He’s spent years trying to live down his bubble-gum pop days but, two decades after the event, former hearthrob Jason Donovan is finally going back to his roots.
Hosting his own chat-show, running away with the circus and wrestling David O’Doherty whilst swathed in bubblewrap – it’s all in a day’s work for Irish comedy’s busiest performer, Jason Byrne.
From sweeping the steps of lauren hill’s manager’s house to teetering on the brink of a massive hit – native american Jason Downs tells his story to John Walshe
JASON PIERCE of SPIRITUALIZED comes on down to talk about mythology versus reality, art versus autobiography and the economy inherent in a cast of hundreds.
Interview: PETER MURPHY
The cars are fast, the hero is video-game superhuman and the women are slutty. Indeed, everything right down to the shoes gets fetished in this splendidly trashy affair which sees Jason Statham’s unflappable driver embroiled in some nonsense about a child kidnapping.
Spiritualized are back with a new album which confirms Jason Pierce’s theory that “the best music is made by people who are out of control.” Loving the alien:
Jason Biggs will, to his chagrin, go down in history as the guy who stuck his dick in an American Pie. But of late he’s expanded his range to include a darker strain of comedy.
29-year-old director Jason Reitman might be the scion of Hollywood royalty, but the success of his satirical skit on the tobacco lobby, Thank You For Smoking, is all his own work.
Jason Byrne is one of Ireland’s hottest young comedy talents with a series of sold out shows at Vicar St., Dublin and a Perrier award nomination for his performances in Edinburgh this year. His new RTE Network 2 series, The Jason Byrne Show, is a mad-cap mixture of sketches, stand-up and special guests. Stephen Robinson caught up with the comedian who’ll stop at nothing short of crimeline
Tara Brady talks to uber-hip actor - and scion of the Coppola clan - Jason Schwartzman about his latest film with cult director Wes Anderson, an adaptation of Roald Dahl’s The Fantastic Mr. Fox.
The boy from San Diego, Jason Mraz, earned enough kudos with his debut album, Waiting For My Rocket To Come, to convince famed U2 man Steve Lillywhite to produce its sequel Mr. A-Z.
Another graduate from The OC soundtrack hall of fame, Jason Mraz is best described as a funkier version of John Mayer or a close relation to New Radicals front man Gregg Alexander.
"A wonderful screenplay by current Hollywood darling Diablo Cody is jollied along by naturalistic profanities and idiosyncrasies that are smiled on but never mocked."
Interrogation scenes of Spanish Inquisition severity provide the light entertainment in a staggeringly bleak and brutal (if generic and utterly preposterous) outing, which careers towards a ridiculous but suitably hair-raising conclusion at near-breakneck pace without pausing for breath.
Preparing for his band's cataclysmic appearance at
this year's Trinity Ball in typically languid fashion,
SPIRITUALIZED mainman JASON PIERCE talks to STUART
CLARK about college days, high-altitude gigs and why he's
not too desperate for a new guitar. Pix: PETER MATTHEWS.
Ex-IRA man Gerry Kelly talks to Jason O'Toole about his run-ins with the British Army, his near death experiences, the part he played in inflicting civilian casualties and his time on hunger strike.
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.
John Noonan, who played a pivotal role in the IRA’s military campaign against the British occupation of Northern Ireland, gives a revealing interview to Jason O'Toole.
Fr Shay Cullen, an Irish Columban Missionary priest, tells Jason O’Toole about falling in love, the battle against corruption in the Philipines, the scourge of western sex tourism – and why the Irish government isn’t doing enough to protect children from paedophiles.
Surpassing even the recent Gangster No.1 in its constant use of the now apparently-acceptable 'C'-word, Mr. Madonna's follow-up to the strikingly fresh '98 mini-classic Lock Stock And Two Smoking Barrels is more of the same only better.
He’s best known for his bout of fisticuffs with Jack White but nowadays it’s the dire situation of his native Detroit that is foremost on the mind of The Von Bondies’ Jason Stollsheimer.
They come from Los Angeles, support Rotherham United and have a lead singer who loves Andrew Lloyd-Webber as much as he does Arcade Fire. Stuart Clark meets Orson's rather peculiar Jason Pebworth.
The Alien vs Predator movie has resurrected two of the most successful action movie franchises of recent years. You’ll kick yourself – in slow motion, and with gratuitous blood loss, of course – if you miss it, according to the film’s star Colin Salmon.
Shopgirl is a slight, completely soppy confection viciously intent on being this year’s Lost In Translation. Hence, with quivering bottom lip, I lapped up every heartbreaking vignette.
If anything, Jackass benefits from this sojourn away from the confines of its regular medium, as without the watchful eye of broadcasting standards authorities, the gang are free to explore pain in creative ways that the airwaves would simply not permit.
Absolutely pathetic on any number of levels, there is still a playfully awful je ne sais quoi about the film, which somehow compels you to take it to your heart.
This smart Brit-com fashioned in the same cheeky spirit as Christopher Guest’s mockumentaries, is neither a chick-flick nor anything to do with Richard Curtis.
Perhaps no men have gone further in the name of daft entertainment than the Jackass team. And certainly no woman has taken on a more testing assignment than Tara Brady when she gatecrashes their stag party.
Is it a bird? Is it a plane? No, we don’t know either. If like us, you’ve been watching the trailers for Hancock with a furrowed brow and a wavy line mouth, you are not alone.
If anyone, up to and including those who receive special messages from Jesus during weather forecasts, gets anything at all about Revolver, I’d be terrifically surprised. Frankly, it’s the most godawful mess of this or any other year.
Maps are hardly promising material for movie adaptations, representing only the surface of things with no attempt to reveal their character or real flavour. You read the lines of a map, not between them.
He’s an odd fish is Todd Solondz, and Palindromes – his most politically charged and controversially comic horror to date – will surely and calculatedly polarize folks even more than the cruel soap-opera of Happiness and Storytelling. Some punters will undoubtedly find Palindromes’ brilliantly caustic treatment of abortion and paedophilia to be funny ha-ha, while more sensitive (and possibly humourless) others will deem Mr. Solondz’s efforts as funny-get-the-mace-spray-out-peculiar.
Some of the nation’s top comedians – plus visiting international stars – will appear at this summer's Carlsberg Comedy Festival, which takes place in the Iveagh Gardens, Dublin.
Championed by the likes of Giant Sand’s Howe Gelbe and Granddaddy’s Jason Lyttle, M(att) Ward successfully recreates the sounds and textures of old-time American radio. The result is a beguiling tapestry of organic, lo-fi, folk, country and Americana - some of which sounds like it was recorded on a gramophone.
Magnola Electric Co. is the new nine-piece band from Songs: Ohia frontman Jason Molina. He has taken the countrified vision of his former outfit and expanded it onto a widescreen canvas over the course of these eight tracks. It’s less lo-fi and more upfront than his previous outings, with the end result sounding like Neil Young bumping into Bonnie Prince Billy and The Band in a rural woodshed with wonderful acoustics.
STEPHEN ROBINSON hears RTE’s Commissioning Editor for Entertainment BILLY McGRATH’s plans to bring more home-grown comedy talent to our screens this autumn
In the 10 years they’ve been together, A have gone through their collective, if delayed, puberty. Ignoring the fact that we’re still waiting for Jason Perry’s unique voice to break, they’ve gotten over their monkey obsession, stopped wearing schoolboy-type shorts, and have only just successfully avoided singing about how yukky it is to kiss girls.
