LIMP BIZKIT are a rock'n'roll phenomenon. Notching up in excess of 20 million album sales over the past two years, they're in the vanguard of the nu-metal movement that has seen guitar rock reclaiming its place at the top of the singles charts. In Madrid to catch the band live, PHIL UDELL first hears passionate words from the frontman, FRED DURST. But, amid a welter of controversy, the raging music is put on hold as Limp Bizkit's show in the Spanish capital is cancelled – an ominous foreshadowing of the events that will see their UK, German and Irish dates also sensationally cancelled
They may not be that just yet but if current plans for global domination go according to the script Linkin Park will be very soon. Stuart Clark travels to London to hear the band’s new album Meteora and finds that American rock’s hottest property are surrounded by the kind of security normally reserved for Michael Jackson
Though practically unheard of in their home country, Dublin metal band Primordial nonetheless have a huge worldwide following and are expected to sell up to 20,000 copies of their excellent new album, The Gathering Wilderness. Interview by Phil Udell.
Doom, gloom and painfully slow distorted guitar-y dirges may not seem particularly relevant to the contemporary metal scene, nor particularly necessary.
This is the eighth album from Paradise Lost, since they formed in 1989. Musically, they work from the basic rock/metal template, incorporating wonky intro sounds with plenty of dynamics and soaring guitarry solos into a tight structure.
It'll take more than a clapped-out tour bus to stop The Answer emulating their heroes. Ed Power hears how the Downpatrick rockers' burgeoning fan club already includes Jimmy Page and Philomena Lynott.
They can rock with the best of them but beneath the guitars-to-eleven mania, Belfast noise-poppers Therapy? have a lot of smart things to say. Their new album was even inspired by an famous playwright
Meet Rodrigo Y Gabriela, Mexican guitar virtuosos and planet-hopping adventure-seekers who, as Kim Porcelli discovers, are partners in more ways than one
Like Ocean Colour Scene and Paul Weller, Reef doubtless make for great festival fodder.
Their workmanlike brand of heads-down boogie-metal (as exemplified by their best known number 'Place Your Hands') is always guaranteed to get bodies moving and heads popping.
Guitar heroes Rodrigo Y Gabriela have gone from busking on Grafton Street to jamming with Metallica. The acoustic duo talk about their long, strange journey, their fantastic new album – and their debt to the metal world
Colm O’Hare talks to Kerry King, guitarist with thrash-metal outfit Slayer, and discovers that under that murderous, violent exterior lies a great big pussy cat . . . almost.
Jesse Hughes of Eagles Of Death Metal takes time out from showering with nubile fans to explain why the Republican party is too left-wing for him, sings the praises of George W Bush and tells us what it’s like to have a former Sex Pistol as a post-rehab sponsor.
From his holiday hideaway in southern France, the hairier half of Mexican-Irish guitar duo Rodrigo Y Gabriela talks about the rigours of life on the road, busking on the mean streets of Dublin and the duo's growing heavy-metal following.
The Fathers of Heavy Metal? "That child is not mine!", roars JON LORD, who played keyboard through 25 years of DEEP PURPLE splits, reformations, recriminations and tears. Now he's got a new album and tour reuniting the classic "Deep Purple in Rock" formation to talk up, with side-swipes at Metallica, the David Coverdale/Jimmy Page album, and just why Coverdale's sexually explicit lyrics made the Lord "a tad embarrassed."
Interview ANDY DARLINGTON
They may have a combined mental age of 12, but that hasn't stopped Goldie Lookin’ Chain from infiltrating the grown-ups' singles chart. Phil Udell talks bad heavy metal, secretarial work and burnt nipples with Newport's most notorious hip hop crew.
Though feted by everyone from Metallica to Motorhead, they were the runts of the 80s Metal Litter. But now, unbelievably, vintage headbangers Anvil are back as the stars of their own rockumentary. And guess what? It could be their biggest hit ever. They talk about entertaining Dalymount Park with an outsized vibrator back in the day, explain why life on the road led them to lose all respects for woman and recall the time they parted 'til dawn with Phil Lynott.
Heavy metal never corrodes, it just warps. Death metal, rap metal, black metal, industrial metal, glam-metal, nu-metal – there are 666 ways to polish a turd.
They say they’ve come from hell to bring us foot and mouth. But in reality they come from a small village outside Ipswich. STUART CLARK meets CRADLE OF FILTH, metal maniacs and purveyors of blasphemy, horror and gore – and, as you might expect, ends up talking about mums, kiddies, Winnie the Pooh and moisturiser
Purveyors of three-chord sci-fi punk metal, Coheed And Cambria certainly aren’t afraid of pushing the boundaries. But at its heart, their music is deeply personal, says frontman Claudio Sanchez.
Brit-rock heroes Maximo Park are back with a new album – and without the novelty hair-cuts. Here they talk about death metal, hip-hop and missing notebooks.
They inhabit a musical no-man’s land between indie and metal. But that hasn’t stopped Boss Volenti building an impressive following. Now their sights are set on international fame words.
Lock up your religious leaders: infamous heavy metal mess-makers Slipknot bring their rubber masks, penchant for onstage defecation and heartwarming family-values-type spectacle to the Point
Early speed metal incarnations, arguably the most technically demanding of all walks of rock, have done good things for this proggier-than-thou Boston quartet.
Nu-metal – or should that be old nu-metal now? – stalwarts Papa Roach pay a long overdue visit to Dublin on September 28 for a show in the Temple Bar Music Centre.
They may make an unholy racket, but Slipknot are definitely on the side of righteousness when it comes to the Iraq War. Corey Taylor tells Phil Udell why George Bush is vying with Rick Rubin for top spot on their hate-list.
Their unique combination of sensual Latin melodies and brilliant, metal-inspired guitar playing have made Rodrigo y Gabriela a phenomenon in their adopted Ireland, with a platinum album, sell-out tours and barn-storming festival appearances already to their credit. Now, with the release of their third album, Rodrigo y Gabriela, their sights are set on the international arena. Here, this extraordinary couple explain why they swapped sun-drenched Mexico for rain-kissed Dublin – and, for the first time, talk candidly about the open relationship they enjoy, as long-term friends and lovers.
Domestic metal bands may find it difficult to make themselves heard over their hipper contemporaries, but Dublin rockers Mike Got Spiked look set to add to their growing army of devotees courtesy of their scorching debut album, Caveat Emptor.
Stuart Clark – himself a black belt in origami – discovers how The Ramones and kickboxing chinese detectives have helped Ash to overcome their sordid heavy metal past and become Top of the Chops.
Harder, faster, louder... Motorhead have been rocking the planet for the past 26 years. As they prepare to do battle again at the Xtreme festival, Lemmy answers your questions. Warts and all
Back at the turn of the decade there were three mad bands from Downpatrick Vietnam, Lazer Gun Nun and Confusion. The first of these dropped the dodgy heavy metal element and became Ash. The second toned down the Stooges sound to give room for the Backwater experience. Two-thirds of the last act have come back to haunt us in the form of Griswold.
A surprisingly mellow Tom Ayara of Slayer thinks that calling God Hates Us All “ugly” is unaccurate. “It’s more angry and hateful,” he tells Phil Udell
What on earth is milky-white, squeaky-clean, God-fearin PAT BOONE doing,
wearing leather
and studs and singing heavy metal anthems? JOE JACKSON delves behind the year s most bizarre comeback to extract a rare and fascinating interview with a man who once alienated rockers and now finds himself ostracised by Christians.
He debuted in East is East, became a household face in Eastenders and has finally gone west to star in the bollywood meets hollywood movie, The Guru. The son of an Indian father and Irish mother, he talks here about his thrash metal past, the difficulties of being an Asian actor and why Alan Hansen and Mark Lawrenson are his spiritual gurus.
He has warts on his face, chemical paste in his blood, viagra in his dick and a heart full of rock 'n' roll. "There are occasions when I do preach temperance," Lemmy tells a startled STUART CLARK Woooooargh! Photography: SIMON ROCHE
The heavy metal tour to end all heavy metal tours hits Ireland next year when Feast Priest arrives on our shores, featuring Judas Priest, Megadeth and Testament.
OUT FROM BEHIND THE GREASE-PAINT THAT ADORNS HIS FACE ON THE COVER OF ‘SPIKE’, ELVIS COSTELLO EMERGES TO TALK ABOUT THE MUSIC THAT RUNS IN HIS FAMILY FROM BIG-BAND TO SPEED-METAL, HIS MUCH-TOUTED IRISH CONNECTION, WORKING WITH PAUL McCARTNEY, HIS CONTEMPT FOR MUCH OF TODAY’S POP MUSIC AND THE FEELINGS THAT INSPIRED HIS DEATH-WISH FOR MARGARET THATCHER.
‘Giant Bassmantix’ sounds like just that – unfeasably large bass thrusts crashing into schizophrenic electro breaks, all with an
unnerving hum in the background. ‘Doubt’ pushes things further. Metal machine music from this Irish producer.
Dan Curtin comes out of the mediocre shadows to shine once again. This debut on Black Dog's label borrows from minimal, but evolves from lithe, skipping rhythms into a warped sheet metal riffs, putting the US producer close to greatness again.
Ireland could without doubt do with a healthy domestic rock and metal scene. You wonder, though, whether Jaded Sun are the ones to kick start it. They certainly approach their task with gusto. But there is nothing here to mark them out from the influences that they so clearly draw upon. I’m sure they provide a great night out. On record, they need more work.
The mega-platinum success that Staind enjoyed a few years back stemmed from a couple of factors. Their association with Limp Bizkit saw them firmly lumped with the nu-metal movement, despite very few musical similarities. And the single ‘Outside’ was as ubiquitous as that bloody Nickelback record of the same time.
Given the incestuous nature of the Irish music scene, you’d have thought that a band who’ve been around over ten years, released five albums and received great acclaim across Europe would feature quite prominently on the radar. So how come Dublin’s Primordial aren’t exactly household names? The answer is simple – they play metal. Not the kind of post-ironic metal that abounds in these post-Darkness days but the real, dark deal.
On paper it sounds like a novelty record disaster and just the kind of thing to put the skids under our favourite Latin acoustic metal duo. In truth, this cover of the Led Zep relic works incredibly well and has the potential to open mainstream doors across the water.
There’s something about the North that seems to bring out a rockier aspect in bands than is the case down South, and Belfast’s Arcane are further proof of the theory. The four tracks here each display a love for the classic bands of the metal genre, and are all played with passion, musicianship and an obvious depth of knowledge.
But therein lies Satellite’s main problem, an inability to match its outstanding moments with anything more than a series of decidedly average nu metal outings.
