I would like to begin this fortnight by grappling with an issue of great controversy. I will raise the cudgel, grasp the nettle, take the bull by the horns, seize the hour. Or not, as the case may be. It’s to do with golf, and Irish golfers in particular.
Irish rugby captain Brian O’Driscoll waxes lyrical about his sporting heroes, Ireland’s hopes for the Rugby World Cup and admits to liking Justin Timberlake.
Meeting the Pope, marriage to the Taoiseach’s daughter, the trouble with relationships, why they couldn’t have a hit with Bono, bad language on kids’ telly, golf in drugs out, Louis’ biggest lie and other tales from the lives of Westlife.
Though his last movie, Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter…And Spring was all pretty and pastoral, the exhilarating Korean filmmaker, Kim Ki-Duk, can generally be relied on to put fish-hooks and the like up in some very dark and painful orifices indeed.
Hi-Fi promoter Brian Spollen has confirmed to Hot Press that under the terms of their licence agreement with the County Council, there will no live music at the Belvedere House, Mullingar site until 5pm on Sunday August 6.
IT is all highly entertaining. In men s athletics, the traditional dominance of white athletes was overturned a long time ago. At first it was the Kenyans and the Ethiopians displaying a prowess in long-distance running that required the wholesale rewriting of the record books. Then black American, British, Canadian and Jamaican athletes began to come through in the sprints. Then gradually a bunch of middle-distance runners followed on, to fill in the gaps.
The result is a sparse, stark, yet moving film, and those keen to gloss over our own history of economic migration, not to mention career Sangatte-bashers such as Ann Widdecombe, should be strapped into chairs and made to watch this on a loop.
I don t know about you but I d been hoping that Mary Robinson would do another stint up in the Aras. I d spent a bit of time contemplating the alternatives recently and some of the possibilities were positively scarifying. I m not going to mention any names here for fear it might encourage them, but forced to choose between Albert Reynolds and Peter Sutherland I think I d go for Bart Simpson if only for his photogenic qualities.
"I've made another great movie, and the critics have already said it's a great summer hit," Arnold Schwarzenegger declared at Cannes recently, promoting his latest bid for world domination, "The Last Action Hero".
By the time you read this, the world will have changed irreparably. You will either be consumed with a grief so great as to defy description, or you will be in terrific form, and, in all likelihood, as drunk as forty cats.
Even before the opening credit sequence, the zaniness of the presumptuously entitled Fun With Dick And Jane has become truly wearisome. And it’s all downhill from there.
If this album really does mark the fading to black of one of hip-hop’s true heavyweights then at least we can take some consolation in the fact that the self-styled ‘Michael Jordan of rap’ has gone out at the top of his game.
A superior slice of Agatha Christie inspired whimsy featuring a veritable who's who of British acting, Gosford Park is a considerably more conventional murder-mystery/comedy of manners than one might have expected from an habitual genre-bender like Robert Altman
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.
The words “bastards”, “right”, “the” and “serves” sprang to Caught In The Net’s mind this week when it emerged that The Sun, The Daily Mirror and The Daily Mail had been duped into running a totally invented story about Avril Lavigne getting spectacularly gee-faced in an exclusive nightclub.
After five years of hard graft and dedicated shoegazing, The Boo Radleys came up with Giant Steps, an album so ambitious in scope that it’s been perched at the top spot of many end-of-year polls and has seen them heralded as the new Best Band In Britain.
Interview: LORRAINE FREENEY
Jun-hwan Jeong’s brilliantly mad, mad, mad, mad spaced odyssey famously bombed on release in its native Korea, when in a twist worthy of the film’s delirious logic, the movie was marketed as a romantic comedy.
Rats the star of RTE s new comic documentary, Paths To Freedom, and the alter ego of actor Michael McElhatton tells Nick Kelly about his life and crimes
Craftily low-key, tartly bittersweet and divinely arch, Sideways is surely a lock for official Unlikely Hip Movie Of Zero Five, but unlikely is something of a speciality with this filmmaker.
