PIAS Ireland has announced that Oasis album 'Dig Out Your Soul’ will now be released on October 3, instead of the originally planned date of October 6.
Never again, I’d sworn to myself. “Mark my words,” I’d said following their dire Lansdowne Road show in 2002, “never again am I watching Oasis live.” Five years later, and I’m standing in Marlay Park for my 11th (yes 11th!) Oasis gig.
Presumably the fault lay with Oasis' techies rather than Witnness crew, but for an unforgivable dozen songs - the bulk of the set - Oasis battled to establish some sort of rapport with an underwhelmed crowd
Where did it all go right? Oasis are back. Six years on from Noel Gallagher’s enquiry as to where it went south, the Gallagher brothers have begun to regain some of their phenomenal mid-'90s popularity
Older and wiser but still mad for it, Oasis have delivered their best album in years. In an exclusive – and expletive-filled – interview Liam Gallagher holds forth on fatherhood, brotherly love and explains why Coldplay and The Killers are limp-wristed also-rans.
It's been ten years that's shaken a fair bit of the world and now, suddenly, OASIS are back. what better time for a reflective, confessional, candid and scandalous one-on-one with a man who always gives great quote, NOEL GALLAGHER. Interview: STUART CLARK
How the mafia did Noel a favour by twatting Liam; the U2 song Oasis might cover; the most he’s spent on cocaine; a great night out in Ireland’ and what it will say on his tombstone. Noel Gallagher answers the reader’s questions. Turning up the heat Stuart Clark.
Oasis fans were given quite the treat on Sunday night (November 19) when Liam Gallagher stopped by the Irish Film Institute in Dublin for the premier of Lord Don't Slow Me Down.
Renewing acquaintances with Hot Press, a chipper Noel Gallagher reveals how he helped Italy bag the World Cup, explains why Oasis are better than U2 – sort of – and tells us about the band’s new 'best of' collection.
The collective object of their allegiance have put on a few pounds, but remain lean and hungry, perhaps mindful that previous shots at bulking up with unnecessary extras like horn sections and blues harpists resulted in the bloat of Be Here Now.
It's probably one of the more unlikely cross-cultural, rock ‘n’ roll match-ups. But the current Brotherly Love Tour in the US featuring kick-ass Southern rockers The Black Crowes and erstwhile Brit-poppers Oasis has been a surprising success.
With those other candidates for the job, AC/DC, confirming an O2 Arena show today, it looks an odds-on certainty that Oasis will be unveiled tomorrow as the headliners of Slane ’09.
First we had Blur vs. Oasis and now it’s Oasis vs. U2 as the two go head to head on November 20 with their respective Stop The Clock and U218 Singles Best Of… albums.
Whatever your views on Oasis, there’s no denying that their singles are instant anthems. ‘The Importance of Being Idle’ is one of those to a tee - and less grating that ‘Lyla’, you’ll be glad to know. This time they don’t bother trying to be different at all, merely making up in melody what they lack in complexity. And check out the video for it too, where Welsh actor Rhys Ifans gets his groove on as a funeral director. It works, honest.
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.
The spectacle of U2 playing to 50,000 admirers with OASIS as their support band would seem to suggest that reports of PopMart's demise have been greatly exagerrated. And, behind the scenes, the mood is even more upbeat as the two bands revel in a mutual appreciation society.
Neil "Access All Areas" McCormick was with them in the dressing room, the mini-bus and the after-hours bar.
Critical brickbats aside, the success of TRAVIS seems to know no bounds. Here FRAN HEALY and co talk to STUART CLARK about drugs, Oasis, Paul McCartney, Ali G, and drunkenly dancing on computers! The man who took the photos: STEVEN FISHER
From Oasis to The Ping Pong Bitches, ALAN McGEE is living proof that there s life after
success, excess, Labour, near-death and, oh yes, Creation Records. Even if you re a Rangers
supporter. Interview: STUART CLARK
Their music might be chilled-out psychedelia, but, in person, The Coral are capable of Gallagher-level rowdiness. Not that they harbour dreams of being the next Oasis. The Liverpool outfit are happy being a cult act...
Coldplay, White Stripes, Strokes, Queens, Garbage, Oasis, JJ72, Franz... With a whole slew of major albums in the pipeline, it looks like ‘05 will be the wrong year to kick that addiction to noise.
Responsible dad or not, Liam Gallagher is still capable of some serious rock’n’roll hellraising and giving good quote. Roy Keane, Patsy Kensit, Nicole Appleton, Yoko Ono, Bono and magic mushrooms are all on the agenda as the Oasis singer shoots from the hip. Getting the beers in: Olaf Tyaransen
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.
Glaswegian quartet TRAVIS may have spent much of the last year playing
support to Manc legends Oasis, but deep down, all they want to do is rock. Interview: NICK KELLY
Unplugging the amplifiers brings out the gentler, more vulnerable side of any band. Acoustic 05 offers an unprecedented expose of these moments, drawing from an impressive pool of A-list artists. From monumental names such as Oasis, Snow Patrol, Paul Weller, Damien Rice and Stereophonics to up-and-coming favourites like Brendan Benspon, Rufus and Martha Wainwright, Josh Ritter, Ray Lamontage and Bright Eyes, there's something for anyone who appreciates the subtle beauty of turning the music down.
Liam Gallagher, no stranger to the perils of speaking one's mind slightly more loudly than is helpful on occasion, has come out in support of Roy Keane. "Passion brings out words like that," says our kid. "He's got balls"
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.
Noel Gallagher and Gem Archer, rock stars that they are, have just arrived at the Castle by helicopter and will be revealing all to a rabid posse of journalists
Twenty five years after The Jam went their separate ways, bassist Bruce Foxton and drummer Rick Buckler are back playing together under the name From The Jam.
It's been sniffer dogs and paddywagons all the way as The enemy visit some of Britain's less salubrious Rock n' Roll locales. If they can stay out of jail, though a support tour with Oasis awaits.
These are strange times for Noel and Liam. Displaced by Pete Doherty in the stony hearts of tabloid editors; overtaken in the quotably-lippy stakes by Jose Mourinho; and more likely to find themselves gracing the pages of Heat than the NME, the terrible twosome have never skirted as close to the boundaries of cultural obsolescence as they do just now. After all, post-Shameless, they may not even be the most famous Gallaghers in Manchester.
In the last issue of Hot Press, Noel Gallagher said his piece - this time out it's brother Liam's chance to shoot from the lip, as only he can, on love, life, OASIS and the whole damn thing. Interview: GEORGE BYRNE.
It should have been the biggest indoor rock n roll knees-up of the year but oasis three nights at The Point were as notable for what happened off stage as for what happened on it. Does Liam s partial no show spell the end for the dreadnoughts of Britpop or is it just the latest hiccup in a career that seems to thrive on adversity? Report: siobhAn LONG.
When the Be Here Now tour fell apart at the seams in 1997, the end seemed nigh for Britain’s biggest rock’n’roll band. Then Noel Gallagher gave up drugs and moved to the country. With a stunning new album on the way, the Oasis mainman tells Stuart Clark where it all went right.
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.
As Stereophonics release their sixth abum, frontman Kelly Jones talks about his friendship with Oasis and reveals that he’s buried the hatchet with Muse.
It's Christmas, 1997 is drawing to a close and Noel Gallagher is in suitably reflective mood. "I can't be bothered writing music anymore", says the Oasis mainman before telling Stuart Clark precisely what he thinks of Liam, Meg, Sinéad O'Connor, that cunt Mick Jagger and England's chances of lifting the World Cup.
The latest group to benefit from the tutelage of legendary producer Stephen Street, attitudinal Mancunian rockers The Courteeners are one of hottest newcomers on the UK indie scene.
