Jonathan Demme’s film of a Neil Young concert is just that. There is no flashy camera work or pyrotechnics on offer. This is an unadorned concert film of a type rarely glimpsed since the 70s. Have Neil and his buddies got the chops to pull it off? You bet your arse they have.
With the split of Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young following the live Four Way Street album in 1971, Neil Young was free to make a commercial-sounding album. This platinum blockbuster contained the number one hit ‘Heart Of Gold’ which sat neatly alongside such other fragile classics as 'Old Man', 'The Needle And The Damage Done' and 'Out Of The Weekend'.
As Neil Young enters his fifth decade of writing and performing music, the world needs to be reminded of his god-like contributions, particularly as recent young disciples such as Nirvana and Pearl Jam have either burnt out or faded away.
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.
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.
Gary Dunne avoids the pitfalls of mawkish singer-songwriterdom with challenging indie-folk songs that bridge the divide between Cat Stevens and Neil Young.
Neil Young, the Pixies and the Beach Boys are just some of the influences that Californian quintet grandaddy include in their own particular brew. Tape: nick kelly.
Art of gold: the opening gig of Neil Young's three-night stand at Vicar St makes Bono, The Edge, Ronnie Wood and of course your correspondent Stuart Clark swoon. Photo: Mick Quinn
Art of gold: the opening gig of Neil Young's acoustic three-night stand in Vicar St makes Bono, Edge, Ron Wood and of course your correspondent Stuart Clark swoon. Pics: Mick Quinn
You don’t associate Cavan with a cutting edge music scene – but Michael O'Brien aims to change that with his Origins club night. Who knows? One day Neil Young might even decide to pay a visit.
Recorded in six days and rushed out – first on the ‘net and now as an album release proper – Neil Young’s 32nd album is without a doubt his most controversial. It certainly doesn’t get any more direct than ‘Let’s Impeach The President’ (“for lyin’ and misleading his country to war”), the key track here and the one that’s drawn him the most flak from predictable quarters in the US.
Neil Young is God, the Riot Grrrls are a cod and Hot Press is the greatest music magazine in the Northern hemisphere. So says Monica Queen of ‘hard alternative country rock band’ thrum. Interview: Patrick Brennan.
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
Neil Young that is. Up and coming Dublin rockers Hal are earning serious kudos for their winning take on classic ’70s rock sounds. And despite dark murmurings of artistic plagiarism, they sure as hell aren’t about to apologise for it, as they tell Ed Power. Photography by Emily Quinn.
Patrick Freyne meets synth-rock extroverts Holy Fuck who explain why DIY is the future of music and hold forth on their love for 'stubborn prick' Neil Young.
Noel Gallagher and Paul Arthurs of Oasis talk about their staggering rise from being unemployed no-hopers to Top Ten chart act striving to outshine T.Rex, The Beatles and Neil Young to name but three and show Tony Clayton-Lea how to order a peanut.
They were one of the superstars of grunge, a band that did more than perhaps any other – even Nirvana – to bring underground rock and roll to the mainstream. But they lost their way with fan-alienating experimental records and a long-running feud with Ticketmaster. Now Pearl Jam have shrugged off the cobwebs and are back rocking like legends. Ahead of the release of their best album in years they talk about the long-road to rejuvenation, lessons gleaned from Neil Young and their place in the greater scheme of things.
You can tell how highly regarded she is by the number of top stars who want her to sing with them. But for Emmylou Harris such collaborations are a two-way street.
Liverpool-born Wilkes has acquired a growing internet-following, thanks in no small part to world of mouth acclaim on several Irish music forums. Backed by Mersey band Ella Guru, 'They’ve Got Nothing On You' is a fine suite of of rootsy folk, in the vein of Bob Dylan and Neil Young. Opener ‘Your Face It Cracks’ demonstrates to good effect Wilkes gravel-toned voice and Ashcroft swagger. However, it’s the sparse and haunting title track which impresses the most. We may have a young John Martyn in the making.
He might have been a young Einsten but instead MARK OLIVER EVERETT ended up as EELS aka a man called E aka the Souljacker. PETER MURPHY discovers how it all went horribly right
From the tragic death of Cliff the fish to turning Madonna down, praise from Nick Hornby and fanmail from Bono, Badly Drawn Boy ’s life is certainly bewildering.
and that’s before you consider his hellenic aspirations…
After the right amount of time perfecting their craft, The Gorgeous Colours release their debut single proper, in the form of live favourite ‘Burning’. Coming off like a version of Neil Young that modern day lo-fi lovers will adore, it’s full of textures, memorable to say the least and if we’re blunt, genius summed up in four and a half minutes. Two thumbs up and a big grin on top.
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’.
Actor, writer, musician, director, and husband of Angelina Jolie, BILLY BOB THORNTON is currently a very busy man, with one album on release and no less than three movies queueing up at the box-office. All this and he’s constantly on his guard against germs
According to many, the best thing to come out of Canada since Neil Young, Edwards is the complete artist – a great songwriter with a distinctive, slightly ragged voice, a damn good guitar-player and she looks very cool onstage. One thing is certain – she’s unlikely to be appearing at venues this intimate for much longer.
The Galway singer So claims Sonic Youth, Pink Floyd and Neil Young (“with or without Crazy Horse”) as inspiration, but the only discernible influence here is Dylan-esque folk-pop. On the EP’s lead track, ‘Just For You’, he evokes sweeping vistas but forgets to include a chorus.
