The Cranberries have overcome the growing pains that all young bands encounter to become one of Ireland's brightest prospects. Here, Dolores O'Riordan and Fergal Lawlor tell Stuart Clark about the new friends they’ve made, their first trip to America and a chance encounter with Michael Stipe.
Their sombre, melancholy music has seen The National tagged as arch-moochers. Face to face though, frontman Matt Berninger turns out to be a stand-up fellow.
MICHAEL STIPE RECKONS THEY'VE PRODUCED THE ALBUM OF THE YEAR, THEIR SINGER HAS BEEN HAILED AS THE ‘NEW BOB DYLAN’ AND THEY HAVE IMPECCABLE TASTE IN COATS. CAN ANYTHING HALT GRANT LEE BUFFALO'S MAD DASH TO STARDOM? LORRAINE FREENEY INVESTIGATES.
Did the MANIC STREET PREACHERS really say that travellers are parasites and express the hope
that Michael Stipe dies of AIDS? STUART CLARK hears the band's side of the story.
Michael Stipe talks about REM's new album Accelerate, looks back at their 'working rehearsals' in Dublin and explains how their Irish-born producer helped them through their mid-life crisis.
Grant Lee Buffalo's debut album Fuzzy was the best record of last year - Michael Stipe said so, so it must be true. Its successor, Mighty Joe Moon, has just been released, and while everyone else may expect them to be apprehensive about its reception, the band seem happier and more confident - and in Grant's case, more bonkers - than ever before. Interview: Lorraine Freeney
They are one of the most interesting and enigmatic groups in rock. They are also one of the biggest, with a string of multi-million selling albums to their credit. But they don’t like interviews much, making themselves available for only a handful in Europe to coincide with the release of their new album Around The Sun. Once Peter Buck sits down opposite a microphone, however, a different face of REM reveals itself, as he talks eloquently about life, family, downloads, air rage, Iraq, Bush – and The Thrills.
They may sport one of the most original sounds in rock’n’roll – but along the way they’ve been influenced by some of the greats.
STUART BAILIE identifies the ten (plus!) key influences on the music of U2
Jackie hayden meetsjournalist turned PR guru, Tony O Brien and speaks to him about his rock n roll adventures with the likes of U2, Michael Stipe and Bruce Springsteen.
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
In Perth, Western Australia, Michael Dwyer sees two sides of REM on the opening brace of shows in their first world tour proper in five years. He also reports on behind-the-scenes developments, including the marriage of Pete Buck.
R.E.M. have confirmed details of their new album, which was publicly rehearsed in Dublin’s Olympia Theatre last year and recorded in Westmeath’s Grouse Lodge Studios.
Tonight, Stipe looks like The Riddler – pipe-cleaner thin, all legs and hips and frozen Ka-Pow poses; while around the eyes, a thick smudge of face paint completes the effect. For a forty-something, he sheds years like his lyric sheets.
She may not be a folk-chick , but for the time being, a bottle of beer, a chair and a guitar is all it takes to get Kristin Hersh through the night. Interview: colm o hare.
He's come a long way, baby - once a poster-boy for rampant hedonistic excess, Depeche Mode frontman Dave Gahan has since settled down and learned to channel his energies into the area in which he excels, haunting, dream-like though reliably attitudinal - rock n roll.
But try finding someone who doesn’t like it. The album Monster is yet another glittering addition to arguably the most astonishing canon in pop music, ever. Here, in a historic summit, the world’s greatest fortnightly rock paper gets together with the world’s greatest rock band for an intimate chat about the big issues: sex, death, drinking and, of course, rrrrrock’n’roll. What else is there? Interview: Liam Fay
Blow me down, it’s that chirpy Counting Crow adam duritz again, flapping his vocal chords on everything from bunking off the MTV awards, why the Rolling Stones are still “fucking great” and why he won’t be emigrating to Utah just yet. Witness for the defence: Niall Crumlish.
A North Carolinian who speaks Irish and a country performer who only occasionally performs country,
jim lauderdale has a way that makes the seemingly contradictory work well. Interview: siobhan long.
With 'Green' and its attendant world tour finally thrusting R.E.M. into the mainstream after seven years as the worst-kept secret in the Western hemisphere, it was odds-on that, given the band's predilection for avoiding the obvious, the follow-up would bear little relation to its illustrious predecessor, bar the songwriting credits.