Hailing from the leafy environs of St. Albans in the British Home Counties, Cat, aka Catherine Lawless and friends, concoct a generic, hard-rock sound rooted in the spandex-wearing eighties metal revival.
Colm O’Hare reports on the controversy over death metal whose continuing interest in all things Satanic has been blamed for a series of anti-social activities, from the vandalisation of cemeteries and churches to the deaths of rock stars themselves.
Not as popular with casual fans as the band’s two self-titled records, but Pinkerton seems to be the Weezer album that played the biggest part in building the group’s fervent following.
Rivers Cuomo’s gift for metal-flavoured power-pop gems remained intact, but the band's cute, geek-y demeanour was noticeably played down.
Essentially a live version of the bootleg concept, it brings the best out in both parties and avoids heading down the tiresome rap metal path that you might have expected.
The failure of the metal scene in Ireland to really take hold has always been a mystery, probably not helped by the continuing divisions and crappy attitude of other rock fans. Spare point up the depth of this folly. Sure, it’s rough around the edges and wears its influences on its black-clad sleeve but these five tracks carry more conviction, energy and desire than the majority of the records on this page.
Proof that Irish rock is in rude good health, Evil Harrisons boast slick metal riffs and vocals reminiscent of Josh Homme on this track, but who cares? That home-grown intrinsically Irish romantic title does all the donkey work. Of course it vies for attention with the B-side’s “Quit raising my Cane!”
Trent Reznor’s working in the wrong field: he makes gothic metal records, with nods to electronic dance music and IDM. He should be making electronic/IDM records, with (perhaps) the occasional shade of heavy metal.
The Darkness achieved the unthinkable by making hair metal popular again. The Answer, on the other hand, see themselves as more serious rockers and Northern Ireland’s, eh, answer to Led Zeppelin. Full of energy and yelped vocals ‘Keep Believin’ is a confident first step but they’ll need to work on melodies as opposed to white noise if The Answer are going to stand out from the crowd.
The hysteria that greets the arrival of Weezer to these shores and each new record suggest that they’re probably a more important band than we might give them credit for. ‘Beverly Hills’ is another spot-on punk-pop moment from Rivers Cuomo, beefed up with metal guitar riffs and street-gang backing vocals. Once again the Weezer boys haven’t put a foot wrong.
‘I Gave You Away’ is a return to what Dear’s Audion project does best, teasing the grimiest, dankest sounds from his 303. It’s in good company here: Par Grindvik’s ‘Casio’ makes a nod to Neil Landstrum’s sheet metal ‘90s analogue techno and the organ riff at the centre of Bodycode’s ‘Exciting Ride’ is scarier than a weekend at Fred West’s.
The Used furious mix of nu-metal and skate punk may not be the most original of cocktails but it’s the way they blend the ingredients (with just enough contradiction) that keeps them from sliding into mediocrity.
In Dublin’s Nine IX Lives, we have that rarest of things – a convincing Irish rock band. Although they nail their colours firmly to the punk-pop mast, there’s a definite metal edge at work here, right from the opening riffs and their early Iron Maiden feel. It’s not perfect by any means (the production needs to be meatier and at six tracks they’re stretching their material a bit) but this is hugely encouraging stuff.
The opening track on Bay Area goth/metal/punk outfit AFI’s new effort beckons us to join them in their macabre dance of thrash melodies and is the first indication of a simple hardcore album being fed to the sharks of over-production.
Another Antipodeon rock band attempting to simultaneously reference the soul of AC/DC, Led Zeppelin and the blues-era musicians those artists were cribbing from in the first place. It rocks, of course, but torn between the impulse to descend into post-prog psychedelia and straightforward meathead metal, Wolfmother are the sound of compromise, albeit compromise writ in large capitals with a string of exclamation points at the end.
Renko’s sound is a hotchpotch of BRMC-style riffs, a whiff of Radiohead circa ‘97, hints of electric Neil Young and some good old down-home hair metal. Debut single ‘The Fate Of The Free World Depends On You’ is a more relaxed turn however, in which the band show they can do mellow. File under ‘a little bit alt. country and a little bit alt. rock’n’roll’.
They might be one of the most hard-working bands in Ireland at the moment, but sadly that doesn’t necessarily translate to being great on record. The Longford natives are competent songwriters of cheery pop gems with just a hint of dark undertones about them (though they’re nothing like the death metal band I’d once anticipated from their name!). Unfortunately, it’s spoiled by Johnny Cronin’s vocals, which to me come across like an overzealous attempt to take off Edwyn Collins. But hey, ‘distinctive’ vocals never stopped Clap Your Hands Say Yeah…
A heady brew of metal, punk, glam ‘n’ grunge with Brit-pop melodies to boot, Philadelphia three-piece Burning Brides appear to have all the elements of a great band.
Rap-metal splicings are a hairy business, with even the better efforts (Anthrax/Public Enemy, Cypress Hill’s last couple of albums) resulting in a scoreless draw. So it is with Collision Course.
Before Aerosmith and Run DMC joined forces for the classic ‘Walk This Way’, it was thought unthinkable. Metal? and Rap?? Together???! But in this, the decade of fusion, the boundaries have been well and truly broken by Korn, Limp Bizkit and others. It was only a matter of time before some clever soul squeezed the concoction of pseudo rap/metal on to compilation disc.
There’s good news for heavy metal fans, who may have been feeling a bit neglected of late, with two behemoths of the genre en route to Dublin's Ambassador.
With Master of Puppets, Metallica pushed their taste for the epic to the ultimate with what is their finest moment, that once-in-a-career phase when all members of a band seem to peak at the same time. It was their last album before the tragic death of bassist Cliff Burton, and also the album on which James Hetfield came into his true voice, as on ‘Battery’. With layers of grinding guitars creating a truly dark, sinister sound, Kirk Hammet peeled off riff after limitless riff.
Master Of Puppets proved that Metallica were one of the most important metal bands of all time.
Mike Got Spiked are a quartet well schooled in the forge-work of the form. The rhythm section is nimble and quick, and singer Gavin McGuire has a fair set of lungs on him. They frequently carry off tricky muscle-funk licks and Rancid-like ska-metal hybrids with handbrake turn metre shifts (‘To Have You Here’, ‘Teen Idol’, ‘Find Yourself’) not to mention the odd muso fusion fuckabout (‘5 Second Heaven’, ‘All You Need’), although the songs invariably go scurrying back to the power chords and layered harmonies of a Linkin Park chorus. More worryingly, they have little to say, and no artful way of saying it.
For a while back there it looked like nu-metal was going to save rock music. Then we wised up and sent the angst-ridden, shorts-wearing whingers packing. Korn, however, never went away because they were there from the start, probably guilty of landing the whole thing on us in the first place
Spoken of in hushed, reverential tones by an entire generation of aspiring guitarslingers, QOTSA are modern-day six-string gods, utterly fluent in post-Zep/Hendrix metal, and heavily informed by a certain strain of early-‘90s stoner rock (Soundgarden, Alice in Chains) though without the glum, humourless self-absorption that made most of the latter ilk such a charmless proposition.
They walk the walk, they talk the talk, and, by golly, do they wear the make-up. Yup, Mudvayne, the latest US export to grace our metallic palette, fit snugly into the Top 40's most recent definition of nu-skool metal.
LD-50 is a bit heavily produced to be considered raw and although well endowed with plenty of guitarry distortion and chunky bassy riffs, the whole venture seems a little too polished.
The oldest collection of harp music in existence consists of 71 pages copied by Robert ap Huw in 1613 from various sources that have since vanished. Written in a unique tablature (some of which is reproduced in the CD booklet), it’s drawn from the repertoire of cerdd dant, harp music originally brought from Ireland to Wales by the 12th century king Gruffudd ap Cynan. Clare man Paul Dooley has devoted years to the study of this manuscript, and he’s one of the few people to play the old-style metal-strung harp with his fingernails in the style of the medieval harpers.
With the long awaited release of their second album, it would appear that US metallers, Cold, have gathered their gear and climbed a notch on the ladder to musical magic. Yes, 13 Ways To Bleed On Stage is a collection of 13 (suprisingly enough) highly fuelled, diverse tracks, orbiting around the grunge/metal genre.
The Deftones sound can be described as heavy. It's a heaviness, however, which is attributable to the bruising weight of emotion and atmosphere in the music, as much as to the effect of guitars and drums. The influence of The Cure and The Smiths is obvious: there is a real and pressing darkness to their music, absent in goth metal peers, such as Korn and Marilyn Manson.
The most wondrous glam metal band since Motley Crue or a bunch of overhyped Swedes who should realise there’s no market for second-hand Iron Maiden riffs?
Despite splintering into countless sub-genres, heavy metal has witnessed few bands such as System Of A Down. You could tie yourself in knots trying to work out what sets this band apart. Maybe it's their Armenian roots or the fact that they’re the most politically motivated rock band since Rage Against The Machine.
Their trademark sweeping metallic sounds and airbrushed vocals are present and correct, and set the band apart from the clasps of nu-metal and emo, giving them an epic quality that's quite distinctive
Kicking off in a ferociously derivative swamp-rock squall, Exhibit A initially goes out of its way to confirm your misgivings. Couched in zinging guitars that evoke a backwoods ZZ Top and melodies which could have been cadged from a Nashville pawnshop, the record comes on like the work of efficient, but disengaged , forgers.
Perhaps The Features, whose semi-prominence is owed to a Kings Of Leon support slot last year, feel obliged to return the favour through the only means at their disposal: by offering up a misshapen hillbilly-metal pastiche. The gambit seems cheap, as though the group considers such shtick beneath them.
It gets better though.
Black Sabbath guitar legend Tony Iommi’s first solo album has an embarrassing wealth of guest vocalists in harness, but with Skin from Skunk Anansie involved, as well as Dave Grohl’s serious Soundgardenish ‘Goodbye Lament’ and Billy Corgan’s turgid molten metal whine on ‘Black Oblivion’, things are in danger of becoming dreary indeed. Attempting subtlety in this company just doesn’t seem to work.
Dublin-based Somadrone may share their name with a US rock band, but there the similarity ends. While the Massachusetts rock quartet trade in fiery metal, Neil O’Connor (whose other musical credits include The Redneck Manifesto and Connect Four Orchestra) specialises in instrumental elecronica so unobtrusive it’s almost transparent.
Long gone are the days when the Donnas were perfect teen-movie soundtrack fodder. As the fair maidens of new hair-metal, they’re a little like the missing link between Angus Young and Courtney Love.
We are treated to de rigeur vocal gymnastics from Chester Bennington and crunching nu-metal riffs from his band mates. But Meteora is curiously lacking in soul
’86 inspired the realisation that rock’n’roll now encompasses such a broad spectrum of self-contained categories (Hip-Hop, Metal, AOR, ad infinitum) operating simultaneously that the possibility of any truly revolutionary movement on the scale of ’78 would appear to be singularly remote.