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”
Magnola Electric Co. is the new nine-piece band from Songs: Ohia frontman Jason Molina. He has taken the countrified vision of his former outfit and expanded it onto a widescreen canvas over the course of these eight tracks. It’s less lo-fi and more upfront than his previous outings, with the end result sounding like Neil Young bumping into Bonnie Prince Billy and The Band in a rural woodshed with wonderful acoustics.
Apart from the whacked-out glory of The Beta Band, few can match Scott 4's disregard for convention. This is the kind of thing terms like 'eclectic' stop well short of summing up.
It starts with the pulsating, warped, Neil Young-gone-bonkers country psycho-blues of 'Catastrophe', and from there on the London trio take as many sonic prisoners as is humanly possible.
Dunne plays with the pleasant rhetoric of American oldboys like Neil Young, and Twenty Twenty Fiction, in spite of its repetitive musical style, is a strong album, albeit a grower.
Around the time of their Throwing Copper album, Live were being heralded as the next REM. In fact, along with the aforementioned foursome from Athens, Georgia, Neil Young and Nirvana, this band recorded one of the best MTV Unplugged shows I have ever seen.
Lou Barlow’s efforts with grunge-pioneers Dinosaur Jr generally took a back seat to frontman J Mascis, while his subsequent work with Sebadoh and Folk Implosion was often unhelpfully mired in no-fi under-production. So his first real solo album, much of it recorded at his home in LA (home-emoh, get it?) sees him crawl from under the noise to deliver a very personal selection of indie folk tracks that bear comparison with the introspection of more mainstream singer-songwriters like Neil Young or Jackson Browne.
The guy’s a great hard rock drummer in the busy-bee late-’60s mode, his vocal phrasing is addictive, and he’s of the Neil Young school of gutsy but physically dyslexic guitar playing
Even before I’ve opened the PR release, I know the reference points to expect: Dylan, Petty, The Byrds and The Band with a more than-is-strictly-necessary side order of Tonight’s The Night-era Neil Young.
Foo Fighters’ sixth studio album is a transitional rather than definitive piece of work, but one that sees them growing older with 'patience and grace'.
Aoife Moriarty has captivated anyone who’s encountered her debut album Dolls & Jigsaws. She talks to Jackie Hayden about her musical past, present and future.
Commuting to Dublin makes life a pain for Geoff McArdle of The Gorgeous Colours. Still, it will take more than a few late buses to ruin his dreams of pop stardom
Reformed baa-aaa-aad boys pet lamb are back with a new album that's going to make Roadrunner sorry they ever dropped them. Getting the wool pulled over her eyes: Adrienne Murphy.
With a vivid backwoods sound that’ll leave you hungry for a campfire and a pair of old moccasins, Nevada native ALELA DIANE is Europe’s favourite adopted daughter of folk. On her sophomore visit to our shores, she talks to Celina Murphy about working with her Dad and the album she never thought she’d make.
Back on the road again with a famous band name and his classic Forever Changes songs, Arthur Lee of Love recalls the golden psychedelic era of Hendrix, Morrison and Young.
COLM O'HARE meets SCOTT YOUNG, father of Neil, and a renowned journalist, author and broadcaster in his own right. In this rare interview he talks about his best-known subject - his famous son.
From pioneering ambient-trad with Clannad, through to her brand new concept album 'Two Horizons', Moya Brennan can now look back on 30 years of lending her voice and harp to some of the most distinctive music ever to come out of Ireland.
He's the spiritual leader of 'freakfolk', a scene that celebrates the quirky and off-beam. But behind Devendra Banhart's neo-hippy schtick is an awesomely talented songwriter.
Once something of a child prodigy, Carlow singer-songwriter Joe Cleere now reckons he has the answer to self-promotion in the download age. He speaks to Celina Murphy about supporting The Script and passing out 10,000 free CDs in a month!
She's the red-haired electro-pop debutante of the year. La Roux frontwoman Elly Jackson talks about her love of the 80s and tells us why Blur were the only decent rock band of the past 20 years.
Having already triumphed at this year's National Student Music Awards, ambitious Waterford quartet Floyd Soul & The Wolf are determined to go on to even greater success.
2004 was a year of infotainment overload when popular culture became increasingly co-opted to the business of selling. But there were those precious few, who remained faithful to the idea of art for its own sake.
You know her as the songstress from Stars and Broken Social Scene. Doing her own thing AMY MILLAN reveals herself to be, of all things, a country chanteuse, her heart heavy with woe.
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.
A police raid on a dublin record store has led to intense speculation that the Gardaí are about to commence a serious crackdown on the retail of bootleg CDs.
Fresh from his successful involvement with Snow Patrol and the Amazing Pilots, Bangor’s Iain Archer steps to the fore with a beguiling solo album Flood the Tanks.
Continuing the theme of cars and road imagery in his music, chris rea has delved into the world of 1960s Italian sportscars for his latest project, La Passione. colm o hare finds out about it.
I can still hear their taunts – “Clark’s talking through his arse again!”... “It’s not the ’70s anymore, Granddad!”... “I had my suspicions but now I know you’re a wanker!”
As it was my mother saying it, that last one was particularly hurtful.
We’ve been banging on for months about the utter fabulousness of CAT MALOJIAN - now, with the release of their latest album, the rest of the world is set to get a taste of their genius too.
For the painfully shy and private Ray LaMontagne, life in the spotlight is one of almost unremitting discomfort, and yet he hopes to last as long as Willie Nelson.
