It was the hottest ticket in Manhattan – and no wonder. With Goldfrapp, The Strokes, Carl Cox and Kanye West on the bill, this was a gig for people of impeccable taste – all the more so since it was brought together by Hennessy cognac.
Dublin teen popster Carly Hennessy, whose first major-label album Ultimate High sold fewer than five hundred copies, cited in Wall Street Journal article examining economic practice in the music industry
I HAVE to say that I have always loved Christie Hennessy’s material. Perhaps more than any songwriter working today, his stuff is the real deal, with no attempt at artifice or concealment. But that is not to say that his songs are not insightful, for he deals with a wide range of issues in his material, from loneliness to mental illness, and always with a sensitive hand.
In the instant world of pop music, it would be fair to say that life can be a bit of a rollercoaster – as some of our homegrown teenybop maestros discovered in 2001. But WESTLIFE and SAMANTHA MUMBA are still riding high.
BY STEPHEN ROBINSON
MUSIC, COMEDY, THE WORLD - FAMOUS ROSE, THRILLS, SPILLS, AND THE CHANCE TO BE A STAR - IT'S ALL HAPPENING AT THIS YEAR'S TRALEE FESTIVAL IN THE CAPITAL OF KERRY
YOU WON'T GET STRONG ODDS ON THESE
ROMANTIC PAIRINGS HITTING IT OFF IN 1995 BUT THE BOOKIES HAVEN'T RECKONED WITH Hot Press RESIDENT CUPID PROTEGé LIAM FAY DONNING HIS CLERICAL GARB ONCE AGAIN.
It’s been an unusually tough year at IMRO, with the organisation being involved in a number of controversies. with elections to the board looming, however, chairman Mike Hanrahan and chief executive Adrian Gaffney believe that it’s time to look to the future.
At just 23, Siniad Lohan is one of the brightest prospects to have appeared on the Irish music scene for some time, with the Woman s Heart stars taking her to their collective bosom not to mention her acclaimed debut album which is nestling comfortably in the Top 10. Siniad an scial: Siobhan Long.
Once he was the mouthy fop rocker who enraged at least as many people as he delighted; now with a debut novel just published he's a (mostly) critically acclaimed author whose time has apparently come. Peter Murphy meets former Toasted Heretic frontman Julian Gough to discuss a meeting with Morrissey and a near-miss with Sinead, the benefits of being humbled and crushed, fame and creativity on the dole and, one more time with feeling, the epic story of lawyers, lubricants and lunacy at Feile '92. Photography: Phillip Tottenham
No one has their ears sadistically sliced off with a cut-throat razor but there's savage revelry aplenty as Siobhan Long sets her watch to Hiney time and spends 24 hours in the dangerously
danceable company of Speranza.
Basking in the warm glow of that first day's successful recording may tempt you to imagine that it's all over but for the fame and fortune. Wrong, and double wrong. JACKIE HAYDEN considers music marketing and PR.
Who wants to be a millionaire? Not Philip Ó Ceallaigh, who actually seems remarkably nonchalant about not scooping a pot of money for his latest short story collection.
In the first of a new Hot Press series, in which we ll be asking well-known Irish people to step onto a national podium, author and
publisher dermot bolger delivers his state of the nation address.
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.
Underdogs who've clawed their way into the top flight, Setanta Records, like Wimbledon, are a premiership act - with attitude. stuart clark gets the rags to (comparative) riches story from label boss, Dubliner Keith Cullen and also seeks the considered opinions of boys-done-well, Neil Hannon and Edwyn Collins.
The task facing SEÁN HAUGHEY is a daunting one: to attempt to emulate the achievements of his father, a man who spent decades at the very centre of Irish public life. Liam Fay talks to the most famous moustache in politics about life, love and the pursuit of happiness, and asks: is Dáil Éireann to be the House of the Rising Son? Pix: COLM HENRY.
It is five years since rapper TUPAC SHAKUR was gunned down on the streets of las vegas in a gangland-style shooting that took place on September 7, 1996. Since then he has become the subject of one of modern music’s most bizarre death cults, as he continues to sell millions of records and to top charts all over the world. but behind his death lies a story of hip-hop babylon – a sordid tale of intrigue, egos, drugs, sex, intimidation, violence – and, almost by the way, some great and enduring music.
By PETER MURPHY
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.
Never mind the GPO in 1916. For hundreds of years to come, they’ll boast about being in a studio in RTE when The Greatest Irish Band In The World Ever arose from the grave.
This year’s Dublin Fringe Festival has one of its strongest musical line-ups yet, with all manner of gigs, once-off collaborations and curated events taking place in the Hennessy Spiegeltent.
Pauline Scanlon returns to the fray on August 17 with Hush, her second album which was recorded in Nashville with Lunasa guitarist Donogh Hennessy producing.
Think you've got them all right? Or maybe you fancy a sneaky peak (you're only cheating yourself you know!). Either way, you've got the questions – we've got the answers....
...it was a year like any other year at Féile - except that there were dozens of extra acts on show, on not just two but three stages. There was also the Jim Rose Circus Sideshow, the Chris de Burgh stripper incident, Michael Hutchence dispensing condoms...and a rather loud Little Red Rooster that nearly got itself strangled. And the crack Hot Press team of reporters who attempted to keep up with it all? Words: Bill Graham, Stuart Clark, Tara McCarthy, Lorraine Freeney and Chris Donovan. Pix: Cathal Dawson.