Reticence underpins the work of Jason Molina, singer, songwriter and leader of Songs: Ohia. Every track on Ghost Tropic is characterised by a tender unwillingness to finally, definitively bind even the sparsest of melodies or lyrics to this, his slow-burning vision.
It's well-honed with lots of carefully controlled energy, great dynamics from the band with raspy vocals from Jason Perry, high-velocity riffs, power-chords a-plenty, intricate Halenesque guitar and good harmonies.
And that’s just the politicians we spoke to... The publication of a major new anthology of Hot Press interviews by Jason O’Toole, focused primarily on the Irish criminal underworld, gives cause for reflection on what it takes to ‘get good interview’.
Jason Pierce doesn’t do Dogme. For all the talk of a stripped-down, back-to-basics approach on Amazing Grace, his most recent record is as comparable to something like Slanted And Enchanted, as Solaris is to Festen.
Few artists – people, even – can bring out high levels of irritation and revulsion in their fellow human beings as consistently as Jason Kay. That he has managed to build a hugely successful career with such an obvious lack of charm and humility, only makes him harder to stomach.
Neil Delamere on the joys of working on The Panel, meeting Jason Alexander from Seinfeld and his appearance on Holland’s answer to the David Letterman show.
“Don’t give in, 2000 man,” sighs Jason Lytle through the nine-minute prog-epic heartbreaker that is ‘He’s Simple, He’s Dumb, He’s The Pilot,’ and a theatre-ful of enthusiastic Lytle-people are delighted to have him looking out for us.
A mixture of singer-songwriter narrative and hip-hop savvy, courtesy of Milk D (of Audio 2 fame), the single and album opener serves as a perfect appetiser for what is to come.
Directed by Ricky Gervais. Starring Jason Bateman, Jennifer Garner, Jonah Hill, Tina Fey, Ricky Gervais, Rob Lowe, Stephen Merchant, Christopher Guest, Jeffrey Tambor, Fionnula Flanagan.
TOMBSTONE (Directed by George P. Cosmatos. Starring Kurt Russell, Val Kilmer, Sam Elliot, Bill Paxton, Powers Boothe, Michael Biehn, Charlton Heston, Dana Delany, Jason Priestly, Joanna Pacula, Michael Rooker, Billy Zane)
SHORT CUTS (Directed by Robert Altman. Starring Andie McDowell, Bruce Davison, Julianne Moore, Mathew Modine, Anne Archer, Fred Ward, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Chris Penn, Lili Taylor, Robert Downey Jr., Madeleine Stowe, Tim Robbins, Lily Tomlin, Tom Waits, Frances McDormand, Peter Gallagher, Annie Ross, Lori Singer, Jack Lemmon, Lyle Lovett, Buck Henry, Huey Lewis)
Two of Ireland’s top electronica composers are in celebratory mood after releasing a killer collaboration – and to mark the event they’re embarking on a brief tour of the country.
spirit walker - the story of how three Essex boys met two Paddies with attitude and released a five-minute
ballad as their debut single. peter murphy has the details.
Neil Young, the Pixies and the Beach Boys are just some of the influences that Californian quintet grandaddy include in their own particular brew. Tape: nick kelly.
The Von Bondies were finally vindicated when Jack White pleaded guilty to assaulting their lead singer last month. Oh, and they’ve just released one of the albums of the year.
Richard Fearless and Tim Holmes, from Death in Vegas, explain how they survived Big Beat, made one of the albums of the year and ended up working with their heroes.
Interview: EAMON SWEENEY.
It was in KIERON DUCIE’s house that the model Katy French had the seizure that preceded her tragic death. Since then, he has been the subject of a campaign in the press which reveals the skewed news values of too many newspapers.
Top international journalist and acclaimed stand-up comedian BARRY GLENDENNING pens this self-aggrandising subhead before continuing his countdown to the third Murphy s Cat Laughs Comedy Festival
SEBADOH, for so long the epitome of the slacker rock band,
seem poised to finally make the breakthrough.
NICK KELLY met them in Dublin only to be asked for cocaine,
and told that Kurt Cobain was so lame he killed himself .
They've been steadily losing ground to a resurgent Sinn Féin - and now there are rumours of a merger with Fianna Fáil. So does the SDLP really have a future? Mark Durkan clears the air.
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.
The daughter of a famed cinematographer and an accomplished actress, Zooey Deschanel had an easier entrée into Hollywood than most. But with an array of cred-heavy indie hits to her credit, and a stellar turn in The Hitchiker’s Guide To The Galaxy, she’s proven a good deal smarter than your average LA starlet. Interview by Tara Brady.
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.
Following the Green Party’s decision to go into coalition with Fianna Fáil, former MEP Patricia McKenna felt disillusioned and angry. Now those emotions have subsided, she has decided not to run away – but to fight…
While the word pop currently raises the hackles of anyone who considers themselves a music fan, Pugwash’s Thomas Walsh, whose music is influenced by the move, XTC and the Kinks, is attempting to set the record straight
Lee Dunne is reputed to be the most banned author in Europe and, by his own reckoning, has slept with over 1,000 women. You could says he’s got a story or two to tell.
He has strong views on Republicanism, Israel, George Bush and Steve Staunton. But, as a TD for Dublin South Central, Michael Mulcahy also reveals how much he loves Fianna Fáil – and how he wouldn’t mind a coalition with the Greens.
Over a pint of lager, Amanda talks about her debut novel, kissing girls, losing her virginity and explains why it's hard to find a straight man in Dublin.
As the turbo-charged economy he helped create teeters, Charlie McCreevy talks about medical cards for the aged, the Eircom shares debacle, explains why he wouldn't swap places with current Finance Minister Brian Lenihan.
Well, it’s served Mary O'Rourke well, at least. Now 71 years of age, she first entered the Dail in 1982 and has been a TD for well over 20 years – during which time she has held a number of key Ministerial positions. Here she talks with remarkable honesty and humour about her political career, the Lenihan dynasty, Charlie Haughey, losing her husband, treachery in Fianna Fáil – and, of course, orgasms.
Current affairs anchor – and Ireland's leading ‘yummy mummy’ according to the tabloids – MIRIAM O'CALLAGHAN talks about the challenges of raising eight children, her past marital woes and taking a pay cut at RTÉ.
Martin McGuinness was one of the key figures in the troubles in Northern Ireland . Many unionists believe that the one-time IRA man was at the heart of much that was wrong and divisive in Irish life. But ultimately the quiet Derryman has taken on the role of peacemaker – and he is now the Deputy First Minister in the new power-sharing administration at Stormont.
Kenny Egan brought back a silver medal for Ireland from the Olympic Games – but almost everyone agrees it should have been gold. A national sporting hero, he tells Hot Press of his plans for the future...
Despite overwhelming evidence in support of the view, it is apparently now a criminal offence to call a certain columnist's favourite
football team "shite"
As the General Election looms, many polls suggest Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny is the next Taoiseach in waiting. So what is he really like? And where does he stand on the issues that matter to Hot Press readers?
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”.