East Glasgow quartet Glasvegas have nothing to do with the TG4 show. They're the anthemic band discovered by Alan McGee in the same venue he found Oasis.
Difficult second album syndrome has no place in the Clap Your Hands Say Yeah vocabulary. Not that the blogger faves are exactly busting a gut to have a hit.
EDITORS’ new album finds them re-booting their sound with the help of super-producer Flood and the Prussian soldier’s helmet gifted to him by Bono. Also on the agenda when the band meet Stuart Clark are fatherhood, baby poo, Brooklyn block parties and stealing Michael Stipe’s megaphone.
Klaxons have got glowstick-waving fans, yes, but really, there’s so much more to this band than retro-beats, explains frontman Jamie Reynolds. For instance, have you heard the one about his spiritual healer grandfather.
Not content with taking care of special guest duties as U2 wend their way around South America, Franz Ferdinand have contributed a version of ‘A Song For Sorry Angels’ to a Serge Gainsbourg tribute album.
Not content with taking care of special guest duties as U2 wend their way around South America, Franz Ferdinand have contributed a version of ‘A Song For Sorry Angels’ to a Serge Gainsbourg tribute album.
In 2005, what is the point of REM? At times even they seem to be grasping for an answer.
For nearly a decade now, the music of Stipe, Buck and Mills has told a story of wavering attention spans. Over that period, fans have cheered rousing, reflective echoes of previous glories – ‘Leaving New York’ might be their best stab at an unapologetic anthem since the mid 1990s – yet endured reams of disinterested dross also.
Whether feeding dubious cups of coffee to celebrity chefs or coercing Joe Strummer to dress up as an Indian on Top Of The Pops, Alex James is a man who knows how to squeeze every ounce of enjoyment out of life.
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.
BECKETT ON FILM is one of the most ambitious cinematic projects ever. Nineteen of Samuel Beckett's plays have been made into movies, directed by and starring numerous A-list figures. To mark the occasion, JOE JACKSON talks to Bono, John Hurt and Enda Hughes about one of the 20th century's greatest dramatists
Astronomical record sales, sell-out tours and critical plaudits have not dimmed Coldplay's reputation as the worried men of pop. Bassist Guy Berryman gives us the lowdown.
from reagan to bush; from radio free europe to clear channel; from green to reveal; from the sfx to marlay park. REM call time out and Peter Buck fills in the gaps from 1983 to 2003. interview Peter Murphy
While 2004 has not been an especially spectacular year to date, there is good reason to believe that rocks big guns are likely to deliver the kind of records that will revive spirits in the industry. Chris Donovan previews some of the albums that are likely to top the sales – and the critical – charts before 2004 is out...
Snow Patrol (complete with the *as revealed in the latest issue of Hot Press* new bassist Paul Wilson 2nd from right) are the latest act to join Oxfam's Make Trade Fair Campaign.
As U2 gear up for the release of No Line On The Horizon, they meet HP to talk about the creation of their latest masterwork, meeting world leaders, the way they’re perceived in Ireland, the current state of the music business and their future plans.
Is football hooliganism really the new rock ’n’ roll and should little boys be wearing Boot’s No.7 blusher? Stuart Clark fears for the moral wellbeing of the nation’s youth as Manic Street Preachers wage holy war against MTV, Take That, Kate Moss and poor old Gerry Ryan.
Pix: Cathal Dawson.
Queen of catharsis as the leader of Throwing Muses, Kristin Hersh raised a few eyebrows with her debut solo album Hips And Makers, a sublimely private collection which made it all the way to the Top 10. Here she explains her approach to songwriting, the emotional extremes she suffers and what it’s like working with The Sexiest Man Alive to NIALL CRUMLISH.
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.
Tanya Donelly star of the upwardly flying Belly, wouldn't sleep with Robert Redford for a million dollars and she wouldn't throw her knickers at Tom Jones. But she is engaged, believes in the concept of marriage - and is on her way to Sunstroke. Interview: Andrew Darlington
While 2004 has not been an especially spectacular year to date, there is good reason to believe that rocks big guns are likely to deliver the kind of records that will revive spirits in the industry. Chris Donovan previews some of the albums that are likely to top the sales – and the critical – charts before 2004 is out...