Enniskillen brothers Pat and John McManus (one time members of '80s metal trio Mama's Boys) are joined by keyboardist Jonathan Czerwik to form the core of this London-based collective.
Metallica have emerged as the most popular metal band in Ireland to judge by their showing in the chart of the one hundred best metal tracks of all time as chosen by the readers of Hot Press and the listeners to 2FM’s increasingly popular Metal Show.
The guitar sound is refreshingly raw and potent, without ever straying into metal territory, while they keep a firm enough grip on the melody to maintain interest
In a ten-years-after-Kurt Cobain piece entitled ‘When The Edge Moved To The Middle’ published in the New York Times recently, Sonic Youth’s Thurston Moore made a point of dispelling alt-rock nostalgia by declaring: “You wouldn’t know it now by looking at MTV, with its scorn-metal buffoons and Disney-damaged pop idols, but the underground scene Kurt came from is more creative and exciting than it’s ever been.
In all, YES! is an unexpected joy, a heady, discombobulating cocktail of rock opera, obstinate punk and feel-good dance vibes. Ignore, if you will, the fact that Do Me Bad Things were ‘discovered’ by the same people that ‘discovered’ The Darkness. For all its calorific riffing and Rocky Horror-esque psychedelia, the true beauty of this record is its newness (as opposed to the novelty) factor. ‘Liv Ullman On Drums’ (featuring, bizarrely, Tom Shotton on drums) is an incredible ragout of ‘70s cop show theme music with hair metal, while ‘Time For Deliverance’ is a spine-tingling AC/DC inspired-Broadway musical number.
Once Like A Spark is a brilliantly brief headrush, a mad dash through the realms of punk, rock and metal that is the perfect pick-me-up for anyone who’s tired of post-rock, fed up with the new wave of cooler-than-thou US supergroups and longing for a bit of old-fashioned blood, thunder, sweat and bollocks.
Lowestoft’s finest have come up with a lorry-load of impossibly joyous pop-metal anthems, the likes of which haven’t been heard since David Lee Roth and Van Halen were spandexing their way round the ginormodome circuit.
Essentially a brilliantly produced heavy metal record with lots of strange moments, Origin Of Symmetry will undoubtedly propel Muse further upwards in their quest for stardom
Adrian Thaws revolutionised music nearly a decade ago as the darkest and most fascinating architect of trip-hop, seamlessly fusing claustrophobic urban isolation-scapes with sheet-metal guitars and jagged hip-hop arrhythmia, resulting in a kind of fractured, unbearably bleak yet transcendental ghetto poetry.
Billy Corgan didn’t get to be Billy Corgan without a serious sense of the perverse, and these days it’s there for all to see. It’s in the little things; like his tour stage design of grotesque twisted reptilian metal, Alien-esque; or his insistence on arriving on the Ambassador stage in a trenchcoat, winter scarf and knee-high army boots, while the midsummer heat has everyone else in the venue evaporating.
If you were to look up the meaning of the word weld in the Oxford English Dictionary you'd find: *Weld v. unite (pieces of esp. heated metal etc.) into solid mass by hammering or pressure*. There's more of course, but that basically wraps it up.
It also wraps up Neil Young ... Crazy Horses' new double live album. A merciless wall of noise, Weld is all about guitars. Very loud guitars. It's also about chaos, albeit chaos in perfect motion, chaos in full flights, majestic, marauding - Weld in chaos, in control.
Hard rock has taken on many forms, but if it's loud enough to annoy the neighbours, it should be categorised as good old-fashioned metal. Peter Murphy guides you through our choice of the Top 30 metal albums of all time.
The Answer have played to almost a million people on the current AC/DC tour. Not bad for an indie hard rock band from Norn Iron. Singer Cormac Neeson gives us the skinny on Angus Young’s love of Rory Gallagher, meeting Alice Cooper, and why Hunger is required tour bus viewing.
It's been five years since Babes In Toyland last shrieked their way around the globe and, to be honest, the world hasn't exactly been a hugely poorer place for their absence. Still, they're back for one last time - this is a combined reunion/farewell tour - and really, they needn't have bothered.
US metallers Creed are the latest in a long line of Stateside wavemakers to hit our shores. As a guitar driven hard rock four-piece caught somewhere between Soundgarden, Pearl Jam and Stone Temple Pilots, they've notched up a rather impressive 9 x platinum sales figure on this, their second release, Human Clay.
Sometimes it's hard to be Irish, and this is one of them. Imagine, if you must, an amalgam of Sham 69 without the songs; The Wolfe Tones minus the voices; Ding Dong Denny O'Reilly without the wit; the worst thrash metal band you've ever heard; the infantile macho posturing of American wrestling and The Saw Doctors at their shoutiest - and you've taken just one small step to comprehending the atrocity they call Dropkick Murphys.
Irony-deficient Nordic rockers Turbonegro are one of the world’s most credible hardcore acts, with a fanlist that includes Queens Of The Stone Age and Therapy?
Irish guitarist bernie torme no relation to Mel has played with Ian Gillan, Atomic Rooster and Ozzy Osbourne, and lived to tell the tale. Interview: colm o hare.
Slash can go boil his silly hat, but Iggy Pop, The Rolling Stones and Kraftwerk are welcome to come and stay in Fagersta any time they want. Howlin’ Pelle and the boys talk heroes and zeros with Stuart Clark
Revisit our Nirvana cover story from earlier this year, encompassing ten-years-on recollections from Butch Vig, Greil Marcus and Mark Lanegan and one of Hot Press' undisputed highlights of '02
Being dropped by a major has helped THERAPY? relocate their soul. The result is shameless – “a very simple punk rock’n’roll record,” says ANDY CAIRNS proudly.
Interview: PHIL UDELL
KMLA ARE a band who have no difficulty articulating a vision and a sound that?s at one and the same time intrinsically Irish yet insistent in glancing outward at the shapes and colours of music from all over the globe. Rossa O?Snodaigh, one of Kmla?s main movers and shakers sees roots music?s popularity as an inevitable result of the disillusionment with pop and rock formats.
They're rocky in a drum 'n' bass sort of a way, and will be right at home in November when they play Ireland. Lauren Murphy meets Pendulum's Gareth McGrillen
Northern rockers Therapy? are back in the saddle with their tenth studio album Never Apologise, Never Explain – and as Andy Cairns tells Tanya Sweeney, their rabble rousing punk ethic remains as sharply ingrained as ever.
Beloved of both nu ravers and Timbaland who neglected to ask permission before sampling one of their songs, Crystal Castles might just be the biggest band to come out of leftfield this year.
Killarney-based instrumental foursome HELIOPAUSE say they’re keen to keep rock ‘n’ roll alive in the Kingdom. We caught up with drummer Jamie O’Donoghue to talk mountains, his instrumental icons and supporting fellow sticks man R.S.A.G.Punk, Mark Morrison with Muse and Bob Marley with TLC, they show real production potential.
Need help, advice or a second opinion? Put your music industry question to theoracle@hotpress.ie. This fortnight's question is from Suzanne from Galway. She says that from her experience, some Irish record companies want to sign artists for both publishing and recording and she wants to know if there are any advantages or disadvantages in doing this?
Grunge titans Alice in Chains are back after a 14 year hiatus. They talk about the tragic death of vocalist Layne Staley, working with Elton John and keeping the spirit of the early ‘90s alive.
Is the time right for Welsh rock n rollers STEREOPHONICS to cash in on their Brits Best Newcomer award of 1998? It is, explains a frustrated KELLY JONES to BARRY GLENDENNING, but only if they can get out of this fucking airport.
They came out of Ballyfermot Rock School,now they are capable of rocking the world! Gerry Mc Govern talks to a band who had the good sense to think of a name that was made for headlines.....flexihead!
Following a potentially fatal bout of auto-immune deficiency, Airborne Toxic Event’s Mikel Jollett gave up a damned promising writing career to play music.
Forget The Sunset Grill or Whisky A Go Go, it was Osborne Mushet Tools that gave birth to the only hard rock band capable of giving Madge and Wacko a run for their money. The man who put the steel into Sheffield tells the story
Never mind Cradle of Filth and their “Jesus Is A Cunt” t-shirts, if it’s real, honest to Beelzebub offensiveness you’re after look no further than Norwegian death metallers Gorgoroth who’ve been charged with blasphemous obscenity following a particularly boisterous gig in Poland.
Blood, parties, testosterone, gonzoid lyrics – that nice ANDREW WK has a little something for just about everyone. "Hell, I don't even mind if your other favourite artist’s Enya," he tells STUART CK
Having delivered a storming set at Oxegen, pop-rock powerhouse NOISETTES confess a love for all things Irish in the Hot Press Signing Tent. Plus, they hold forth on their passion for everything from jazz to punk to heavy metal.
They’re a bunch of old fashioned guitarslingers whose only wish is to rock your world. Now Dublin’s finest metal troupe Large Mound are back with a killer new record.
Unreconstructed Downpatrick rockers The Answer are brewing up a whirlwind of hype. But frontman Cormac Neeson admits their good humoured hair-metal may never be cool
The man formerly known as Dennis Pennis, Paul Kaye, has made a return to form as hedonistic DJ Frankie Wilde in the new Ibiza-set comedy, It’s All Gone Pete Tong. A rollicking mockumentary following the fortunes of its errant lead character, it aims to do for the dance scene what This Is Spinal Tap did for heavy metal.
“There doesn’t need to be any problems conjured for wrong interpretations,” says Clown aka Shawn Crahan. And while you’re chewing on the prime gibberish, here’s the Slipknot view on humanity (“filthy, disgusting, disease-ridden”), fans (“they’re all cows”), piss (“i like the way it smells”) and life in a band (“i’m so bored, so trapped”). Prepare to shake your head in disbelief
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.
Whilst the biker culture has retained it aura of outlaw glamour and leather-clad allure down through the years, it’s nonetheless a mode of transport not without its dangers.
Sex, drugs, rock ’n’ roll, George Bush, religion, torture, hangovers and, of course, the smelliest member of the band. The readers leave no stone unturned as they seek the truth
from Kirk Hammett. Your host Olaf Tyaransen
THERE S NOTHING I enjoy more after leaving Hot Press than to go home, loosen my cravat and indulge in a good nutty shag. However, it is increasingly the practice of the working classes and newly-moneyed to pour scorn on such manly pursuits. The days of a public school education automatically earning one respect are, it appears, at an end. The landscape would be unbearably bleak were it not for The Chap, a new gentleman s quarterly which has become quite the rage in polite society.