2003 was a year of reinvention for the Irish dance scene, as dance recession which had been the talk of UK dance mags in 2002 finally had some effect over here.
Very few performers can hold a massive crowd rapt with lengthy anecdotes about hotel masseurs or self-deprecating tales of teenage pretentiousness but, at times, he almost makes you forget that this is supposed to be a concert.
Computer games have been one of the remarkable growth areas of recent years in home entertainment. Colm O'Hare looks at developments in this intensely competitive field and predicts that – with so much mazooma at stake – it could become a veritable battle zone over the coming twelve months.
Their name is full of Oriental promise but, far from growing up in the land of rice-bowls and speaking toilets, retro techno-heads THE JAPANESE POPSTARS hail from the mysterious land of, er, Derry.
This issue’s forecast... a cold front moving in from the west guarantees a storming night of top tunes from The Blizzards in Whelan’s on September 11. The Mullingar act have been the subject of much attention of late.
Gavin Friday’s been a Virgin Prune and a glam cabaret torch singer, he’s done Brecht and Weill, and most recently stole the show at Hal Willner’s Leonard Cohen tribute concert Came So Far For Beauty.
Playing Live at the Marquee on Sunday June 24: Lock up your housewives. Ireland’s most eligible bachelors, Podge & Rodge, are on the road and looking for love.
They arrived on the scene almost two years ago, determined not to let their unorthodox upbringing and dazzling cheekbones overshadow their music. Now, with their supremely accomplished second album, 2004’s Aha Shake Heartbreak, Kings Of Leon have established themselves among the rock’n’roll elite – from which position they’ve begun to enjoy the perks of rock stardom. “I’m actually getting laid now,” a relieved Caleb Followill admits. words Phil Udell
When San Marino played in Ireland, they were the worst team he’d ever seen. So there's no point in trying to dress-up a 2-1 win over them as a decent result.
The seedy, destructive side of gambling is the subject of Declan Lynch’s new book. He talks about his nine month immersion in the world of spread bets and games of chance – and the sobering lessons he learned
William St Leger, A freelance graphic designer from Clonmel now living in London, locked himself to the roof of an American military base during a recent high profile Greenpeace action in England. Here is his account of the day, as told to Adrienne Murphy
Now on their third album, Kings Of Leon have rubbed shoulders with Bob Dylan, U2 and the Pixies, and can count Led Zep and the Rolling Stones among their fans.
The recent press conference for Marley And Me found the film’s stars, tabloid fixture Jennifer Aniston and suicide attempt survivor Owen Wilson, grudgingly going through the motions in front of a crowd of tentative journalists. You could say there was some awkwardness in the room
BARRY GLENDENNING s escapades in the UK capital continue. This issue one good gig, one bad gig, a gag about masturbation and a visit from a controversial rock critic.
Slash can go boil his silly hat, but Iggy Pop, The Rolling Stones and Kraftwerk are welcome to come and stay in Fagersta any time they want. Howlin’ Pelle and the boys talk heroes and zeros with Stuart Clark
30th Anniversary Retrospective: It was the funniest Irish comedy ever. A decade after Father Ted, two of the men behind the show - Declan Lowney and Arthur Mathews - reminisce about its impact.
Today sees the first unveiling of the complete Hot Press Covers Exhibition online, featuring a selection of the great and historic images that have adorned the front page of the magazine, from June 1977 onwards
Wayward alt. country sensation Ryan Adams talks about his battles with depression and the new lease of life he's enjoyed since hooking up with The Cardinals.
After half a century as the adventurous tripper s drug of choice, LSD is being given a designer makeover. In our continuing series on drugs, STUART CLARK checks out the hallucinogens.
