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.
Loaded vocalist and guitarist DUFF McKAGAN has one complaint, that nobody has yet invented a system that would make soundchecks unnecessary. Jackie Hayden interrupted the former Guns N’ Roses bassist at his band’s rehearsal cabin on the eve of their visit to Ireland.
With Velvet Revolver in limbo until they find a singer to replace Scott Weiland, Duff McKagan brings his Loaded side-project to Ireland this September.
He's barely recovered from Velvet Revolver but Duff McKagan is back with his Loaded side-project. He talks about Scott Weiland's departure from VR and his plane ride with a doomed Kurt Cobain
Let’s face it, we all love the Puerto Rican heart-throb that answers to the name Ricky; well, in small doses. In summer '99, 'Livin' La Vida Loca' lit up the charts as one of the finest sunshine and kookiness hits in recent years.
On the eve of the Childline benefit gig at which she is one of the hosts, EMMA LEDDEN talks to Stephen Robinson about the rock'n'roll lifestyle, why she'll never model nude, and"loafing" Gary Barlow.
Almost unheralded, in "Raintown" Scotland's Deacon Blue have made one of the year's outstanding albums. Despite extensive critical kudos, however, the first two singles from the album - "Dignity" and "Loaded" - failed to make any inroads into the charts. A third single, the excellent "When Will You (Make My Telephone Ring)" looks as if it might enable Deacon Blue to prise open the door. Nevertheless the band must be perturbed at their relative lack of success to date.
Column favorites Loaded get back on the
breakbeat track with this excellent offering from Leuroj (also one-half of Slacker - but don’t hold that against him). ‘Stickdance’ is the most interesting, a cracking combination of breaks, techno and house that’s appeal to a variety of dancefloors. We need more records like this!
Just in time for his sold-out gig in Cork – for which tickets were 60 smackers a pop – Fiddy helpfully tells us how rich he is in rap form. The reason why he’s so loaded is because he can make even this subject matter sound appealing, damn him. There’s no massive hook and the lyrics are a little hard to decipher, but he oozes confidence and originality, which is enough to get my vote.
Missing out on the acclaim afforded fellow travellers The Strokes and The White Stripes, New Zealand band The Datsuns have decided to give their bluesy sound a indie makeover. ‘System Overload’ is duly loaded with Strokes guitars, topped off with a ridiculously OTT guitar solo. Indie greatness may well be within their sights.
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
Impossibly depressing, ‘Thirty One’ is unlikely to get you out of bed in the morning. Yet there’s something inexplicably beautiful about the latest single lifted from Matt Lunson’s excellent Miss Vaughn LP. Lunson’s voice captures the inherent depression in growing older, compounded by drunken birthday celebrations. “I’m thirty-one years closer to dying,” he sings, “And I’m loaded again”. Enough said.
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"
Although all ten of these tracks come loaded with gorgeous ornamentation – delicate string arrangements, subtle guitar plucks, resonant brass and tablas – they are essentially weak-hearted affairs
For the most important album of their post-Joshua Tree career, U2 loaded up on Nine Inch Nails, My Bloody Valentine and Sonic Youth records, whilst also taking account of rhythmic developments in Manchester and Detroit. The result was an intoxicating brew of hard-edged industrial klang (‘Zoo Station, ‘The Fly’) and funky, danceable grooves (‘Even Better Than The Real Thing’, ‘Mysterious Ways’).
Declan de Barra is an interesting character. Back in Ireland after a long stretch in Australia, where he fronted the well regarded Clann Zu, he is an eco-warrior by disposition. But on the enigmatically titled Song Of A Thousand Birds, he manages to maintain a healthy distance from any tendency to merely preach, instead investing even the most politically loaded tracks with a poetic intimacy.
Joining the ranks of surveillance flicks such as My Little Eye and Section 8, this latest post-reality TV offering is (initially) suitably sinister, conceptually quite challenging and loaded with big, hefty ideas that nod toward Foucault and Orwell and so forth. But just as you’re there thinking ‘Ah, so we make our own prisons’ and, ‘So Big Brother isn’t just a vile televisual concept of ever-limboing standards’, things go terrifically awry.
