The 20th anniversary of the death of Luke Kelly is being marked by a double CD The Best Of Luke Kelly, and a week-long tribute Remembering Luke at the Gaiety. The Dubliners are, not surprisingly, deeply involved in both projects, and bandmember John Sheahan here explains all.
A new 'Best of Luke Kelly' CD, containing previously unreleased material, is due for release October 1 as a homage to the ex- Dubliner also starts in the Gaiety, twenty years after his death.
Luke Kelly and Brendan Behan had much in common. They were both Dubliners to the marrow, sang a lot, drank a lot and caused more social unrest merely by strolling down Grafton Street than an entire army of Irish "rockers" would achieve in a decade.
When the late Luke Kelly performed in the Foxrock Folk Club in December 1972 he commented that it was surely a contradiction in terms. Maybe so, but it was a vibrant presence on the music scene in the early 1970s.
Unique to his country, Luke Kelly was a special talent, and this was a special night marked not only by great music, but by anecdotes, memories and poetry from people such as Liam Clancy.
A long way from there to here
With 35 years on the road behind them, THE DUBLINERS are the roots of Irish music. Interview: Colm
O'Hare. The Rolling Stones aren't the only ones celebrating 35 years on the road this year.
On the release of a double CD retrospective of his forty years as a performer-songwriter, Johnny McEvoy talks to Jackie Hayden about his early days as Ireland’s answer to Bob Dylan, meeting the great man himself, supporting and introducing The Rolling Stones, defending The Wolfe Tones, not apologising for the troubles in the North, U2 and the key albums that have inspired him.
PHIL COULTER is far from the muzak-producing bore of caricature. Here, he talks to JOE JACKSON about family tragedy, northern politics, drink binges, having songs covered by Elvis and his experiences working with stars like Van Morrison, Siniad O Connor and Luke Kelly. Portraits: MYLES CLAFFEY
From strange days coming second in a yoghurt-sponsored competition and playing awful gigs sandwiched between boy bands, Damien Dempsey, with a little help from Shane, Sinéad and Christy, has survived and thrived. Eamon Sweeney meets a rap balladeer with a hit album, a social conscience and more than a few stories to tell.
Well, reader, we ve finally reached the end of our journey, after navigating our way across the length and breadth of the 32 counties (and detouring briefly to New York for a tincture of the tastiest in that honorary 33rd county).
I’d always have said that Irish people were good at huddling. Our history and our climate, not to mention the controlling influence of the Roman Catholic Church, had tended to give us an inward-looking aspect. We had a thing about bars, matter a damn how dark or gloomy they might be. What we wanted, it seemed, was good place to whisper and to hide.
Legendary ballad singer Liam Clancy, of the pioneering Clancy Brothers, kicked off this year’s Fleadh Cheoil in Clonmel with a vintage performance in the Enfer village. Here he reflects on Fleadhs past and their current contributions to Irish culture.
George Murphy is a great singer, and with his second LP, And So The Story Goes, he has effectively positioned himself for a marathon rather than a sprint.
Well begorrah and top o' the mornin' to ye all, welcome to Oireland, a fictional theme park for tourists, populated by red-haired ragamuffins who're far too fond of the drink and incline to violence after the thirtieth pint, but sure there's no harm in 'em.
The short history of reality pop programmes is littered with the carcasses of mutilated careers, but George Murphy is one of the few to suggest there might be life after Linda.
After a gap of half a lifetime, Steve Wall is back living in the house he grew up in and learning to love DIY. He also recalls his days as a greyhound. Photography by Cathal Dawson
Damien Dempsey’s To Hell Or Barbados album is now even more of an essential purchase with the release of an ‘Expanded Edition’, which includes eight bonus cuts.
He was one of America s greatest writers and he wrote almost nothing but record reviews. PETER MURPHY on a new biography of the rock crit s rock guru, LESTER BANGS.
PETER SHERIDAN has done a remarkable job in bringing Brendan Behan s Borstal Boy to the small screen. Here he talks to hotpress CRAIG FITZSIMONS and TARA BRADY about accents, alcohol and artists
It’s that time of year when gongs are being dished out. Guest columnist Rossa O Snodaigh of Kíla makes the case for a change of emphasis. Plus news, gossip and all that jazz.