As Northern Ireland begins to cash in on its recent history, NIALL STANAGE takes a West Belfast taxi tour around the area s landmarks. Pics: PETER MATTHEWS
MIND-BOGGLING. There is no other word for it. A decade ago the country was tearing itself apart over the legalisation of divorce. Three years ago, we introduced it by the most slender of majorities – the vote split almost evenly down the middle and succeeded by less than one per cent. Now Councillor Anne Devitt of Fine Gael has proposed that we open up castles by the sea as “romantic” places in which to have civil weddings.
Hannah Hamilton reports on the recent Nokia Totally Board event in Seville – a heavy three-day carnival of extreme sports and down’n’dirty hard rock action
They may have become a one man operation but that hasn’t stopped Decal making one of the dance records of the year. Alan O’Boyle talks electro to Richard Brophy
The bandwagon rolls on, as Foul Play yet again picks the winner of one of the major races on the calendar.
This time it was The Irish Oaks at the Curragh, and the horse in question was the mysteriously-named Wymes Bight, partnered by the less mysteriously named Pat Eddery.
Intriguing new developments are afoot in the world of Ulster rock ‘n’ roll. Plus tidings of a new Limerick indie compilation and the usual round-up of news from around the country.
Well, a bloke actually. Barry Glendenning offers a considered solution to Ireland’s drink problem: halve the price of gargle, legalise dope and ship all the youth off to Slovenia
Eddie Jordan is among the people behind the initiative that brings the money-spinning World Rally Championship to Ireland for the first time ever this year.
IT IS heartening to note that Mr. John Major has recently joined the Bad Language Revival Movement, founded by the former Irish Prime Minister, Charles Haughey.
And you will know him by the trail of defenders... almost as elusive off the pitch as he is on it, the 23-year-old from Ballyboden is being tipped by many to be one of the sensations of the forthcoming World Cup. But away from the pitch, you're unlikely to find 'the duffer' turning up in the pages of Hello. Though you may bump into him at a u2 gig...
THOSE OF us who watched the highlights of Shelbourne's victory over a Ukrainian outfit in the European Cup-Winners' Cup, were wondering if perhaps we had stumbled onto the wrong channel.
Having failed to ignite hostilities with his broadside against religion, our Controversy Correspondent turns his sights on a poison much closer to home.
Welsh pop extroverts Super Furry Animals have delivered their most cohesive and rewarding record yet. Frontman Gruf Rhys explains why Wu Tang Clan as the band's new role model.
Hot new Irish release this fortnight is the Vorsprung Durch Celtik EP on Belfast label Nice & Nasty Records. This quality package from Desy Balmer’s long running imprint includes a couple of deep and uplifting Irish techno soul productions from Derek Carr, Teknik and Slow Chocolate Autopsy, plus remixes by Fabrice Lig and Tomas Jirku…
Forget Oxegen or U2 at Croke Park – the biggest shows in town this summer are the All Ireland Championships. With the crowning of the provincial championships, the season is entering its most competitive stage.
There is nothing wrong with a holiday fling – and it doesn’t have to be about romance. Especially if one of your idols starts chatting you up over cocktails…
While my own, personal sporting highlight came in the unlikely shape of a Scottish Premier League fixture in August (see below), there can be no doubt that Euro 2000 was the main dish on the year s sporting menu.
It’s August. Dog days. Holiday time. Offices of state close down and decisionmakers cut and run. It’s a time when a good family man ought to be taking to the countryside, or the sun and sand. Buckets and spades.
Best known as the author of the modern noir classic LA Confidential, JAMES ELLROY is back in the spotlight with his new book The Cold 6000, a factional encounter with late 20th century America.
Here, the straight-talking Ellroy tells why JFK was second-rate and J. Edgar Hoover a fiend, why Bill Clinton is a horrible human being and George W. Bush not as bad as we think, and why Martin Luther King was the greatest American man of the last century
Words: DANNY ILEGEMS
They may be one of the hottest bands of the year, but Las Vegas synth fiends The Killers are planning to cool off this Christmas with some well-earned down-time and a skiing holiday in Utah. But not before they’ve discussed texting Charlize Theron, hanging with Elton John and that David Bowie tribute with Stuart Clark.