Hailed as one of the UK s hottest young talents, and having appeared in such successes as Michael Collins, The Magnificent Abersons, and Velvet Goldmine, Jonathan Rhys-Myers is in fact Dublin-born and raised in Cork. OLAF TYARANSEN met the rising star. Thesp Behaviour: Peter Matthews
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.
MARILYN MANSON may be the epitome of Middle America's worst nightmare but, as STUART CLARK discovers, he's not that bad, really. On the agenda: Bono, Eminem, Moby, George W. Bush and the Columbine shootings
Rregarded as the original, manufactured boy band, once upon a time The Monkees ruled the world. Now, half of television's fab four are back and, as you might expect, they have quite a tale to tell. Joe Jackson talks to Davy Jones and Micky Dolenz
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.
They blasted into the public consciousness at the end of 2005, when 'I Bet You Look Good On The Dancefloor' became the year's biggest breakthrough No.1. Since then it's been an extraordinary rollercoaster ride for the Arctic Monkeys, with bass player trouble, celebrity fans, EastEnders appearances and a row with fellow newcomers The Feeling to show for their efforts. Oh, and then there's the small matter of shifting nearly two million copies of their debut album...
Thankfully however they've garnered enough spot on contributions from Michael Franti, DJ Speech and Grant Lee Phillips - all held together by 1GL's pre-recorded soundtrack - to draw the curious in to this diverse melange.
For those who feel that the music scene of today is in desperate need of both talent and substance, a dose of Patti Smith's own brand of intelligent individualism comes as a welcome relief.
Every year thousands of film fans make the trip to the southern capital for the feast of cinema that is the Cork Film Festival. Hot Press looks back over the history of one of Europe’s longest-running cinematic events and checks out what this year’s packed programme has to offer. Report: Patrick Brennan
Peter Murphy meets former Led Zeppelin bassist JOHN PAUL JONES as he releases his first solo album. On the agenda pacts with the Devil, Jones musical education, and thoughts on Eno, Nico and Charles Mingus.
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.
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.
In a world exclusive interview, Morrissey sets the record straight on sex, religion, politics, David Bowie and his Irish heritage, and casts a Trinny & Susannah-esque eye over Brian Cowen
"We didn't want it to be the same type of production, Reckoning is less of a mood record, more of a song record". Thus R.E.M. guitarist, Peter Buck on the reasoning behind Reckoning. For once, the pre-sell of the press-release contains the truth.
Giant lemons, 100ft toothpicks and enough lights to put Las Vegas on full-scale UFO alert. Helena Mulkerns watches with gob well and truly smacked as U2's PopMart extravaganza opens for business at the Sam Boyd Stadium.
Pix: All Action
It's been a long strange trip and no mistake, one that describes a discernible line from
Harry Smith's Anthology Of American Folk Music through to the Handsome Family.
But there's even more going on beneath the surface. GREIL MARCUS, the music critic's music critic,
is PETER MURPHY's guide on a mystery train whose other passengers include Elvis Presley, Robert Johnson, Mark Twain, Nick Cave, The Blair Witch, Bill Clinton, The Band, Siniad O'Connor, Beck, William Burroughs, William Faulkner and Bob Dylan. And that's just the first class carriage. All aboard
With ‘Yellow’, Coldplay captured the imagination of even the most resistant of hard-boiled rock’n’roll cynics. Now, as A Rush Of Blood To The Head achieves lift-off in the U.S., even the sky is no longer the limit.
Having had his fill of Eurovision and being ripped-off on the Irish circuit, Louis Walsh went for broke with the boys who would be boyzone. Now he can afford to speak his mind. JOE JACKSON is all ears.
Having had his fill of Eurovision and being ripped-off on the Irish circuit, louis walsH went for broke with the boys who would be boyzone. Now he can afford to speak his mind. JOE JACKSON is all ears.
Laying Throwing Muses to rest and taking a break from her solo projects, Kristin Hersh reappears in the guise of 50 Foot Wave, with Muses bassist Bernard Georges and new drummer Dan Ahlers. The name change seems moot as it doesn’t give Kristin any more creative license than she had previously, when she could cough into a microphone and her cult following would faint at its genius. But from the evidence of last year’s self-titled shortie and this, the band’s first full-length debut, the new ensemble may well mark a shift in approach.
It would be justifiable to pass this off, because there’s some truth that if you’ve heard one Throwing Muses spin-off you’ve heard em all. But just be warned that with Kirstin Hersh's current mental state, she may just pay you a visit when you least expect…
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.