Why do people read magazines? An interesting poser in view of the last decade: the era that brought us multimedia and the Internet, the cultural idea of “dumbing down”, and that saw “content” production in the media – what we read, what we listen to, what we even hear about – fall conclusively into the hands of the profit-or-die multinationals. The question is in the news pages this month following reports that landmark American music and youth culture magazine Rolling Stone is breaking with its 35-year tradition of intelligent cultural and political journalism to move into the racy male-lifestyle-mag arena, under the stewardship of British editor Ed Needham, famous for giving the world “lad” magazine FHM.
Why do people read magazines? An interesting poser in view of the last decade: the era that brought us multimedia and the Internet, the cultural idea of “dumbing down”, and that saw “content” production in the media – what we read, what we listen to, what we even hear about – fall conclusively into the hands of the profit-or-die multinationals. The question is in the news pages this month following reports that landmark American music and youth culture magazine Rolling Stone is breaking with its 35-year tradition of intelligent cultural and political journalism to move into the racy male-lifestyle-mag arena, under the stewardship of British editor Ed Needham, famous for giving the world “lad” magazine FHM. …
The Hives’ irrepressible Howlin’ Pelle Almqvist talks to Tanya Sweeney about the band’s uproarious live shows, their most Spinal Tap moment to date, and how they keep their white suits in pristine shape throughout the rigours of the festival season
It's not just bands that make a scene. Ken Maguire talks about setting up kilkennymusic.com, and the impact it's had on the local rock 'n' roll fraternity.
PROFESSOR POE senior sat in the kitchen with his head in a sound magazine, chuckled to himself, took another sip of coffee and read on. It was an article on the latest innovation in speaker design with one party saying that they had a new invention and another party introducing the same idea but with a different name saying it was theirs.
Striking nurses need to convince the public that their demands for extra pay and shorter hours will lead to a better health service. So far, they haven’t done so.
With The Commitments, Black Velvet Band, Hothouse Flowers and a range of acting credits already to her name, MARIA DOYLE KENNEDY is finally releasing her debut solo album.
PETER MURPHY is charmed
It’s hardcore heaven this autumn as Dischord records release a 20-year retrospective CD, the story of Hope Promotions is chronicled in a new book and Fugazi return for an Irish tour
YOU CAN pretty much guess what was said at the first editorial meeting.
We re going to produce a magazine like Loaded, except without the humour, irony and people who possess a modicum of journalistic talent.
ON YET another wet and brisk February morning, Professor Poe was to be found in his kitchen, a cup of coffee in one hand and his definitive books on speakers in the other.
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.
Masters of the macabre the League Of Gentlemen have now extended their reign of terror beyond the confines of sinister township Royston Vasey. Their feature film sees Tubbs, Edward and the rest of the gang set their sights on a fresh target – the real world. Interview by Tara Brady.
Comedian and promoter MALCOLM HARDEE discusses his hopes for the Laughter Lounge, Dublin s spanking new 400-seater venue dedicated exclusively to stand-up comedy, and tells BARRY GLENDENNING the epic tale of the night he stole Freddie Mercury s birthday cake.
Billy Bragg’s larynx, sexual politics, and Jilly Cooper paperbacks. What’s it all about? NICK KELLY finds out when he beams himself up to the planet DUBSTAR.
Raised in the Bible belt, Kings Of Leon have fallen in love with the devil’s music. In an exclusive interview, they explain why rock ‘n roll is just like preaching and reveal what’s in store on their next album.
The days of pop dominance are over. The worm has turned, and a whole new slew of blood and guts rock and roll bands are coming through with records that carry more than a hint of greatness. The darkling posse is headed by the Kings Of Leon – but there are outfits from all over the world who will be vying for poll position over the coming 12 months.
In 1993 she was broke, broken-hearted and reaching for a gun. Ten years on she’s a rich, famous, happily married author, celebrated worldwide as the creator of Sex And The City. Candace Bushnell tells Olaf Tyaransen how she got from there to here – even if she claims she still can’t write good sex!
So you thought the Religious Right had all but disappeared? Wrong! NIALL STANAGE gets that sinking feeling as he witnesses the Dublin leg of Human Life International s Call To The Nation Tour. Photographic Evidence: CATHAL DAWSON
It took ten years for debutante director Kerry Conran to complete his film, even though most part was done before he uttered the word "Action!". Tara Brady meets the brimming brain behind the film-geek opus, Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow.