So says the man the tabloids have dubbed Fat Puss, Alan Bradley. But he's due in court on charges of conspiracy to commit armed robbery, with figures between €950,000 and €2 million being bandied about in the media. In an exclusive interview, he asks how can he get a fair trial?
In his most revealing interview yet, Dick Roche explains why he doesn't trust Libertas' Declan Ganley and shares his thoughts on the use of Shannon airport by US military.
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.
She was a stalwart member of the Green Party, serving as an MEP for 10 years. Now, thoroughly disillusioned with the party’s performance in Government with Fianna Fail, PATRICIA McKENNA has decided to leave – and to run as an independent in the upcoming European elections.
As John Gormley's Green Party enters government with Fianna Fail, he talks about the Taoiseach’s financial affairs, recalls his youthful drug experiences and explains why he agreed to a ministerial car.
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.
He was the shock winner of the Progressive Democrats leadership race. In his first major interview Ciaran Cannon sets out his vision for the beleaguered party, explains why Michael McDowell was really a sweetheart, decries the rise of the nanny state, calls for the legalisation of prostitution and lifts the lid on his misspent youth as a mod.
Formula One's plucky outsider Eddie Jordan talks about motor sport's party-hard reputation, jamming with Bryan Adams and winning to the British national anthem.
His father, the Rev. Ian Paisley, has been one of the dominant figures in Irish politics over the past 40 years. Now Ian Paisley Jnr is a Junior Minister in the new Northern Ireland administration. So how different is he from his father? And how does he feel about cross border co-operation, education, abortion and homosexuality?
With the opinion polls predicting a tight finish in the upcoming General Election, there is an increasing likelihood that the Greens will play a part in the next Government. So what is their leader Trevor Sargent really made of?
It is an old Republican principle. But it could also be applied to the attitude the authorities have taken to Ireland’s longest serving political prisoners, Paddy McCann and Colm O’Shea. Jailed for the killing of two Gardai during a bank raid in Roscommon in 1980, as the peace process reached its final stages they were asked to sign up to the Good Friday Agreement. They subsequently put their names on the dotted line. That was ten years ago. So why have they not been released in the meantime, like dozens of other former Paramilitary activists? In an extraordinary, confessional interview, PADDY MCCANN makes his case against the State.
As the dust settles on the Northern Peace deal and Sinn Fein gears up for an election in the Republic, Gerry Adams talks about his journey from political outcast to statesman, Bono's knighthood and what’s on his iPod.
His brother, John Bruton, was the leader of Fine Gael and served as Taoiseach. Now, Richard Bruton is a key member of the opposition front bench. Would he have anything different to offer if he was Minister for Finance?
One of the government’s most vocal and effective critics, Labour leader Pat Rabbitte could well be the next Tánaiste. He talks about iPods, happiness, gay marriage, breaking the law - and Enda Kenny’s hairdo.
Whether starring in popcorn blockbusters or thoughtful art-house movies, Gabriel Byrne is a reassuring presence on our screens. But he reserves his deepest passions for keeping alive the flame of Irish culture among the diaspora.
He's been described as the 'intellectual powerhouse of Fianna Fail'. As the party goes into electoral meltdown special advisor to the Taoiseach turned Junior Minister Martin Mansergh talks about George Lee, the Government's unpopularity and the prejudices faced by a member of the Anglo-Irish community who dared go into politics.
No problem! Eamon Gilmore has just taken over at the helm of the Labour Party. Here, in a wide-ranging interview, he talks about Bertie Ahern, the future of Labour, Gay marriage, God, abortion, bias in the media – and a whole lot more besides.
If, as The Bard had it, all the world’s a stage, then Green Paul Gogarty is a better actor than most. He’s been a New Romantic, a busker, a journalist and an editor before being elected to the Dáil. But even that is only half of it. In a remarkably open interview, he talks about the price of being in government with Fianna Fáil, his multiple identities on web fora, rumours that he was gay, the issue of depression – and the true story of his adoption.
As the FAI's chief executive and the public face of Irish football, John Delaney has come in for savage public criticism over the last couple of years.
In a remarkable interview, the legendary David Kelly looks back on a long and adventurous career including parts in box office smashes, Charlie And The Chocolate Factory and Waking Ned.
In his first major interview, Aengus Fanning, editor of the Sunday Independent, discusses how he manages the most successful paper in Ireland and the death of Veronica Guerin.
He is the grandson of Éamon De Valera – one of the founding fathers of the State and a former Taoiseach and President. So has his unique lineage had anything to do with the success of EAMON Ó CUÍV? These and other issues are teased out in a remarkable interview with Ireland’s Minister for Community Affairs.
In a remarkably honest interview, which directly preceded the death of his mother, Jonathan Rhys Meyers reflects on his spells in rehab and discusses life as one of Hollywood’s hottest young actors.
With Jonny Wilkinson declaring himself unavailable for selection for England’s Six Nations campaign, the tournament has suddenly become a much more intriguing prospect.
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.
The world was united in condemnation over the Israeli bombardment of Gaza. In a rare print interview Israel ambassador to Dublin Zion Evrony says the campaign was justified and that his country was motivated by the desire to bring peace to the Middle East. And he tells us why comparisons between Northern Ireland the Middle East are fatuous
Find out what Brian Cowen thinks is in store for Ireland in light of the global financial crisis and the government's unpopular decisions on medical cards and education cuts.
The Corrs Talk On Corners was the biggest-selling album of 1998 in the UK. So far it s shifted 6 million copies worldwide and rising. And now the band are set to embark on their American campaign, with who knows what ultimate destination at journey s end. So they ve had it easy, eh? It s all a big marketing scam, masterminded by the moguls in the American record company that signed them? We thought you d like to know so we put these and other accusations to someone who should know, their manager of nine years, john hughes. And got some interesting answers too. Interview: niall stokes.
From sharing cheeseburgers to sharing a bill with Korn and Puddle Of Mudd, it’s been a big year for Geffen signingsTrust Company, and they’re loving every minute of it
In the final months of his battle with cancer, TONY GREGORY sat down with Hot Press to discuss his life and career. Knowing it would be his final interview he was in a reflective frame of mind.
The indelible images of September 11th tragedy will be for many, the key memory of these past 12 months. Music may seem lightweight in comparison, yet its healing powers were probably more needed than ever
For over three decades, the political agitator and columnist Eoghan Harris has been the focus of abundant controversy, consistently raising hackles with views that are seldom less than heretical.
THE WAR between the sexes certainly seems to be dominating Dublin stages these days. In The Mai at the Peacock, the male character is slowly marginalised, and in Refugees at the Eblana, the man exists only as an object of mockery, whose prick has been removed by his wife’s knife.
THE WAR between the sexes certainly seems to be dominating Dublin stages these days. In The Mai at the Peacock, the male character is slowly marginalised, and in Refugees at the Eblana, the man exists only as an object of mockery, whose prick has been removed by his wife’s knife.
She may have a reputation as an actress who has a penchant for getting romantically involved with many of her leading men, but Julia Roberts is guarded about her personal life. She has been romantically linked to Matthew Perry, Daniel Day Lewis and Pat Manocchia, a friend of the late John F Kennedy Jr. among others, but she is constantly surrounded by a loyal staff, whose job it is to preserve her privacy. However, she has been involved in some very public liaisons,
as Stephen Robinson reports.