She’s been a regular festival goer since she first attended Féile at the age of 14. Gemma Hayes waxes lyrical on the joys of those sprawling, big days out
Having befriended Joe Strummer before the Clash man’s untimely death, artists such as Adam Duritz, Ryan Adams and Shane MacGowan are also now lining up to give kudos to New York singer-songwriter Jesse Malin.
When not sleeping late or trying to score free beer, students like nothing better than to kick back and watch a movie. In fact, it is thanks to students that many films have gained a permanent place in the pantheon. Here are some stude faves from the annals.
Tower's Wicklow Street store manager Clive Branagan reflects on how the shop's independent stance enabled them to get progressively stronger, while others floundered.
FROM A WHISPER TO A SCREAM is a major new six-part RTE series. Directed by DAVID HEFFERNAN, and featuring new interviews with the major players including Van Morrison, Bob Geldof, U2 and Siniad O Connor it traces the history of Irish music, from showbands to boybands and beyond. By PETER MURPHY.
With their debut album about to hit the streets on a hip French label and some prestige support slots in the offing, 202s are one of Ireland’s hottest properties.
Veteran post-rockers Mogwai have just released arguably their finest record yet. On a suitably overcast day in France, band leader Stuart Braithwaite talks about the influence of Glasgow on their work – and explains the part played by ‘nonsense art’ in their music
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.
Pete Cummins, has just released his first album as a solo performer, from which the single ‘Flowers In Baghdad’ was picked up by Neil Young’s website chart
Still making great music after all these years, Van Morrison is an Irish genius worthy of comparison with the most enduring ’60s legends such as Bob Dylan and Neil Young
Everyone knows Maxïmo Park’s Paul Smith is a fan of woolly hats and long, complicated novels. But did you realise Limerick is one of his favourite cities? Or that, as a teenager, he used to copy out all of Morrissey’s lyrics?
They may be novices in the beer-swilling, coke-snorting and babe-pulling stakes but if it's killer tunes you're after, THE JAYHAWKS leave the competition standing.
STUART CLARK gets a crash-course in country living from MARK OLSON.
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.
When indie godhead Frank Black hooked up with several veterans of the Nashville session scene the results were thrillingly different to his work with The Pixies
Although arguably the outstanding female country artist of her generation, Emmylou Harris has always distanced herself from the Nashville
mainstream. From early recordings with Gram Parsons and Bob Dylan through to her most recent Daniel Lanois-produced album Wrecking Ball, her work has been characterised by a maverick spirit and real fire in the belly.
PETER MURPHY caught up with her in Dublin.
The dark, romantic Raining Down Arrows is the latest milestone in the creative
liberation of Mundy, a man whose thoughts on love, friendship and connecting with the audience are at the core of his music.
Morrissey famously said that he hoped the author would die in a motorway pile-up. David Crosby was freebasing when he gave him the best interview of his life. He once went a whole year without speaking to another human being. And now he s just updated his classic biography of The Byrds and made it five times longer. He s JOHNNY ROGAN, the rock biographer s rock biographer. And he s talking to Jonathan O Brien.
His career was almost over before it began. But hard work - and a surprise hit - have turned Edmund 'Mundy' Enright into one of Ireland's most widely adored stars. Here he reflects on some of the high points of what has been an amazing journey, during the course of which he has rubbed shoulders with some of the greats.
The fascinating story of how four Tallaght schoolfriends – and unofficial fifth member Shuggy – made a new home and a career playing music in the USA. All with a little help from their many friends.
Brian Wilson is among the most influential forces in modern music and created, in The Beach Boys' 1966 album Pet Sounds, what many music fans agree is the greatest record ever made. In February he takes his world tour to Dublin's Point Theatre and Stephen Robinson asks what's on the set-list
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
With feelgood fables like Jerry McGuire and Almost Famous, Cameron Crowe has forged a reputation as one of the Good Guys of American cinema. His new film Elizabethtown does nothing to change that perception, no matter how much he protests. "I'm more caustic than you think," he tells Moviehouse.
JASON PIERCE of SPIRITUALIZED comes on down to talk about mythology versus reality, art versus autobiography and the economy inherent in a cast of hundreds.
Interview: PETER MURPHY
Irish fiction continues to grow in both popularity and hipness. In this special feature we talk to three of its most prominent young exponents: John Connolly, Conal Creedon and Julie Parsons.
For 20 years, iarla o lionaird has steeped himself in the neglected tradition of sean nss singing. Now signed to Peter Gabriel s Realworld label, he believes that the late 90s could finally see a breakthrough for his beloved art form. siobhan long talks to the man with what Martin Hayes calls the lonesome touch
They may be about as prolific as giant pandas, but now the waiting is over. The mighty LEFTFIELD are back with their first new material in almost five years - the new album Rhythm And Stealth - and it looks set to have the same genre-redefining impact as their debut long-player Leftism. BARRY GLENDENNING talks to mainman PAUL DALEY about media critics, professional jealousy, John Lydon, banned videos and that Guinness ad.
The Kooks' first album was a million-selling sensation. As they unleash the long-awaited sequel, frontman Luke Pritchard talks about the death of his father, his feud with television presenter Simon Amstell and much more...
He’s been The Jam Man, The Cappuccino Kid and The Modfather. Now the proud father of a 17-year-old goth daughter, Paul Weller has taken a break from compositional chores to recharge his batteries with a new covers album, Studio 150.
Sexual Politics and Pixies, P.J. Harvey and the Marquis de Sade, Sexism and self-loathing, Black Sabbath and Doris Day. THE BREEDERS aren't always quite what you'd expect them to be. Interview: ANDY DARLINGTON
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
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.