With the opposition parties in Ireland now all more or less occupying the centre ground, it's up to the country's youth to become the true voice of dissent.
Their debut Hot Fuss sold over 4 million copies and in the process set The Killers up as one of the brightest young hopes of the modern era. On the eve of the release of their second album Sam’s Town, the band look like settling for nothing less than U2-sized supremacy. Now, if only Brandon Flowers would shave off that, ahem, controversial face fuzz.
It ought to be one of the happiest moments of a woman's life – and for many it is. But for some women the birth of a child can be a traumatic, invasive and distressing event. Author Naomi Wolf tells Fiona Reid about the blues of the birth
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.
With the Five Nations Championship up and running again, Paul O’Mahoney discusses the state of the union game with Scotland’s straight-talking captain, Gavin Hastings.
STUART CLARK collars Divine Comedy mainman Neil Hannon for a brief but highly intimate chinwag as they both take a break from drinking the bar dry at the Heineken/Hot Press Rock Awards in Belfast.
Tales of high profile solicitor Gerald Kean's astonishing ability to make truckloads of money - and spend it - have become the stuff of tabloid wet dreams.
Peter Murphy takes a train to the wild west (Galway that is) with the original Texas Jewboy, crime writer and legendary stardust cowboy Kinky Friedman. Peter Matthews has the negatives.
In which the musical renaissance of Don Van Vliet continues apace (and at what a pace). Like 'Shiny Beast' and 'Doc At The Radar Station', Ice Cream For Crow mines the seams first deliriously pick-axed in the 69/70 Trout Mask/Decals period.
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.
Will U2 play Phoenix Park or not? And what is the future of the rock festival as we have come to know and love it in Ireland? Special Report: STUART CLARK.
Does ABSINTHE really make the heart grow fonder or are the Conservatives right in calling for its ban? STUART CLARK and his showbiz chums check out the drink that s taking clubland by storm. Pix: CATHAL DAWSON.
Known from the TV sitcom as the Man who Behaves Badly, actor Neil Morrissey is confounding the laddish caricature with his work for an anti-landmine charity. In this candid interview with Paul Nolan, he also reflects on childhood trauma, death in the family, that affair with Amanda Holden and his encounters with Olivier, Burton and Mel Gibson. main photography Cathal Dawson
Known from the TV sitcom as the man who behaves badly, actor Neil Morrissey is confounding the laddish caricature with his work for an anti-landmine charity. In this candid interview with Paul Nolan, he also reflects on childhood trauma, death in the family, that affair with Amanda Holden and his encounters with Olivier, Burton and Mel Gibson.
FRANCIE BARRETT rose to public acclaim in 1996 when he became the first member of the travelling community to represent Ireland at an Olympic Games. Now a documentary, Southpaw, has been released which relates the Galway boxer s story. CRAIG FITZSIMONS met him and was impressed.
But it wasn’t confined to cell block number nine. In fact the whole of Dublin city centre was engulfed as mobs of rioters were given the run of the city by Gardai, in the wake of the protest against the holding of the Love Ulster parade in O’Connell Street. Rory Hearne pieces together the anatomy of a riot.
It’s the guide Ladbrokes, the Central Bank, Mystic Meg and Mark Lawrenson turn to at the start of each year – Jackie Hayden’s cultural, sporting and political forecasts for the forthcoming twelve months.
Rregarded as the original, manufactured boy band, once upon a time The Monkees ruled the world. Now, half of television's fab four are back and, as you might expect, they have quite a tale to tell. Joe Jackson talks to Davy Jones and Micky Dolenz
Martin Sheen has starred in at least two of the greatest films ever made, survived a massive heart attack, found God, and campaigned tirelessly for social justice in the Third World. Now, he’s gone back to school, studying Philosophy and English at (of all places) the NUI in Galway. Jason O’Toole meets him for his only Irish print interview.