Thanks to their distinctively guitar-saturated sound, French outfit RINOCEROSE have carved out their own niche in the already crowded Gallic dance scene. Interview: RICHARD BROPHY.
He’s just knocked Lady GaGa off the top of the UK charts with his banging new single ‘I’m Not Alone’. So why is CALVIN HARRIS so worried about sounding like an oldie chasing after his fading youth?
For the most part, that's what this album is - simple rock 'n’ roll music, best heard whilst drunk and with your mates, however, they're still sounding a lot more melodic and tuneful here than they have in years
Although dissatisfied with mainstream media and wary of having his own work pigeonholed, former Smiths guitarist Johnny Marr revels in his role as elder statesman to a generation of maverick musicians and is no less proud of his new album, Boomslang.
Pennie Smith, the legendary NME photographer who shot the cover of The Clash’s London Calling is about to have an exhibition in Belfast. Peter Murphy gets her to rewind the film
One of the greatest penslingers in rockdom, he’s championed U2, Joy Division and Kylie and taken a critical scalpel to Oasis, The Strokes and their “miserably narrow mates”. he’s also locked horns with Germaine Greer, helped Frankie to relax and let The Frames slip through his fingers.
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.
DENIS LEARY, sultan of sneer, is en route to Dublin to star in the Murphy s Ungagged Comedy Festival. By way of a little limbering up, and proving that there s no smoke without fire, here he lets rip on Noraid, The Kennedys, The Royals, Bill Hicks, Dean Martin, Oasis, Father Ted, drugs in Kerry and, oh yes, why he d like to go to Riverdance with a sniper s rifle . Interview: LIAM FAY.
The author and former Conservative MP on clashing with Ian Paisley, shaking hands with Gerry Adams, sex and drugs in the house of commons, what Margaret Thatcher did and didn’t know about her closest aides and why kissing and telling on John Major is justified
In a major interview to be published next month by Hot Press, Manchester City and (more importantly) Ireland centre-half Richard Dunne reveals that him and his partner have named their 10-month-old daughter ‘Lyla’ in honour of City supporters Oasis.
Confidence, n. firm trust; assured expectation; self-reliance; boldness, impudence, telling of private matters with mutual trust. [f. L CON (fidere trust, faith)
Unplugging the amplifiers brings out the gentler, more vulnerable side of any band. Acoustic 05 offers an unprecedented expose of these moments, drawing from an impressive pool of A-list artists. From monumental names such as Oasis, Snow Patrol, Paul Weller, Damien Rice and Stereophonics to up-and-coming favourites like Brendan Benspon, Rufus and Martha Wainwright, Josh Ritter, Ray Lamontage and Bright Eyes, there's something for anyone who appreciates the subtle beauty of turning the music down.
SOLD OUT
Word on the street is that Oasis, The Strokes and The Frames are headlining this year's Witnness main stage. You heard it here first (totally unconfirmed, of course)
As the punk revolution took hold in the UK, Manchester was notable for the bleak, industrial soundtrack even its most successful bands were making. But that all changed with the explosion there of a new and hedonistic culture, centred in and around The Hacienda, a club run by the city's most influential music biz entrepreneur, the boss of Factory Records, TONY WILSON. The story of the transformation of the city into the centre of rock'n'roll's emerging drug and club culture – of the change from Manchester to Madchester – is told in 24 Hour Party People. With the Happy Mondays as it primary musical focus, there's no shortage of on-screen drugs and fighting – but this is really the extraordinary saga of one of the great rock'n'roll towns, in all its gory glory… Tara Brady reports
Photographer JILL FURMANOVSKY has snapped and shuttered virtually all of the rock industry's big names during her illustrious 25-year carrer, from
U2 to Dylan to Miles Davis. Her latest subjects are Oasis, who she's "spent three years having an absolute ball with." olaf tyaransen caught up with her. Pic: Colm Henry
The good news is that Holes In The Wall doesn't sound like the product of teen angst, instead coming on like it has been well-drilled in classic British rock, from The Beatles through to Oasis
Once unfairly derided as a second-rate Oasis, it looked for a while as if the McNamara brothers and co might be swept away in the great Britpop clear-out which saw off even more successful outfits like The Verve.
Depending on where you stand, this is either essential listening or something to be avoided like the plague, but if nothing else they make latter-day Oasis sound good – no mean achievement!
In 1994 Radiohead were unliked and unlikely Oxford outcasts (Radiohead? Crazyhead? Birdland?) who’d scored a flukey hit stateside with ‘Creep’. A year later they were the indie nerd’s answer to Oasis as the best band to come out of the UK since The Smiths.
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.
Sometime in the past 12 months Razorlight’s Johnny Borrell took a long, unflinching look at himself in a mirror and saw Pete Doherty staring back. From such moments of clarity are great pop makeovers forged. No longer content to hawk pretty-boy Oasis pastiches, the sulky-looking Muswell Hill-ian, who embodies Razorlight even if he doesn’t write all of the music, has junked the bad-boy patois and cultivated his inner Bacharach.
You can bet that Santa is glad that The Strokes are playing Belfast before Christmas. Tickets for this surprise show (announced Tuesday, takes place Sunday) sold – according to promoters – at a quicker rate that even Oasis managed in their Morning Glory prime. The big guy would have some indie kid hearts to break on Christmas morning.
[Photographs: Amberlea Trainor]
You can bet that Santa is glad that The Strokes are playing Belfast before Christmas. Tickets for this surprise show (announced Tuesday, takes place Sunday) sold – according to promoters – at a quicker rate that even Oasis managed in their Morning Glory prime. The big guy would have some indie kid hearts to break on Christmas morning.
[Photographs: Amberlea Trainor]
You can bet that Santa is glad that The Strokes are playing Belfast before Christmas. Tickets for this surprise show (announced Tuesday, takes place Sunday) sold – according to promoters – at a quicker rate that even Oasis managed in their Morning Glory prime. The big guy would have some indie kid hearts to break on Christmas morning.
[Photographs: Amberlea Trainor]
THE PUNDITS tend to get all sniffy about Aslan, but the fact is, there ain’t that much difference between the Northside quintet and the likes of Ocean Colour Scene or Cast or even Oasis – working class traditionalists specialising in whitebread Beatles values, an old fashioned adherence to live work, and a melodic but inarticulate speech of the heart.
By some bizarre coincidence, the new album from The Smashing Pumpkins hits the shops within a week of Oasis' new offering, as both bands approach their latest outing on the back of line-up unheavals, mounting media opprobrium and a previous release which sold roughly half of the one before that.
“ROSE-mair-ee!” yells a sold-out Olympia along with Paul Banks, as the Morse-code bassline of ‘Evil” jitters away beneath. “HEAV-en re-STORES you in LIFE!” So, yes, onstage it looks like Interpol: five smart-suited gentlemen throwing rock shapes in a graveyard-mist fug that is ‘lit’ (if you can say that about a near-dark stage) in their trademark two colours, black and dark red. But turn around to face tonight’s all-singing, all-dancing crowd, and you could be at an Oasis concert circa Definitely Maybe.
Some good news for clubbing fans – the annual 12 hour dance marathon at Fairyhouse Racecourse is to go ahead in the summer. And this time, it’s got a brand new name.
The Jane Parker Band are from Manchester, home of some of the finest music to come out of England in the last four years. From the Happy Mondays to Oasis, it has been something of a musical Mecca.
Talk of drug excesses, Noel Gallagher and James Joyce are all par for the course when john walshe catches up with the laconic evan dando, chief lemonhead, sometime actor and aspiring writer.
Well, a little about it, at least. JONATHAN O'BRIEN discovers that jim REID
doesn't have too much to say about The Jesus And Mary Chain's seventh album, Munki.
