HMV has confirmed the purchase of five Zavvi outlets in Ireland to Hot Press. The acquisition is part of a deal that sees HMV purchase 14 Zavvi retail outlets in all and, as already revealed by Hot Press, will save over a hundred jobs.
Masked nu-metal royalty Slipknot have penned a deal to preview their new album on getcloser.com, prompting website owners HMV to claim that their site is now offering the way forward.
In addition to their mailing-list invite gig at The Gate Theatre, Snow Patrol will be signing copies of their new album at HMV Grafton Street this weekend
The Duke will be treating fans to two signings this Saturday, first in HMV Grafton Street, followed by an afternoon appearance in HMV Donegall Arcade, Belfast
All set to represent Ireland at this month's Eurovision song contest, Dustin the turkey is appearing in HMV tomorrow (May 3) for a Q&A session and signing.
Looking for films to get you in a romantic mood this weekend? Well HMV have compiled a list of the Top 50 Greatest Love Films, as voted for by the public. And guess what? Our man Swayze's bagged the top 2 spots...
The upcoming Hot Press cover star will be performing live and signing copies of her highly-anticipated debut album Let the Truth be Told – in Grafton St’s HMV on Friday evening.
A special exhibition focussing on musical inspirations as been lined up for The Music Show, which takes place at the RDS in Dublin this weekend, Saturday October 4 and Sunday October 5.
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.
Irish labels, bands and artists often face an uphill struggle to garner recognition, even on their home turf. Which is why hotpress and HMV have undertaken their own combined initiative, to coincide with the announcement of the shortlist for the first Choice Irish music prize. As a product of this initiative, all ten albums will be specially stocked and displayed in HMV stores all over Ireland on the run-in to the announcement of the winning album later this month. Here, we take a look at the list – and reflect on those that have been omitted.
He’s the joker in the Irish music pack, a working class hero who has at once conquered and subverted the mainstream. For his first album in six years JERRY FISH and his MUDBUG CLUB have also roped in some top-tier collaborators including rockabilly queen Imelda May and Carol Keogh.
Former Revs leader Rory will launch debut solo album God Bless The Big Bang with an instore signing and acoustic session at HMV on Dublin's Henry Street.
Anyone who’s been living in Dublin for the last decade may recall the moment of shock when they heard that the scruffy kids who used to sing tunelessly outside HMV on Grafton Street now had a record deal. The 747s should inspire similar thoughts, as lead-men Ned Crowther and Oisin Leech used to hawk their wares to drunken punters under the Bewley’s clock at one in the morning every weekend.
With 25,000 albums released in Ireland every year, keeping tabs on new music has become an increasingly expensive hobby.
Staying abreast of what has become a fast moving, ever changing domestic scene is especially challenging. A handful of specialist shows aside, one rarely encounters bands such as The Amazing Pilots or Dry County on radio. Often checking out emerging groups means trial and error purchasing.
Thank God, then, for HMV’s Irish Playlist CD. Given away free with selected titles, the HMV Playlist has established itself as a gem of a compilation album. June’s Irish Playlist is exceptional throughout.
The party’s over, and the less well-off are expected to pick up the tab for the excesses of avaricious millionaires. But there are constructive things that can be done to turn the tide...
Ex-Picturehouse front man Dave Browne talks about differentiating his USB, pushing the envelope, and disambiguating his product with a blue-sky opportunity.
She first caught our ears as the breathy vocalist covering ‘Let’s Dance’ on the Ballygowan ad, but Miss Paula Flynn now has her own album of original songs on release.
The Frames announce two in-store gigs (featuring Glen Hansard) to celebrate new live album set List - and, not least, an end-of-summer one-day extravaganza in the RDS
PIAS Ireland has announced that Oasis album 'Dig Out Your Soul’ will now be released on October 3, instead of the originally planned date of October 6.
NIALL STANAGE reports on a series of Irish gigs, headlined by STEVE EARLE, which will help the campaign for the abolition of the death penalty internationally.
I can still hear their taunts – “Clark’s talking through his arse again!”... “It’s not the ’70s anymore, Granddad!”... “I had my suspicions but now I know you’re a wanker!”
As it was my mother saying it, that last one was particularly hurtful.
2006 has been a busy year for Dublin-born Shaz Oye, capped by the release of her mostly self-penned and self-financed debut album Truth According To Shaz Oye. In conversation with Jackie Hayden she looks back on her story so far.
Cork singer-songwriter NICOLE MAGUIRE is rapidly making a name for herself with her full-on pop-rock songs, swoonful voice and dogged determination. On the release of her debut album Fight The Score she talks to Jackie Hayden.
They’re the unsigned bands who are currently storming the Irish charts with little aid from the mainstream music industry – meet Morello, Transmitter and Ginseng.