Commander of the notorious Company C of the UDA in Belfast, Johnny Adair was given 16 years for directing terrorism. While he was never convicted of murder, the rumour mill suggests that he has been reponsible for as many as 43 deaths.
On the face of it, Westmeath s made more of a name for itself in the bellylaugh stakes than in the annals of music. Still, scratch beneath the surface of any town or townland, and you ll be rivetted to your seat with musical anecdotes.
First kisses, hanging with the hip-hop aristocracy and why life is better on the wagon are some of the topics for conversation as Hot Press hitches a ride on the tour bus with domestic goddess and soapy bath enthusiast Amy Winehouse.
As the masses prepare to descend on Punchestown, we dispatch Hannah Hamilton to assess the festival fitness of one of this year's Oxegen buzz bands, Franz Ferdinand.
Coke is it. Coke is the real thing. It's not the choice of a new generation but the choice of countless generations past, present and future. Coca-Cola knows how to get American presidents elected and is even responsible for Santa Claus as we know him.
Here BILL GRAHAM delves into Mark Prendergast's unauthorised history of the company, For God, Country and Coca-Cola, and discovers over a century's worth of evidence that Coke is no ordinary soft drink.
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.
...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
Nog Nog Noggin ON HEAVEN’S DOOR
Come with us on a fantastic voyage to the mythical kingdom of Gibletland in the wondrous empire of Sallynoggin where sex, drugs and rock'n'roll rule and where your decadent host is, eh, Dustin the Turkey. DUSTIN THE TURKEY!!!
Read on but beware of fowl play.
Your demented guide: LIAM FAY.
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
John Walshe talks to Irish rugby captain and Munster stalwart Keith Wood ahead of the most important game in Munster s history, and hears his views on the media, sex before a game and his love for bellybuttons and pregnant women.
Pictures: DECLAN ENGLISH
The sheer quality, not to mention quantity, of the GALWAY ARTS FESTIVAL once more triumphed over inadequate facilities.
OLAF TYARANSEN reflects on a cultural banquet.
Older and wiser but still mad for it, Oasis have delivered their best album in years. In an exclusive – and expletive-filled – interview Liam Gallagher holds forth on fatherhood, brotherly love and explains why Coldplay and The Killers are limp-wristed also-rans.
June 1998, the World Cup is in full swing and the Saw Doctors are on their tenth visit to the US of A. Leo Moran of Tuam’s finest kept a diary. Now read on . . .
The young Carlow-based actress Saoirse Ronan is on the brink of Hollywood stardom, thanks to her Golden Globe-nominated performance in Atonement and her upcoming starring role in the next Peter Jackson movie, The Lovely Bones. In her first ever in-depth interview, she spoke exclusively to Hot Press about her sudden rise to fame.
Television s best-known wearer of colourful jumpers turned Conservative politician has reinvented himself yet again this time as a writer of credible fiction. PETER MURPHY hears the nice Tory s vice story. Pix: CATHAL DAWSON
When Mick McCarthy became manager of the Republic of Ireland, he enjoyed a honeymoon period as one of the Irish media s favourite subjects. But it didn t last long. Results fell below the grandiose expectations of a nation grown accustomed to success under Jack Charlton and McCarthy became a somewhat embattled figure. Now the team is fighting back and the manager is beginning to relax again, confident in his own ability to deliver. Interview: Stuart Clark. Main pix: The Star
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.
Hot Press' answer to Russell Grant, Jackie Hayden, slips into his chunky-knit jumper, gazes at his crystal ball and comes up with more predictions that probably won't come true. Like last year.
With so many quality movies being screened, buffs will be spoilt for choice at this year’s Jameson Dublin International Film Festival. To help you out, Hot Press has picked its 20 essential flicks, with appropriate ‘tasting’ notes.
They were one of the most successful – and dysfunctional – bands of all time. Now THE EAGLES are aging gracefully and packing out arenas across the world, with Irish gigs on the way.