BIG IN BRITAIN! BIG ON THE CONTINENT! BIG IN THE STATES! YET IRELAND STILL HAS TO FULLY SUCCUMB TO THE DELIGHTS OF FOUR MEN AND A DOG. HERE, THE TRAD SUPERGROUP EXPLAIN THEIR CURRENT SITUATION TO COLM O'HARE AS THEIR SECOND ALBUM *SHIFTING GRAVEL* HITS THE SHOPS.
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?
Going back to the deep-seated roots of music is the route taken by THE PALACE BROTHERS on their stunning debut album. GERRY McGOVERN goes to meet them at the crossroads where cultures collide . . . well, The Baggot Inn actually.
30 years after the savage Tate/LaBianca murders that epitomised the dark side of the American hippy dream, CHARLES MANSON aka God aka The Devil, continues to exert a potent influence on popular culture. In part one of a two-part feature, PETER MURPHY recalls the twisted vision of a charismatic man whose personal interpretation of The Beatles Helter Skelter helped give rise to one of the crimes of the century.
It sounds like the stuff of hype and overnight success – from struggling garage band to next big thing and accolades from noel gallagher, morrissey and bono – but even at an average age of 23 The Thrills have paid their dues. Olaf Tyaransen hears how the summer’s hottest band went from worshipping whipping boy to having beck’s da play on their debut album.
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
They may have been one of the most consistently hotly-tipped bands in Ireland over the past three years but Lir are still mere babes in the great rock’n’roll scheme of things. It’s ironic then that they should so often be accused of harking back to the ’70s. Interview: Jackie Hayden
Jack Johnson may be a regular dude, but with his latest album simultaneously at No.1 in the UK and the US he is one with a vast world-wide fanbase. So how did this happy-go-lucky surfer suddenly become a hero to millions?
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
Exclusive: Kevin Shields, the missing presumed lost genius of Irish rock, re-emerges to tell the truth about sandbags and barbed wire, the making of Loveless, early Dublin days with Gavin Friday, Liam O Maonlai and U2, and his Bafta-winning work on Lost in Translation.
If you want to make a demo that won't be used to blackmail you a few years down the road to fame and fortune, there are a few things you should know. Here, the experts tell Niall Crumlish what they are.
The latest Boy to leave the Zone, the launch of Mikey Graham s solo voyage has been attended by
controversy and criticism. But don t underestimate his determination. I m not the passenger, he tells PETER MURPHY. Portraits of the Artist: DECLAN ENGLISH
TRACY CHAPMAN S eponymous debut album was one of the biggest sellers of last year more than ten years after its release.
She spoke to PETER MURPHY about her life before and after fame, that album and the race issue.
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
Psychic and physical disintegration! Quacks, pulsars and Marshall amps! The sound of the end of space and time! And, oh yes, silly song titles too! Welcome to the world of WAYNE COYNE and The Flaming Lips. Interview: Peter Murphy.
One of the finest white soul voices Britain ever produced, Rod Stewart reminisces about the sozzled Faces days, discusses Bob Dylan, his penchant for blondes, and recalls the thyroid cancer that almost robbed him of his voice seven years ago.
[oops this was mis prompted as oxegen video interviews in our e-zine - they're here ]
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.
SIMON FOWLER of OCEAN COLOUR SCENE speaks to Colm O'Hare about the band s new album, his outing at the hands of the tabloid press, and hanging out with Noel Gallagher.
He created great songs out of the good, the bad and the ugly and earned the respect of people as diverse as Bob Dylan and Hunter S. Thompson. In this previously unpublished interview Warren Zevon, who died last week after a long battle with cancer, reflects on his sweet and dirty life and times.
Funky Ceili, non-conformist politics and the approval of Bob Dylan, Robin Williams and Johnny Cash to name but a few. Larry Kirwan tells Liam Fay how Black 47 have become the hottest band in New York and one of 'The Ten Most Hated Things About America
It’s Christmas, time for some of the leading lights of the Irish musical family to return from far-flung stages and convene for a traditional evening of reflection, revelation, conversation, merriment and, well, gargle. The guests: Glen Hansard and Colm Mac Con Iomaire of The Frames, Gemma Hayes, Mundy and David Kitt.
Hot Press persuaded NIALL STANAGE to become a busker for a day on the streets of Dublin. Here's his account of what happened. Cameo appearances: ALBERT REYNOLDS, TOM DUNNE, LORRAINE KEANE, LIAM MACKEY, 9-month-old EOIN BLAKELY, the GARDA SIOCHANA and a bunch of self-confessed "REBELS". Pics of the bunch: PETER MATTHEWS.
Damien Rice has emerged as one of the most distinctive and independent voices of recent years, achieving a remarkable level of success and artistic respect with O – the debut album that was recorded on a shoestring in his own bedroom. Famously media shy, he agreed to talk to Hot Press about the Free Aung San Suu Kyi 60th Birthday Campaign, and the beautiful tribute single ‘Unplayed Piano’, recorded with Lisa Hannigan. But, tape rolling, he talked about a whole lot more, giving the most candid and complete insight yet into the real Damien Rice.
With an Irish tour approaching and a new album in the shops, Luka Bloom looks back on three decades that have taken him from busking in a pub in Newbridge to the big stages of Europe and America. In this candid interview with Jackie Hayden the man also known as Barry Moore talks about brother Christy, overcoming stage fright, finding an original voice, dealings with the music business, the need to combat racism - and why he remains a wannabe bogman
She learned her craft with the Wild Oscars and Kaydee, and more recently featured on the John Hughes album Wild Ocean. Now, Tara Blaise has taken flight with the release of her debut album Dancing On Tables Barefoot – a record that unveils an impressively free-spirit and a desire to live life to the full.