The Jesus & Mary Chain are playing their first Irish gig in over seven years as part of May's Heineken Green Energy Festival. Stuart Clark appreciates their god-like genius.
Hot Press has teamed up with Gohop.ie to offer Irish punters the chance to visit Hungary's premier music extravaganza, the Sziget festival. Duan Stokes has the details.
With their debut single 'I Bet You Look Good On The Dancefloor' zooming to no.1 in the UK, Arctic Monkeys ended 2005 on a high. They are destined to be the new band of 2006.
Video interview: Tim Burgess and Mark Collins of THE CHARLATANS tell us about their latest album, Wonderland, and about how having a singer that lives 5000 miles away in L.A. helps to focus the band's energies. Well, it would, wouldn't it
1980s heroes Echo And The Bunnymen have pulled off the seemingly impossible - they ve made a credible, well-received comeback. Interview: peter murphy.
He's been painted as a loud-mouthed yob but The Courteeners' Liam Fray is actually a complete sweetheart - so long as you don't ply him with liquor and encourage him to slag his rivals.
They’re the hottest thing in British rock, four working class kids done good from the wrong side of the Glasgow tracks. At the start of what is shaping up to be a whirlwind year GLASVEGAS talk fame, football and fisticuffs.
He’s Ireland’s latest singer-songwriter sensation. But Colm Lynch is no mere Damien Rice clone. In fact, his debut album, A Whisper In A Riot might be the most exciting thing you’ve heard in years.
IARLA O LIONAIRD has a new star-studded solo album out but the Afro Celt Sound System continue to teach him that music can be enjoyable and not just sublime . Interview: Colm O'Hare
KIERAN HALPIN's new live album, Glory Dayz, is the perfect vehicle for a man who hardly ever stops gigging. In a rare off-stage interlude, he talks to Colm O'hare.
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.
Erasure - namely Vince Clarke and Andy Bell have been creating electronic pop for over a decade. John Walshe catches up with them on a recent promotional tour.
Adored by Hollywood’s elite and admired by everyone from the dearly-departed Oasis to Bruce Springsteen, Kasabian’s career has gone into over-drive this year. Main songwriter Serge Pizzorno dishes the dirt on those swine flu rumours, how Quentin Tarantino might be the next alumni from Tinsel Town to fall under their spell and why he’ll need to take a few days off after their Arthur’s Day celebrations in Dublin.
Although john squire and his new band The seahorses have taken something of a critical mauling following the release of their album Do It Yourself and some less-than-sparkling live shows, the former Stone Roses axeman is surprisingly unperturbed as peter murphy finds out.
Credible clothing at an affordable price, dressing up Pulp and remodelling Tony Blair as a transvestite it s all in a day s work for wayne hemingway of hip fashion label red or dead.
Interview: Olaf Tyaransen
He used to be the ultimate indie no-hoper. But now JACK PEÑATE has discovered Krautrock, nu-rave and world music and released one of the year’s most engaging, and surprisingly accomplished, records. He talks about cultivating his eclectic side and discovering an outsider sensibility he describes as ‘joyous melancholy’.
The lure of regular nine-to-five work is exerting a powerful gravitational pull – but Portrush four piece Patio Sounds are determined to stick it out and spread the word about their intriguing brand of idiosyncratic pop.
Love, relationships, dating – and the first Diana song since the reworked ‘Candle In The Wind’. Sarah Nixey takes Paul Nolan on a guided tour of Black Box Recorder’s new album Passionoia.
Having previously traded as shoe-gaze darlings The Catchers, Northern indie-poppers The Sleeping Years are back with a new record – and a rather handsome sleeve
The NPB emerge from deepest darkest recording-studio to play the Music Centre next Thursday. Later that night: the Screamadelica 3rd birthday party. Woo and indeed, hoo
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…
Following in the footsteps of Green Day and Good Charlotte Blink 182 are the latest punk outfit to massively expand their remit and radically alter their direction on their eponymous new album.
Phil Udell meets a Coral disenchanted with their Hotpress review, but gains Brownie points for recognising that they're NOT - repeat NOT - from Liverpool.
With Pete Doherty, Mani, Noel Gallagher and Alex Kapranos in their fan club, and a debut album that makes the Arctic Monkeys sound like jaded old has-beens, The View have ’07 by the short and curlies. Just don’t let them stay in your hotel.
The Cronin Brothers have come a long way with their group The Aftermath since leaving Longford to make their fortune. With friends like the Kaiser Chiefs and fans like Chris Moyles, they’re on the brink of making it big.
COLM O HARE talks to EMBRACE frontman DANNY McNAMARA about the band s new album, their fondly remembered Glastonbury performance and being told to sound more like Shed Seven .
After a long hiatus in the studio, London-based psychedelists saint etienne are back with an acclaimed new album, Good Humour. adrienne murphy finds out what they've been doing in their spare time.
Forget Liam and Nicole and Pete and Kate, the hottest rock 'n' roll couple in town at the moment are The Subways' Charlotte Cooper and Billy Lunn. The female half of the duo tells Ed Power about the highs and lows of making beautiful music together.
Liverpool's musical exports have included The Beatles, Echo and the Bunnymen, the Teardrop Explodes, Pete Burns, the KLF, the Lightning Seeds, Frankie Goes to Hollywood and many more. Mercury nominees The Coral are the latest scallywags to capture the attention of the music press who have picked up on their blend of classic rock influences and irreverent energy
Having steamrolled its way across America, and through most of Europe, it seemed as if U2 s PopMart extravaganza might come to grief in the most unlikely of places their homeland of Ireland. Now however, one Supreme Court case on, U2 are scheduled to play not just two Dublin dates but a newly-added Belfast homecoming as well. Interview: MIKE EDGAR
John Walshe talks to Doves Andy Williams about their past life as Sub Sub, their debut album Lost Souls, and what it s like being heralded as the saviours of British rock music.
A case of food poisoning in the Keane camp was Welsh band The Automatic's golden ticket to a Jools Holland performance. Next stop, a UK top five hit in the form of ‘Monster’.
Pierce Turner is back in Ireland for a summer tour, but he’s also pre-occupied by his bad experiences in Ireland as a keen music radio listener and has some radical ideas for shaking up Radio 1 and Lyric FM.
Belfast boys General Fiasco may be one of the standout acts on the Oh Yeah showcase CD, but when HP catches up with the band, they're feeling a little, um, overexposed.
Discovered that there is life after Brett-pop, that is. nick kelly gets the lowdown from "the bloke who left Suede", Bernard Butler, whose mightily impressive solo debut People Move On, has just been released.
Disused Mexican banks, Little Britain, Pete Doherty and drunken Sky TV appearances are all on the agenda as Paul Nolan and his temperamental tape machine meet Carl and Didz from Dirty Pretty Things.
Cornershop have re-opened for business with a little help from Noel Gallagher and none at all from the BBC. Stuart Clark finds Tjinder Singh is less than miffed
Prior to their recent Dublin gig, THE BLUETONES talked to NADINE O REGAN about the fickleness of fame, artistic integrity, America and the dangers of sausage sponsorship!
There is many a haven for shunners of the Christmas Cheer like myself. Lots of lovely bands, singers, comedians and even hynotherapists are at hand to entertain the life out of us, and distract Santa while we throttle him. Right up to the New Year there’s so much going on you needn’t come home till Easter.
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
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
Funny, frightening and just about believable, Dig! is the ultimate indie-pop rockumentary. But the movie, which chronicles a seven year rivalry between The Dandy Warhols and The Brian Jonestown Massacre, only tells half the story says director Ondi Timoner. Interview by Tara Brady.