They go together like a horse and carriage. You can't have one without the other - or words to that effect. In fact, however, even rock 'n' roll has yet to invent an erotic language that does justice to the breadth and complexity of human desire. In pushing out the boundaries, madonna has taken on the role of sexual pioneer, and done it with courage and no little success. Niall Stokes weighs up the evidence . . .
About five years ago I grew mildly obsessive over an album of icily beautiful electronica that went by the entirely appropriate title, Closer Colder. It was the debut release from a brilliant and, judging by interviews conducted at the time, emotionally fragile young producer called David Kosten. If you believe Walt Disney’s head is being cryogenically stored in a lab somewhere, this record will be playing in the background.
Established fans will be glad to hear Elbow’s sound further maturing; newcomers will hopefully realise that this particular seldom-seen-kid should definitely be heard.
Frontman John Conneely sings with a maturity and world-weariness that belies his relative youth, expertly backed by guitarist Eoin McCann, who plays his six strings with Joycean musical trickery.
Utah Saints could hardly be described as the world’s most prolific musical collective. After all, the aptly named Two is only the sophomore effort from Jez Willis and DJ Tim Garbett and the follow-up to their 1993 eponymous debut.
Although under constant review, the word from the U2 camp is that they are still planning to go ahead with the return visit of the Elevation tour to North America.
Rubyhorse has trotted a long and winding road since their humble beginnings recording songs in a Cork City meat processing plant. Moving to Boston in ‘97, the four school friends earned themselves a name playing residencies in Irish bars, eventually propelling their debut album beyond the pint-swilling ex-pats to the mass audiences of Dave Letterman, Conan O’Brien and Good Morning America
If REM apply the same print-and-be-damned attitude to the recording of these songs as they did to their live unveiling, they might produce their most vibrant record in years.
Backcombed bouffants, mullets and white boy Afros. No, we’re not talking about The A – Z Of Really Bad Haircuts, but the new Anton Corbijn photo-book, U2 & I, which serves up a pictorial history of the band from February 1982 (New Orleans) to April 2004 (Portugal). Pictures supplied courtesy of Anton Corblin/ U2 & I published by Schirmmer/Mosel
The Black And Red Notebook won’t be to everyone’s tastes but even Kittser’s detractors will acknowledge that releasing an album of covers is a bloody brave move, particularly handling such well-thumbed volumes as the REM and Beatles back catalogues.
You will cheer, You will scowl, You will stare in disbelief - but don't blame us...
'cos it's all your fault! Yep, it's the Hot Press Reader's poll Results.
Saved settles into a familiar teen movie rhythm, but the occasional jabs at scary US religiosity and a brace of spirited performances distinguish the film from Praeterite genre fodder.
After more than 15 years BBC Radio Ulster's Across The Line is undergoing something of a re-vamp. Colin Carberry reports on why this is good news for fans, and bands, on both sides of the border
Dublin songwriter Paul Nash from the band Rainbow Chaser has delivered a demo of his own songs which he calls Fireflies And Rainbows. Unfortunately there are fourteen songs on the CD and I have a life. So, as most people I know would have done, I listened to the first three tracks only.
Survivors don’t come more grizzled than the New York Dolls’ David Johansen. Here he recalls shooting the breeze with Muddy Waters and explains how Morrissey persuaded the Dolls to get back together over lunch.
THE BALLOT–BOXES HAVE BEEN OPENED, THE VOTES SCRUTINISED UNDER THE STRICTEST OF SECURITY AND NOW THE RETURNING OFFICER STEPS UP ONTO THE STAGE TO ANNOUNCE THE RESULTS OF THE 1993 HOT PRESS READERS’ POLL
The new found confidence of Oxegen 08, more than made up for the overcast weather and chilly temperatures. Hot Press were there to catch the best of the best.
There was a time when being shortsighted was regarded as a major handicap. However with the popularisation of contact lenses the necessity of wearing specs has diminished. Meanwhile the design of frames has improved so dramatically that prescription glasses and shades alike have become a hot fashion item. Report: Colm O’Hare.
With the death of Kurt Cobain in April casting a shadow over the following months 1994 will hardly go down as one of the most joyous in Rock history. Your guide to a month-by-month account of the names and events of the past year. Stuart Clark.