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.
Softly spoken off stage and complete lunatics on it, Kila have torn up the rulebook with their wantonly eclectic mix of styles. music, inner anger, revolutions and, er, women who cure warts are all discussed, as the band’s Colm O Snodaigh talks to Peter Murphy.
How The White Stripes turned the bare essentials into an essential noise, insisted that three is indeed a magic number and wound up becoming one of the most phenomenally successful rock acts in the world
Though he was busking in Grafton Street at 14, it s taken Glen Hansard more than a few shakes of the lamb s tail to reach the plateau of success which his songwriting talents have, for so long, threatened to take him but after the colossal success of Revelate , The Frames are, finally, set fair to enjoy their day in the sun. Here, Glen and guitarist, Dave Odlum, put Niall Crumlish in the picture.
Though he was busking in Grafton Street at 14, it s taken Glen Hansard more than a few shakes of the lamb s tail to reach the plateau of success which his songwriting talents have, for so long, threatened to take him but after the colossal success of Revelate , The Frames are, finally, set fair to enjoy their day in the sun. Here, Glen and guitarist, Dave Odlum, put Niall Crumlish in the picture.
After being a magnet for A&R men during the 80s, Dublin has recently developed into something of an underachiever. The city may have the second biggest growth-rate in Europe but there are a hell of a lot of gigs and records that simply aren t selling. peter murphy casts a critical ear over the capital s music scene and decides that what s required is a full-scale artistic enema.
Belfast, then Glasgow and NEXT STOP – the cover of the Radio Times?
Stuart Clark joins fast-rising Snow Patrol on Scottish manoeuvres. PICS: IAN McMURRAY
From dark age to middle age, Nick Cave is such a far cry from the blood-spilling junkie of rock legend that these days you’re likely to encounter him commuting to his 9 to 5. Except of course that his job is writing and making music, his new album is called Nocturama and there are, he admits, some sizeable blow-outs in the memory banks.
From “Outspan” to Glen Hansard, from Grafton Street to Hollywood – and onwards to Lisdoonvarna 2003. A portrait of The Frames as a most unusual band. Part one of a two-part special feature by Peter Murphy. [Main Photos: Mick Quinn]
It is every boy's wildest fantasy (bar, perhaps, Brett from Suede) to make a living playing with a fantastically successful football side. Craig Johnston was there, saw that and quit while he was ahead. But he has continued to make his dreams real. Gerry McGovern meets the kangaroo who won't be tied down, sport.
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
(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.)
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'
Or should that be Black pages? Mary Black and her long-time friend, producer and collaborator Declan Sinnott look back over ten years of solo work, and the steady progress which finds her ready to take on the world with her latest album, The Holy Ground. Interview: Joe Jackson.
Or should that be Black pages? Mary Black and her long-time friend, producer and collaborator Declan Sinnott look back over ten years of solo work, and the steady progress which finds her ready to take on the world with her latest album, The Holy Ground. Interview: Joe Jackson.
Or should that be Black pages? Mary Black and her long-time friend, producer and collaborator Declan Sinnott look back over ten years of solo work, and the steady progress which finds her ready to take on the world with her latest album. The Holy Ground. Interview: Joe Jackson
With their new album, Gotta Go There To Come Back, in the bag, Stereophonics have chosen a very special gig at the Heineken Green Energy extravaganza in Dublin, to make their return to the stage. No wonder the boys are feeling bullish! Chris Martin, Ronnie Wood, Fran Healy, Rod Stewart, Noel Gallagher, U2 and the Rolling Stones – Kelly Jones has opinions on all of them! So who’s feeling the lash of the ‘phonics frontman’s verbal assault, then?
In the second and final part of an extensive interview, MIKE SCOTT discusses inspiration and influences, recalls his difficult solo years and explains the death and resurrection of THE WATERBOYS. Interview: PETER MURPHY
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
WILLIAM GIBSON is no ordinary science-fiction writer. Aside from coining such essential nineties' terms as Cyberspace and Cyberpunk, his work has also influenced everyone from computer hackers to scientists developing virtual reality technology. In the rock world, he's regarded as a visionary and artists as diverse as U2, Billy Idol and The Rolling Stones have all claimed inspiration from his novels. Interview: Liam Fay. Cyberpics: Cathal Dawson.
After a career barely spanning five years, there is a definite feeling amongst those who know about such things that POLLY
JEAN HARVEY is destined to be one of the true rock music greats. Her darkly visceral, sexual and lacerating work has struck a
raw chord, and made her the object of passionate adoration. But it has also cast her in the eyes of some as an
"axe-wielding bitch cow from Hell."
LIAM FAY travels to meet ze monsta, but instead finds a home-loving Yeovil lass who likes nothing better than gardening and whipping
up pots of rhubarb marmalade.
The Heineken Rollercoaster Tour is taking to the road again and this time the capital is nobody’s hometown gig. From Kells come Turn, from Limerick Woodstar and from Cork The Frank and Walters. Next stop: a venue near you.
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.
It’s the understated self-assurance that first strikes you about The Belles. There’s a soothing quality to the way in which each track is allowed space to develop and time to breathe.
While the path to rock n roll stardom is never smooth, RICHARD ASHCROFT has experienced more ups and downs than most. In a wide-ranging interview with DAVE FANNING, he talks about drugs, The Verve, his new solo album and why the old hometown doesn t look so bad.
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
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!).