As the RUC continues to undergo serious changes, STUART CLARK meets RICHARD LATHAM, a former officer who has a story of danger, death, politics and sex to tell
It s a story that has it all. Fame, drink, women, politics. Even death threats and The Mob. In a special retrospective feature JOE JACKSON explores the myth, and the reality, of THE RAT PACK, the original reservoir dogs.
If it wasn't for the attentions of the gutter press, NICK HORNBY's current lifestyle would be pretty much blemish-free. His new novel, About A Boy, is racking up the sales figures with Overmars-like speed; he's just sold the film rights for it to Robert De Niro for #1.8m; and to cap it all, his beloved Arsenal are poised to do the league and cup
double. Tape: STUART CLARK. Pix: Mick Quinn
Saint Patrick’s Athletic are now just two games away from the group stages of the Europa League. Chief executive Richard Sadlier talks the Super Saints’ chances against the mighty Steaua.
Anybody can do sex, drug's and rock 'n' roll; precious few can capture the experience in prose. With her powerful first-person novel Brass, 26-year-old Helen Walsh has done just that.
Fermanagh is a county that s accommodated a rake of musical traditions both past and present. Split by the sibling lakes of Upper and Lower Lough Erin, Fermanagh s musical identity is as diverse as her geography, to the extent that at times there s little or no crossover in musical style from north to south of the county and vice versa.
WHILE HE WAS BEING TERRORISED AND BRUTALISED IN MONNOWITZ, LEON GREENMAN MADE A DEAL WITH GOD: IF HE WAS TO BE ALLOWED TO SEE THE OUTSIDE OF THE DEATH CAMPS AGAIN, HE WOULD DEVOTE HIS LIFE TO TELLING THE WORLD WHAT HAPPENED THERE. NOW, AS DENIAL OF THE HOLOCAUST CONTINUES TO AID THE INSIDIOUS RISE OF THE FASCIST MOVEMENT IN EUROPE, IT IS MORE VITAL THAN EVER THAT HIS STORY IS TOLD. REPORT: GERRY McGOVERN.
Liam Fay talks to the three men behind the first “unmissable” movie smash of '95 SHALLOW GRAVE and hears why comparisons with the American death-and-glory tradition are a misnomer.
He created great songs out of the good, the bad and the ugly and earned the respect of people as diverse as Bob Dylan and Hunter S. Thompson. In this previously unpublished interview Warren Zevon, who died last week after a long battle with cancer, reflects on his sweet and dirty life and times.
Journalist STEVEN POOLE has, inspired by Orwell, written a riveting book documenting the insidious abuses of the English language perpetrated by politicians and powermongers.
Meet Larry Harvey, the man behind burning man, the world’s most extraordinary festival, in which a whole city, run as a gift economy, springs up in the arid nevada desert to celebrate creativity, non-conformism and the healing power of fire.
Known from the TV sitcom as the Man who Behaves Badly, actor Neil Morrissey is confounding the laddish caricature with his work for an anti-landmine charity. In this candid interview with Paul Nolan, he also reflects on childhood trauma, death in the family, that affair with Amanda Holden and his encounters with Olivier, Burton and Mel Gibson. main photography Cathal Dawson
Known from the TV sitcom as the man who behaves badly, actor Neil Morrissey is confounding the laddish caricature with his work for an anti-landmine charity. In this candid interview with Paul Nolan, he also reflects on childhood trauma, death in the family, that affair with Amanda Holden and his encounters with Olivier, Burton and Mel Gibson.
Three-minute love songs simply can't cope with all the intricacies of a complex relationship, and inevitably veer off into angst-ridden cliché or syrupy feelgood banality. Dr. Millar, however, attempts to tell it like it is, and explains how and why to John Farrell.
Liam Fay teams up with the IMRO hit squad as they venture north to Monaghan in search of bars, discos and other such venues that do not have a licence to thrill, or at least a licence for the public performing of music.
The Walls and The Jimmy Cake do their bit for European unity by bringing their music – and an insatiable appetite for the craic – to Poland, Hungary, Slovakia and the Czech Republic. Our reporter Danielle Brigham survives to tell the tale.
Albums such as Streetcleaner and Pure have established Brummie noise terrorists godflesh as one of the most exciting alternative bands on the planet. Their latest effort, Love And Hate In Dub, is a radically overhauled remix version of its predecessor, Songs Of Love And Hate. The band s
talkative mainman justin broadrick explains all to jonathan o Brien.
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.