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
For close to twenty years, MARTIN CAHILL led the forces of law and order a merry dance. Known as the General, he was suspected of masterminding virtually every major crime committed in Ireland – but for as long as matters, the Gardai had been unable to pin anything on him. And when he was brought to court on petty charges, he posed outside for press photographers, dropping his trousers to reveal a pair of Mickey Mouse boxer shorts. Last week, however, the game was cut brutally short when Cahill was blown away within 100 yards of his South Dublin home by an IRA hit squad. Report: NEIL McCORMICK.
It is every boy's wildest fantasy (bar, perhaps, Brett from Suede) to make a living playing with a fantastically successful football side. Craig Johnston was there, saw that and quit while he was ahead. But he has continued to make his dreams real. Gerry McGovern meets the kangaroo who won't be tied down, sport.
As his singular contribution to the birthday party, guest writer Elvis Costello offers a handful of stories from his ten years on the beat, which serve to illustrate why, in his own words, “I’d rather be a folk music fan than a teen idol.”
Ireland and Munster out-half, Ronan O’Gara, has a pivotal say in this country’s rugby fortunes. As what is potentially the most important season in Irish rugby history moves into its most competitive phase, he takes time out to reflect on the demands of being a big time rugby star, the cult of celebrity, his taste in music, Roy Keane’s infamous Saipan walk-out – and Ireland’s chances of Six Nations glory in 2005.
In what may well be the most effective marriage yet of rock and pragmatic politics, U2, Sting, Peter Gabriel, Lou Reed and others are pushing the Amnesty International message on the 'Conspiracy Of Hope' tour. Pat Singer joins them on the road.
It s re-introductions all round, as the Starman embarks on a hazardous solo mission. Stuart Bailie records him taking one giant leap for a man.
The Starman walks into a public bar in Chorlton and looks for a quiet spot. The old regulars at the back are nudging each other. They re sure that they recognise the face
and the style of a traveller who s been all the way up there and back.
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"
. . . 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.
In the wake of the IRA’s complete cessation of violence, the Unionist community must engage in a process of re-defintion – because while they have been clinging to the last vestiges of the British Empire, the world around them has been transformed. By Bill Graham.
In late 1990, shortly prior to her election as President of the Republic of Ireland, MARY ROBINSON gave the following interview to this magazine, which we reproduce here as a Hot Press Greatest Hit to mark the occasion of her retirement from the office. It turned out to be a clear and definitive statement of her manifesto, which she ended up carrying out virtually to the letter. At the time, it was described as the longest suicide note in political history , by the Irish Press seven years on, her comments make interesting and often provocative reading. Tape: LIAM FAY.
Neil McCormick embarks on a verbal showdown with Hollywood's most famous drug store cowboys and discovers that 1994 was the year in which the hot shots traded in their smoking guns for a pill called Prozac.
Thirty years ago Neil Armstrong took that famous first step on behalf of all mankind. That means me and you. But wait a minute wasn t it also supposed to be a giant leap? So what happened next? And what went wrong? ANDY DARLINGTON reports.
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.
The trauma of his mother's death; the joy of his marriage to Yvonne; the truth about his sex life; the pressures of growing up in public; the importance of peer respect; the offers of a solo career; and how America might hold the key to keeping boyzone together. In his most personal and revealing interview to date, ronan keating talks to joe jackson
The trauma of his mother's death; the joy of his marriage to Yvonne; the truth about his sex life; the pressures of growing up in public; the importance of peer respect; the offers of a solo career; and how America might hold the key to keeping boyzone together. In his most personal and revealing interview to date, ronan keating talks to joe jackson
The trauma of his mother's death; the joy of his marriage to Yvonne; the truth about his sex life; the pressures of growing up in public; the importance of peer respect; the offers of a solo career; and how America might hold the key to keeping boyzone together. In his most personal and revealing interview to date, ronan keating talks to joe jackson
But try finding someone who doesn’t like it. The album Monster is yet another glittering addition to arguably the most astonishing canon in pop music, ever. Here, in a historic summit, the world’s greatest fortnightly rock paper gets together with the world’s greatest rock band for an intimate chat about the big issues: sex, death, drinking and, of course, rrrrrock’n’roll. What else is there? Interview: Liam Fay
You thought Noel V Ginnity was a bland cabaret funnyman, peddling lite entertainment to American tourists and OAPs at the Burlington Hotel. But you were wrong! Wince as the 59-year-old Meathman unleashes an unstoppable torrent of vitroilic bile at virtually every other stand-up comedian in Ireland and a whole lot more besides. Interview: liam fay. Pix: mick quinn.