JOHN WHELAN journeys through the former Yugoslavia with New Age travellers, the Rainbow tribe, on the occasion of the 12th European Rainbow gathering which, this year, was held in Slovenia. The event encapsulated the very essence of international socialism; and the earthy conditions in which it was held only served to underline its lineage with the true spirit of Woodstock.
One of the most familiar faces and voices in Irish broadcasting, Dave Fanning has interviewed just about every rock and movie star worth knowing. But here Olaf Tyaransen goes behind the public image to unearth some of his more secret history: working with the disgraced “Captain” Cooke; nude interviewing with U2; getting ripped off by the nanny; and much more.
Ten, nine, eight… we count down the contenders for 2003. Words Hannah Hamilton, Colin Carberry, Niall Stokes, Richard Brophy, John Walshe, Eamon Sweeney and Stuart Clark
When Rory Gallagher hits the stage at this year's Macroom festival gig, it'll be his last appearance in Ireland, a year that has seen him forgo some of the spotlight he's enjoyed over the previous ten years in Britain and Ireland in particular.
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.
It's time to lock up your sons, daughters, pet poodle and drinks cabinet, as eight of Ireland's top bands descend on the venue, london, for the first major Hot Press-sponsored musical event of the year.
. . . and ready to go. Mercury Rev s recent album Deserter s Songs was met with a rapturous critical reception, even topping the Hot Press critics end-of-year poll. On their recent Dublin visit they spoke to Peter Murphy about the album, The Band and their volatile past. Jonathan Donahue pics: Cathal Dawson
Maverick genius or away with the fairies? Peter Murphy travels to North-East Scotland to meet Mike Scott at home in the spiritual Findhorn community where The Waterboys’ latest album was written and recorded. And Steve Wickham explains how he left and rejoined the band.
U2 are about to unleash their new album How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb. The world’s media are descending on Dublin. And Bono is back at the punch-bag, getting into fighting shape before the shit storm really explodes. The gloves are off. He’s got work to do. And he’s going to do it. Words Stuart Clark, additional reporting by Niall Stokes.
25 years after the publicaton of Fear And Loathing In Las Vegas, doctor hunter s. thompson remains the originator and unequalled exponent of Gonzo journalism, an author as famous for his own high-octane, outlaw lifestyle as he is for the remarkable series of books and articles which made him a rock star of the written word.
Tracked down to his lair in the Colorado mountains, Thompson lives up to all expectations in this exclusive interview and story by daniel senstius and jurrien dekker. Photography: chris van houts.
It's all changed for DAVID GRAY. Within the past month he has played a series of sell-out gigs across the US, gone top ten in the UK, and returned to this country to celebrate the release of Lost Songs. In a hotpress exclusive, NIALL STANAGE reports from New York, Boston, London and Dublin on the globalisation of Ireland's favourite Welshman. Hotshot hitman: STEVEN FISHER
Fresh from a support slot on Damien Rice’s recent UK tour, Bray songwriter Fionn Regan has now released this intriguing EP on the Brighton-based Anvil Recordings.
In one of the starriest line-ups we've seen since Live 8, celebs and artists led by U2 are rallying together to raise money for the victims of Hurricane Katrina. A special telethon will be aired on all six US networks as well as Sky One tonight.
Where there's a crisis or a human catastrophe, a charity album is never far behind, with artists, major and minor, eager to be seen to be doing something to ease the suffering of the victims.
For a world still mourning Jeff Buckley, the prospect of Coldplay, in theory, is one that ought to provoke, at least, sniffily cynical disinterest and, at most, rioting in the streets.
This is a beautiful album to listen to; the kind of thing that if it was made by Alison Krauss would win Grammys, and even though it’s made by two Northern Irish boys it still should!
Tori Amos' sixth album and her first since 1999's To Venus And Back, marks a major departure for her in that it consists entirely of cover versions – written exclusively by men!
John Walshe talks to Eamon Dowd, frontman with The Racketeers about a possible Christmas EP, what it s like to be big in Scandinavia and how their drummer got stabbed and arrested on tour.
The Chapters are set to tour with stable mates The Coronas for twelve dates around Ireland before taking on their own six date tour culminating with a headline show at Dublin’s The Academy on November 20.
It really is astonishing what a low budget independent film can do for the profile of a moderately talented musician who’s prone to recurrent bouts of delusional behavior.
...quoth Drew Carey, master of ceremonies, when the glitterati gathered in Los Angeles last week to pay tribute to the many humanitarian endeavours of Bono, lead singer of popular Irish beat combo U2
Ryan Adams’ third album in the space of a year is a meditation on his 20s, with each of the nine songs representing a year of his life from 21 to his current age of 29 – apparently he didn’t think 20 counted as he still felt like he was 19.
This particular Northern light has lent his distinctive guitar and vocal style to a host of collectives and collaborators over the years –from Snow Patrol and The Reindeer Section to Juliet Turner and Ursula Burns.
Often so dull as to be mesmerising, Paper Tigers is the kind of album you’d rather not write about at all; the 30 seconds it takes to glance through a review is 30 more than the music under discussion deserves. Here’s a hint, so you can get on with your lives: the claim goes that Caesars are “A garage band for the digital age”.
They've been called the last of the great punk rock bands, and although that's an accolade which smacks of revisionism, it does give some hint of The Pixies' colossal impact. In fact, you can still feel some of those aftershocks resonating through Nirvana, Bowie, JJ72, Fight Club and selected vodka ads.
The grim brothers on two CDs, recorded live over two nights earlier this year in Wembley Stadium might not exactly be the blueprint for a perfect night in.