They've sold albums by the truck-load and are about to embark on a sold-out four-night run in Dublin, but Brummy three-piece Ocean Colour Scene have plenty they'd like to complain about, including the press, the music industry, and – especially – ringtone ads appearing on their albums.
If having your music featured on every TV programme from TFI Friday to England v Morocco is a measure of success, then CORNERSHOP are now one of the biggest bands in the world. Multi-instrumentalist BEN AYRES talks to STUART CLARK about Noel Gallagher collaborations, festivals, royalties, The Blind Boys Of Alabama and that Fatboy Slim remix.
Having broken up Pavement, STEPHEN MALKMUS has had plenty of time to devote to making his eponymous solo album and indulging his obsession with all things Irish from U2 to Thin Lizzy to Planxty. NIALL CRUMLISH cocks an ear and raises an eyebrow
As famous for being mates with Paul Weller and Noel Gallagher as for being pop stars in their own right, ocean colour scene take time out from a hectic touring and recording schedule to explain to john walshe just how popular they are. Pix: mick quinn.
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.
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.
She claims to wander about in the nude in her spare time. But British model-turned-TV presenter Jayne Middlemiss is fully clothed and respectable when Hot Press pays her a visit.
FAST tells Fiona Reid about the Fun Lovin Criminals' plans to posthumously record with Reggie Kray and takes her track by track through their new album Loco
Jinx Lennon is a true original, a rock'n'roll outsider whose music throbs to the pulse of rural Ireland. Here he talks about attending cocktail parties with David Norris and explains why Dundalk just might be the strangest town in Ireland.
Super Furry Animals are yet another Welsh band poised for huge success on the back of their new album. They talk to STUART CLARK about their rejection of Brit Pop, strange Japanese fans and the glory days of The Free Wales Army. Pics of Super Furry Animals with super furry animals: Mick Quinn.
Richard Ashcroft spent the best part of the ’90s on a quest to make one of the great rock albums with The Verve. Having succeeded with Urban Hymns, he promptly broke up the band. Now, with the imminent release of his second solo album, Human Conditions, an upbeat Ashcroft discusses his excitement about collaborating with Brian Wilson, his youthful adventures in clubland, and why The Verve had to split
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.
Tribute bands may not capture the true spirit of rock’n’roll – but they do succeed in attracting fans, starved of the music of the originals of the species.
Tribute bands may not capture the true spirit of rock’n’roll – but they do succeed in attracting fans, starved of the music of the originals of the species.
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...
DAVE FANNING meets the inimitable ROBBIE WILLIAMS to talk about his latest album, his battles with the booze, the Take That legacy, his desire to play a politically incorrect James Bond, a vaguely remembered visit to Bono s loo and why he loves and hates The Beatles
Over the hills and far away, Chumbawamba come out to play! They get knocked down. But they get up again. They get dropped by Indie One Little Indian, and then get signed up by Capitalist major EMI. Then the Tub-Thumpers Anonymous go on to score the most unlikely hit single of 1997. So what now for Alice Nutter and her chums? ANDY DARLINGTON reports.
Over the hills and far away, Chumbawamba come out to play! They get knocked down. But they get up again. They get dropped by Indie One Little Indian, and then get signed up by Capitalist major EMI. Then the Tub-Thumpers Anonymous go on to score the most unlikely hit single of 1997. So what now for Alice Nutter and her chums? ANDY DARLINGTON reports.
As pristine popsters ABC gear up for their appearance at the Heineken Weekender in Cork, NICK KELLY grills band mainman MARTIN FRY about his new album Skyscraping, his love of all things Elvis, his battle with illness and why it felt right to wear that gold lami suit in 1982. Below, meanwhile, we preview the rest of the Weekender s goings-on down in Cork.
They named themselves after a Japanese biker gang, they won t give details of their line-up to the music press, and their first ever recorded release was limited to 33 copies. GODSPEED YOU BLACK EMPEROR also happen to be one of the most exciting new bands to emerge in years. PETER MURPHY investigates.
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.
Editors mainman Tom Smith is pining for his mainsqueeze Edith Bowman. HP advises him on an anniversary gift. Aw, bless. Still, he hasn't gone soft, as is borne out by copious potshots at Keane and Sugababes.
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.
In the last issue of Hot Press, NIALL STANAGE wrote about his experiences as a busker-for-a-day. This time around he meets the real thing those who try to make their living on the streets of Dublin. PICS: CATHAL DAWSON
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.
Minimalist electro-pop duo The Ting Tings emerged from a Manchester artists' collective with a love of Tom Tom Club and Talking Heads and a reputation as one of this year's most original new acts.
From piano-plonking crooners to nihilistic electro-pop duos, the UK and US are bursting at the seams with fresh talent in 2007. Could there be a new Arctic Monkeys out there somewhere?
The journey from Tallaght to the Premiership hasn’t always been an easy one, but this season has found Richard Dunne in the best form of his career for both club and country.
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
Having battled their way through eight weeks of the Raw Sessions, hip hop collective and noble underdogs THE INFOMATICS were awarded the title of Sony Ericsson Artist Of The Year. We caught up with Bugs, Mr. Dero, Konchus Lingo and BOC (try saying that three times fast!) to hear how appearing on the country’s first ever rockumentary series is going to change them and indeed the face of Irish hip hop.
They may be nothing more than a tribute band but if so, they re a damn good one. JACK L and his BLACK ROMANTICS have been unanimously lauded for their Jacques Brel-inspired Wax album: The idea was to bridge the gap between Brel and Scott Walker. Now Jack L himself talks to JOE JA
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 ]
They’re different, they’re fun, they have their critics but more and more people seem to love them. But enough about the trams; it’s all aboard for an interview with another Dublin
sensation Republic of Loose.
The initial rumours were that it was going to be a rock n roll record . Then subsequent whispers hinted at everything from trip-hop to techno to ambient. But U2 s eighth studio album, Pop, is all of these things and more. It s the first album since 1983 that they ve made without the assistance of Brian Eno, it s been a long time in the making roughly a full year, all told and it s selling like the proverbial warm buns. Here, NIALL STOKES talks to BONO and ADAM CLAYTON, as well as co-producers FLOOD, HOWIE B and THE EDGE, about its lengthy genesis and what the band hoped to accomplish in creating it.
Pix: STEPHANE SEDNAOUI .
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.
Out goes Bernard Butler, in comes Richard Oakes and Suede seem to go from strength to strength. LORRAINE FREENEY discovers that Brett Anderson and co. are shiny, happy people again.
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
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?
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.
No-one knows a city like a local and so we asked Mike Edgar to be our guide to Belfast. Here he chooses ten things for visitors to do in the North s leading city. Only one problem: he forgot to tell us where to get an after-hours drink!
Between recording the theme music for The Saint and fending off accusations of satanism, Orbital mainman PHILIP HARTNOLL barely has time to do the washing up. STUART CLARK stands by with the tea-towel.
What does Peter Buck have in his bathroom? What does Justine Frischmann do all day? stephen j. malkmus and spiral stairs of the decidedly non-lo-fi and non-slacker indie rock gods pavement spill the beans to nick kelly.
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.
With a career-best new album under their belts, Razorlight's Johnny Borrell talks about bling, mid-career reinvention and Britain's battle with metrosexuality.
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!
Every loser wins on patrick kielty s new Channel 4 show, Last Chance Lottery , and for the 26-year-old comedian, presenter and former germ , things have never looked so good. Interview: barry glendenning.
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.
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.
Having written his own obituary on his latest album, RANDY NEWMAN rises from the grave to discuss love, age, irony, honesty, the importance of melody and the tightrope act of being an idealist in pessimist's clothing. JOE JACKSON helps roll away the stone.