He’s triumphed at comedy venues all over the country, and was a firm favourite with the blue-rinse brigade as ultra-naff country star Eoin McLove in Father Ted. Now Louth stand-up Patrick McDonnell has turned his attention to hoodwinking unsuspecting members of the public in RTE’s surreptitiously filmed prank-fest, Naked Camera.
When the IRA ceasefire began in the early minutes of September 1st last, nationalists in Belfast and Derry rejoiced in the streets. In the South Armagh village of Crossmaglen, however, there was barely a murmur. Over the past 25 years, the sniper’s bullet and the mortar bomb have claimed the lives of more soldiers and RUC personnel in this small area than anywhere else in Northern Ireland. Anne Connolly visits what has become the most militarised zone in western Europe and takes the post-ceasefire pulse of a stubbornly resilient little town. Pics: Jason Clarke.
Geoff Topley just can’t help writing songs and releasing records. And going entirely solo hasn’t stemmed the flow. “it’s an addiction,” he tells Colin Carberry
A superb new documentary offers an intriguing portrait of one of the biggest rock bands on the planet. Tara Brady meets the film's director Joe Berlinger (pictured, left with Bruce Sinofsky).
Bourne Supremacy director Paul Greengrass on making it big in Hollywood, usurping James Bond and why Hot Press’ Eamonn McCann is one of his heroes. words Tara Brady
Derry four-piece, cuckoo, have caught the proverbial worm, landing a world-wide deal with Geffen, and are finally ready to set the world on fire. Birdwatcher: john walshe.
THANKS TO HIS INTELLIGENT AND PROVOCATIVE BRAND OF COMEDY, STEWART LEE IS WIDELY ACKNOWLEDGED AS ONE OF THE FINEST STAND-UP COMICS OF HIS GENERATION. HE TALKS TO JOHN DONNELLAN ABOUT HIS CONTROVERSIAL MUSICAL JERRY SPRINGER: THE OPERA, THE POLITICAL DIMENSIONS OF HIS NEW SHOW AND REVEALS WHY IRELAND IS THE BEST PLACE IN THE WORLD FOR STAND-UP.
Plans by St Conleth’s College’s to fund the conversion of the football pitch in Herbert Park, Ballsbridge, into an all-weather facility has raised fears of privatisation amongst locals.
Nerd godhead Kevin Smith has gone back to the motherlode with his new movie, Clerks II. Middle age has done little to dent his infatuation with potty humour, he tells Tara Brady.
Life has never been so sweet for Pugwash's Thomas Walsh with a cracking new album, a song on an A-List Hollywood movie, and a cricket-loving pal to play with.
colin murphy is living proof that there is such a thing as a comedic afterlife. The Downpatrick funny man, who once "died every week for six months", tells barry glendenning all about heaven down here.
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
From the profound and the insightful to the weird, funny and just plain daft, Paul Nolan rounds up what the famous and infamous had to say for themselves in 2004...
As the lesbian witch willow, Alyson Hannigan was the star turn in Buffy The Vampire Slayer. she’s also the lead female in the ongoing teen comedy caper that is American Pie.
Quantum of Solace director Mark Forester explains how he wanted to rehabilitate the James Bond franchise with a nod towards classic '70s post-Watergate conspiracy thrillers such as The Parallax View and The Conversation
Everyone's favourite punk-pop pranksters Fight Like Apes report exclusively from their recent trips to Canadian Music Week and the South By South West indie festival in Austin, Texas.
Scissor Sisters are back, and this time they’re on a mission to channel Elton John, Paul McCartney and the Bee Gees into the first soft rock masterpiece of the 21st Century. In an exclusive interview, the group’s main songwriter, Babydaddy, gives us the lowdown on their second coming.
Triumph Of The Will meets Spinal Tap and Bach meets Sabbath as METALLICA join
forces with 101 dinner jackets. Peter Murphy travels to Berlin to sample the results.
STEPHEN ROBINSON meets author JAMIE O’NEILL, who’s acclaimed first novel At Swim Two Boys, which concerns a sexual relationship between two Irish boys and an older Englishman set against the background of the 1916 rising
Their name may be derived from a river that runs through the Scottish capital of Glasgow, but the word on the streets is that like Wimbledon Scottish second division leaders Clydebank are considering a controversial move to Dublin. Report: stuart clark.
As the summer finally begins to fade and the dark nights of winter start to creep in, many of us look for a last chance to get an away break before the build-up for Christmas begins. Jackie Hayden reviews some of the options countrywide.
BARRY GLENDENNING pays suitably dewy-eyed tribute to Seinfeld, the unfeasibly popular American sit-com which lasted nine years, despite the fact that nothing ever actually happened on it.
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.
Intrepid explorer Olaf Tyaransen stops scratching his arse long enough to detail his ongoing struggle with mosquito bites, view a DVD package of Tsunami footage and inadvertently attend a Thai funeral.
From 15-28 July 2002 Galway city hosts one of the most comprehensive of this year's arts festivals with esoteric offerings from the genres of visual art, music, theatre, comedy and lots, lots more
Following in the footsteps of Joy Division, The Smiths and The Stone Roses, Mancunian rockers Doves have continued the tradition of musical excellence for which their hometown is internationally renowned. With their new opus Some Cities in the offing, vocalist Jimi Goodwin here discusses apocalyptic weather, urban decay and those abandoned recording sessions with Madonna’s producer.
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
Have you ever wondered about the diminutive character who keeps the Irish soccer team supplied with clean jerseys, hard balls and, er, all sorts of other footballing paraphernalia? That's Charlie O’Leary, kit man to the Republic of Ireland squad. Here he talks about;the secrets of his behind-the-scenes trade, the players’ bizarre likes and dislikes and the controversies of USA ’94 to Paul O’Mahony.
The second day of the Music Show brought together James Bond composer David Arnold, Enya producer Nicky Ryan, Christy Moore, Sharon Corr and... The Blizzards
You'd have thought that 12 consecutive top 40 hits would have earned them the key to the executive bathroom but, nope, before the ink was even dry on their Guinness Book Of Records entry, THE WEDDING PRESENT were shown the door by their record company. Unperturbed, everyone's favourite indie popsters found a new label, a new bass player and a new studio accomplice who's helped them produce their best album since the classic George Best. A slightly battered and bruised DAVE GEDGE gives a blow-by-blow account of the events to our ringside reporter STUART CLARK.
Her split with Damien Rice caused headlines around the music world. Now Lisa Hannigan is taking her first steps as a solo artist with a wonderfully ethereal debut album, Sea Sew. She talks to hot press about the end of her partnership with Rice, her hopes for the future and the influence of romantic entanglements on her powerfully feminine songwriting.
Twelve years since he retired his blood-stained Die Hard vest, Bruce Willis is back for another bite at the franchise. He talks about his see-saw acting career and why he and ex-wife Demi Moore will always be friends.
The star of cult movies such as Natural Born Killers, Kalifornia and Strange Days, Juliette Lewis appeared to have a direct entry to rock's premier league when she turned her attention to her punk outfit The Licks. Instead, she opted to embark on a small-scale tour and play a series of small venues throughout the US and Europe. Peter Murphy was on hand as Lewis' magical mystery tour reached Ireland, and was witness to some truly fascinating scenes as the singer and her band bewitched the Dublin indie cognoscenti, travelled south to rock Limerick and strolled the red carpet to join the glitterati backstage at the Meteor Awards. Photography by Liam Sweeney.
