Smiths’ guitarist Johnny Marr and one-time Stone Roses vocalist Ian Brown are planning to write songs and record an album together, according to Brown.
Now here’s a turn up for the books. First Ian Brown does a gig full of Stone Roses material and then he pitches up with quite possibly his finest solo record to date.
Ian Brown, aka King Monkey, has been letting his simian minions down ever since leaving the Stones Roses. Embarrassing posing with Noel Gallagher and shambolic live performances have seen him become a ‘Madchester’ caricature. The annoying thing is that his solo stuff can still be quite decent at times, as ‘All Ablaze’ ably proves. Delivering his lyrics in an understated manner over mellow eastern-inspired rhythms, this single won’t set your stereo on fire, but it won’t make you want to hurl it out the bedroom window either.
If the title of his second solo album is anything to go by, Ian Brown has retained some vestige of humour through all the trials and tribulations he’s endured over the past ten years or so.
I get the feeling he’s cleverly surrounded himself with a bunch of musicians who can take a lot of the credit – the right people to do justice to his own particular writing style.
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.
...Or is it? Mani has definitely NOT left Primal Scream, despite recent reports to the contrary from none other than Ian Brown. "The last time I spoke to Mani," Brown told us this weekend, "he was sending two kids to dangle that Gillespie out the window"
It was always going to be a bit messy. Students being students you couldn’t but have expected the odd scuffle, girls vomiting on their expensive ball gowns, lads pissing wherever there was a wall and thousands of well dressed revellers drunkenly stumbling around the courtyards of Trinity College. What was unexpected though, certainly for a first timer, was just how good a night the Trinity Ball is. This was an event streets ahead of most outdoor events. Everything was well organised, queues for loos and bars were minimal, and security didn’t make themselves felt. It meant that all were allowed to just get on with the night at hand and enjoy Europe’s largest private party.
Having survived the Stone Roses and a spell in jail, IAN BROWN briefly toyed with the idea of a career in gardening before re-inventing himself as the man most likely to bridge the gap between rock and dance. Ahead of his appearance at Homelands, he talks to RICHARD BROPHY.
He's long been one of the North's most singular songwriting talents. Now ANDY WHITE is returning to Belfast to perform a show that sees him bringing together some of his earliest and most current compositions.
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…
The girls and the boys say that No Doubt - as well as Ian Brown and Green Day - are the latest additions to the bill for Witnness '02. And we've got a hunch that Primal Scream, Badly Drawn Boy, the Chemical Brothers, A and Gomez (just to name a few) shall also be getting a look in. Read on
After years of pushing the self- destruct button, Pete Doherty has proved his detractors wrong with a solo album that's on a par with anything he did with the Libertines.
The Roses have been compiled numerous times before against the band’s wishes, hence the fact that Ian Brown and John Squire buried their grievances and hand-picked these fifteen stone cold classics for the one disc is an event in itself.
Ian Brown, Richard Ashcroft and now Brett Anderson; these guys seem doomed to roam the fringes of indie consciousness, forever questioned about halcyon days by cub reporters shiny-eyed with retro visions.
From Stone Roses' stringsman to stand alone soloist, John Squire's musical journey has had both highs and lows, yet he's returned with a new album and this time he's getting vocal
The Editor s office at Loaded is exactly how you imagined it would be. Heinous stains on the carpet. Tatty posters and ranting, scrawled messages on the walls. Buckshee liquor piling up on the table and numerous publishing awards plonked in the spare corners.
This year’s Heineken Green Energy festival has something for every music lover. Whether anthemic stadium rock (Snow Patrol) is your thing or you enjoy boisterous pop (Kaiser Chiefs), it’s a festival packed with sonic treats.
Those upstanding Manic Street Preachers have announced that their upcoming New Year s Eve gig in Cardiff will be their last live show for the best part of a year, as they intend to spend 2000 in the studio working on what they ve indicated could well be their final album.
The ace bass in the STONE ROSES and PRIMAL SCREAM, MANI is the living embodiment of the concept of largin it . In Ireland to dee-jay and hang out, he sinks a few beers and offers his uniquely colourful thoughts on music, Man U, drugs, Thatcher, Reagan, Blair and Bill Clinton s blow-jobs. Interview: EAMON SWEENEY.
Doubtless buoyed by their success in the Hot Press Readers' Poll, The Killers have confirmed a Main Stage appearance at Oxegen, which takes place on July 9 and 10 in Punchestown.
With a little help from peers like Johnny Moy and Primal Scream, Mainline look like animating the Irish scene with some long overdue black-shades-and-scuzz-rock sleaze.
Having released one of hip-hop’s seminal records, DJ Shadow has struggled for years to leave behind his repuation as a sample wizard. He may finally have succeeded.
John Squire has categorically ruled himself out of a Stone Roses reunion tour, which if you’re to believe the rumour mill was going to include an open air Irish stop-off.
Celebrating its 21st anniversary this summer, 1998's Galway Arts Festival promises to be the best ever. Hot Press' honorary Tribes-man, COLM O'HARE, previews the main attractions and offers a comprehensive guide
to the best places to eat, drink and make merry.
Twenty-four-year-old ANDY VOTEL is the man behind Badly Drawn Boy s Twisted Nerve label, and he s just released a self-penned new album. COLIN CARBERRY gets jealous RICKY ADAMS gets pics
Although john squire and his new band The seahorses have taken something of a critical mauling following the release of their album Do It Yourself and some less-than-sparkling live shows, the former Stone Roses axeman is surprisingly unperturbed as peter murphy finds out.