Running an independent label is challenging enough, but how do you operate in a town where you can count the bands and the venues on one hand? Robbie McManus tells Hot Press what motivated Athlone-based Kissmearse Records to take fledgeling local bands under their wing.
what good was rock’n’roll in 2001? No good at all – and yet we couldn’t have got through without it.
Peter Murphy reflects on a year in which some old codgers stood up to be counted and many of us lived “on songs and hope”
He s so vain, but brian molko is also one of the most astute men in rock n roll. Having put his hedonistic days behind him honest! the placebo mainman talks to stuart clark about martyrdom, maturity and Marilyn Manson.
Taking the best – or at least, the most over-the-top – pieces of KLF, Slayer and Radiohead, Enter Shakarai are the hottest thing on eight legs at the moment.
Ireland beating the mighty Dutch on an enchanted evening at Lansdowne Road. The Frames at Vicar St. Liverpool lifting three trophies in one season. BellX1 at the Music Centre
Colm O’Hare talks to Katie Larmour, presenter of UTV’s new music show Live At The Limelight, which will be showcasing the best young artists from around Ireland.
From Dr Strangelove to Eyes Wide Shut, film director Stanley Kubrick cast an enigmatic shadow over film. Since his death, the director’s widow, Christiane Kubrick, has dedicated herself to preserving his legacy. Here she offers a glimpse of the man behind the legend.
BP Fallon, who toured with The Ramones in 1977 and 1978 - including their epochal gig in Dublin at The State Cinema in Phibsboro that forever changed the face of Irish rock'n'roll - dips into the archives of oblivion to remember Dee Dee Ramone
Getting behind the scary image of the world’s most notorious band is not easy but PHIL UDELL manfully plugs away as SLIPKNOT’s SHAWN CRAHAN plays hardball
Peering through a letter box, fielding flying knickers and knocking out a strong contender for album of the year - it's all happening for Cooper Temple Clause
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.
Finns can only get better as dodgy England World Cup songs, credibility-destroying Coke ads and blood-spurting Eurovision entrants star in our C.I.N. music special.
Irish journalist, novelist and musician JOE AMBROSE has JUST published The Violent World Of Mosh Pit Culture (book), an explosive first-hand account of life inside the mosh pit. STEPHEN ROBINSON spoke to him about the sex, brutality and freedom to be discovered within the ‘pits.
Busy gigging comedian Karl Spain has left behind a comfortable suburban family home for a city centre apartment in his native Limerick. He talks to Stephen Errity about work, pleasure and how, in one way, he's a lot like Woody Allen.
The Monaghan-Cavan area has been a bit of a desert in quality rock terms in recent years, but the new Monaghan-based Venue Promotions is set on changing all that.
Gaspard Augé of acclaimed electro duo Justice on the group’s stunning live performances, upstaging Kanye West and putting the humour back into dance music.
Who said trad music was for fogeys and whiskery aul' fellas? Spook of the Thirteenth Lock draw on old-timey Irish sounds whilst also referencing prog and nu-gaze
Limerick thrashmeisters Giveamanakick's third album Welcome To The Cusp is the product of ten days of cabin fever in Donegal. No wonder it sounds wet 'n' wild.
Melissa Auf Der Maur, the former Hole and Smashing Pumpkins bassist, on working with Courtney Love and Billy Corgan, and finding her own space in the male locker room. Interview by Peter Murphy.
From Belfast’s coolest record emporium Good Vibrations to the city’s coolest venue, the Odyssey Arena’s ice-rink, Pay*ola are now coming south to a venue near you. And they won’t be supporting Slipknot…
Uber-hip electro-rock merchants The Bravery are brewing up a storm on the UK indie scene thanks to their blindingly inventive records and raw and energetic live shows. Interview by Hannah Hamilton.
Which is a rather cryptic way of introducing an interview by Joe Jackson with Brian Kennedy on his distaste for the macho ethos of rock and his admiration for fellow Belfast troubadour Mr. Morrison.
No, she doesn’t hate Tim Wheeler but yes, she does look up her own chart position first. A solo Charlotte Hatherly on Bowie, Star Wars and life with and without Ash.
William St Leger, A freelance graphic designer from Clonmel now living in London, locked himself to the roof of an American military base during a recent high profile Greenpeace action in England. Here is his account of the day, as told to Adrienne Murphy
Having dispatched that difficult second album with admirable panache, Republic Of Loose are gearing up for the festival season, most notably a Saturday night headline slot at Castlepalooza. Mick Pyro talks us through his outdoor survival guide.
Arriving in Dublin in the last sixties as a 16 year old guitar wunderkind, Belfast born Gary Moore embarked on a musical career that has seen him go through several metamorphoses and achieve numerous notable success in the process.
They're flagbearers for the 'new eccentric' scene and the toast of the fashion set. So what are These New Puritans doing writing songs about Michael Barrymore?
In Case Of Fire are one of a clutch of NI bands that are helping to spearhead a new alternative Ulster. With a string of high profile festival dates on the cards, they talk about their plans for world domination.
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).
As one of Ireland’s few motor racing venues, Tipperary Motor Speedway is an important outlet for young people who love cars. Now, it is being threatened with closure.
Mike Mormecha, frontman of Mojo Fury, is now making a stab at singer-songwriter glory with his debut solo EP as Clown Parlour, wherein he references his Eastern European roots.
Anna Nolan first shot to fame as one of the stars of the original Big Brother. A lesbian, guitar-playing ex-nun, she has gone on to make an impact as a TV presenter in the UK. Now, she's about to make her Irish debut
We see the reports on television and hear the voices on the radio but the brutal adrenaline-charged reality of the rioting in North Belfast can only be fully understood if you're in the thick of it. Gerry Ryan Show reporter Brenda O' Donoghue briefly was.
As in most branches of the arts and entertainment business there are two types of musicians: actual musicians and would-be musicians. Just like all those would-be writers who could have written Ulysses but went for a drink instead, there are countless Irish bands who could have been as big as U2 but just didn't want to bother with all that business shit. With a reputed #80 million in the bank I bet Bono really regrets having anything to do with all that business shit, poor sucker.
catherine doherty clambers aboard the Heineken RollErcoaster and joins Revelino, The Nude, Mesner, and Abbaesque for a crazy white-knuckle ride into deepest Munster.
The producers of choice for everyone from Justin Timberlake to Jay-Z, Pharrell Williams and Chad Hugo are also earning plaudits for their rock and hip-hop influenced side project, N*E*R*D
When Michael D. Higgins suggested that U2 and Neil Jordan should be studied in Irish colleges, all hell - if Mr McPhisto will forgive the expression - broke loose. However, there may, on some of Michael D.'s critics' part, be a deliberate attempt to misconstrue what he said. By Bill Graham.
North-of-the-border scenester Paul Archer is back with a thrilling new project, Burning Codes. He talks about moving to Britain, becoming a father, and when Snow Patrol supported one of his gigs.
co.uk, with their spiky sound and their hearts set on superstardom, are the new great white hopes of the northern rock scene. STUART CLARK met them.
PiX: MICHAEL TAYLOR
"I compressed the vox, EQ'd the drums and turned down the reverb on the guitar channel but it still sounds like it was recorded through an analogue four track"
Confused?
But where would you be in the middle of the night with no bells and your knickers ringing? Or more to the point, where would you be without the new Hot Press/Heineken link up with Tower Records on Sundays?
The inspiration for ‘Fuck Her Gently’; Kyle’s stoned scene from Almost Famous; did KG really eat JB’s shitzel? And the best way to do cock push-ups. Tenacious D answer the readers’ questions. Turning up the heat Patrick Hedlund.
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.
Few Irish albums have been as eagerly awaited as THERAPY?’s Troublegum and while the jury has yet to deliver its final verdict, early indications suggest that the band from Larne may be about to fulfil their own prophecy and become multifuckingnationally huge. But does taking on the world mean having to compromise the hardcore principles they’ve fought so hard to protect?
ANDY CAIRNS and MICHAEL McKEEGAN tell Hot Press trouble-shooter GERRY McGOVERN that displaying your gums doesn’t mean having to sacrifice your teeth. Pix.: MICHAEL QUINN.
They may claim that they’re not interested in world domination, but US underground infatuated Dublin rockers Angels Of Mons are nonetheless brewing up a storm on the Irish indie scene.
On a bright, crisp, autumn day in 1975, the attention of the universe was focused on St Mel’s Park, Athlone and a UEFA Cup clash between The Town and A.C. Milan...
When not touring with Republic Of Loose, Mick pyro is free to kick back in his basement pad in a 1960s Swedish-style Terenure house, where he indulges his love of CDs, books and movies – and ponders the aesthetic similarities between Shakespeare and hip hop.
Well then you better be prepared to hang upside down naked once in a while! Colm O'Hare meets Dublin's Ride Or Die Gang, the band behind this year's ballsiest publicity campaign
Dublin anarcho-pop five-piece The Camembert Quartet have just released their debut album Music Is War, but with song titles such as 'Boybands Are C**ts' it's unlikely they'll be joining westlife on tour
Not content with corrupting the youth of America with his music, the God of Fuck has diversified into painting, acting and writing. Plus: the singer’s encounters with literary outlaws JT Leroy and Hunter S. Thompson.
Former Belle And Sebastian mainstay Isobel Campbell has recorded a country-rock masterpiece worthy of Johnny Cash. But what’s a gravel-throated Mark Lanegan doing on it?
Tanya Sweeney talks to Hot Hot Heat frontman Steve Bays about guitarist Dante DeCaro’s departure from the band, the creation of their long-awaited new album Elevator, trading Nirvana’s producer for Marilyn Manson’s, and why Ireland remains a favourite destination on the group’s itinerary.
Victor Bartley is on the edge - publicly humiliated by criticism of his son's ailing TV show, he has had enough. Once a successful showband manager in Ireland, he is now a sad resentful alcoholic. He bears most of this resentment towards the rock star Richie Earls, one of Ireland's rock and roll elite who has everything that Victor wants... But now Victor has what Richie wants... Murder, menace and middlemen from a great new Irish talent. Let the music begin...
Daring Hot Press correspondent Danielle Brigham tells in her own words how she dodged knives, nibbled coat-hangers, fire-limboed – well, crawled – and pulled the world’s stretchiest man, all in the course of a day with the fun-loving freaks of the Circus Of Horrors. photos Liam Sweeney
Donegal three-piece The Revs have in two short years become one of the country's most successful independent outfits, but, as Nadine O'Regan discovers, the majors are beckoning
Just about every artist will tell you they never pay attention to reviews. Those same acts can most likely recite word for word those very same reviews. Sound bites, artistic temperament and tight deadlines are not the makings of a quiet life.
One of Ireland’s leading young painters, Rasher has had his work collected by Colin Farrell, Louis Walsh and Ali Hewson, and has also contributed a cover image to the new edition of Declan Lynch's The Rooms.