With the final countdown to Christmas already well underway, what’s on offer by way of music-related presents is on every rock’n’roll fan’s mind. We took Jerry Fish into HMV in Grafton St. and asked him to pick out the most desirable items on offer – including, of course, his own wonderful new record Live At The Spiegeltent.
With the final countdown to Christmas already well underway, what’s on offer by way of music-related presents is on every rock’n’roll fan’s mind. We took Jerry Fish into HMV in Grafton St. and asked him to pick out the most desirable items on offer – including, of course, his own wonderful new record Live At The Spiegeltent.
They’ve spent the past four years pottering around the garden. Now, electro kingpins Groove Armada are back with a new album that features cameos from ex-Sugababe Mutya Buena among others.
The most momentous journalistic event of the decade nay, the millennium has come to pass. They said it could never happen, but after months of careful pre-planning and tense negotiation, nick kelly has finally interviewed NICK KELLY. Here, the Stars Of Heaven fan remorselessly grills the former Fat Lady Sings mainman about his long sabbatical from the music industry, his perception of modern culture, and his cracking new album Between Trapezes. Pix, gimmicky t-shirts and
unfeasibly large trousers: mick RAGING PUFF QUInn.
Most cities and towns have their trouble spots and their danger zones, but Limerick's have been given more than their unfair share of publicity. Such a focus on the negative has tended to detract attention from the positive aspects of this resurgent city, with its vibrant music scene, its buzzing university, the warmth and friendliness of the people, its obsession with rugby, and er, Ryan Turbidy.
Before he was the face of televised pop Jools Holland played empty pubs alongside U2, mentored a skinny kid called Mark Knopfler and rode to school in Daniel Day-Lewis's dad's Mercedes.
It should have been the biggest indoor rock n roll knees-up of the year but oasis three nights at The Point were as notable for what happened off stage as for what happened on it. Does Liam s partial no show spell the end for the dreadnoughts of Britpop or is it just the latest hiccup in a career that seems to thrive on adversity? Report: siobhAn LONG.
Having spent the summer in Europe wowing huge festival audiences, Royseven are now concentrating on matters of a domestic nature. Phil Udell joins them as they experience the highs, lows and drunken dancing eejits of the Irish live circuit.
Well, a trio of humans, to be precise. Confronted with the flesh and blood reality of Phil, Susanne and Joanne munching sandwiches right in front of his eyes, Nicholas G. Kelly accepts that we must come to terms with the fact that The Human League have indeed risen from the grave. But not, repeat not, the ’80s.
Renewing acquaintances with Hot Press, a chipper Noel Gallagher reveals how he helped Italy bag the World Cup, explains why Oasis are better than U2 – sort of – and tells us about the band’s new 'best of' collection.
With compass in hand and their newly unfurled Map Of The Universe nestling comfortably on their laps, Blink are boldly going where few Irish bands have gone before. But what happens when they get to Cork and Ballybunion? Intrepid explorer LIAM FAY dons his rucksack, climbs aboard the Blinkmobile and survives to tell the tale.
Danu may just be the hardest working band in trad. With their fourth album The Road Less Travelled only recently released and another promised for the spring, When Jackie Hayden put a number of key issues to the band’s accordionist Benny McCarthy and bodhran player and uilleann piper Donnchadh Hough he found that they don’t just work hard, they talk hard too.
From stardom with Westlife to the breakup of his marriage, and a subsequent attempt to kickstart his solo career, Brian McFadden had an extraordinarily eventful year. With his private life routinely splashed all over the tabloids and controversy currently raging over everything from his latest video to his admiration for Nirvana, he remains in the eye of the storm. In a candid interview with hotpress, he discusses living his life in the media spotlight, his decision to leave Westlife, drink, drugs, sex and the continuing fallout from his break-up with his wife Kerry.
For a man who was working in Galway nightclubs and renting damp rooms in dilapidated hotels at the turn of the decade, PERRY BLAKE hasn t done too badly since. After releasing two acclaimed singles for Polydor, he s now set fair to emerge as one of Ireland s brightest new
songwriting talents.
OLAF TYARANSEN hears his intriguing story.
For a man who was working in Galway nightclubs and renting damp rooms in dilapidated hotels at the turn of the decade, PERRY BLAKE hasn t done too badly since. After releasing two acclaimed singles for Polydor, he s now set fair to emerge as one of Ireland s brightest new
songwriting talents.
OLAF TYARANSEN hears his intriguing story.
COLM O HARE catches up with MARY BLACK, as the singer helicopters her way around the country and talks about her new album, the song writing of Ron Sexsmith and unfair criticism. Pics: PETER MATHEWS.