Will U2 play Phoenix Park or not? And what is the future of the rock festival as we have come to know and love it in Ireland? Special Report: STUART CLARK.
A breathtaking variety of acts have come together - as Lennon might have put it - to focus attention on the ongoing genocide in Darfur, under the auspices of Amnesty International.
Following in the footsteps of Joy Division, The Smiths and The Stone Roses, Mancunian rockers Doves have continued the tradition of musical excellence for which their hometown is internationally renowned. With their new opus Some Cities in the offing, vocalist Jimi Goodwin here discusses apocalyptic weather, urban decay and those abandoned recording sessions with Madonna’s producer.
Since the release of their sophomore album Antics late last year, New York goth-rock quartet Interpol have risen to the pantheon of great contemporary bands. In a rare in-depth interview, the group’s erudite frontman Paul Banks here discusses the making of Antics, their upcoming support slot with U2, the band’s peers in the NYC indie scene, The Strokes, Nirvana and David Lynch - and where one of the most acclaimed groups of recent years go to from here. Interview by Paul Nolan.
Following his Man of the Match performance against the Czech Republic, Paul McShane has been hailed as one of the finest young Irish players of his generation.
Whether with THE SMITHS, ELECTRONIC, THE PRETENDERS or in brown trouser mode sharing a stage with PAUL McCARTNEY, GEORGE MICHAEL and NEIL FINN, he remains, by his own admission, the best JOHNNY MARR-style guitar player around. GEORGE BYRNE meets the cat others like to copy.
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.
Fresh from the success of THE DIVINE COMEDY in the Hot Press Readers Poll, NEIL HANNON drops his guard(s) for some candid talking on love, sex, aesthetics and the whole damn thing. Interview: JOE JACKSON
This issue, Hot Press magazine comes with a stunning cover mount CD. Here’s your track by track guide to this exclusive collectors’ item, featuring the winners and headline acts from Murphy’s Live 2007. Click here to buy the mag and get your free CD!
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.
As he prepares for the release of his band s third album, Cold And Bouncy, high llamas mainman
sean o hagan tells an awestruck
nick kelly exactly why there s always been a Beach Boys element to his music.
If there s one cast-iron prediction
to be made for 1997, it s that
THE BEAUTIFUL SOUTH will carry on carrying on up the charts.
JOHN WALSHE meets
Dave Hemingway and Jacqui Abbot to learn
more about life inside the mega
band with the low profile.
Carl Perkins, the rock pioneer who wrote Blue Suede Shoes and no less than four songs for the Beatles, is dead. ANDY DARLINGTON remembers his career from Sun Records and the legendary Million Dollar Quartet , through to Johnny Cash s Live At San Quentin . . . and a movie knife-fight with David Bowie
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 . . .
In a rare interview, DJ, Sabres Of Paradise mainman and all-round geezer andrew weatherall tells stuart clark about why he won t be working with Primal Scream again, comes clean about his Van Morrison obsession, and does his best not to slag off Kula Shaker and Mansun.
It’s been quite a year for PETE DOHERTY, the former Libertines frontman, and now leader of Babyshambles. 2005 featured a series of drug busts, failed rehab attempts, the tabloid witch hunt of his girlfriend Kate Moss, several non-appearances and live shows that fluctuated between agonising and ecstatic... oh, and the small matter of a debut album. As hotpress went to press, the news broke that Doherty had been busted yet again, barely two days out of an Arizona clinic. hotpress talks to Doherty’s label boss, Rough Trade founder Geoff Travis, tour photographer Danny Clifford, and former Babyshambles drummer Gemma Clarke, for the insiders' view on what’s becoming an increasingly sad and fearful saga.
Never mind the naysayers, Dublin 2006 is spilling over with white hot talent. Steve Cummins and Shilpa Ganatra run the rule over the capital's new breed.
Over the past decade, the new wave of films from South Korea has made a stunning impact on movie fans worldwide. The acclaim peaked earlier this year when the remarkable OldBoy scooped the Grand Prix at Cannes. In a Moviehouse special we look at Korea’s visceral treats and talk to ace director Chan Wook Park.
As Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, MO MOWLAM M.P. has one of the toughest, most thankless jobs in British and Irish politics. The task facing her is an unenviable one: to bring together the two extremes of both traditions, however briefly, for the purposes of all-party talks. In this exclusive interview, she talks about the difficult journey to date, and the immense challenges which lie ahead of her. Our man who went to Mo:
JOE JACKSON.
Pix: COLM HENRY.
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.
They’ll never win any prizes for speaking the Queen’s English but, with a number one album under their belts, mop-topped Dundee rockers The View aren’t too bothered.
Back in the saddle with their eagerly anticipated second album Demon Days, subversive animated quartet Gorillaz here talk to Paul Nolan about striking out against celebrity culture, what went wrong with the Gorillaz movie, collaborating with Shaun Ryder, Roots Manuva and Dennis Hopper, and why they didn’t vote Labour. Oh, and Mexican brothels.
Although the acclaimed C Mon Kids was conspicuous by its absence from the
Best-Of-96 polls, The Boo Radleys sice and martin carr aren t bitter. As they prepare for an assault on the States, peter murphy gets the lowdown on their hatred of videos, their contempt for producers and their disapproval of outfits such as Dodgy, The Lightning Seeds and Everything But The Girl.
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.
The ace bass in the STONE ROSES and PRIMAL SCREAM, MANI is the living embodiment of the concept of largin it . In Ireland to dee-jay and hang out, he sinks a few beers and offers his uniquely colourful thoughts on music, Man U, drugs, Thatcher, Reagan, Blair and Bill Clinton s blow-jobs. Interview: EAMON SWEENEY.
With cork set to become european capital of culture just over a year from now, Colm O’Hare reports on the cultural attractions punters will be treated to by the lee in 2005
The Black Crowes! Blowjobs! Journey! Drink! Bob Seger! Vick’s inhaler! and why Keith Duffy is more fun than the Manic Street Preachers! Stereophonics let their hair down in the company of Stuart Clark
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.
Backstage at Creamfields, JOHN WALSHE talks to FATBOY SLIM about the joys of fatherhood, being one half of the posh and becks of the chemical generation; sharing a hot-tub with Baz Luhrman and how he got Christopher Walken to tap-dance
Drinking, arguments, men in kilts, rickshaws, more drinking, and the search for an errant sheep: it's all part and parcel of one night out in Dublin. On-the-spot report: NIALL STANAGE
The boys are back in town for Galway s Big Beat and SHAUN RYDER is back in the saddle. I m actually now becoming some sort of poet-film-directing-intelligent-motherfucking-artist-luvvy-darling sort of guy and it s wonderful, he tells PETER MURPHY. Pics: Michael Quinn
Why are four Birmingham lads skulking through Barna Woods in Galway, and why is there a camera crew following them around? john walshe met up with ocean colour scene on the set of their new video, Traveller s Tune . Pix: AENGUS McMAHON.
How did Brandon Flowers, Ronnie Vannucci, Dave Keuning and Mark Stoermer go from the Las Vegas dive bar circuit to selling four million copies of their debut album, Hot Fuss? On the eve of the band's highly-anticipated Oxegen 2005 appearance, Stuart Clark talks to the people involved in the making of The Killers.
A year ago they were being paid fifty quid a gig, now they’re one of the biggest rock ‘n’ roll bands on the planet and about to take the Oxegen main stage by storm. A pun loving Stuart Clark discovers how Franz Ferdinand have become Top of the Fops.
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...