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.
He may be trained to kill, but recently James Blunt has been seducing vast swathes of the population with his poignant love songs. Lured to the Hot Press Chat Room, he tells all about his number one album, the Queen, being shot at in Kosovo and lesbian swim parties.
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
The last scintilla of doubt just rode out of town – groundbreaking news spoof The Day Today is back on the agenda courtesy of a brand new DVD, and the show’s gleeful send-up of current affairs broadcasting is now more relevant than ever.
andy darlington meets skunk anansie with a live grenade in his hand
Peter Murphy s damning Hot Press review of their latest album Stoosh. You could cut the tension with a knife
which appears to be exactly what Skin wants at this very moment. Will anyone here get out alive?
30 Seconds To Mars' Jared Leto talks about the challenges of juggling a music and Hollywood career and sheds light on his run-in with the authorities in China.
Having sent up the zombie flick on Shaun Of The Dead comic duo Simon Pegg and Nick Frost have trained their sights on the cop movie with their new feature, Hot Fuzz.
The emergence of The Boomtown Rats inspired a new generation of in-your-face Irish bands who re-energised an Irish music scene that has become moribund and predictable.
But who started it? Olaf Tyaransen went to the final protest march against Britain’s repressive criminal justice bill and found himself reading helpful hints on how to throw a brick with maximum effect before a full-scale riot broke out. This is his report . . .
Since swapping Dublin for Los Angeles, hotly-tipped indie rockers La Rocca have experienced all the ludicrous pleasures and extremes of the City of Angels. Here, they regale us with tales from their California exile.
They came from the East Link Bridge bearing, er, silly hats and false beards, actually. Stuart Clark meets the holy trinity of Christy Dignam, Liam O Maonlai and Ronnie Drew as Aslan, the Flowers and The Dubs prepare for their New Year's party at the Point.
John Walshe talks to The Wannadies Pdr Wiksten and Christina Bergmark about their new album, Yeah, tribute bands, Swedish soft rock stars and the Abba legacy.
Exclusive: The new Coldplay album, X & Y, is set to finally hit the stores next month, and Hot Press has been granted a special sneak preview. Ed Power here gives a track-by-track guide to one of the most anticipated albums of the year.
In 1991, five years after the death of Phil Lynott, the late Bill Graham wrote in Hot Press of Philo's enduring legacy. Over ten years later his words are as relevant as ever
The new album from Foo Fighters is an indie-rock tour de force, combining blistering anthems and delicate acoustic tracks (there’s even a cameo from dinner-party doyen Norah Jones). According to drummer Taylor Hawkins, it may just be the band’s masterpiece.
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.
Andrew Maxwell who has followed up a year of successful television appearances with a sell-out stand-up show and a nomination for a prestigious comedy award.
Stuart Clark, whose middle name is “Intrepid”, recently spent 48 hours on tour with PET LAMB, grindpopcore merchants extraordinaire. His liver and tympanic membranes survived intact, and after a mere six weeks recuperation, he filed this report.
Daemon Codell – aka Joe Daly – is an illusionist with a difference, who likes nothing better than the sight of blood on the stage. It’s only when it’s his own blood that he gets worried.
20 years and the last seven days: U2 have gone through a whole heavenhell of a lot to get here. One can only guess at Bono’s state of mind, high on the euphoria of playing the most ecstatic shows of his band’s career, drained from the freeze-dried exhaustion of flying home to Dublin from all points around Europe to endure the dim purgatories every son goes through when his father is dying.
That’s ICE T, mind, and make sure you use capitals. The rapper turned TV star is coming to a stage near you, and still has plenty to say about hip hop/rock, Michael Moore, George Bush, acting, porno and, of course, ho’s.
Queens Of The Stone Age frontman Josh Homme on the firing of bandmate Nick Oliveri, the London bombings and his plan to disappear once their current tour is over
In an exclusive interview, DeLorean executive Brian Beharrell talks about the $24 million cocaine bust that hastened the demise of the sports car manufacturer's Belfast base.
Champagne corks were popped last week as Snow Patrol joined that elite group of bands who’ve simultaneously topped the charts in Ireland and the UK. It’s all a far cry from the days when their fame was confined to the University of Dundee Students Union bar. Gary Lightbody takes time out from wowing the masses in Dublin and Belfast to tell Stuart Clark about their twisty and turny route to the top.
Full profiles on Faithless, Antony & The Johnsons, Slayer, The Who, Bell X1, Status Quo, The Flaming Lips, 50 Cent, Madness, Christy Moore, Elton John and Lionel Richie.
Black Francis talks to Hot Press about his friendship with U2, his relationship with the rest of the Pixies and why he's reverting back to his original stage-name.
‘When A Man Loves A Woman’ used to be a pretty good song before it became a fairly awful movie. Now it will be impossible to listen to Percy Sledge’s tremblingly emotive cry from the heart without thinking of Andy Garcia giving moist-eyed Meg Ryan that puppy dog on prozac look.
Having been dogged for years by sectarianism, Northern Irish sport has finally found a team that everyone can support. Colin Carberry reports on the phenomenal rise of the ice hockeying Belfast Giants
DOMINO RECORDS has released some of the most essential music of the 90 s by the likes of Sebadoh, Palace Brothers, and Elliott Smith. NICK KELLY talks to lynchpin Laurence Bell and one member of the label s current roster, Stephen Pastel of The Pastels.
The mainman in Tenacious D and scene-stealer in High Fidelity, Jack Black is now at the heart of a box-office phenomenon in School of Rock. But who does he really want to be – Laurence Olivier or Ronnie James Dio? Tara Brady asks the tough questions.
Genital warts, cherry popping, male pattern baldness, archery and kate moss… it's access and, indeed, excess all areas as hotpress readers subject darkness mainman Justin Hawkins to a thorough probing.
Reuben is one of the most innovative of the Irish comedy circuit’s new breed, a near-silent comic who’s character-based sketches are combined this month in a brand-new two-hour show. So what’s 98 FM’s funniest comedian got to say for himself then?
With the Tour de France scheduled to kick off in Ireland on July 11th this year, the subject of drugs in international sport has become a hot topic again. Not only did PAUL KIMMAGE take drugs himself as a professional cyclist - he wrote an award-winning book about it. Interview: BARRY GLENDENNING
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.
Veteran 2FM DJ Larry Gogan was honoured by IRMA earlier this month, in recognition of the forty years he has spent at the top of his profession. To mark the occasion, Hot Press catches up with the presenter to discuss the beginnings of his career during the showband era, how Irish music has changed down through the years – and the time he earned Larry Mullen's thanks for playing U2 records despite the protestations of station chiefs.
Peter Murphy catches up with former Ash guitarist Charlotte Hatherley to talk about 'crazy woman's music', writing songs and collaborating with XTC's Andy Partridge.
Travelling by first class train between Wales and London James Dean Bradfield did a surprising thing: he started working on his first solo album. The resulting record taps the Manic Street Preacher’s growing affection for his roots in the valleys.
They arrived on the scene almost two years ago, determined not to let their unorthodox upbringing and dazzling cheekbones overshadow their music. Now, with their supremely accomplished second album, 2004’s Aha Shake Heartbreak, Kings Of Leon have established themselves among the rock’n’roll elite – from which position they’ve begun to enjoy the perks of rock stardom. “I’m actually getting laid now,” a relieved Caleb Followill admits. words Phil Udell
From badass bunnies via political incorrectness to the mightiest drummer in rock ’n’ roll, it’s all in an interview’s work for Queens Of The Stone Age mainman Josh Homme.
There was a time when TOASTED HERETIC’s world view was, to put it mildly, a little on the jaundiced side. Now, though, with the imminent release of their Mindless Optimism album, Galway’s finest look set to put ‘The Year Of The Lawyer’ behind them and prove that while they’re not necessarily the greatest rock ‘n’ roll band in the world, they’re certainly the happiest. Discovering the art of Zen: OLAF TYARANSEN.
Having spent the summer in Europe wowing huge festival audiences, Royseven are now concentrating on matters of a domestic nature. Phil Udell joins them as they experience the highs, lows and drunken dancing eejits of the Irish live circuit.
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
RADIOHEAD are just about to release one of the most uncompromising and controversial records of the year in Kid A. As the band prepare for their upcoming Irish dates, mainman THOM YORKE talks about the genesis of a record that seems destined to divide rock fans for years. Not to mention Bono, Britney and Alicia Silverstone! Interview: DAVE FANNING
"The Joshua Tree" clarifies how U2's vocation has become the revival and renewal of rock and the recovery of its most romantic values. It also highlights the group's new commitment to the song. Review by Bill Graham
We asked the members of hotpress.com to submit questions for Korn’s kilt-wearing frontman Jonathan Davis and then locked him in a room with just a spotlight and a tape recorder
Cum On Feel The Noize of turning pages as Slade s NODDY HOLDER does a literary tour to promote his autobiography, telling tales of
Phil Lynott, Oasis, Gary Glitter, Glam-Rock Excess, MERRY XMAS EVERYBODY and Suicidal Groupies. ANDY DARLINGTON tags along.
Weezer frontman Rivers Cuomo is one of rock’s great eccentrics. In an exclusive interview he talks about meditation, chastity and why ego is the enemy of art.
Government indignation and empty promises characterise China’s response to CD and DVD piracy, which flourishes in the country. Irish artists like U2, Westlife and Enya are bootleggers’ staple sellers. And Mary Black gets ripped off too. Mark Godfrey reports
When Paddy Moloney isn t busy gigging, rehearsing or recording with his band of merry men, The chieftains, he s laughing. A man who makes The Laughing Policeman look like Leonard Cohen, Moloney recently took a 10-minute break to talk to Paul Byrne about the band s new album REEL MUSIC, their upcoming London festival weekend, their up-coming Christmas album, Van Morrison and oh, about four million other things The Chieftains are currently involved with. Hold onto your sides!
Having dominated the charts here for the past ten years, Ash are gearing up for a full-scale invasion of America. Stuart Clark dons his hard hat as Tim, Mark, Rick and Charlotte tell him about their new record of mass destruction Meltdown, and the A-list celebrity company they’ve been keeping in the city of angels.
After two years of being that bloke who used to be in the Stone Roses, John Squire is back in the saddle with The Seahorses. On the eve of their Heineken Green Energy appearance at Dublin Castle, Madchester s answer to Jimmy Page talks to Stuart Clark about old friends, new challenges and his penchant for obscure Belfast punk bands.
John Walshe meets Paul and Ashley from The Frank & Walters and hears all about their latest album, Beauty Becomes More Than Life, why they don t want to go to posh parties and how major labels take all the fun out of being in a band.