One by one, the members of CHILL Ireland s answer to the Spice Girls occupy the Hot Press hot seat. Popping the questions: JOE JACKSON. Pix: Cathal Dawson.
In a rare interview, Simpsons writer Mike Scully talks about the show’s A-list musical guests, his love for Ned Flanders and upsetting the entire population of Brazil. He also tells us what to expect from The Simpsons Movie, which blockbusters its way onto the big screen in the summer.
AND THAT WAS JUST IN THE HOLLYWOOD BOARDROOMS! NEIL McCORMICK LOOKS BACK AT THE MOVIEMAKING YEAR IN WHICH ARNIE TOOK A TUMBLE, DINOSAURS CAME BACK FROM THE DEAD AND MICHAEL JACKSON’S PETER PAN DISAPPEARED OFF TO NEVER NEVER LAND.
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.
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
BECK is one of the most eclectically talented musicians of his generation. STUART CLARK sees the man play a stormer at Witnness and hears him talk about fame, musical obsession, heroes like Bowie and Black Sabbath and 'Britney fascism'
Having steamrolled its way across America, and through most of Europe, it seemed as if U2 s PopMart extravaganza might come to grief in the most unlikely of places their homeland of Ireland. Now however, one Supreme Court case on, U2 are scheduled to play not just two Dublin dates but a newly-added Belfast homecoming as well. Interview: MIKE EDGAR
CATHAL COUGHLAN has long been among the most articulate and angry of Irish songwriters. Here, he talks to JONATHAN O BRIEN about his new album, money problems and adapting to middle-age
JOHNNY ROGAN didn't write just any old biography - he wrote a book about MORRISSEY which brought down a virtual pop fatwah on his head, with his subject declaring in public that he hoped the author would die a grisly death. Now, with the paperback version just published, the 'controversy' seems to have been given a new lease of life. It's not by any chance a publicity scam, is it? CATHY DILLON puts Johnny Rogan on the spot.
FUN LOVIN’ CRIMINAL Huey Morgan offers stuart clark a guided tour of the rotten apple, detouring occasionally to take in topics such as California Mist, London gangsters, Tricky, Ian McCulloch and Tony Bennett, as well as his high-profile relationship with Jerry Hall’s daughter. And, let’s see now, there was one thing . . . oh yes “every American’s inalienable right to have nails hammered through their scrotum if they want”.
. . . and talks and talks. But when it's NICK KELLY doing the talking, he's always worth listening to, whether what's under discussion is Leonard Cohen, french polishing amid plastic furniture, the brain-numbing efficiency of the music industry or the long-term future of the FAT LADY SINGS. LIAM FAY has plenty of time for him but barely enough tape.
Author and columnist Candace Bushnell, who has been dubbed the Sharon Stone of journalism , on love, sex, drugs, drink and the dark underbelly of high society from New
York to Dublin.
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".
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.
Spike Lee is a firebrand film-maker and not one to mince his words. So what is the spiritual father of African-American cinema doing making an old fashioned heist flick?
It s the morning after the night before and BRET EASTON ELLIS feels like he s got Marilyn Manson playing inside his head. A dinner date with fellow penslinger Irvine Welsh has gone seriously pear-shaped and like his most famous literary creation, the Californian is fit to kill. STUART CLARK offers tea and solpadeine, and in return gets the lowdown on American Psycho, trans-Atlantic stalkers and why both Air Supply and the Teletubbies are evil. Pix: Cathal Dawson.
Will genetic engineering be a force for good or for evil? And since the genie is already out of the bottle, is even that profound question becoming redundant? GERRY McGOVERN delves into the worrying, wonderful and definitely weird world of genetics. The future starts here.
We asked the fans to vote for U2's Greatest Hits and they did - in their thousands. The result is a selection of 20 tracks which, without doubt, would combine to produce a record to rank among the weightiest and most powerful anthologies in the history of rock. The full track listing is not without its controversial selections and omissions, however. Bill Graham and Niall Stokes take us through the fans' vision of the fab four's dream album.
Neil Jordan's controversial new film Interview With The Vampire has angered both the gay community, who objected to the dilution of the movie's homoerotic content, and the author of the novel from which it is adapted, Anne Rice, who disagreed with the choice of Hollywood golden boy Tom Cruise in the starring role.