From the biggest international names to the most dynamic local creations, festivals make Ireland a good place to be in summer, even when the sun refuses to put in an appearance
The Corrs hit paydirt with In Blue, an album of memorable pop songs that topped the charts in over twenty countries around the world. It gave them the breathing space they needed to re-establish their roots, to live a little and to reassess their purpose as a band. Now, with the release of Borrowed Heaven, they’re back in the music biz frontline – slightly older, considerably wiser, but still with the same hunger to make great and honest records.
Metallica are back with an album that recaptures their brain-frying '80s pomp. Frontman James Hetfield talks about the dark side of hedonism and his love of Thin Lizzy.
A House are really good! That s just one of the shocking claims Graham Linehan makes in this award winning article based loosely on an interview he did with the band.
It was a night of mayhem, hysteria and high decibel screaming which left LIAM FAY psychologically, emotionally and aesthetically scarred. It was TAKE THAT’S Irish debut at The Point. This is his report from the front line.
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...
With cork set to become european capital of culture just over a year from now, Colm O’Hare reports on the cultural attractions punters will be treated to by the lee in 2005
Or perhaps that's 27 under the present squad numbering system. JEFF KENNA may be living in Garry Kelly's international shadow but that doesn't mean the former Palmerstown Rangers full-back isn't one of the Premiereship's brightest prospects and a genuine contender for the Ireland team as the Green Army advances towards the European Championships. Interview and bollocking from Jack Charlton: STUART CLARK
Pix: COLM HENRY
With a little help from Timbaland and The Neptunes, Justin Timberlake’s debut solo album justified propelled him from N’Sync baby food salesman to purveyor of the slickest dancefloor pop since the days when Michael Jackson was black. here, via the wonders of modern technology, HP eavesdrops as the boy wonder receives a Woodward & Bernstein-style investigative enema from the Euro-press.
GER PHILPOTT examines the terrible ordeal of American writer Robert drake who was savagely attacked in Sligo earlier this year against the wider backdrop of continuing violence against gays in Ireland.
There are no guarantees of success in the music biz, but if you have what it takes there is plenty of expert help available to ensure you give it your best shot.
As Barack Obama gets ready to take up residence at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, Bob Geldof, Josh Ritter and Laura Izibor offer their views on his presidency. Plus what the rest of the rock ‘n’ roll community including Bruce Springsteen and Ani DiFranco are saying about the new man in the White House.
Peter Murphy meets former Led Zeppelin bassist JOHN PAUL JONES as he releases his first solo album. On the agenda pacts with the Devil, Jones musical education, and thoughts on Eno, Nico and Charles Mingus.
In Francie Brady aka Frank Pig, author PAT McCABE has created one of the most unique characters in Irish fiction, an underground cult hero who's already been likened to Holden Caulfield and Huckleberry Finn. The novel from which he comes, The Butcher Boy, is a smash hit on both sides of the Atlantic and work on the movie adaptation is already well advanced. Here, the man who's made a silk purse out of a sow's ear (sort of) talks comics, showbands, the human condition and, of course, pigs, in the company of LIAM FAY. Pix: COLM HENRY
The winds of change have been blowing through Northern Ireland in 1998, with the endorsement of the Belfast Agreement and the establishment of the Assembly. But that only made it more likely that extreme loyalists would portray the march to Drumcree church near Portadown, and the July 12th parades, as an opportunity for Protestants and Orangemen to make a final stand. It was surely shaping up for a season of discontent – until the Quinn brothers were murdered in a loyalist sectarian petrol bomb attack on their home. By Niall Stanage. Photos: Peter Matthews.
Did you ever find yourself wondering ‘Where have I heard that song before?’ Well, Andy Darlington may be able to help as he trawls through the tangled undergrowth of that increasingly common phenomenon: The Cover Version
Or should that be The Clash? Well no, actually, cos there's no Clash, Damned or Pistols in 1999. But there s still joe strummer, who was there when Shane got his ear bitten off and, 22 years later is back for his own second bite with THE MESCALEROS. I ve seen everything that it s possible to see go down and I ve survived it, he tells STUART CLARK who finds himself shanghaied on a ferry to Stranraer.
Main pix: MICHAEL QUINN.
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"
From the pits to the pits no, hang on, that s the story of Welsh soccer. Or is it Welsh rugby? For the manic street preachers, by contrast, it s all onwards and upwards. james dean bradfield tells jonathan o brien about their unlikely climb to the top.
The future is here. Well, somehow it always is. And, as usual, it is both familiar and strange. Nothing seems to change, but one day you turn around, it is 1995, and you are cybersurfing on the internet, summer seems to last all winter, ambient-acid-techno is bubbling away on the radio, your fax machine shows up on the Antiques Roadshow and papa’s got a brand new drug.
There are many who must have thought it was pie in the sky when Jimmy Wales set about creating Wikipedia. Less than a decade later, the forum he created boasts over 12 million entries and has become the fourth most used website in the world. No wonder so many people want to interview him, but so few do...
When Nirvana exploded out of Seattle with the classic grunge album Nevermind, they were hailed as modern primitives, punk upstarts whose hard musical edge and authentic street style were the antithesis of the dominant ethos of corporate rock. Two years on however, their reputation as Rock 'n' Roll rebels is somewhat less secure. Bill Graham sifts through two new biographies of the band, and talks to Victoria clarke, the co-author of a third which has been effectively surpressed by the Nirvana 'corporation'.
Jape and Lisa Hannigan may inhabit opposite ends of the musical spectrum but their careers have followed remarkably similar paths. On the road together in the UK, he talks about bagging the Choice Music Prize and she discusses her dramatic split from Damien Rice
With his upcoming concert in Poulaphouca marking his solo Irish debut, it's been all too easy in the recent past to overlook Bob Geldof's standing as a musical and lyrical artist. The lines connecting the youthful Dun Laoghaire blues and Dylan aficionado with the creator of The Vegetarians Of Love are rarely traced in media-bytes that prefer to concentrate on Modest Bob, Live Aid Bob and Saint Bob. Here, Bill Graham, who knew the schoolboy, takes musician Bob on a freewheeling trip from then to now.
With his upcoming concert in Poulaphouca marking his solo Irish debut, it's been all too easy in the recent past to overlook Bob Geldof's standing as a musical and lyrical artist. The lines connecting the youthful Dun Laoghaire blues and Dylan aficionado with the creator of The Vegetarians Of Love are rarely traced in media-bytes that prefer to concentrate on Modest Bob, Live Aid Bob and Saint Bob. Here, Bill Graham, who knew the schoolboy, takes musician Bob on a freewheeling trip from then to now.
With his upcoming concert in Poulaphouca marking his solo Irish debut, it s been all too easy in the recent past to overlook Bob Geldof s standing as a musical and lyrical artist. The lines connecting the youthful Dun Laoghaire blues and Dylan aficionado with the creator of The Vegetarians Of Love are rarely traced in media-bytes that prefer to concentrate on Modest Bob, Live Aid Bob and Saint Bob. Here, Bill Graham, who knew the schoolboy, takes musician Bob on a freewheeling trip from then to now.
