annual article: Soul sensation Amy Winehouse has the voice of a fallen angel and the mouth of a docker. And that’s before she’s even got a few vodkas into her.
Westlife, having been confirmed as the headline act at this year's 02 In The Park extravaganza which takes place on September 4 in the Phoenix Park, have already completely sold out.
Boybands, Girlbands, Rock Bands, Pop Bands. They were all on show today in the Phoenix Park.
To the 100,000 strong crowd who turned out to see over 30 acts perform, it was a hugely enjoyable afternoon, the 30-odd minute walk through the park to the site notwithstanding.
For a few dizzying months in 2007, New Young Pony Club were London’s pre-eminent ‘it’ band. But despite a Mercury Music Prize nomination, commercial success never quite arrived. Now they’re regrouped and planning another full-frontal assault on the pop universe. Singer Tahita Bulmer talks about the personal traumas that coloured their new record and explains why they’re not angry with La Roux for stealing their electro-pop thunder.
Aspiring performers will have their chance to shine in front of one of the biggest names in pop this month, as Louis Walsh holds open auditions for a new five-piece girl band.
Certain male members of the Hot Press crew are jolly excited that the drug necking, beer swilling, tattoo displaying Amy Winehouse is playing a Dublin Ambassador headliner.
No, she doesn’t hate Tim Wheeler but yes, she does look up her own chart position first. A solo Charlotte Hatherly on Bowie, Star Wars and life with and without Ash.
Currently riding the crest of a wave following the unexpected chart success of ‘Danger! High Voltage’, Electric Six frontman Dick Valentine here puts paid to those rumoured Jack White/Bill Clinton collaborations.
Early this month Beat 102-103 opened for business as ireland's first regional radio broadcasting station covering Carlow, Kilkenny, Waterford, Wexford and Tipperary. according to the beat manifesto the station is targeting the 15-34 year old age group with “an upbeat and entertaining programme schedule provided by young presenters, with the aim of giving the youth of the region a service to reflect their tastes and attitudes.
Not a bad ambition at all. But you have to think of yourself as well. When she did, Anne Sexton realised that she could only come, as it were, if she let herself go – and that meant being prepared to make a lot of noise indeed at critical moments. Everyone say: AAAAAAAAAGH……….
One of the biggest teen rock sensations of the early noughties, Avril Lavigne continues to draw the black-clad adolescent hordes in record numbers. But can Canada’s most famous skater girl make the transition to adulthood without losing the affection of her notoriously capricious audience?
Editors mainman Tom Smith is pining for his mainsqueeze Edith Bowman. HP advises him on an anniversary gift. Aw, bless. Still, he hasn't gone soft, as is borne out by copious potshots at Keane and Sugababes.
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...
What would the old bishop of Down have made of the avowed feminist who made her name singing about blow-jobs in public places? The answer is open to debate, but as Colin Carberry discovers, maybe the bishop and Alanis Morissette have more in common than you might think.
You may well have thought Samantha Mumba had tumbled off the face of the earth. Not so. She’s been enjoying a year's break and plotting the next phase of her career. Ahead of the release of her new movie, the zombie comedy Boy Eats Girl, Mumba is in ebullient mood, as she talks about life in the goldfish bowl – and why she and Louis Walsh are still the best of friends. [Photos: Peter Evers]
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...
HMV’s acclaimed 'my inspiration' campaign – where artists reference a song or lyric that has inspired them, is to be taken to a new level with the first-ever album compilation of 'my inspiration' covers.
Scratch the skin of any Irish chick-lit queen and you’ll find a history of depression, alcoholism, low self-esteem and late blooming – especially if that novelist’s name is Marian Keyes. One of this country’s biggest selling fiction writers, Keyes talks about how she freed herself from poverty-stricken theocratic 1980s Ireland, took a leap of faith and found her voice in print. Not to mention M&M withdrawal, Cecelia Ahern, neo feminism and Anthony Kiedis. Interview: Tanya Sweeney. Photography: Cathal Dawson.
TV presenter, stand-up and all-round gifted wit and raconteur Dara O'Briain has quietly become one of the major Irish success stories in Britain over the past few years. In a rare in-depth interview, The Panel presenter here discusses stardom in the UK, The Killers, Colin Farrell, Michael Parkinson, RTE, Sinn Féin and that ringing endorsement from a certain Samuel L. Jackson. interview Tanya Sweeney photos Liam Sweeney
Never mind pressies and OD’ing on cranberry sauce, the important thing about Christmas is that it signals the return of the HP-10 Summit. Absolutely no blushes are spared as Ireland’s rock ‘n’ roll elite dissects the musical year that was 2006. Keeping order: Stuart “Paxman” Clark. Taking photos: Graham “Paparazzi” Keogh. Taking the piss: Eyebrowy
Never mind pressies and OD’ing on cranberry sauce, the important thing about Christmas is that it signals the return of the HP-10 Summit. Absolutely no blushes are spared as Ireland’s rock ‘n’ roll elite dissects the musical year that was 2006. Keeping order: Stuart “Paxman” Clark. Taking photos: Graham “Paparazzi” Keogh. Taking the piss: Eyebrowy.
Gabriella Cilmi's debut album Lessons To Be Learned is aptly titled. Although she has an amazing voice, this album showcases the work of a talented singer, rather than a serious artist.
The Point is stuffed with row upon row of kids with glow sticks, light up bunny ears, pop corn and hassled-looking parents. They’re waiting for the Sugababes. And waiting. And waiting.
Opinions are somewhat divided on the future of trad – some feel the music should retain its explicit links with the past, while others contend that the only way for the genre to survive and flourish is through stylistic diversification. Plus the usual round-up of news from around the country.