However, with Anne Rice conspicuously recanting and the critics in the U.S. responding rapturously, signs are that this is one Vampire which won't lay down and die. Report: Helena Mulkerns
The Dublin-born editor of Marie Claire, one of the world's most successful magazines, answers to charges that her title promotes hypocrisy, air-headedness, sexism and sycophancy. remarkably, she doesn't throw troublesome Hotpress out of her office
As The White Stripes prepare to unleash another work of scuzz-bucket genius, frontman Jack White talks about his Catholic upbringing and explains why, as a teenager in blue collar Detroit, he fell hopelessly in love with the blues.
His career was almost over before it began. But hard work - and a surprise hit - have turned Edmund 'Mundy' Enright into one of Ireland's most widely adored stars. Here he reflects on some of the high points of what has been an amazing journey, during the course of which he has rubbed shoulders with some of the greats.
Damien Dempsey has battled his way centre stage, winning the support of luminaries as diverse as Morrissey, Robert Plant, Sinéad O'Connor, Larry Mullen and Brian Eno along the way. Now with the release of his third album Shots, he is poised to make a major breakthrough. Interview by Tanya Sweeney. Photos by Cathal Dawson.
It may be that she will forever be associated with the Zipless Fuck, but if her new book, Of Blessed Memory, takes off like Fear Of Flying, erica jong could yet become synonymous with another hot erotic scenario, The Three Slipperies. Still creating controversy after all these years, the author talks feminism, Judaism, rock n roll, fashion and but, of course sex, with Joe Jackson.
Pix: cathal dawson
A member of one of the most famous political families in the country, Conor Lenihan gave up a career in journalism to follow his late father brian into politics. Tipped for promotion in Bertie Ahern’s September reshuffle, the rising star talks to Hot Press about Charlie McCreevy, Charlie Haughey. His father’s political downfall and the future of Fianna Fail. [Photos: Liam Sweeney]
It's been ten years that's shaken a fair bit of the world and now, suddenly, OASIS are back. what better time for a reflective, confessional, candid and scandalous one-on-one with a man who always gives great quote, NOEL GALLAGHER. Interview: STUART CLARK
DAVID HOLMES is about to leave his native Belfast for New York City, where he will record his third album. STUART BAILIE took a final opportunity to speak to the artist also known as Homer. On the agenda: Hollywood soundtracks, rumours of brawling, past glories and future plans.
Pics: MICHAEL TAYLOR.
Ten, nine, eight… we count down the contenders for 2003. Words Hannah Hamilton, Colin Carberry, Niall Stokes, Richard Brophy, John Walshe, Eamon Sweeney and Stuart Clark
Having been catapulted to fame by their debut, the knives came out for GARBAGE with the release of Version 2.0. But their crifical mauling has only served to bring the band closer together. PETER MURPHY saw them triumph at The Point, and spoke to SHIRLEY MANSON about fame, performance and one-night stands.
The Red Hot Chili Peppers visited Lansdowne Road, Dublin on July 8 but we caught up with the band in Paris recently and heard why the west coast warriors of funk-rock have never been hotter
When writer and documentary film-maker Jon Ronson set out to discover the truth about the secret group which conspiracy theorists believe rules the world, he expected an interesting trip. What he didn’t anticipate was a brain-rattling, five year-long odyssey, by turns wacky and scary, that would bring him into contact with neo-nazis, religious fundamentalists, twelve-foot lizards, Mr burns from The Simpsons, David icke, peter mandelson and, ahem, Ian Paisley. Olaf Tyaransen hears the story that’s coming to a bookshelf and television screen near you. undercover pictorIal evidence: Cathal Dawson
Peter Murphy takes a train to the wild west (Galway that is) with the original Texas Jewboy, crime writer and legendary stardust cowboy Kinky Friedman. Peter Matthews has the negatives.
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.
An escalation of violence within certain deprived pockets of the Travelling community has provoked a Garda clampdown that many regard as heavy-handed. Meanwhile, despite some notable efforts to improve cross-community relations, Travellers must continue to cope with discrimination, alienation and a growing accommodation crisis. Mic Moroney reports on a people struggling to survive in the shadow of the Celtic Tiger.
The 2006 line-up of the Mitchelstown Festival will see The Proclaimers, The Sultans of Ping, The Chalets and other high-profile acts take to the stage.