Prince may be content just to party but in a four-page special the Hot Press journalistic elite takes a look at everything 1999 has to offer. And then some.
Saturday, July 13th, 1985 will go down in history as Live Aid Day, the extraordinary culmination of Bob Geldof's attempts to mobilise the international music industry behind urgently-needed famine relief in Africa. Among the stellar cast performing for 72,000 people at Wembley Stadium, London are U2, a band determined to rise to the occasion. Report: Neil McCormick
Career criminal Dutchy Holland died yesterday in prison. Long one of Ireland's most infamous criminals it was regularly reported and assumed that he was one of the men who killed Veronica Guerin.
And in the end times, when the Tower of Babel has crumbled into dust, the empire of empires shall grow fat with things sacrificed unto idols. And as they survey the vast expanse at their command they will say unto each other – “ruling sucks – let us go and inflict brain damage on each other by falling off skateboards and bouncing into ceiling fans.”
Co-written and directed by Dave McKean, Gaiman’s regular inker, with creature effects provided by the Henson Creature Workshop, the film momentarily recalls any number of spectacular rites-of-passage fantasies – The Wizard Of Oz, Labyrinth and Spirited Away all come to mind – while not being quite like anything you’ve ever seen before.
If nothing else, The Jacket kicks off with plenty by way of intrigue. Adrien Brody is shipped home following a near fatal gunshot in 1991 but his post-combat sanity is far from assured. One snowy Vermont moment, he’s assisting a drunk woman (Kelly Lynch) and her little girl at a roadside, then a memory lapse later, he’s being electroshocked by Kris Kristofferson’s sinister shrink after being found guilty of killing a cop.
The animation empire’s apparent inability to produce a shit movie really is getting a bit sinister. Their uncanny run of form continues with The Incredibles.
This remake of Takashi Shimuzi’s creepy hit, The Grudge belongs firmly within this sub-genre’s successful tradition and happily, the project’s godfather, Sam Raimi has retained the services of the original director and the spooky Tokyo setting.
Strange, but true; Disney have never yet won the Academy Award for Best Animated Film, and that’s unlikely to change this year if there’s any justice in the world.
Though not bellowing as maniacally as has sometimes been his wont, Pacino still brings all the subtlety of a flying brick to the proceedings, while useful co-stars such as Jay Mohr and Catherine Keener are under-deployed
Something of a buddy movie, L & S is all about an orphaned Hawaiian girl who adopts a cute big-eyed sharp-fanged dog, who in reality is a mutant alien programmed to destroy
In order to facilitate the emphasis on spectacle, narrative and characterisation are almost completely sacrificed – and while there is some genuine sense of a stand-off for the movie’s final hour, it’ s rendered as an undifferentiated mish-mash of special effects and loud bangs.
You have a film which finally can compete with the moment in Ace Ventura: Pet Detective where Jim Carrey attempts to talk through his arse in terms of sheer desperation to generate cheap audience laughs.
Possibly weirder than anything Cronenberg has done before (and we're talking about the man responsible for Crash and Naked Lunch here), Existenz is the most genuinely warped film I've seen in several years, and like most of the man's work, it leaves you quite unsure what to make of it.
Not quite fitting into the classic singer-songwriter mode Lee blends a kind of quirky pop-folk-country with all manner of unusual but complementary studio doodles.
Here comes the moment we’ve all been anticipating for the last four years, and the really good news is that the return of the mighty Spiritualized is one to relish.
From quasi-Motorhead tribute act to one of the biggest rock ’n’ roll bands on the planet, the Metallica story has been crying out for a proper telling which it finally gets courtesy of this meticulously researched biog.
Some men are used to having sex served up to them on a plate – so when they finally encounter a woman resistant to their 'charms', the results aren’t always pleasant to behold.
Fans of Delaware emo rockers boysetsfire are in for some sad news - they've announced their demise. The only saving grace is their last ever shows they have planned are in Belfast and Dublin.
Dig out those Take That T-shirts, scarves, badges, window stickers, patches, lever arch files, pencils, records, posters and coffee mugs: Take That are relighting their fire with a 2006 tour, and it's coming to Dublin and Belfast!
This fascinating album sits down fiddler Séamus Creagh, accordionist Aidan Coffey and guitarist Mick Daly alongside five of their Newfoundland counterparts, to collaborate on tunes from both traditions.
As revealed in the last issue of Hot Press and officially confirmed today, Antony & The Johnsons pay a June 21 visit to Cork for the Live At The Marquee series of gigs.
Either Scout Niblett doesn’t believe in making things easy for music reviewers or else the sleeve notes for her third album disappeared somewhere between HP Towers and my house, because my copy of Kidnapped By Neptune doesn’t even have song titles, let alone lyrics.
Performance artist Mark McGowan has been stopped from pulling 300 kilos of potatoes along the road from Ballymun to Drumcondra dressed as Bertie Ahern as it was seen to be too “politically sensitive”
Last month's tough budget provoked extraordinary public outrage, with thousands taking to the streets in protest. In the new issue of Hot Press, Brian Cowen defends the government's decisions to raise taxes and cut funding for healthcare and education.
Cass and Slide are progressive house producers - top notch ones, in fact - who are obviously conscious of the fact that it's not really a genre that's best suited to albums
To be the honest, the history of Madonna remixes has been a chequered one. Even during her last golden period, every ‘Like A Prayer’ or William Orbit overhaul of ‘Justify My Love’ was followed by another dull as dishwater 4/4 dance mix of some other tune. Such trepidation, however, can be dismissed when approaching this impressive seven-track collection.
The boy is very much back in town on August 20 when a slew of Phil Lynott’s friends and admirers gather for the mother of all tribute concerts in The Point.
It’s easy to scoff at one-trick ponies, but what happens when the one trick is particularly nifty? Consider Louis XIV, who hark back to the days of T-Rex and Bowie.
It seems that two of Galway's finest comedy venues have come to an agreement about how to maximise the entertainment in the Tribal city
Brendan Burke has branched out into the promotions game and is hosting a series of comedy gigs in Gibney’s of Malahide on Friday evenings
A&E isn’t a reinvention for Spiritualized, but while that might be a disappointment for some, the comforting embrace of familiarity shouldn’t be underrated.
Grandaddy are no slouches when it comes to arrangement. Every track on this album is beautifully executed, with inventive touches adding momentum and depth to the songs.
Let’s try to imagine for a moment that this was a collection of duets that, somehow, managed to hook Brother Ray up with the guys and gals who benefited most from his example.
Since 1977 Hot Press has looked at music, books, film, culture and politics. This bumper birthday issue looks back at the best bits of the last 30 years.
Engineers’ debut mini-album, Folly, indicated a love of all things arcane and prog, and their self-titled LP honours this tradition nicely. Coming across for all the world like a post-apocalyptic Mercury Rev, or a Zen-like Air, Engineers have mastered a wondrous union of adventuresome, obtuse sound-scapes and autumnal calm.
Space rock is a term that has been bandied about a lot recently, in a facile attempt to nail down the other-worldly magical sounds of Spiritualized and Mercury Rev.