Ahead of the reformed Pistols' Electric Picnic set, we caught up with the guitarist, Steve Jones, who spoke about kicking heroin, his dislike of Malcolm McLaren, his on-air confrontation with Jerry Lee Lewis, and why he'd love to do an album with Cliff Richard.
Stop press: Witnness have just confirmed some of the leading lights of this year's festival. Mercury Rev, Badly Drawn Boy and Chemical Brothers sound good for starters? Read on
In a year that saw events which will forever change the world in which we live, selected hotpress contributors offer some personal recollections of the past twelve months. We begin by listing the critics’ choice of 2001’s single and album releases
THE CHARLATANS are back firing on all cylinders, and talking global domination. TIM BURGESS and JON BROOKES talk to STUART CLARK about the joys of L.A., the dangers of Jack Daniel s and falling down Noel Gallagher s
marble staircase. Pics: MICK QUINN
From A to Z, Paul Nolan and Ronan Fitzgerald introduce all the runners and riders for Punchestown – throwing in a baker’s dozen of acts who are not to be missed * along the way
It's Christmas, 1997 is drawing to a close and Noel Gallagher is in suitably reflective mood. "I can't be bothered writing music anymore", says the Oasis mainman before telling Stuart Clark precisely what he thinks of Liam, Meg, Sinéad O'Connor, that cunt Mick Jagger and England's chances of lifting the World Cup.
Bobby Gillespie's still staying up all night but now it's because there's a baby in the house. Otherwise, it's all systems go for Primal Scream at their bunker hq - Witnness cometh, Mani's back and Kate Moss, Kevin Shields, Robert Plant and AndrewWeatherall all feature on the groundbreaking evil high
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.
GARBAGE are a band who absorb all the detritus, darkness and despair of the pre-millennial zeitgeist and spit it back out in a torrent of searing guitars, futuristic technological trickery and lyrics that freeze the blood. They've also made two of the most sinister pop records of modern times - the second of which, Version 2.0, is due for imminent release. PETER MURPHY met them in London to discuss sex, surveillance, studio strife, pre-2000 tension and their special fondness for The Beach Boys.
Released in 1999 Paddy Casey’s debut album went double-platinum, establishing him as one of Ireland’s brightest prospects. but the intervening four years have seen that crown slip, as a succession of homegrown singer songwriters battled their way into contention, outstripping him in terms of record sales – and hard graft. now casey is back in the frame, with his long-waited follow-up, the cheekily titled Living – an album that sees him gloriously back on top of his game. why did it take four years to make? the answer to that burning question may go back even further. because Paddy Casey’s life story is truly a remarkable one.
Most Unkle productions feel like they were conceived by a brain only capable of operating in widescreen – they aim toward all-encompassing epicity, but end up as nothing but a half-agreeable mess
The new album from Gomez has less of the 'shambling' quality of old - they retain some of the bluesy New Orleans muse that marked their previous albums Bring It On and Liquid Skin, but combine it with a harder-edged technological feel
Glen Hansard & Marketa Irglova and The Pogues have been officially confirmed for Oxegen, along with the full day-by-day schedule for the July festival.
It’s hard not to be reminded of The Levellers in their crusty, polemic prime, the bombastic 1980’s textures and a lyrical obsession with the elements adding to the overall dated feel.
It always appeared as though The Charlatans were very much of their time, a paean to the wayward Britpop hedonism of the early nineties, but their live show demonstrates that the songs are as culturally relevant now as they ever were.
The first batch of acts for Scotland's T In The Park Festival have been announced, giving a strong indication of who'll be coming to Punchestown this year.
Now pushing forty, he may well be one of the great mercurial guitarists, but, as tonight proves, he is also one of the most discomforting vocalists I’ve ever heard – a strangled, nasally mixture of Robert Wyatt and Ashley from Coronation Street.
Spiritualised, The Redneck Manifesto, Redsettaz and Telepopmusic are merely a few of the latest additions to the delightfully overstuffed Witnness '02 bill
While there are air-guitar riffs aplenty – and their rhythm section is one of the more interesting in the country at the moment – there’s just too much bluster and not enough soul.
The organisers of Oxegen '08 have revealed that the three day festival is now completely sold out. Plus, they've announced the day by day line-up so far...
Despite the driving rhythm and upbeat melody of lead single, ‘Is It Any Wonder?’, Keane’s second album is, for the most part, comprised of the same winsome pop that helped their debut shift over five million copies worldwide.
As exclusively revealed last month in Hot Press magazine, Ian Brown, The Prodigy and The Streets will headline the inaugural Hi-Fi Ireland boutique festival on August 5 and 6.
Colin MacIntyre of Mull Historical Society divulges his festival secrets to Hannah Hamilton, including an encounter with Ian Brown in the ladies' toilets...
THE FUN LOVIN' Criminals, Groove Armada, Ian Brown and Armand Van Helden are the first batch of acts to be confirmed for the Lynx Zero Gravity event, which is taking place at a secret London location on July 7th.
THE FUN LOVIN' Criminals, Groove Armada, Ian Brown and Armand Van Helden are the first batch of acts to be confirmed for the Lynx Zero Gravity event, which is taking place at a secret London location on July 7th.
THE FUN LOVIN' Criminals, Groove Armada, Ian Brown and Armand Van Helden are the first batch of acts to be confirmed for the Lynx Zero Gravity event, which is taking place at a secret London location on July 7th.
THE FUN LOVIN' Criminals, Groove Armada, Ian Brown and Armand Van Helden are the first batch of acts to be confirmed for the Lynx Zero Gravity event, which is taking place at a secret London location on July 7th.