Or perhaps that's 27 under the present squad numbering system. JEFF KENNA may be living in Garry Kelly's international shadow but that doesn't mean the former Palmerstown Rangers full-back isn't one of the Premiereship's brightest prospects and a genuine contender for the Ireland team as the Green Army advances towards the European Championships. Interview and bollocking from Jack Charlton: STUART CLARK
Pix: COLM HENRY
As Duke Special set off for a jaunt around Europe with the Divine Comedy, our correspondent hitched a ride on the tour bus. In between the sound-checks and the motor-way pitstops, he received a unique insight into the life of the touring musician.
Expelled by the Labour Party and reviled by some of his former colleagues, JOE HIGGINS is seen by his own supporters as the only genuinely socialist politician in Dail Iireann. No friend or fan of Labour, golden circles or U2, he tells JOE JACKSON that revolutionary change is not just possible but essential. Pix: Colm Henry.
Annie Nightingale on BBC Radio One is Dance Music s fixture for insomniac clubbers. But for the BBC s first-ever female DJ this is just the latest incarnation of a career that began, sort-of, by insulting John Lennon. ANDY DARLINGTON reads the book, sits in on the show, and even finds time for an interview.
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.
Elstree, remember me, went the old Boggles tune. The location is a far-flung suburb of north London, former nerve centre of an entire B-movie industry, now home to television shows like East Enders, Holby City (wandering through the corridors, your correspondent comes across a room identified by the rather ominous notice: Make-up - GUTS), and of course Top Of The Pops.
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.
Well, okay, it's SOMETHING HAPPENS, so that's overstating it a bit. Still, having taken a fair few industry beatings over the years, the band are no longer inclined to simply turn the other cheek. At the end of a year in which they toured the States with Warren Zevon, released a "Best Of ..." and are bringing it all back home for Christmas, Olaf Tyaransen finds the band can snarl as well as smile.
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.
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.
Bobby Gillespie's still staying up all night but now it's because there's a baby in the house. Otherwise, it's all systems go for Primal Scream at their bunker hq - Witnness cometh, Mani's back and Kate Moss, Kevin Shields, Robert Plant and AndrewWeatherall all feature on the groundbreaking evil high
THE CHARLATANS are back firing on all cylinders, and talking global domination. TIM BURGESS and JON BROOKES talk to STUART CLARK about the joys of L.A., the dangers of Jack Daniel s and falling down Noel Gallagher s
marble staircase. Pics: MICK QUINN
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
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?
They may refuse to play the media game, but whether it’s dating page three models, accepting awards dressed as the Village People or earning the ire of Keith Richards, there’s never a dull moment in the world of Alex Turner and Arctic Monkeys.
He s the Godfather of TV-Astronomy. He s not only the size of a minor planet, he even has one named after him. He knows all the secrets of Life, the Universe and Everything. He is Patrick Moore. And now he tells Andy Darlington about his Flying Saucer Close Encounter , his musical input into 2001: A Space Odyssey, why there are no Skating Rinks on the Moon and much more groovy cosmic stuff
When Pulp released the obsessively carnal This Is Hardcore, it was widely touted that the band's main mover, Jarvis Cocker, had lost the plot entirely. But Pulp are back on the road now and Cocker is in fine form - as eloquent when talking about pornography and sex as he is reflecting on the vagaries of the press and his relationship with his father. Interview: peter Murphy.
When Pulp released the obsessively carnal This Is Hardcore, it was widely touted that the band's main mover, Jarvis Cocker, had lost the plot entirely. But Pulp are back on the road now and Cocker is in fine form - as eloquent when talking about pornography and sex as he is reflecting on the vagaries of the press and his relationship with his father. Interview: peter Murphy.
Never mind figgy puddings and partridges in pear trees, there’s some serious seasonal business to be done as the annual HP-7 summit gathers in the crucible of cultural discourse that is The Central Hotel’s Library Bar.
It s re-introductions all round, as the Starman embarks on a hazardous solo mission. Stuart Bailie records him taking one giant leap for a man.
The Starman walks into a public bar in Chorlton and looks for a quiet spot. The old regulars at the back are nudging each other. They re sure that they recognise the face
and the style of a traveller who s been all the way up there and back.
After more than 15 years in the business, Aslan are still able to command massive, devoted audiences in music venue and record shop alike. John Walshe joins the Lions' club on the road
In an age when hype springs eternal, DAVID GRAY is that rare phenomenon a success story scripted by the fans rather than the industry. And a distinctly Irish success story at that. A certifiable platinum-selling box-office blockbuster in this country, the Welsh singer-songwriter still awaits a similar eruption of Gray fever in Britain, Europe and America. But his latest album, White Ladder, could be the record which tells the world what Ireland already knows. Now as he prepares to wow the faithful at Galway s Big Beat festival, JOHN WALSHE presents the inside story of the best kept secret in the west.
Pics Mick Quinn
Watching David Bowie on television recently one couldn't help but think of Neil Hannon. Not that he is a musical "chameleon"—to use the phrase most often applied to Bowie—but he does seem to be a person more comfortable presenting to the world a series of ever-changing poses designed to conceal rather than reveal his "real self", as in vocally situating himself somewhere between Barry White and Prince on the magnificent Charge, or satirising—while still relishing—his role as the eponymous sexist hero in Becoming More Like Alfie. Strangely enough, Neil confesses that he was thinking something similar while watching Bowie being interviewed
James Dean Bradfield on The Cult of Richey, The Spanish Civil War, Jon Bon Jovi, and the new album This Is My Truth, Tell Me Yours. Truth Serum: Peter Murphy. Light Detector Test: Simon Clemenger.
Known from the TV sitcom as the Man who Behaves Badly, actor Neil Morrissey is confounding the laddish caricature with his work for an anti-landmine charity. In this candid interview with Paul Nolan, he also reflects on childhood trauma, death in the family, that affair with Amanda Holden and his encounters with Olivier, Burton and Mel Gibson. main photography Cathal Dawson
Known from the TV sitcom as the man who behaves badly, actor Neil Morrissey is confounding the laddish caricature with his work for an anti-landmine charity. In this candid interview with Paul Nolan, he also reflects on childhood trauma, death in the family, that affair with Amanda Holden and his encounters with Olivier, Burton and Mel Gibson.
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
Don’t let her steal your heart away!
sheryl crow: Hot Press Readers’ Love Of The Year and Bob Dylan’s favourite singer-songwriter is the hottest new star in rock'n'roll. Helena Mulkerns charts the singular rise of Kennet, Missouri’s most celebrated slacker country queen.
After a lengthy silence, TRICKY is back with an impressively upbeat new album. But the man himself still insists on going against the grain. Here he talks about his aversion to celebrityhood, his dislike of the music biz, his fondness for Bryan Adams and Bono, and how he copes with the terrible burden of having hundreds of women who want to have sex with him. Interview: OLAF TYARANSEN
John Walshe travels to Berlin to see Ash in superlative live form on Paddy's night. And no wonder: the band reckon their new album, free all angels could put them in the Michael Jackson league! plus: why they're so down on Louis Walsh, Westlife and Ronan Keating and so up for Bono, John Hume, David Trimble and - wait for it - Darius of Popstars. Flash photography: Mella Travers
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.
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.
Since their debut single ‘Wired To The Moon’ went gold here The Revs have established themselves as Ireland’s hungriest and most energetic rock combo, with an appetite for gigging and an eye for publicity that has seen them embroiled in a number of amusing controversies. But behind the brash exterior is the fascinating story of three dedicated young musicians who have overcome their status as outsiders to build one of the biggest and most loyal grass roots following of any local act. Now with the release of their debut studio album, Suck, they are ready to go international.
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
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.
They love Ireland and Ireland loves them. As the Arcade Fire ramp up for world domination, the band talk about love, death, war and making music in churches.