He survived the IRA London bus bomb of February 1996 only to find himself wrongly accused of involvement in terrorism by the British press. His name having been duly cleared young Dubliner BRENDAN WOOLHEAD should have been able to put the worst behind him. Instead, he succumbed to heroin addiction and died in a London hospital having just undergone a costly and controversial detoxification treatment that is now being advertised in Ireland. In the week of the inquest into his death, OLAF TYARANSEN reports on the disturbing implications of a tragic case.
Sex? Yep. Drugs? Uh-huh. Rock 'n' Roll? Yesireebob! Aerosmith were no strangers to the unholy trinity of debauchery during the '70's and early '80's but find that having cleaned up ten years ago they're now cleaning up with the punters. Not that they're beyond having fun, fun and, er, more fun as our resident boogiemeister Stuart Clark finds out.
What better way for an indie musician to spend an evening than checking out the wares in one of Europe’s biggest and best stoked music stores? Welcome to XMusic, guys!
Peter Murphy considers Nirvana’s legacy and wonders will we ever hear their like again. Producer Butch Vig and Josh Homme of Queens Of The Stone Age help him with his enquiries
When it was announced in Hot Press that a new incarnation of De Dannan was about to hit the road, it came as a surprise to one of the group's founders, Alec Finn. Here, he talks about why he objects to the use of the name by his former musical partner, Frankie Gavin.
There is no smoke without fire, they say. Well there is a lot of smoke hanging over Hollywood today. A pall of thick, black, lung-choking smoke from the fires engulfing the East Coast.
Hot Press crime correspondent STUART CLARK
preaches zero tolerance to MASSIVE ATTACK and in return gets the
lowdown on their new album, Bruce n Tarby-style hobnobbing with Radiohead, and why Bristol City piss all over Bristol Rovers
Upwards of two million people do it in Ireland every Sunday - and yet little or nothing is ever written about it in the media. So we asked ourselves a few questions: Why do so many people attend what is by any standards a very strange ritual? Do they enjoy themselves? Is the performance a good one? What do they get from it? And are the sound and lighting really up to the international standards? That's right, a crack Hot Press team of reporters attended Sunday mass recently - this is what they found.
As the son of horror writer Stephen King, Joe Hill has a great deal to live up to. Far from being over-shadowed by his father, however, Hill has crafted a chilling and original debut novel.
Origin of Symmetry? Freak of Evolution more like. The common response to Muse’s Showbiz debut in 1999 was akin to a primitive people’s first glimpse of a spacecraft over the prehistorical landscape. Here was an unlikely but hugely accomplished hybrid of prog-rock flash, quasi-symphonic attack and ferocious virtuosity, spearheaded by Matt Bellamy’s soaring tenor and Dick-ian lyrics. An impressive sound, even if you didn’t know what the hell it was.
John Walshe talks to Jamiroquai mainman, Jay Kay, about the funk soul brother’s latest album, A Funk Odyssey, his testy relationship with British tabloids and why President George W. Bush is a “bad fucker”
ROCK IN RIO, which attracts 200,000 people, may be known for headliners like Sting, REM and Britney Spears. But this year, DERVISH played there too - and got a rapturous welcome. SIOBHÁN LONG reports from an extraordinary event
DOLORES O'RIORDAN may have the highest profile but the others are also here to remind you that THE CRANBERRIES are a group. and with the release of their new album wake up and smell the coffee, a happier, wiser, less embattled group than ever before. “all you need is love,” they assure JOE JACKSON
You cook them, we serve them up in the Q&A cantina. At the table to answer the questions posed, in our second serving this fortnight, by members of hotpress.com: Ash
30th Anniversary retrospective: From the murders of Tupac and Biggie to the bizarre implication of Marilyn Manson in the Columbine massacre; from Courtney, Axl and Spector’s falls from grace to the canonisation and demonisation of Peter Doherty... here’s a potted history of the most controversial events in the last 30 years of rock ‘n’ roll.
Hot Press celebrates two decades of The Baggot Inn, still Dublin s premier pub venue and home, at various times, to the likes of U2, Thin Lizzy and Something Happens! Here, manager Charlie McGettigan flips through his scrapbook of memories in the company of Conor O Mahony and reveals how the recent appearance of a donkey at a Joshua Trio gig brought things full circle at The Baggot. (Not to mention, Full Circle.)
The first time The Killers played Oxegen they fretted whether anyone would turn up to see them. Now they’re sweeping in to headline the main stage. They talk to us about being chased by papparazi, growing up in Middle America and sharing a bill with Bono and, er, Gary Barlow
PIGEON-HOLE THEM AS BELFAST HARDCORE MERCHANTS AT YOUR PERIL - IN THE PAST FEW MONTHS THERAPY? HAVE RELEASED TWO CLASSIC PUNK-POP EP'S THAT SHOOK THE BRITISH CHARTS, AND EVEN GOT THEM INTO THE PAGES OF TEEN-BIBLE SMASH HITS. AS THEY BEGIN RECORDING THEIR NEW LP, THEY TAKE TIME OUT TO GET NERVOUS ABOUT FEILE, GET ANGRY ABOUT THE BEATLES, AND EXPLAIN WHY THE DAYS OF THE NINE-MINUTE INSTRUMENTAL EPIC ARE OVER. INTERVIEW: LORRAINE FREENEY
Pigeon-hole them as Belfast hardcore merchants at your peril in the past few months Therapy? have released two classic punk-pop EPs that shook the British charts, and even got them into the pages of teen-bible Smash Hits. As they begin recording their new LP, they take time out to get nervous about Fiile, get angry about the Beatles, and explain why the days of the nine-minute instrumental epic are over. Interview: Lorraine Freeney.
Halloween is just around the corner. But do we celebrate it in a way that is fundamentally prejudiced and hostile? MELISSA KNIGHT argues that it's time we understood the reality of Witchcraft and Goddess worship.
The latest wave of right-wing attacks on US musicians is likely to have a knock-on effect here, with the words and actions of our own artists coming under increased scrutiny. In a special hotpress report, Ed Power enlists the help of Marilyn Manson and a number of major Irish players to pick his way through the censorship minefield.
Eleven years on from their debut and New York avant-garde guitar manglers Sonic Youth have reached an ever-growing audience without compromising their ideals of integrity. Here, GERRY McGOVERN offers a personal testimony to their recorded output in anticipation of their appearance at Sunstroke '93.
MARY STOKES reminisces on her first decade as Ireland s premier blues artist, and looks forward to expanding her horizons in the future. Interview: john walshe.
For a band supposed to be playing the kind of melodic punk rock currently shifting units on a global scale, Does This Look Infected is shockingly unmelodic and short on memorable tunes.
With their latest album Riot Act, Pearl Jam have recaptured the blistering form of their first three albums. Matt Cameron, once of Seattle comrades Soundgarden, gives an insight into how the band has outlasted and outperformed most of its contemporaries
Where hip and hype go together, that's where you'll find The Hives who are buzzing to tell Stuart Clark all about Kylie, curling, punk rock, nice forests and bad Norwegian jokes
Ahead of his public interview in Dublin with Hot Press, Wire creator David Simon talks about the genesis of the series and about his controversial new Iraq-set show.
NIALL STOKES takes a very personal journey back through the music and memories of a friendship with a man he was proud to have known
THE DRIVE to Cork was a lonely one. Ry Cooder on the deck, that sweet slide guitar shooting off tracers: the memories, stacked up like a vast
rack of on-line CDs, kept slipping in and out of the engagement slot. No need ever to press the play button. Now and then I had to hold back the
tears as the music of past friendship flooded the car and, with it, a terrible awareness of all the things that might have, but hadn't, been done.
The news of Rory Gallagher s tragic death has sent seismic shock waves through the music world. Here was a man who managed to combine the gift of being an authentic creative genius with the even rarer gift of being a genuinely decent, honourable human being. Over the next six pages, Hot Press pays tribute to both the legend and the person, with contributions from the stars, friends, fans and colleagues who were touched by the Gallagher magic, and takes a trip through the backpages of an extraordinary career.
He was one of the most controversial figures in the history of Irish broadcasting, turning Radio Nova into a money-making machine and courting confrontation with the gardai, RTE and the NUJ. With the end of the pirate era, he moved to England, where he came unstuck, following a scam that deprived Rupert Murdoch of millions. Many a colourful adventure later, Chris Cary is back in the news - and determined that he can convince the powers-that-be to let him operate the national long-wave frequency that once housed Atlantic 252.
IT'S THAT TIME OF YEAR AGAIN WHEN THOUSANDS OF YOUNG PEOPLE TAKE THAT OFTEN DAUNTING LEAP FROM SCHOOL TO COLLEGE. HERE, THE HOT PRESS STUDENT SPECIAL OFFERS ITS OWN INIMITABLE SAFETY NET.
EVERY YEAR, AND FOR A VARIETY OF REASONS, HUNDREDS OF YOUNG PEOPLE FROM THE SOUTH DECIDE TO GO ON TO THIRD LEVEL EDUCATION IN NORTHERN IRELAND. EMMA FLYNN REPORTS ON THE REALITIES OF ACADEMIC LIFE OVER THE BORDER.
JENNIFER BATTEN, as well as being a solo artist in her own right, has spent 10 years slinging six strings for michael jackson. Amazingly, she has survived to tell her story to peter murphy.
Pix: Cathal Dawson.
When My Little Funhouse signed on the dotted line with Geffen, they were precisely 12 gigs old and probably knew more about the inner workings of a thermo-nuclear reactor than they did a recording studio. Since then they’ve toured the world, taken on the same heavyweight management as Guns N’ Roses and moved to Los Angeles where Slash and Matt Sorum are among their best buddies. Brendan Morrissey tells Stuart Clark why the Kilkenny metallers will either end up filthy rich or six feet under.
Tim Booth does. The James frontman chats candidly to John Walshe about fame, riches, sexuality, being called a 'faggot' on the Lollapalooza tour, and the band's
brilliant 10th album, Millionaires.
24-inch, 'raging hard', double-ended dildos ahoy - this is the full, behind the counter account of the shelf gratificaton to be found in your friendly, local Dublin sex emporium
Computer games have been one of the remarkable growth areas of recent years in home entertainment. Colm O'Hare looks at developments in this intensely competitive field and predicts that – with so much mazooma at stake – it could become a veritable battle zone over the coming twelve months.
Or not without crediting your sources at any rate! Their first three Top Ten singles sampled Annie Lennox, Kate Bush and Phil Oakey. Here modernist electric dance crossover ???? Utah Saints argue the morality - as well as the aesthetics - of sample-theft, explain its problems, name the guilty men, and then glimpse a vision of the future playing support to U2 in Portugal. Interview: Andy Darlington.