Senate leader Donie Cassidy, a reluctant interviewee, opens up about his rivalry with Fianna Fail colleague Mary O'Rourke and reminisces about his days in the show-band business.
brian hayes is a 28-year-old Fine Gael TD who represents the constituency of Dublin South West. At the last general election, he virtually tripled Fine Gael s vote in the Tallaght area. He opposes the legalisation of cannabis, claims that feminists need to have a fundamental re-think on their current position, feels guilty about not attending Mass regularly, and reckons that You need order in society . . . you need people who know what they re about . Is this the face of young, politically aware Ireland? Interview: liam fay.
Pics: colm henry.
He began working in music as a drummer, but Dave Pennefather's greatest success has been as MD of Universal Music. Hot Press looks back over the life and times of a man with a larger than life reputation.
Blessed with total recall, Craig Fitzsimons relieves the most glorious Irish sporting achievements of the past 30 years – and some that we’d all rather forget.
IAN STRACHAN was jailed for blackmailing a member of the Royal Family over allegations of a sex and drugs ‘scandal’. But a media blackout ensured that little of the substance of the case was reported.
THE FINAL YEARS OF peter cook
The father of modern British comedy, peter cook s death in 1995 brought the strangest chapter of his life to a close. Ravaged by alcoholism, he dedicated his final years to sloth, drink, drugs, porn, daytime television and late-night radio phone-ins. But even in his darkest hours, the black humour and brilliant wit that marked him out as the towering comedy talent of his generation just kept on breaking through. liam fay reports.
THE FINAL YEARS OF peter cook
The father of modern British comedy, peter cook s death in 1995 brought the strangest chapter of his life to a close. Ravaged by alcoholism, he dedicated his final years to sloth, drink, drugs, porn, daytime television and late-night radio phone-ins. But even in his darkest hours, the black humour and brilliant wit that marked him out as the towering comedy talent of his generation just kept on breaking through. liam fay reports.
lthough left broken-hearted by the demise of the Irish Press, CON HOULIHAN s latest collection of prose, Windfalls, confirms that his pen, like the Castle Island colossus himself, is still mightier than the rest. Now, at 71, a novel is in the works. SIOBHAN LONG embarks on a long night s journey into day with the legendary journalist.
Pix: COLM HENRY.
lthough left broken-hearted by the demise of the Irish Press, CON HOULIHAN s latest collection of prose, Windfalls, confirms that his pen, like the Castle Island colossus himself, is still mightier than the rest. Now, at 71, a novel is in the works. SIOBHAN LONG embarks on a long night s journey into day with the legendary journalist.
Pix: COLM HENRY.
lthough left broken-hearted by the demise of the Irish Press, CON HOULIHAN s latest collection of prose, Windfalls, confirms that his pen, like the Castle Island colossus himself, is still mightier than the rest. Now, at 71, a novel is in the works. SIOBHAN LONG embarks on a long night s journey into day with the legendary journalist.
Pix: COLM HENRY.
The recipient of a Late Late Show tribute and the outgoing presenter of The Arts Show, MIKE MURPHY avails of a timely opportunity to reflect on the highs and lows of his personal and professional life and to assure JOE JACKSON that, contrary to certain popular mythology, he is neither a marshmallow nor a flowerpot man