They may not be that just yet but if current plans for global domination go according to the script Linkin Park will be very soon. Stuart Clark travels to London to hear the band’s new album Meteora and finds that American rock’s hottest property are surrounded by the kind of security normally reserved for Michael Jackson
A fresh generation of bands is tearing up the rule book and redefining what it means to be Irish. To celebrate this new wave of talent, we catch up with the best of them.
Codes underline their growing stature with an October headliner in Dublin’s Button Factory, which will doubtless feature all three of their Irish top 40 singles.
Jackie hayden meetsjournalist turned PR guru, Tony O Brien and speaks to him about his rock n roll adventures with the likes of U2, Michael Stipe and Bruce Springsteen.
Contrary to the negative way in which it's so often portrayed by the national media, Limerick is a city that combines a rich sense of tradition with an eye for innovation and in recent years has developed into one of Ireland's leading cultural centres. Kevin Barry takes a look at the people - and the places - breathing new life into the mid-western capital.
Glasgow on the morning of the release of Deacon Blue's second album, "When The World Knows Your Name", is bathed in sunshine boasting a skyline view of the drive from the airport that is in sharp contrast to the image entrenched on the cover of the band's debut album "Raintown". Bright and sharp, the morning reflects the initial impressions of the new record, the bustle of the first rush-hour of the day reflecting the urgency of the opening tracks, "Queen Of The New Year'', "Wages Day" and "Real Gone Kid".
Beaten down by the acrimonious collapse of In Tua Nua and lifted up by a hard-fought victory over cancer, leslie dowdall is back with a new album and new outlook on life. I m just delighted to have been given a second chance, she tells joe jackson. Pix: COLM HENRY.
Beaten down by the acrimonious collapse of In Tua Nua and lifted up by a hard-fought victory over cancer, Leslie Dowdall is back with a new album and new outlook on life. “I’m just delighted to have been given a second chance,” she tells Joe Jackson. Pix: COLM HENRY.
Over the hills and far away, Chumbawamba come out to play! They get knocked down. But they get up again. They get dropped by Indie One Little Indian, and then get signed up by Capitalist major EMI. Then the Tub-Thumpers Anonymous go on to score the most unlikely hit single of 1997. So what now for Alice Nutter and her chums? ANDY DARLINGTON reports.
Over the hills and far away, Chumbawamba come out to play! They get knocked down. But they get up again. They get dropped by Indie One Little Indian, and then get signed up by Capitalist major EMI. Then the Tub-Thumpers Anonymous go on to score the most unlikely hit single of 1997. So what now for Alice Nutter and her chums? ANDY DARLINGTON reports.
There are no saints in love. That’s a lesson The Frames’ mainman Glen Hansard learned the hard way – and which he articulates in the bittersweet love songs that make up much of the band’s new album The Cost. Hot Press hits the road with the band for an extended interview, conducted in radio studios, backstage areas, tour buses – and one very dedicated fan’s house.
Promoter Jim Aiken, who passed away recently, was a hugely important and universally admired figure in the Irish music scene. Here, leading industry representatives pay tribute. (free content)
Though their second album, All The Way From Tuam, has yet to hit the shops in Britain, The Sawdoctors are beginning to pack em in in the strangest of places like Norwich and Leeds. Bill Graham talks to Leo Moran about the band s phenomenal success to date and, against a backdrop of cynicism among rock s self-conscious cognoscenti, asks the perennial question: what is hip?
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.
PAUL BRADY has had an embattled career. In the course of it, he has made great music, won new fans and lost old friends. He has written powerful songs, locked horns with his record company, even contemplated quitting the business entirely. Now finally, he has come to new realisations about himself and about the enduring power of love. Interview: JOE JACKSON.
X-Factor winner Alexandra Burke looks set to grab the Christmas No.1 slot in the UK and Ireland with her version of Leonard Cohen's classic, 'Hallelujah'.
Brushing shoulders with the likes of Bob Dylan, Van Morrison and Bertie Ahern is currently all in a day’s work for hugely acclaimed singer-songwriter, Juliet Turner. But, as she tells Hot Press, the singer’s Northern Methodist upbringing has left her with a distaste for the spotlight and an overwhelming desire for creative and personal independence.
Christmas wouldn’t be Christmas without the dissection of the rock ‘n’ roll year that is the Hot Press Summit. Gathering round the table are the good and great of Irish music, but who let Podge & Rodge in?
The fact that it's just over ten years since Pac-man was wowing the world's computer buffs, shows the vast leaps that the gaming industry has made since. Hot Press investigates the cult of the console.
LET'S GO SHOPPING
Gerry McGovern embarks on a mission to steer you through the sea of software.
The HP-7 Summit is back with Michelle Doherty, Rocky O'Reilly, Niall Breslin, Mark Greaney, Niamh Farrell, Messiah J and Danny O'Donoghue sat around the only table that matters this Christmas.