Commander of the notorious Company C of the UDA in Belfast, Johnny Adair was given 16 years for directing terrorism. While he was never convicted of murder, the rumour mill suggests that he has been reponsible for as many as 43 deaths.
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.
At the end of an exciting, painful and earthshaking year, Bono reflects on the political and the personal – from drop the debt, September 11, Afghanistan and Genoa to the death of his father Bob, the birth of his son John and the enduring friendship which underpins U2’s music and career. Interview: Niall Stokes
[this interview originally appeared in the spectacular Hot Press Annual 2002 - used in the pictures below - a very limited number of this unique collectors item will shortly be on sale - email u2@hotpress.ie to reserve a copy]
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.
Now here’s a turn up for the books. First Ian Brown does a gig full of Stone Roses material and then he pitches up with quite possibly his finest solo record to date.
Tim Burgess and Mark Collins of The Charalatans chat to Stuart Clark about the new album Wonderland, and how having a singer that lives 5000 miles away in L.A. helps the band to focus
On the eve of an Irish tour to coincide with the latest single release 'You're So Pretty, We're So Pretty, the show The Ambassador, Dublin on February 13th , with tickets for shows in The Ambassador on 14th and Belfast's Waterfront Hall on 15th in increasingly short supply
Also forthcoming is 'Songs From the Other Side,' an album of Charlatans' B-sides, dating from 1990 - 1997, which will be released in the U.S. on May 7th, and in Europe on May 20th.
Like what you see in Hot Press? Ace HP snapper Roger Woolman's set up his own website, so you can check out the finest in pop photography - and buy stuff for your very ownio - at the click of a mouse
Stop press: Witnness have just confirmed some of the leading lights of this year's festival. Mercury Rev, Badly Drawn Boy and Chemical Brothers sound good for starters? Read on
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.
Turning 30 has made Hot Press feel a bit geriatric, but we’re mere kids compared to Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, which celebrates its 40th birthday this year.
Let's be clear about one thing: Peter Maybury is one talented bastard. Not content with composing, performing and engineering the entirety of this album, he's also seen fit to take care of design and photography duties on the accompanying lusciously-produced 78-page book, and with the Emigre seal of approval to boot.
Jill Furmanovsky will add significantly more culture into Dublin's 'cultural quarter' when she opens the Rockarchive photo gallery in Temple Lane South
From the grim and gritty depths of east Glasgow, Glasvegas tout a sure-to-be-huge mix of ragged emotion and vintage vibrations straight out of the Phil Spector playbook.
Fourteen tracks marry a musical box of icy chimes and wintry melodies with an inviting acoustic warmth, allowing the brain to run riot and imagine the various goings on in the Gothica world.
City Of Men allows you to enjoy the gun totting favelas and favelados as they strut around the streets of Rio De Janeiro without ever allowing you to forget that their lives are hellish and brief.
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.
It’s a minor criticism though, and for the most part One Good Reason is a confident, rounded and absorbing record full of catchy radio singles and comfortable in its skin as an old school rock album.
Non, merci, say continentals, you can keep your U2s, your Oases and your Robbie Williamses... Dundalk's finest The Corrs are officially the "best-selling group in Europe"
10,000 Things' songs have a brutalised air, as though they were bullied into existence. Fitful guitars prowl the mix in search of a melody or, failing that, a purpose, while front-man Sam Riley yelps in a manner that suggests he’s about to have his throat slashed.
For such reasons, their self-titled debut feels less like a statement of intent than an obstacle course through the muck. Opener 'Self Destruct' is as tired and tattered as an old denim jacket; a putatively anthemic 'Titanium Boxer Shorts' suffers delusions of tunefulness.
If you’ve heard the singles you’ve got a pretty good idea of what the album is like – rock tunes driven by staccato drums and three-chord guitar, delivered with plenty of attitude and passion.
What’s impressive is how they manage to reproduce the epic sound of the album, with an aurally competitive blaze of samples, funky basslines and John Squire-ish guitars, all nailed together by Robert Harvey’s improbable vocals
It’s all pretty brave – the faithful may scratch their heads and the detractors probably won’t even listen but just maybe they’ll find themselves reaching a whole new audience.
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.
It’s hard not to be reminded of The Levellers in their crusty, polemic prime, the bombastic 1980’s textures and a lyrical obsession with the elements adding to the overall dated feel.
Having debuted at Number One in the UK album charts last week, it would appear that working-class Coventry trio The Enemy are now officially the next big thing.
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.
Kasabian have wrung no more than a handful of killer pop moments from a somewhat one-dimensional sound. But the enthusiastic crowd reaction at Hineken Green Energy has tempered my less than converted position just a little.
Whatever your fancy chances are the capital will be able to oblige. Here, the Hot Press team pound the pavement in selfless pursuit of Dublin's hottest - and coolest - nightspots.
The first live Brits since 1989 took place at Earl's Court in London last night, with Lily Allen walking away empty-handed despite being the most nominated artist.
Only The Strongest Will Survive (Creation)
With a line-up that includes former Ride guitarslinger Andy Bell, it's a fairly safe assumption that the second album from Hurricane #1 is going to have loads of crashing guitars, soaring guitars, scorching guitars, grinding guitars and then some more guitars thrown in for good measure.
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.
With their self-titled debut album The Black Rebel Motorcycle Club have been causing an unexpected sensation by harking back to the dark distorted attitude-laden style of British bands such as The Jesus & Mary Chain, The Verve and Ride.
The damaged licks and feedback-fattened melodies of LA’s Black Rebel Motorcycle Club have always suggested a karaoke riff on your favourite avant-pop outsiders.
We have at least two reasons to worship the Pretty Things, the seminal r'n'b influenced '60s band who teetered permanently on the brink of self-destruction: they were probably the only act to score higher than the Rolling Stones on the "lock up your daughters" panicometer and, with SF Sorrow, they produced a classic concept album whose stunning soft-psychedelic songs transcended that much-maligned genre.
The Charlatans' kitchen-sink included arrangements which can be slightly overwhelming on record proving to be dynamite live, a surprisingly sonically coherent mass of big, bold, super-charged soul.
Spiritualised, The Redneck Manifesto, Redsettaz and Telepopmusic are merely a few of the latest additions to the delightfully overstuffed Witnness '02 bill
It’s the battle of the unsigned. Five winners from individual Ignition gigs are tonight going for gold on the TBMC stage in an attempt to blag the €2,000 recording time that’ll be awarded to the winner.
Lotus Lullaby could do worse then buy a handful of lottery tickets. The Cork disco swingers are on a roll. Fresh from their win at Murphy’s Live, the electro infused four-piece continued their domination of the country’s battle of the bands contests with a resounding win at the Bank of Ireland sponsored Student Music Awards.
Ian Brown, Richard Ashcroft and now Brett Anderson; these guys seem doomed to roam the fringes of indie consciousness, forever questioned about halcyon days by cub reporters shiny-eyed with retro visions.
Music Review | Live
19% | 8 Mar 2005
Lisa Coen
Considering that you’d pay a small fortune to see a better-known outfit yawning through the usual stuff that they take for granted will entertain us, Garageland gigs are a bargain for your &euro:8. Tonight’s unsigned acts were on their toes and eager to impress the partisan crowd, so from the beginning that guaranteed a great atmosphere.
Stunning is only the start of it. To come back from a showcase having seen one great new band is an achievement. To see three is staggering. From the off it seemed destined to be a special night.
Benson’s voice, double-tracked throughout, has a homely, unfussy quality which perfectly complements the record’s ordinary-bloke lyrics and sweet melodies
While no end of guitar bands would kill to occupy the same lofty perch as this shower in the pop-rock firmament, you get the impression that Cast's reputation as solid, dependable, on-stage-at-7pm festival fodder is a source of constant frustration for frontman John Power.