The man who probably sounds a bit like a million things you've heard before. You could say it is formulaic, and boldly rips off everyone from Simon And Garfunkel to Oasis, but then again, isn't that the post-modern way? There's nothing new in this world, the philosophers cry.
She certainly gave them what they’d come to hear and like her or not, Twain is a seasoned performer with more than enough hits to carry a major event like this.
The soundtrack for the previous Spiderman film had a strong thread of emo and hard rock running through it. This collection has moved more towards contemporary indie-rock.
Heathen may not be the spectacular return to form that some people are claiming, but it’s certainly a far more cohesive affair than its predecessors, Earthling and …hours, which both buckled under the weight of their experimentation.
Following on from the belated release of Trio II comes this new collaboration. The absence of Dolly Parton's more traditional/pop leanings means that Western Wall edges closer to the harder rock nuances of Harris' Wrecking Ball album.
It's been called 'lo-fi swamp'. I tend to think of it as loping prairie music, but hey, you'll find your own words to capture the essence of Willard Grant Conspiracy. Mojave is their fourth album, a shambolic, dazed and confused affair that's guaranteed to hog your stereo if it's quirky, original meanderings you're looking for.
Aongside gentlemen of similar vintage and taste such as Shane MacGowan and Nick Cave, Will Oldham (by Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy, Palace Brother, or any other name) is a master of adapting traditional musical and linguistic idioms to post-punk sense and sensibilities.
Fortunately for The Thrills, the good news is that they have lived up to the hype and managed to bear the weight of expectation to deliver one of the finest, most delightfully crafted albums I’ve heard in a long time.
HIS FIRST studio album since the (decidedly unsoulful) Heavy Soul, and first release since the immodestly titled greatest hits collection Modern Classics, Heliocentric finds Weller settling even more comfortably into the role of UK rock's Mr Everyman.
You could set your clock by him. Like some kind of agrarian song tiller, Will Oldham is a seasonal operator whose harvest falls every winter, January being market time. This year he’s gotten a little help on the farm from guitarist Matt Sweeney, and together they’ve come up with a batch of tunes that are by turns courtly, kinky and perverse.
Twenty-four years is a long time to spend working up to a debut solo album, but Roland S. Howard follows his own wayward star.
Whether participating in the jagged juvenalia of Melbourne’s Boys Next Door, lending his trademark flicknife guitar …
Since men first emerged from the water, they have written psalms in praise of the river. Old Man River. The River of Jordan. The Rivers of Babylon. Moon River. Shenandoah...
With former Engine Alley skinthumper Emmaline Duffy-Fallon out, and a full-time violinist (Sheila Sullivan) and backing vocalist (Veronika Megyeri) in, it's a new (and improved?) Racketeers on this, their second album.
In accordance with the many anti-corporate codes of honour that make life in the Ed-Ved band seem akin to a ten year stretch in some post-grunge version of the Navy Seals (or worse, a spell as Rage Against The Machine’s stylist), the Jam have done the Dead thing and assembled a whole slew of official live bootlegs, each one slated for release in the very territory it was recorded in.
Seems like downtown Buncrana and upstate New York aren't so far apart after all. At least not on Kevin Doherty's map. He manages to tiptoe between both with a dexterity that'd have been the envy of Astaire.
Reports of the demise of the concert business in Ireland have been greatly exaggerated. In fact the business has never been healthier, says leading concert promoter, Peter Aiken
Sepia-tinted olde-style cover art, hmm. Photos of cactuses and tin-roofed shacks, eek. Band name: The Creekdippers, egad. Any fears one might reasonably have, on encountering this compilation of the ‘Dippers’ three-album career to date, of wonkily played pretendy-drunk alt.country and/or snoozily worthy Grammy-bagging ‘new folk’ are, however, happily misplaced.
Live music industry stalwart Vince Power and classical guitar guru John Feeley are the latest additions to The Music Show, set for October 4-5 in Dublin's RDS.
One fine day about a decade ago, your reporter was idly hitching a lift to Wexford town when he chanced to glance up and realise that, to his horror, he was thumbing a hearse, the incriminating digit standing obscenely erect in full sight of the driver, the mourners and their grim cavalcade.
Having been lucky enough to have witnessed Mr. Zimmerman’s legendary gig in Vicar St. a few years back, it seemed almost inevitable that a trip to this East Wall arena would prove anti-climactic. And so it proved to be.
Laura Cantrell – investment banker by day, respected nu-country DJ by. night – gained a dizzying reputation with her two previous albums. A degree in economics and, by country standards, suspiciously comfortable upbringing (no rags-to-riches back story here) proved little hindrance as she made the Americana a-list. Her debut, Not The Tremblin’ Kind, was judged an instant classic by the alt.country cognoscenti. John Peel declared it his favourite album of the last ten years.
Gen X race memory and The Devil And Daniel Johnston have ensured a full house at Vicar St, and in the foyer ‘Hi, How Are You?’ frog t-shirts are doing a brisk business in black and white.
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.
PAUL WELLER is often accorded an elder statesman status which ill becomes him - in this listener's opinion, the Modfather never really earned his stripes
PAUL WELLER is often accorded an elder statesman status which ill becomes him - in this listener's opinion, the Modfather never really earned his stripes.
BEFORE EMBARKING upon one of the more, eh, idiosyncratic musical careers of our time, Will Oldham had a brief career as a TV-movie actor. In one of his roles, he was called upon to play the father of a little girl who'd fallen down a well.