Columnist Kevin Myers called her “our pretty little she-shinner” but an unimpressed Mary Lou McDonald insists that her party is actually run by a group of formidable women. She also reveals that she believes Gerry Adams when he says he was never in the IRA, defends Sinn Fein’s fund-raising, discusses the release of Jerry McCabe’s killers, and names her least favourite irish politicians. plus: the newly elected MEP’s views on drink, drugs, music, media, religion, and more.
Returning from an extended hiatus, Manic Street Preachers are in stridently upbeat form. In a revealing interview, they reflect on their enduring cultural imprint and talk about long lost Manic Richey Edwards.
Olaf Tyaransen travels east to investigate the mail-order bride business in the Ukraine and returns with a story of love, lust, laughs, paranoia, despair and hope. An extract from ‘To Ukraine For Love’, a featured piece in Olaf’s acclaimed new collection of journalism Sex Lines – Adventures In The Erotic Underground
As the management force behind Boyzone, Westlife and Samantha Mumba, LOUIS WALSH is Ireland s Mr. Pop. In a candid interview with Joe Jackson he talks about his relationships with his acts, the ones that got away, the importance of the producer, the uselessness of critics and why he s unlikely to end up managing Van Morrison. Portraits: Cathal Dawson
With a new ‘Best Of’ bringing the band’s story up to date, U2’s guitar man steps forward to riff on good times and bad, the private life of a public figure, discovering the secrets of the universe on mushrooms, and why, after all these years, few things match the high of being a member of U2
Liam Fay calls on Shane MacGowan at home, where over mugs of brandy, the singer cheerfully rationalises his notorious alcohol-intake in the face of widespread concern that he might be drinking himself to an early grave. The premier Pogue disagrees, predicting instead a happy fulfilling life away from the stage, in which he would own and run a fully-licensed restaurant in London and face extended vacations in Thailand.
With the focus of world attention increasingly on Unionism and its capacity to respond positively to the IRA ceasefire, IAN PAISLEY JNR. – the son of Dr Ian Paisley – talks about culture and the Protestant identity, about his father’s emotive brand of politics, about secret deals and about ‘that petty little Fuehrer’ Albert Reynolds. Interview: Joe Jackson. Pix: COLM HENRY
With the death of Johnny Cash two weeks ago, music’s Mount Rushmore finally crumbled. From the hell-raising country outlaw of the ’60s to his final incarnation as a patriarchal figure intoning songs of guilt and redemption, Cash’s voice resonated down through the years with undimmed intensity. In this special Hot Press tribute to the Man In Black, Peter Murphy talks to Cash collaborators Sandy Kelly and U2, and recounts the turbulent life and times of one of the most iconic figures in 20th century music
In Ireland, he’s the biggest name in comedy – a superstar who can pack them into live shows and shift DVDs by the jumboload. But having conquered his homeland, Tommy Tiernan faced the question: where to from here? The answer was America, the Holy Grail for anyone in the entertainment business. The story of his battle to win hearts and minds is captured in Jokerman – Tommy Tiernan Takes On America, a documentary series that is about to hit the screens on RTE. But first, there’s the important matter of a Hot Press interview to attend to.
On the eve of the release of Snow Patrol's epic fifth album A Hundred Million Suns, Hot Press finds out how singer Gary Lightbody gets inspiration for his songs.
When the offer came to produce the new Rolling Stones album in Dublin what answer could Don Was give but a resounding ‘Yes’. Mick, Keef & Co. are the latest in a long and impressive list of the man’s studio credits which includes Bob Dylan, The B-52’s, Willie Nelson, Bonnie Raitt and Paula Abdu. But throw in the small matter of the career of Was (Not Was) and the musical rehabilitation of errant Beach Boys’ genius Brian Wilson and we’re talking major industry player here. Bill Graham takes up the story . . .
Journalist, essayist, atheist, author and, above all, agent provocateur, Christopher Hitchens has not shied away from controversy over the last 30 years. But in his new book, the writer takes on his biggest adversary to date – God.
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.
DENIS LEARY, sultan of sneer, is en route to Dublin to star in the Murphy s Ungagged Comedy Festival. By way of a little limbering up, and proving that there s no smoke without fire, here he lets rip on Noraid, The Kennedys, The Royals, Bill Hicks, Dean Martin, Oasis, Father Ted, drugs in Kerry and, oh yes, why he d like to go to Riverdance with a sniper s rifle . Interview: LIAM FAY.