The tears have stopped falling – because those who bitterly mourned the demise of The Go-Betweens soon discovered that what they got instead was a double-helping of the weird genius which had inspired the band in the shape of solo albums from Grant McLennan and Robert Forster. With both of them releasing new records and working on a film script together, everything seems to be coming up roses. Why Lorraine Freeney even got to see a breathtaking reunion gig . . .
Michael Franti has taken a personal stand against George Bush by leading a peace delegation to the Middle East. Now back in the States where he’s vigorously campaigning against the president, he talks to Danielle Brigham about his experiences in two of the world’s most deadly war zones.
UNLESS YOU’VE BEEN FREQUENTING THE LATE-NIGHT HOSTELRIES OF DUBLIN, YOU’RE UNLIKELY TO HAVE HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO ENGAGE IN A BATTLE OF WITS, ER, MANO A MANO, WITH ACE QUIZ MASTER GEORGE “I KNOW A LOT MORE THAN YOU DO” BYRNE. WORRY NOT. THAT’S WHAT THE HOT PRESS QUIZ OF THE YEAR IS FOR. NOW GO FOR IT. SECONDS OUT!
It’s been a long, strange trip for David Grohl, from Nirvana drummer to Foo Fighters frontman, via Queens Of The Stone Age and Tenacious D. Now he’s back with a new Foo album, he’s buried the hatchet with Courtney Love and he’s still as rock’n’roll as ever
An ex-con, a foe of The Krays and a man capable of such acts of violence that he once sliced off a prison guard s ear, Mad Frankie Fraser now makes quite a nice living for himself spinning yarns about his gangster years. Stuart Clark interrogates him about prison, drugs, the IRA, Arsenal and a novel theory on Veronica Guerin s murder which, Fraser insists, the Irish media haven t had the bottle to print. Mugshots: Cathal Dawson
Robyn Hitchcock – wayward musical genius or fruitcake, depending on your point of view – is on the brink of even greater notoriety with the patronage of REM and the release of his strongest album to date. Andy Darlington does his best to uncover the man behind the mayhem.
Ireland's most hyped event of the year, the MTV EUROPE AWARDS may have had as many gossip columnists as winners thanking God, but after hours it was IGGY POP and heavy friends who made the real headlines on a night when rock'n'roll bit back. Report: OLAF TYARANSEN and PETER MURPHY. Awards Pics: PETER MATTHEWS. Iggy Pics: Cathal Dawson
STEREOPHONICS are on the up-and-up, their popularity growing without the band making concessions to the London-based music media. GEORGE BYRNE met them to talk about drink, drugs, writer s block and their upcoming Slane support slot.
Mini Pics: MICK QUINN.
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
“Crossover” may be a favourite buzz-word at the moment but as rap and the rock mainstream strike an uneasy alliance, it’s clear that a huge gulf still exists between black and white culture.
Cast by certain sections of the media in the role of villain, Ice-T has spent the past decade pounding home the message that unless America is willing to accept a major race war, something has to change.
Here, the Iceman talks to GERRY McGOVERN about censorship and the politics of rap and gives him an exclusive preview of his Return Of The Real album. Pix: CATHAL DAWSON.
Every Picture Tells A Story
You don’t have to hire the services of a professional photographer or the PR agency to help your band achieve world domination. But it certainly helps! Colm O’Hare offers some valuable advice to the would-be stars of tomorrow and talks to some music biz insiders who can point you in the right direction.
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.
For many years a 'musician's musician', TOM PACHECO is now enjoying the commercial recognition he deserves thanks to a collaboration with Steiner Albrigtsen that's stormed its way to the top of the Norwegian charts. Here, the American singer-songwriter reflects on a remarkable career which has seen him hanging out with Jimi Hendrix and The Doors in New York, taking on the Nashville establishment and finally settling in Ireland where his star is also firmly in the ascendent. Interview: SIOBHAN LONG.
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.
CHRONICALLY SHY, NERVOUS AND INTROVERTED, DONALD FAGEN IS NOT AT ALL WHAT YOU WOULD EXPECT OF THE MAN, WHO ALONG WITH WALTER BECKER, MADE UP THE NOW LEGENDARY STEELY DAN, ONE OF THE SEVENTIES' MOST SOPHISTICATED AND CYNICAL ROCK BANDS. HAVING SURVIVED OVER A DECADE OF "PSYCHOLOGICAL CRISES" AND INACTIVITY, HOWEVER, HE HAS NOW RE-EMERGED WITH A BRAND NEW ALBUM. INTERVIEW: LIAM FAY.
It's hard-hats and flak-jackets all round as the new improved Carter usm launch a full frontal attack against John Major, Third World repression and Pizza Hut. Frontline correspondent: Stuart Clark. War photographer Cathal Dawson
GREEN DAY have had a meteoric rise over the last 18 years, from poky Dublin dives to colossal international stadia. But despite their maturing worldview and increasing political articulacy, they’re still as exciting a kick-ass punk rock group as ever.
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'
Perhaps the most influential punk band of the ‘70s, The Ramones were nonetheless riven with internal divisions and a variety of personal traumas, both psychological and pharmaceutical. All this and more is covered in an excellent new documentary on the band, End Of The Century – The Story Of The Ramones. Here, Tommy – the last surviving member of the original line-up – looks back on the dark times and discusses the group’s legacy with Tara Brady.
Dave Grohl looks back on 20 years of playing music and talks about the birth of his daughter, the trapped Beaconsfield Miners and why Neil Young is his hero.
He pioneered the art of glam-punk excess with the New York Dolls and now he's learned to grow old gracefully. Peter Murphy meets the boy from New York City, the ever cool David Johansen. Photos: MYLES CLAFFEY
Age has not withered them. twenty years after they rose out of the new york underground, Sonic Youth have managed to grow old and stay hardcore. Thurston Moore and Kim Gordon reveal how it’s done
For a creature like Siouxsie Sioux, where does persona
end and person begin? ANDY DARLINGTON tries to discover the girl behind the mask, but winds up talking about Hugely Inflated Breasts and spooky doppelgangers from The Twilight Zone instead . . .!
Chris Robinson of Southern American rock giants The Black Crowes talks to Graham Nellan about his “total fuckin’ Shangri-La” lifestyle of sex ’n’ drugs ’n’ MTV . . . while looking for a bottle of vinegar.
Contrary to the negative way in which it's so often portrayed by the national media, Limerick is a city that combines a rich sense of tradition with an eye for innovation and in recent years has developed into one of Ireland's leading cultural centres. Kevin Barry takes a look at the people - and the places - breathing new life into the mid-western capital.
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”.
The procedures and policies of the judicial system in Northern Ireland has come, once again, under close scrutiny with the case of the Ballymurphy Seven. Stuart Carolan travels to Long Kesh to hear the stories of Hughie McLoughlin and Mickey Beck, who along with Tony Garland, are the longest-ever remand prisoners in the province.
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?
1 guitar + 1 drum kit + 1 boy + 1 girl = The White Stripes. In other words, sweet, sweet noise meets the best brother and sister penned pop since The Carpenters. Eamon Sweeney meets Detroit's finest, who play Dublin Castle on Saturday, May 4th as part of the Heineken Green Energy Festival
Massive Attack explain why they are outspoken opponents of the proposed war in Iraq, give high praise to Sinéad O’Connor and reveal how a porn soundtrack left them gasping for airtime.
Ian Hunter, the former voice of MOTT THE HOOPLE, is back with a 38-track Greatest Hits & Rarities double-CD, plus an all-new album, From The Knees Of My Heart, to follow later this year. Now, from where past and present collide, he explains how he once broke into Elvis Presley s Gracelands, how he produced hits for Billy Idol and what it was like to tour with Queen as your support act. He even finds time to tell tales about Marc Bolan, Mick Ronson, and, incidentally, Mott The Hoople too Andy Darlington listens in.
Nirvana - Ten years after. Peter Murphy talks to producer Butch Vig, musician Mark Lanegan and critic Greil Marcus, and gets the inside story of the making of Nevermind, the classic album that changed the face of music, unveiled the anthem 'Smells Like Teen Spirit' and brought the world face to face with a screaming soul called Kurt Cobain.
Ah yes, the glamorous life of the rock n rolling travel writer. Getting to see u2 live in Austria was a delectable piece of cake for liam fay. But getting back again that was when the dream turned into a nightmare.
29,028 feet above sea level: that’s where Dawson Stelfox found himself last year when he successfully completed the first Irish Everest expedition. Interview: Síobhan Long.
WITH THEIR LONG AWAITED SECOND ALBUM *JUNK PUPPETS* ABOUT TO HIT THE STREETS AN EMOTIONAL FISH ARE BACK ON THE ROAD AND READY TO TAKE THE WORLD BY STORM. BUT FIRST, THERE'S THE SMALL MATTER OF A TRIP TO THE WILDS OF WEST CORK, DURING WHICH THE BAND CAN RELAX, REFLECT, INGEST LARGE QUANTITIES OF LIQUID REFRESHMENTS-AND PLAY THE ODD STORMING GIG. A TIRED AND VERY EMOTIONAL LORRAINE FREENEY REPORTS.
Niall Stokes draws on his best-selling book Into The Heart: The Stories Behind The Songs Of U2 to offer a unique insight into the way in which some of the greatest songs in the history of popular music came into being.
They were the coolest band on the planet – until the backlash started. Now The Strokes have released their most ambitious album yet. Can they leave their past behind?
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.
phish
are a bone-fide American underground phenomenon who have gone overground in a very big way. Word of mouth rather than record company hype, initially made their reputation Stateside and now they can boast of chart success,
mega-audience attendance and their very own devoted following of Phisheads. But is Europe ready for the 90s equivalent of The Grateful Dead extended jams, waccy baccy, patented ice-cream flavours and all?
peter murphy
investigates.
They ve been gigging for 27 years and they were doing Words when Boyzone were still in the balls zone. They are Big Chief Flaming Star, Crazy Horse, Sitting Bull, Little Thunder, Wild Hawk and Dull Knife (not their real names). They are
THE INDIANS
and they hope to still be on the warpath in the next millennium.
LIAM FAY
pow-wows with an authentic showband phenomenon.
So what happens when an indie band goes major league? how can you stay cool when your date’s a Charlie’s Angel? how important is the boy/girl song in a flag-waving time? and like Alexander The Great, do you weep when you have no more worlds to conquer? in addressing these and other pressing questions of the day, The Strokes salute John Lennon, Bob Dylan and their own undying band of brotherliness.
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.