In a previous life, he fronted winsome Northern Ireland popsters Catchers. Now, after a hiatus that included working in a bookshop, Dale Grundle is back with a folk-tinged new project, The Sleeping Years
It's been five whole years to the month since Elastica released their eponymous, million-selling debut so I guess you could say they've been away for a long stretch (sorry, couldn't resist!).
In a sense, ATP is an anti-festival. Each year's 'curator' - the band who decide what other acts to invite - is willfully chosen on the grounds of their rejection or open denunciation of the mainstream music system
Newly crowned Rose of Tralee, Aoife Kelly, tells Amanda Allen her style secrets as well as a few style disasters – whatever you do don't call her ‘Socks’!
A stuffed-full and truly delish chocolate box of small but perfectly formed releases: the debut EP from the pretty/violent Holy Ghost Fathers; a Road Relish split single from Nina Hynes and Adrian Crowley; and - just in the nick of time! - the compilation A Quiet Riot: Songs To Save Your Life
Yes, with explanations like that it couldn't be anyone but Bobby Gillespie talking us through the song titles and tracklisting of the new and as-yet-untitled Primal Scream album
Yes, with explanations like that it couldn't be anyone but Bobby Gillespie talking us through the song titles and tracklisting of the new and as-yet-untitled Primal Scream album
Tim Booth is not a man who has ever been unduly troubled by contemporary notions of cool and un-cool. In the early nineties, when Nirvana were storming the barricades, Primal Scream had the nation under an acid-drenched groove and Kevin Shields was in the process of reinventing guitar music with Loveless, Booth and his cohorts in James were encouraging patrons at Student Union discos all around Britain to literally sit down to the strains of the anthemic stadium rawk number, er, ‘Sit Down’.
Ossie Kilkenny, the top music industry accountant who has worked with many of the biggest acts in the world, including U2, Morrissey, Oasis and Van Morrison, has said that the record industry is finished.
While the arrangements, production and execution of ideas are as excellent as you’d expect the songwriting is surprisingly lightweight and indistinctive.
This issue’s forecast... a cold front moving in from the west guarantees a storming night of top tunes from The Blizzards in Whelan’s on September 11. The Mullingar act have been the subject of much attention of late.
Forget brain surgery or being Shane MacGowan's oral hygienist, the toughest job in the world has got to be that of an A&R man.
At around about the same time that I was telling everybody that Thee Amazing Colossal Men were going to conquer the world with their second album, a demo from five pasty-faced Londoners went from the Clarkian desk to bin in record time on account of its tired Bowiesms.
As the country’s largest music festival, Oxegen is a crucial shop window for Irish acts. From main-stage headliners Snow Patrol through new kids on the block The Script. Here are some of our favourite Irish picks.
Ireland’s entry for the 52nd Eurovision Song Contest, to be held in Helsinki in 2007, will be performed by the Co Sligo based traditional Irish band Dervish.
Tokyo is like a sci-fi version of the West – plus, the people are immaculately polite, the trains run on time and the chances of something unpleasant befalling you are virtually zero.
One of the things that becomes clear as the wonders of A Rush Of Blood To The Head unfolds is that Coldplay are making a truly startling sound within a basic rock format
Ireland’s entry for the 52nd Eurovision Song Contest, to be held in Helsinki in 2007, will be performed by the Co Sligo based traditional Irish band Dervish.
The relationship between sex and love is a thorny one. The cliché is that sex is better with someone you love – but the truth is that people play away for a reason…
Stick ‘em up punks, it’s the fun lovin’ criminal! No, your eyes do not deceive you and, before the Daily Mirror asks, no, Niall has not gone mad again.
When your friendly local A&R man (and yes, he's almost certain to be a man) sits down to wade through his latest intake of demos, what exactly is he looking for?
New Irish presenter, Laura Whitmore, was thrust into London's bright lights when she was plucked from obscurity and placed in front of the camera lens six months ago.
Belfast, like Dublin, is getting a bit frisky with the promise of spring. Loads of music initiatives are being planned and the landscape is looking better than ever. The difference between the two social diaries is that Belfast stops having fun at the end of June, to allow the marching season to have its ruinous way. By the time we pull out of that regular mess, the summer is packing up and it s time to go indoors again.
Belfast, like Dublin, is getting a bit frisky with the promise of spring. Loads of music initiatives are being planned and the landscape is looking better than ever. The difference between the two social diaries is that Belfast stops having fun at the end of June, to allow the marching season to have its ruinous way. By the time we pull out of that regular mess, the summer is packing up and it s time to go indoors again.
Belfast, like Dublin, is getting a bit frisky with the promise of spring. Loads of music initiatives are being planned and the landscape is looking better than ever. The difference between the two social diaries is that Belfast stops having fun at the end of June, to allow the marching season to have its ruinous way. By the time we pull out of that regular mess, the summer is packing up and it s time to go indoors again.
THE INTERNET has already been utilised to flog every kind of consumer good imaginable, from cut-glass cutlery to left-handed monkey wrenches. Now, even portable commodes have got their own homepage, in the shape of the Bumper Dumper website.
The Bumper Dumper is a stand-alone toilet which can be taken on field trips such as hunting and fishing expeditions, or even on off-roading excursions.
"No more searching for the perfect bush to squat behind," says the on-site blurb. "No more squatting and finding out later it was poison ivy! No more falling off the unstable porta potty! No more concern for germs from public facilities!
"When you have to go . . . you CAN! And with the privacy curtain, you might forget that you are miles from home."
http://www.myfreeoffice.com/rsenterprises/ n
Our culture still hasn’t figured out how to deal with mortality, and experiments with a bewildering range of panaceas. But an encounter with death can be invigorating.
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
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
Over the past 12 months, The Mighty Boosh have made the transition from cult favourites to arena-filling icons. Noel Fielding chats to Ed Power about playing huge venues, his friend Russell Brand's recent difficulties, and borrowing clothes from Courtney Love.
Frank Hutchins, a well known connoisseur of hotel chic, checks himself into Dublin's latest home away from home The Horse and Carriage and finds much to his liking . . .
Opening this month with a volley of gigs from such rock 'n' roll A-Listers as Kings Of Leon, and Coldplay, the 14,500-capacity Dublin O2 looks like being one of the best venues in the world.
I phoned Monaghan and they were all out. Well, most of them anyway. And yet. And yet. The compass did yield a handful of musicians, with references to many more whom we valiantly attempted to locate, without success. Monaghan s best-known scions must surely be Paddy Cole and Big Tom.
You can very much hear the band gradually piecing together the constituent elements that would make Bleach such a bewitching sonic brew; the gonzo experimentation and guitar pyrotechnics of the ‘80s US underground, married to Cobain’s Beatles-like melodic sensibilities and, of course, that searing, indelible voice.
12 steps to help you take on the Portuguese city of Porto, with all the best hotels, restaurants, and hot spots. Plus, top travel news from around the world
On the face of it, Westmeath s made more of a name for itself in the bellylaugh stakes than in the annals of music. Still, scratch beneath the surface of any town or townland, and you ll be rivetted to your seat with musical anecdotes.
STUART CLARK travels to New York to see and hear ONEIDA - the best American band you haven't heard of, yet - and to take the eve of the millennium pulse of the city that never sleeps. Pics: PETER MATTHEWS.
They’ve embraced the big sound of America but The Killers still aren’t fully comfortable with the burdens of stardom, reveals frontman Brandon Flowers.
RTE2 have plenty of live music action to keep us placated for the next few weeks - here's the line up of bands and when to catch them. For more about the Other Voices series, click on the link at the very bottom.
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.