LET US go back in time to the events preceding the Nazi takeover of Lansdowne Road. You may recall that a football match had been in progress, and that the Republic of Ireland were trouncing England 1-0.
"Reinvigorated by lightweight digital technology the master craftsman goes back to the drawing board and unleashes the undead into our streets as if for the first time."
Essentially a '90s remake of Porky's Revenge and its sequels, American Pie (provisionally entitled Virgin Territory) is as smutty, juvenile and lowbrow as anything you'll ever see. Its saving grace is that it is, for the most part, hilarious and curiously charming.
Even with the explosion of F.G.T.H. 1984 saw the rebirth of ‘the song’ (and songwriting) and the return of rock’s most rudimentary and potent instrument, the guitar.
Beatles-fixated guitar bands may not be exactly what the world is waiting for right now but local lads, Pugwash, carry it off with such aplomb that it’s hard not to succumb to their charms.
"AURORA BOREALIS/The icy sky at night."
Neil Young's opening lines from Pocahontas could've been written to evoke the first international release by Icelandic quartet Sigur Ros.
Having parted company with Primal Scream, Kevin Shields has remixed two Bow Wow Wow tracks for Sofia Coppola’s latest blockbuster-in-the-making, Marie Antoinette.
Watch a video interview with the drumkit-destroying, earbleed-causing, album-of-the-year-contender-writing and highly lovable apocalypse-rockers And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead. Whew!
Unlike vaguely acceptable horror remakes The Amityville Horror and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, this latest chunk of carrion is distinguished only by rank uselessness.
In the final months of his battle with cancer, Tony Gregory sat down with Hot Press to discuss his life and career. Knowing it would be his final interview he was in a reflective frame of mind...
If you're actively looking for reasons to dislike this movie, there's no shortage of them, but if you're prepared to roll with it and take it on its own terms, you'll be rewarded richly in terms of entertainment.
The album divides neatly into two categories – raucous trancey rock songs and strident soulful tunes. With the latter, Pierce evinces to wonderful effect his refined sense of pace and song structure.
BARRY GLENDENNING incurs the wrath of several very hungover Irish comedians by dragging them out of bed to give progress reports after week one of the Edinburgh Festival.
Nice to see Father Ted’s Graham Linehan back in Dublin recently, taking a break from writing his latest project, a comedy feature film set in ‘20s Paris
It appears that the Smuggler’s Tour scheduled for Vicar St on February 18th and featuring Howard Marks and Robert Sabbag has been canceled
Tommy Tiernan is keeping schtum about his recent visit to the USA where he ‘had talks’ with TV entertainment giant NBC
OPPORTUNISTIC DUBLIN comedy impressario Buzz O Neill hasn t been letting the grass grow under his feet since pulling down the shutters on the Corduroy Comedy Club at Dublin s Norseman just before Christmas.
This, their third album and first for Interscope, is a thrilling revelation of a fully-fledged and totally unique bruising rock sound
Music Review | Live
24% | 1 Jul 2004
Tanya Sweeney
As Metallica take to the stage amid a cacophony of fireworks, it seems that, despite their sonic brutality, their slick show is beginning to feel a little…well, inauthentic. In fact, it feels a little like Imax…but with a much better soundtrack.
Reputed to have been the IRA's Chief of Intelligence, Bobby Storey talks for the first time about his role in the struggle, his organising role in the Maze prison break, and his feelings on IRA violence.
WE ARE pleased to report that following the second anniversary of the Murphy’s Corduroy Comedy Club (The Norseman, Temple Bar, Thursday nights), resident compere John Henderson has decided to move upstairs (metaphorically speaking, of course – the Club is already upstairs) in order to oversee Corduroy affairs from his new position as Director of Comedy.
This compilation brings together a tenuously-linked group of artists who got tired of waiting for record companies to open their ears and decided to release their own music.
In a dramatic development that will intensify the competition in the upcoming European elections considerably, Patricia McKenna has confirmed, in an interview in the latest issue of Hot Press, that she’s quitting the Green party to stand as an independent Euro candidate.
1985 has got to remember as the year when one of the most spoiled, wasteful, self-indulgent and ephemeral industries on earth suddenly woke up, not only to the urgent insistence of its conscience within the person of Bob Geldof, but to its power to actually achieve something, (to raise money and thereby save lives), given the right motivation and mechanism.
He comes from a long line of priests – including his own father. But now, as Archbishop of Dublin, Dr. John Neill is one of the most influential people in the Anglican church.
Tonight’s noisily chatty office-party crowd are certainly excited about something, but it may or may not be Life After Modelling. They should be, though: the Lifers’ short set is a compact bang-zap of straight-as-a-die Noughties post-punk, leavened by dreamlike, hand-holdey boy-girl harmonies.
There seems to be a remarkable unwillingness among modern priests, and indeed Catholics generally, to nail their colours to the mast. What’s good about Pope Benedict and his recently announced views on hell, is that he makes it clear: you’re either on the bus or you’re not…
It’s an unappetising mix of Mills & Boon sentiment and yuppie vacuosity, with the unimaginative plot pitching obnoxious workaholic ad-exec Nelson Moss (Reeves) and bland nonentity Sara (Theron) together
They say that he was among the most powerful – and the most ruthless – Republican activists of them all. Here the legendary Bobby Storey, reputed to have been Director of Intelligence for the IRA, talks for the first time about his role in the struggle, and about some of the critical events that led to the IRA ceasefire and the Peace Process.
WAKE up. Look at yourself in the mirror, Ian Paisley. What do you see? There’s three children’s faces there. Tight cropped hair. Grins from ear to ear.
In the new Hot Press, convicted blackmailer Ian Strachan tells his full story for the first time, outing a Royal aide for indulging in sex and drug parties, and revealing intimate details about the Royal Family.
Having followed Kylie’s career throughout my Australian adolescence, it was with great excitement that I went along to the Point to be reunited with the diminutive singer for the Showgirl: Greatest Hits tour. On the final night of a five night run at the Point, I was intrigued, but not surprised, to see that Kylie had drawn such a cross-section of society.
In an ideal world where people of consummate good taste (Er, anyone we know,George? - Ed) ruled the radio waves, the much-maligned genre of power pop would - by rights - be an airplay staple and practitioners of this noble art such as Fountains Of Wayne …
From rockers on the breadline to the political leader who has turned his mother into a deity, it’s all been grist to the mill of Caught In The Net in 2003. Stuart Clark presents the top ten.
There hasn’t been a debut this ominous and arresting from sleepy Lincolnshire since a radiant young Margaret Thatcher first addressed the Tory conference, and we all know how that one ended up.
We'd like to point out that comedian and author ian macpherson chose the headline himself. Still, what did happen to the great bright hope of Irish comedy? NICK KELLY finds out.
“And now we havf ze results of ze ‘elseekni jooury” … burble, squeal, zeekzrrzzsngtum … oops, we’re sorry, we’ll write that again … the result of the Hot Press jury, who wish to profusely thank David Byrne for all those pints he bought us in the International Bar last week – even if he did rather endanger his chances with all those neo-structuralist musings about The Bogmen.
Jimmy Wales, the normally reclusive creator of Wikipedia, now the fourth most visited website in the world, has spoken at length, for the first time, about his life and his work. The interview, conducted by Jason O'Toole for Hot Press magazine, took place over three hours in the San Francisco offices of Wikia Inc, the spin off commercial relative-sites of the volunteer driven Wikipedia.