BEFORE EMBARKING upon one of the more, eh, idiosyncratic musical careers of our time, Will Oldham had a brief career as a TV-movie actor. In one of his roles, he was called upon to play the father of a little girl who'd fallen down a well.
When The Revs imploded, frontman Rory Gallagher bit the bullet and supported himself playing the bars in Lanzarote. Eighteen months later, he’s back with a new solo album.
GIVEN HIP-HOP/film industry synergy, it's hardly surprising that the whole Wu Tang Clan-inspired Samurai-rap assassin ideal should eventually become immortalised on celluloid.
Ten years on from what many critics consider to be the band’s career apex – the era of down ‘n’ Dirty, Butch Vig-facilitated crossover appeal and Kurt-ordained, alt.rock godfathers-status – the Youth are certainly unlikely to re-attain cred-heavy money-spinner status with Sonic Nurse, but as the band put it on the incomparably brilliant ‘100%’, that’s got nothing to do with a good time.
Their hour has come round at last. The Flaming Lips could've been forgiven for feeling usurped when their sister ship Mercury Rev steamed away with the garlands for Deserter's Songs last December, but in truth, both collectives are in competition with no-one but themselves and the gods.
Songwriters have been adopted alternate identities for decades now but few have gone so deeply into ‘character’ as Martin Corrigan, or, as he would prefer to be called, John Edgar Voe
It s the last song of the night. It s the final gig of the year one that has witnessed bizarre accidents, frustrations, some classic moments and the growing consensus that Snow Patrol is an increasingly fierce act.
Our 4th installment of '90s issues brings Sultans of Ping, Engine Alley, Suede, Madonna, Neil Young, Nick Cave and Nirvana. And check out the shades on Pat Kenny!
The Critics Panel who voted for the Top 30 Albums and Singles of the Year are as follows: Bill Graham, Liam Fay, George Byrne, Stuart Clark, Lorraine Freeney, Tara McCarthy, Gerry McGovern, Neil McCormick, Dermot Stokes, Oliver P. Sweeney, Siobhan Long, Steve Averill, Andy Darlington, Colm O’Hare, Joe Jackson, Niall Crumlish, Olaf Tyaransen, Patrick Brennan, Nicholas G. Kelly, Jackie Hayden and Niall Stokes.
ABBA have seldom been acknowledged by those who arbitrate or presume to arbitrate on matters of rock taste. Apart from a brief flirtation about five years ago, rock culture – in as much as the phrase actually signifies anything concrete – has continued to stick them with the legacy of their Eurovision success.
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 CRITICS PANEL WHO VOTED FOR THE TOP 30 ALBUMS AND SINGLES OF THE YEAR ARE AS FOLLOWS: BILL GRAHAM, LIAM FAY, GEORGE BYRNE, STUART CLARK, LORRAINE FREENEY, TARA McCARTHY, GERRY McGOVERN, NEIL McCORMICK, DERMOT STOKES, OLIVER P. SWEENEY, SIOBHAN LONG, STEVE AVERILL, ANDY DARLINGTON, COLM O’HARE, JOE JACKSON, HELENA MULKERNS, DAN OGGLY, CATHY DILLON, NIALL CRUMLISH, OLAF TYARANSEN, PATRICK BRENNAN, JACKIE HAYDEN AND NIALL STOKES.
Have you got a ticket? The way things are looking, that's going to be the question of the year. U2 played Slane Castle as one of the support acts when Thin Lizzy topped the bill there in 1981. Since then they have gone on to become the biggest band in the world.
Since records began, popular music has maintained a healthy and unstinting preoccupation with political issues. GERRY McGOVERN namechecks some of the artists who have nurtured such links and argues that even music which ostensibly extricates itself from the issues of the day, is itself inherently political.
It's hard to believe that it's so long since John Fogerty's last album. In the intervening time span, rumour and speculation flared intermittently about a new album in the marking - yet Fogerty, one of rock'n'roll's most tantalisingly enigmatic recluses remained silent.
With politicians up in arms about flower-beds while Raytheon helps destroy Lebanon, it’s enough to make even Tony Blair frown. Thank god we still have rock.
Q: Which top Irish quiz-masters’ pathological obsessions include Something Happens, Shamrock Rovers and the amount of shopping days left to the next Suede gig? A: George “You Started, So I’ll Finish” Byrne
Though often overlooked, some of U2’s most exciting and challenging music through the years is to be found hidden away on the flip side of their singles. From U23 to Melon bill graham rides the wild horses of the U2 back catalogue and finds that there’s quite a few thoroughbreds among their many cover versions and experimental remixes.
The foot-and-mouth crisis plunged the Irish live music scene into one of its most difficult phases. Now, however, the business is back – and flourishing. Report: COLM O'HARE
Annual article: From the strange to the mundane, from poetic champions to pornographic novels, from maverick auteurs to great lost crime novels: it was a hell of a year to be a reader.
The relationship between drugs and creativity has always been a hotly debated subject. But narcotic indulgence has proven to be the downfall of many a gifted artist.
Colm O'Hare turns over a new leaf or two from the huge variety of publications on the shelves this Christmas, from rock biographies to more general Irish published works. So, for those of you who like your entertainment between the covers, read on . . .
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.
Continuing his occasional Bum Notes series of reminiscences on life as a musician, Peter Murphy fondly casts a nostalgic eye over the birth of his daughter and the, eh, interesting rock ’n’ roll circumstances that surrounded it.
That’s the philosophy behind Cross Border Media, a label which has had a remarkable impact on Irish music since its foundation just three years ago. A special report by Colm O’Hare and Jackie Hayden