In a development that is unprecedented in recent years, two different versions of the one song may end up at No.1 and No.2 in charts in Christmas week.
London has long been recognised as one of the world's leading centres of entertainment and musical excitement - not to mention pleasure in all its multifarious manifestations. But when you really need it, do you know where to find it? Fay Wolftree brings you the insider's inside guide to Europe's premier rock 'n' roll metropolis.
Bob Dylan, who holds court at The O2 in Dublin tonight and tomorrow night made chart history in the UK, when he hit the No.1 spot there this week, with his latest album Together Through Life.
To launch their new single 'Your Love Goes On', the Hothouse Flowers will return to their early days of busking in the city, with a lunchtime gig on Friday January 16 on Grafton Street, Dublin.
Ireland gets world-premiere first dibs on David Gray's new album, A New Day At Midnight, when it's released here a full 4 days ahead of the rest of the planet on October 24th. At midnight of course
Not an official release in the strictest sense, this in-store sampler serves as a timely reminder – if one were needed - of the quality, variety and commercial potential of the current batch of homegrown releases.
A new Bob Dylan Facebook application is among the smartest pieces of viral advertising yet. That's the view of influential e-media commentators at Techcrunch (who described it as "the coolest Facebook application yet"), Face Reviews and PSFKT – as well as the Sun newspaper.
The Artists Formerly Known As Jove, Royseven, open their recorded account with the September 8 release of ‘Older’, the first single to be lifted from their The Art Of Insincerity album, which follows in October.
The tracklisting of the upcoming Frames live album, Set List, revealed in full - in a hotpress.com exclusive. Also: tidings of a Frames radio documentary on Today FM, a No Disco special - and did somebody say Glastonbury?
This Is The Tomb of The Juice is Michael Pyro & co.’s first album, and it’s a ballsy, gritty collection of songs, the kind of record that announces the summer, oscillating between aggressive Alabama 3 rantings and über-cool James Brown blues funk.
A wide variety of trade exhibitors will be there over the weekend to show you what they've got - from music instruments to recording equipment and software.
The Concert – Running Order:
James 1.00pm
The Seahorses 2.15pm
Finley Quaye 3.30pm
Robbie Williams 5.00pm
Manic Street Preachers 6.30pm
The Verve 8.30pm
Hot Press are proud to announce that a world exclusive Phil Lynott CD comes free with the latest issue, in shops between 10 - 23 August. The Lost Recordings contains five previously unreleased tracks from one of Ireland's greatest rock stars.
The first live Brits since 1989 took place at Earl's Court in London last night, with Lily Allen walking away empty-handed despite being the most nominated artist.
Mark Cullen’s second album, the follow up to the respectfully received Home Truths, further establishes him and his band as one of the sharpest tools in the indie shed.
They are the basis for some of the most iconic images in rock. Now, for two days they will be on exhibition at the RDS in Dublin, as part of The Music Show.
Lesley-Ann Halvey, singer and bassist with the all-girl Dublin four-piece Black Daisy, claims being in a band is different for girls, not least in squatting down to do the ass test in Penneys.
Though new Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich is spending money like it's going out of fashion. Foul Play argues that the club's spectacularly cavalier approach to the transfer market is unlikely to yield results any time soon.
For those who thought that treading water was no way to dismantle an atomic bomb, and that when added together X and Y amounted to nothing much at all, over the horizon some long-awaited ballast is about to arrive.
Wayne Coyne prefers a white suit to a white hat, but make no mistake; At War With The Mystics is one hell of a heroic and defiant album.
Here's the break-down, region by region, of the results of a new HMV classical music survey. While the results show that Mozart, Beethhoven and Bach are the most pupular, they also vary by region.
Have you got a ticket? The way things are looking, that's going to be the question of the year. U2 played Slane Castle as one of the support acts when Thin Lizzy topped the bill there in 1981. Since then they have gone on to become the biggest band in the world.
There’s more to Glasgow than Rab C. Nesbitt, Rangers/Celtic turf wars and Taggart. Adele Bethel, vocalist with Sons And Daughters, sings the praises of her native city.
In a special hotpress feature Colm O’Hare investigates how the music business is attempting to deal with the single biggest threat facing the industry today – piracy.
In 1988, Neil McCormick wrote about seeing Michael Jackson in action at Wembley – and observing the UK press indulge in all manner of monkey business in an attempt to get through to the Boy in the Bubble.
Aer Rianta’s Annual Arts Festival takes place this year from the 6th to the 12th of February at Dublin Airport. Now in its seventh year, the festival is a massive undertaking and is the first and only event of its kind to take place at an airport terminal, anywhere in the world. Featuring both performing and visual arts, this year’s festival promises to be the most ambitious and exciting to date and a quick glance at the impressive line-up should confirm exactly why, writes Colm O’Hare.