He may have ranked among the biggest-selling artists in the world in 2002 – but the ambition that has driven Eminem to pop’s dizziest heights shows no sign of abating with the release of his own biopic, 8 Mile. On track to becoming Hollywood’s latest darling, with all the attendant pressures and provocations that entails, will his art survive?
After being a magnet for A&R men during the 80s, Dublin has recently developed into something of an underachiever. The city may have the second biggest growth-rate in Europe but there are a hell of a lot of gigs and records that simply aren t selling. peter murphy casts a critical ear over the capital s music scene and decides that what s required is a full-scale artistic enema.
Dutchy Holland, currently serving an eight-year sentence in Wandsworth Prison, gives a remarkably revealing interview where he discusses all aspects of his life as a career criminal.
With a new 'best of' bringing the band's story up to date U2's guitar man steps forward to riff on good times and bad, the private life of a public figure, discovering the secrets of the universe on mushrooms and why, after all these years, few things match the high of being a member of U2.
Special hotpress.com members edition: "director's cut" featuring interview sections unavailable anywhere else.
At the end of an exciting, painful and earthshaking year, Bono reflects on the political and the personal – from drop the debt, September 11, Afghanistan and Genoa to the death of his father Bob, the birth of his son John and the enduring friendship which underpins U2’s music and career. Interview: Niall Stokes
[this interview originally appeared in the spectacular Hot Press Annual 2002 - used in the pictures below - a very limited number of this unique collectors item will shortly be on sale - email u2@hotpress.ie to reserve a copy]
25 years after the publicaton of Fear And Loathing In Las Vegas, doctor hunter s. thompson remains the originator and unequalled exponent of Gonzo journalism, an author as famous for his own high-octane, outlaw lifestyle as he is for the remarkable series of books and articles which made him a rock star of the written word.
Tracked down to his lair in the Colorado mountains, Thompson lives up to all expectations in this exclusive interview and story by daniel senstius and jurrien dekker. Photography: chris van houts.
They go together like a horse and carriage. You can't have one without the other - or words to that effect. In fact, however, even rock 'n' roll has yet to invent an erotic language that does justice to the breadth and complexity of human desire. In pushing out the boundaries, madonna has taken on the role of sexual pioneer, and done it with courage and no little success. Niall Stokes weighs up the evidence . . .
Though Vin Diesel is absent, 2 Fast 2 Furious otherwise slavishly and faithfully reheats the formula that worked wonders first time out: a fleet of supremely shiny, spankingly expensive great big colourful cars
National Prayer Breakfast’s decision to abbreviate their moniker to the snappier, more minimal NPB is indicative of a newly streamlined groove machine.
Otherwise known as the foursome from Athlone who ruffled Hugh Hefner’s marabou feathers (when they adopted his famous Playboy logo as their own), Bunny’s debut single ‘Fearless’, released last year, gave listeners an interesting taste of things to come. The good news? Slick Corporate Music delivers on this promise.
Tori Amos' sixth album and her first since 1999's To Venus And Back, marks a major departure for her in that it consists entirely of cover versions – written exclusively by men!
The sub-title says it all. You really couldn't sum up Alan McGee's arrogant revisionism of British music in the last fifteen or so years in a better and more overblown phrase. Despite the illusions of grandeur, there is no denying Creation's mighty influence.
Only the most blinkered rap aficionados could claim themselves immune to yet another record padded out with the same old routines about homicidal life on the street.
Less a love triangle than a love rhombus where Ms. Portman and Clive Owen supply the more jagged, pointy bits at the bottom, Closer’s barbed kisses and point-scoring, succubi sex recall Mike Nichols’ earlier scathing sexual treatises,
IF, IN February 2000, you still don't believe that modern rock is on borrowed time as an art form, despite all the overwhelming evidence, then consider this.
Latest in the mindbogglingly endless line of feelgood northern-English 'heartwarmers', the curiously engaging Purely Belter derives fairly straightforwardly from a novel by Gateshead schoolteacher (and presumably Roddy Doyle-wannabe) Jonathan Tulloch.
Craftily low-key, tartly bittersweet and divinely arch, Sideways is surely a lock for official Unlikely Hip Movie Of Zero Five, but unlikely is something of a speciality with this filmmaker.
PAUL RODGERS is real special. You can name the duff albums since Free split up, you can say he's old hat, or a hanger on from the days of Deep Purple, Led Zep, and dinosaur rock.