The Oxegen bill has just become even tastier with ten new acts being confirmed for Punchestown.
These are Razorlight, Elbow, Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds, Pete Doherty, The Ting Tings, White Lies, Fight Like Apes, Jason Mraz, Pendulum and Yeah Yeah Yeahs.
Need help, advice or a second opinion? Put your music industry question to the oracle@hotpress.ie.
This fortnight, Jason from Monaghan was looking at an American recording contract recently and asks what does the term, “Reserve Fund Holdback Percentages” mean and wonders if these types of terms are inserted into contracts just to baffle the ordinary artist?
For a month there, I thought I had something good going with someone; until he finished it last week. It was strange revisiting the pleasures of coupledom; it had been two years since my last relationship ground to a shuddering, gory halt. This time around, it has a no-blame feel to the ending
The Last Of The High Kings (Directed by David Keating. Starring Jared Leto, Catherine O’Hare, Gabriel Byrne, Colm Meaney, Lorraine Pilkington, Emily Mortimer, Christina Ricci.)
Laughlines was pleased to be among the invited comedy glitteratti at the final of RTE’s New Comedy Awards. Catherine Maher's latest project is a sit-com for RTE television based around the myths and legends of ancient Ireland which should be broadcast in late 2002.Corkonian comic Michael Mee takes his latest one-man-show to his native city when he visits the Lobby Bar for one night only on Sunday, November 25th.
Time, it seems, has not mellowed Cure mainman Robert Smith one iota. If anything, this eponymous album, the band’s first since 1999’s Bloodflowers, is the angriest they’ve ever been.
It was far from edifying, watching Bertie Ahern attempt to slug it out with the Mahon Tribunal. Now that it's all over, maybe we can get down to some real politics...
While we have taken RTE television to task in the past for its less-than-perfect comedy output it seems that RTE Radio 1 is determined to make up for lost ground
He is the doyen of one-liners and one of the great physical comedians of the age. But don’t expect Emo Philips to crack up when conversation turns to the subject of Ireland’s roads.
It's been a hell of a ride at Hot Press central over the past few weeks, what with a controversial drugs issue to defend, and a whole new look to usher in.
FOR A band capable of composing such cockle-warming ballads as 'The Universal' and 'To The End', there's always been something innately stand-offish about Blur. At worst, this quality manifested itself in the smug observations of British Lotto culture that made up the bulk of 1995's The Great Escape, a work largely flawed by champagne-fatigue and a lack of compassion for its subjects.
HAILING FROM Macroom, Co. Cork are the recently formed Coil, a four-piece who trade in a type of narcotic Goth pop music. The group’s line-up is Ann-Marie Ryan (vocals), Mark Tangney (guitar), Paul Kelleher (bass) and Rory Hanly (drums).
The press didn t want him in the Ireland team, he had to mark a 6 4 Czech on his debut, and he got hauled off at half-time. Paul Butler . . . come on down!
The first Hot Press of 2008 focuses on the many weird and wonderful things that are in prospect, in music, movies, comedy, fashion – oh, and life in bloody general! It promises to be a fascinating year.
EVERY COMEDIAN enjoys a “corporate”, those occasional highly paid bookings by companies who wish to bring their staff out for an evening’s worth of drunken ribaldry and mirth.
Comedienne Eleanor Tiernan invites Anne Sexton into her Georgian home, and talks to her about childhood holidays in Kerry, her love of JP Donleavy, and writing a play – well, kind of – about Damien Rice and Damien Dempsey.
Some good news for clubbing fans – the annual 12 hour dance marathon at Fairyhouse Racecourse is to go ahead in the summer. And this time, it’s got a brand new name.
Naked Camera star PJ Gallagher is a young comedian in a hurry. A few weeks from now, he’ll be off to conquer the States – or at least his alter ego Jake Stevens will be. Before that, there’s the small matter of his biggest stand-up tour to date. Assuming, that is, he doesn’t suffer a last minute attack of nerves.
New York blues prodigy JOE BONAMASSA is making a name as one of the hottest young guitar-slingers in the West. With a Dublin visit on the way, he's foaming at the mouth at the prospect of visiting Rory Gallagher's home country.
Well, it’s back to the future time again, as we woozily welcome in 1995. With happy hearts and sick stomachs and peace and integration high on the list of high hopes, we kick off Demo Parade with a mixture of groups from home and abroad.
OKAY, SO Manchester United may have been held to a 2-2 draw by David Elleray last week, but there can be no doubt as to the biggest story of the footballing fortnight.
Louth comic Patrick McDonnell has seen his profile rise of late, courtesy of TV appearances. But he d be quite happy to scratch my arse and watch Countdown , he tells NICK KELLY.
As he prepares for the Murphy s Ungagged Festival in Killarney this weekend, the compire s compire, JOHN HENDERSON, tells NICK KELLY why rumours of stand-up comedy s death have been greatly exaggerated.
Northern Irishman Colin Murphy's Blizzard of Odd series on Network 2 takes a scathing look at some of the stranger films and television shows that appear on our screens. The actor, writer and comedian returns to the stage this month with a brand new stand-up show that proves he's more than just a telly-addict. Stephen Robinson meets the man who puts the 'ouch' in couch potato
t’s all going on north of the border this fortnight with a new imprint launching in Belfast and a Derry electro duo giving Beyonce a banging make-over.
According to Buzz Records in Chicago, the sound that’s created by Irish band Half Film is “music for the solitary life”. Maybe it’s appropriate, then, that we’ve interviewed them without even talking, never mind meeting face to face.
Our columnist wasn’t exactly popping open the champagne at the news that Mark Thatcher had escaped with a suspended sentence for his part in the attempted coup in Equatorial Guinea. Plus: why Bono’s gushing endorsement at the Labour Party Conference has allowed Blair and Brown to continue to get away with murder.
Under severe editorial pressure, journalist/comedian BARRY GLENDENNING is forced to interview himself. But then, given time, he would have anyway.
Pic: Peter Mathews.
In which, after a year spent in the Savoy, our film editor declares her craw full to the brim with CGI animals, gloomy rom-coms and Celtic Tiger thrillers. But there were more than a few pearls in the pig-trough too.
The glut of fingerpointing and speculation in the wake of our World Cup exit has generally been based on ignorance and a green-tinted view of the past. Niall Stokes asks the hard questions, and answers them.
Liverpool club Cream has, as expected, announced a major change in their DJ booking policy for 1997. From January the club will be concentrating on resident DJs in its main rooms, and guests will now only occasionally appear in the club’s Courtyard area.
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....
The Irish were out in force at MIDEM, the annual music industry bash held in Cannes, in the south of France last week. With Irish music’s international stock running high and the Minister for Arts, Culture and the Gaeltacht Michael D. Higgins on hand to lend his support, it proved to be a very interesting year. Report: Niall Stokes.
Freddie Middleton, the General Manager of BMG Records in Ireland has been twenty years in the music business. Here Hot Press, and his many friends in the industry, pay him a special tribute.
Located in Dublin’s thriving Temple Bar area and owned by U2, The Kitchen is one of the hottest clubs in one of the most happening cities in Europe. Report: Colm O’Hare
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.