CHRIS DONOVAN looks at the incremental progress of the would-be King of Slane, who tells him about life, love, Christianity, veganism and scoring for films Plus: Profiles of Slane s other attractions, MACY GRAY, MEL C, BRYAN ADAMS, THE SCREAMING ORPHANS and DARA. Also: A Quickie with LORD HENRY MOUNTCHARLES
To coincide with the release of the Today FM DJ’s double-CD compilation tracking the history of alternative rock in Ireland, Tom Dunne talks to Jackie Hayden about the state of Irish music, singer-songwriters versus guitar bands and the role of Irish radio.
Hot Press is 20 years old? Drokk it , so is 2000 AD! The mag edited by an Alien, produced by Art & Script-Droids, and read by Earthlets everywhere the one which revolutionised the comic industry, and of the Graphic Novel. ANDY DARLINGTON assesses its cultural impact and legacy.
They say he s a Man Of The World it s just that for two decades the world in question happened to be Saturn. andy darlington meets peter green, the man who created fleetwood mac, then wrote the longest suicide note in rock n roll history.
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'.
ave Fanning: We just played "Wild Things Run Free" (sic) and as you say yourself you are "back in the harness". Now, except for the vocals would it be a fair assumption to call the music on the new album pop with a rock steady beat?
The success of The Frames, Juliet Turner and Damien Rice, amongst others, has inspired a new do-it-yourself attitude among Irish musicians and bands, who are no longer prepared to wait for the imprimatur of a major label to get their records made. Here, Hot Press presents a step by step guide to becoming a DIY record magnate
There are no saints in love. That’s a lesson The Frames’ mainman Glen Hansard learned the hard way – and which he articulates in the bittersweet love songs that make up much of the band’s new album The Cost. Hot Press hits the road with the band for an extended interview, conducted in radio studios, backstage areas, tour buses – and one very dedicated fan’s house.
The success of The Frames, Juliet Turner and Damien Rice – amongst others has inspired a new do it yourself attitude among Irish musicians and bands, who are no longer prepared to wait for the imprimatur of a major label to get their records made. Here Hot Press presents a step by step guide to becoming a DIY record magnate. Words: Tanya Sweeney. Additional reporting: Jackie Hayden
The success of The Frames, Juliet Turner and Damien Rice – amongst others has inspired a new do it yourself attitude among Irish musicians and bands, who are no longer prepared to wait for the imprimatur of a major label to get their records made. Here Hot Press presents a step by step guide to becoming a DIY record magnate. Words: Tanya Sweeney. Additional reporting: Jackie Hayden
As his singular contribution to the birthday party, guest writer Elvis Costello offers a handful of stories from his ten years on the beat, which serve to illustrate why, in his own words, “I’d rather be a folk music fan than a teen idol.”
The star-spangled story of how Richard Melville Hall learned to relax and love sex, drugs and rock'n'roll. "Don't tell anybody but I'm actually the lead guitarist with Slipknot," he informs Stuart Clark.
The still vibrant 64-year-old on why Morrissey’s like Father Frank, why Iraq is like Vietnam, and on her meetings with Elvis Presley, Marilyn Monroe, Bono, Phil Spector and a whole Oval Office full of presidents.
Our annual HP-7 summit brings together some of the pre-eminent movers and shakers in irish music to reflect on everything from backstage catering to the end of war, pestilence and famine. Your host: Stuart Clark.
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.
From the early excesses of the Birthday Party through meisterwerks like The Good Son to his new release, Live Seeds, Nick Cave has spent nearly fifteen years probing those crevices of the human psyche that few care, or even dare, to venture into.
Here, in a highly personal, in-depth interview, Gerry McGovern grills the god of Goth about his ambivalence towards and obsession with religion, his love of dysfunctional people, his thoughts on the past and his hope for the future, oh, and how to reconcile life as an internationally renowned icon of doom with being a mummy’s boy! (Only joking, Nick!).
Hotpress hitch a ride on the Wilt tour bus for the band’s whistle-stop tour of Europe. For tales of on-stage abandon, backstage debauchery and bizarre drumming accidents, read on. Plus Cormac Battle’s tour diary
Republic Of Loose are that rarest of beasts – an Irish rock band who can get their groove on. Ahead of the release of their new album, they talk about standing out from the crowd.
Think about direction, wonder why . . . It’s eleven years since Stano released his debut album Content To Write In I Dine Weathercraft. Despite his genuine originality and dedication to his art over the intervening years, he remains one of Ireland’s most enigmatic performers, more appreciated on the continent than in his homeland. Interview: Joe Jackson
There s very little torture involved in making a record until it s released and then the audience gets to suffer. PETER MURPHY meets the one and only LYDIA LUNCH.
JJ 72 have been hailed by some critics as the finest thing to come out of Ireland since U2 - and no wonder. With a hugely impressive debut album under their collective belt, the expectations are even higher for the follow-up, I To Sky. They share with their illustrious predecessors a predilection for intense songs of spiritual yearning - and a desire to make music that truly stands the test of time. But is it rock'n'roll?
ENTERTAINMENT OFFICERS FROM UCC, UCD, UNIVERSITY OF ULSTER, UCG, DCU AND THE UNIVERSITY OF LIMERICK GIVE AN ALTERNATIVE VIEW OF LIFE ON THEIR PARTICULAR CAMPUSES.
Currently the hottest female property in music, Alicia Keys has come a long way from the little girl whose first record was kermit's 'it's not easy being green'. Admittedly, she's had some serious assistance from heavy friends - including music biz mogul Clive Davis - but mainly she can thank her own prodigious talent and spirit of independence. Matt Diehl hears how Alicia Keys came to share the grammy limelight with U2
Her fantasy is out-qualifying Michael Schumacher, she once drove at 200 miles per hour and she'd "consider" sleeping with a fat, sweaty Italian if it meant getting a drive with Ferrari! She's sarah kavanagh, and her ambition is to take her place on the Forumula One grid by the year 2,000. Interview: barry glendenning.
Pix: clare kavanagh.
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.
It was inflight double entendres all round as Bell X1 donned cabin crew attire for a special Hot Press photoshoot. When not showing an unhealthy interest in women’s clothes and fancy Raybans, they talked about their chart-topping new album Blue Lights On The Runway, their imminent breakthrough in the US and freezing their arses off on The Late Show with Dave Letterman
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.
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.
Confronted by an autobiography with a dual narrator, Joe Jackson asks the real Ray Davies to stand up and testify on homosexuality, marriage, groupies, the essence of Kinkdom – and the true story of Lola.
Former London Mayor Ken Livingstone talks about toffs in politics, Tony versus Gordon and sheds light on his own intervention in the Troubles, at the height of the bloodshed.
Republic Of Loose are one of the most exciting bands to emerge from Ireland during the last decade with one of the most charismatic lead singers ever to bestride a stage in the country.
(N.B. This is a work of faction. All names have been changed in order to protect the guilty from certain incarceration in state mental institutions or correctional
facilities.)
From A to Z, Paul Nolan and Ronan Fitzgerald introduce all the runners and riders for Punchestown – throwing in a baker’s dozen of acts who are not to be missed * along the way
A special report on the arts in Northern Ireland which is alive and rocking with the whole gamut of cultural activity. Here James Elliott and Margaret F. Grundy give the lowdown on the province’s artistic and creative hub.
From A to Z, Paul Nolan and Ronan Fitzgerald introduce all the runners and riders for Punchestown – throwing in a baker’s dozen of acts who are not to be missed* along the way
If, as the coolest of the cool are prone to say, grunge is dead, nobody has told it. More importantly, nobody's informed all the common folk who, at least in the States, are pushing Pearl Jam's Ten into its eighty-third week on the Billboard Album Charts.
Getting press accreditation for the world’s greatest cycling race seemed like a dream come true. Then the Tour de France turned into the Tour de Farce. SHANE STOKES recalls the death of innocence during three tumultuous weeks in July.
The fabled lead singer, frontman and secret weapon of late lamented New York legends, The Dictators, the whereabouts and even the very existence of Handsome Dick Manitoba has been a mystery for many years. Liam Mackey has devoted his life to a quest for the great man which has made the search for The Abominable Snowman look like a wet weekend in Butlins. Now, after 15 years of false alarms and dead-ends, he has finally tracked him down. And the true, unexpurgated story of ‘The Handsomest Man In Rock ’n’ Roll'? Wilder, stranger and even more sobering than fiction . . .
With the tragedy which disfigured their last Irish appearance still fresh in people's minds, SMASHING PUMPKINS' return to a Dublin stage was never going to be an ordinary affair. As it turned out, PETER MURPHY witnessed an act of redemption and spoke to BILLY CORGAN about surviving troubled times.
First there was the bad shit then the mad shit – the biggest-selling album in Irish history, an international hit and a record you hear “in every shoe shop”. So, having climbed the white ladder to phenomenal success, how does David Gray follow that?
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.
At the time of writing indications are that Tori Amos’ ‘Cornflake Girls’ single will hit the No.1 spot in the British charts this week. Celebrations may indeed be in order – but for Tori right now there are far more burning issues to be talked through and dealt with. In an extraordinarily intimate, open and at times devastatingly honest interview, she talks about the horrific knife-point rape documented in ‘Me And A Gun’, the lingering wounds inflicted on her by the experience and the difficult healing process she has begun – including, she says, accepting the ‘prostitute’ in herself. Along the way she challenges a wide range of assumptions on love, sex, violence, religion, masturbation, feminishm, lesbianism and the main
man himself, Jesus Christ. By Joe Jackson.
...IS COMING TO TAKE YOU AWAY! WHEN JOE JACKSON WENT TO INTERVIEW BONO AT U2'S SECRET DUBLIN RECORDING BASE, HE HAD NO IDEA WHAT TO EXPECT. WHAT HE GOT WAS A CRAZY ROLLERCOASTER RIDE THROUGH THE EXTRAORDINARY WORK-IN-PROGRESS WHICH WILL BECOME U2'S FOLLOW-UP TO THE ACCLAIMED "ACHTUNG BABY!", WITH BONO AT THE WHEEL AND AN UNSEEN PRESENCE WORKING THE ACCELERATOR LIKE A DEMON. "RECORDS SHOULD BE MORE OF A TRIP," SAYS THE MAN IN THE WRAPAROUND SHADES. FASTEN YOUR SEAT BELTS THEN. THIS WILL BE NO ORDINARY RECORD. AND THIS IS NO ORDINARY INTERVIEW.
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 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
With Cameron Crowe s Almost Famous putting rock hackery on the silver screen, no less, Peter Murphy wonders if Seventies rock journalism is the new rock n roll. Helping him with his enquiries: PAUL MORLEY and GREIL MARCUS
The HP-7 Summit is back with Michelle Doherty, Rocky O'Reilly, Niall Breslin, Mark Greaney, Niamh Farrell, Messiah J and Danny O'Donoghue sat around the only table that matters this Christmas.