You know, many young people come up to me in the street and then, when they see that I’m Sam Snort, start to shriek and run very quickly in the opposite direction.
“ROSE-mair-ee!” yells a sold-out Olympia along with Paul Banks, as the Morse-code bassline of ‘Evil” jitters away beneath. “HEAV-en re-STORES you in LIFE!” So, yes, onstage it looks like Interpol: five smart-suited gentlemen throwing rock shapes in a graveyard-mist fug that is ‘lit’ (if you can say that about a near-dark stage) in their trademark two colours, black and dark red. But turn around to face tonight’s all-singing, all-dancing crowd, and you could be at an Oasis concert circa Definitely Maybe.
The disgraceful spectacle at Shannon Airport last Friday was the final straw. It was a humiliation too far. How much more can this tiny little nation take?
For under-18s, gaining entry to concerts in licensed venues is a constant problem. But the regular BLAST gigs at Dublin's Temple Bar Music Centre provide a solution: twice a month, up-and coming bands play afternoon shows to a teenage crowd in a venue serving nothing stronger than water. NIALL STANAGE reports.
The opening paragraph is always the most difficult. That first couple of sentences where you try to ensnare the reader's attention and make some kind of substantive statement that sums up the artist's work to date and his/her relationship to the public, god and mammon in no particular order. But how do you do it with Kate Bush?
As his band Loaded prepare to hit The Academy, Dublin, on October 10, Duff McKagan confirmed to Hot Press that he played bass with Dave Grohl (on drums) and Slash for a track that will feature on Slash’s solo album, tentatively titled Slash & Friends and due for release in 2010.
Foo Fighters’ sixth studio album is a transitional rather than definitive piece of work, but one that sees them growing older with 'patience and grace'.
There is no such thing as a War On Terrorism. It is not possible to wage war on an idea or an activity. War is waged against military forces or against people or even against States
In her new documentary – Dambe, The Mali Project – Dearbhla Glynn follows musicians Liam O Maonlai and Paddy Keenan on a musical journey to the heart of Mali.
I stopped playing football at the age of eighteen and stayed away from it for twelve years. By then I had a son, and it was kicking ball with him, and witnessing his unselfconscious enthusiasm for the game that first re-awakened the sense of magic that football had held for me during my own childhood and teenage years.
This year sees the launch in Ireland of Rock The Vote, a campaigning organisation dedicated to promoting voter participation among 18 to 25 year olds. Hot Press is one of the key organisations that has joined forces with Rock The Vote.
Having dragged Britain into war, former Prime Minister Tony Blair is now touting his services as a peace-dealer in the middle east. With Christmas on the way, no wonder he's looking crazier than ever before
Billy Bragg's larynx, sexual politics, and Jilly Cooper paperbacks. What's it all about? NICK KELLY finds out when he beams himself up to the planet DUBSTAR.
2 weeks ago in Dublin, the Court of Criminal Appeal overturned the conviction of Paul Ward [pic left courtesty of The Star] for the murder of Veronica Guerin. It is no disrespect to the murdered journalist to say that this was a good day for justice in Ireland
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.
Why do so many gay men find it difficult to honestly express their feelings towards their partners? And would the introduction of gay marriage really change anything?
These days, Barry McIlheney is a major player in the world of London-based consumer magazines. He s been a guiding hand behind FHM, Q and Mojo, and has just launched a weekly entertainment magazine, Heat.
There is no question about it. He may look as if he's been dipped in a bottle of red ink but it is Adam who stands there bollock naked before the camera and the world on the back sleeve of the latest, long playing opus from the band whose name begins with U and ends with 2. And is that Eve who hovers topless behind Bono on the front?
Equipment, like fame, has it price. Colm O’Hare goes bargain-hunting and discovers that spending your band’s hard-earned loot on new musical instruments need not be a traumatic experience.
When 28 people died in an Israeli massacre at Qana, Lebanon, the Derry Anti-War Coalition occupied Derry's Raytheon Plant. Eamon McCann reports on their visit to Qana.
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.
Neil McCormick, a friend of U2 in their earliest days, who, as a writer, has closely monitored their progress since then, analyses Eamon Dunphy's much-touted 'authorised' biography "Unforgettable Fire" – and can't quite believe what he reads
Having reported in Hot Press ten years ago on a riotous week at the Cannabis Cup in Amsterdam, the time seemed ripe for Olaf Tyaransen to make a return trip.