Christy Moore, who headlines this year’s rejuvenated Lisdoonvarna Festival, recalls the first flowering of music festivals in Ireland – and looks forward to this year’s event, when once again the challenge will be to weave that spell
He was one of Ireland’s first rock icons. Now Phil Lynott’s native Dublin is finally paying official tribute to his legacy.
Music Review | Live
26% | 5 Feb 2004
Colm O Hare
With nostalgia all the rage these days it comes as no great surprise that the 1960s ballad boom is currently enjoying a healthy revival among younger tykes.
With nostalgia all the rage these days it comes as no great surprise that the 1960s ballad boom is currently enjoying a healthy revival among younger tykes.
To celebrate hotpress’s thirtieth anniversary issue, we thought we’d break out the bubbly (and the tea!) and invite round a collection of Ireland’s biggest stars.
Back in the saddle witha politically charged new album, Burning TimesChristy Moore and co-collaborator Declan Sinnott are putting the agit-prop back into folk. In a rare interview, Moore speaks frankly abot Hattie Carroll and Rachel Corrie, Richard Thompson anoraks, interpreting Morrissey and recently being detained by British authorities under anti-terrorism laws.
The Christy Moore Interview by Bill Graham
Christy Moore is out on his own. He can't be limited as just a folk singer or a popular artist. Rather he's increasingly an Irish national fixture with an influence far beyond the mere entertainer's reach.
While the entity that is U2 continues to be the dominant focus in the creative lives of its four members, away from the band, Bono, The Edge, Adam and Larry have all indulged in extra-curricular activities, bringing them – and their music - into contact with such legends as Bob Dylan, Robbie Robertson, Keith Richards, and Roy Orbison, By Dermot Stokes
It s been a long, long way from there to here and DONAL LUNNY has been at the centre of things every step of the journey. He has achieved enormous acclaim and considerable success with Planxty, The Bothy Band and Moving Hearts. Now with the launch of his latest band and their eponymously titled album COOLFIN, he takes time out to reflect on all of the major figures who have contributed to the extraordinary revival of folk and traditional music that has taken place over the past 30 years. He also recalls the highs and the lows the heartbreak, the good times and the great music that he himself has enjoyed as one of Ireland s finest and most influential musicians. Interview: Niall Stokes. Pics: Colm Henry
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.
Casting a cold eye on 1986, one must be frank that, although it was a good year, the absolute pinnacles that have marked previous years were absent. Perhaps ‘The Unforgettable Fire’ and ‘Born In The USA’, and their respective tours in 1985, not to mention Live Aid, drained a lot of emotion.
Singer and virtuoso folk guitarist Martin Carthy was one of the key figures in the English folk revival of the sixties and seventies. This collection is culled from his '65-'71 period, a time when folkies were still singing songs that told stories rather than serving as therapy sessions to ease their inner pain.
Recorded over two nights in July at Dolan’s Warehouse in Limerick, Sharon Shannon’s new live album is one big party piece; every one of the 29 tracks on this double-CD set is a guaranteed crowd-pleaser.
Damien Dempsey is a soul singer in the truest sense of the word. OK so he's no Al Green, but the 23-year-old from Donaghmede is incapable of being anything other than honest and giving anything less than 100% every time he opens his mouth to sing.
Ultimately though, Tyrrell's voice, like his music, defies all easy classification bar the only one that matters - like the Glaswegian and the Dubliner, this man's got soul
Despite the litany of miseries that besets McCormack’s characters, the heart of We Drank Our Tears beats with the indomitability of the human spirit and the ever-pervading sense of hope.
The crowd’s unbridled outpouring of devotion and fervour is like getting swept up at Nuremberg – it’s burn, baby, burn – and burn is the operative word.
The Hype are one of countless brave bands struggling to make headway with no money to spend on recording and saddled with a manager in a similar plight
John Walshe talks to Eamon Dowd, frontman with The Racketeers about a possible Christmas EP, what it s like to be big in Scandinavia and how their drummer got stabbed and arrested on tour.
2004 was dominated by the Special Committe on the Traditional Arts’ failure to agree on the way forward for traditional music. Elsewhere, the TG4 National Music Awards attracted major attention and Music Network continued to do an estimable job of getting traditional music into new venues around the country.
As St Patrick’s Day approaches, what better time to celebrate all that’s great about Irish culture. From music and film to food and literature, Ireland has always punched far above its weight.
