One of the most iconic Irish musicians ever, Rory Gallagher died ten years ago, on June 14 1995. This month, he is commemorated with a comprehensive retrospective, Big Guns – The Very Best Of Rory Gallagher. His brother, Donal Gallagher, who was both manager and mentor to Rory, talks to Colm O’Hare about the work involved in compiling the album, the guitarist’s legacy – and the fascinating story of how he nearly joined the Rolling Stones.
Rory Gallagher tribute act Sinnerboy will play Dublin, Cork, Kilkenny and Dundalk in November, demonstrating the continuing appeal of the guitar hero's music.
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.
The 'Live at the Rockpalast' series of DVDs seem to be going down well in Germany, with Thin Lizzy's charting at number five and Rory Gallagher's shooting to the top of the music DVD charts
The tenth anniversary of Rory Gallagher's death will be honoured with a very special event in Ballyshannon, plus a Best Of album and a Gerry McAvoy autobiography
It was Wednesday June 14th, 1995, when the terrible news of Rory Gallagher’s death was first phoned through to the Hot Press office. In more ways than one, it was the end of an era. On Wednesday November 8th, a commemoration service was held at Brompton Oratory in London. The ceremony ended with a tribute, which was delivered by Niall Stokes, editor of Hot Press. As a special remembrance of Rory, on the 10th anniversary of his death, we reproduce here the full text of that tribute.
An online petition has been launched calling for Cork International Airport to be renamed Cork Rory Gallagher Airport in honour of the city’s favourite adopted son.
The first three albums scarcely need any new recommendation from me. For all that, the disc which makes this boxed set an absolute must-buy for all Rory Gallagher fans, is the splendidly titled Waiting For The G-Man.
A previously unreleased BBC Sessions CD and a video of the man in concert in his hometown, form the latest chapter in the posthumous story of the great RORY GALLAGHER. COLM O HARE has the details.
Rock fans are in for a special treat with the addition of a special Rory Gallagher Exhibition to the attractions at the Music Show, which takes place at the RDS on October 3 and 4.
Mercier Press have published Cork Rock-From Rory Gallagher to the Sultans of Ping, a book that tells the story of the growth of rock music in the City over the last five decades.
Rory Gallagher’s posthumous Wheels Within Wheels is a remarkable collection of previously unreleased acoustic material by Ireland’s guitar legend. It comes complete with a cover by the celebrated painter, David Oxtoby, that is certain to make a lasting impression.
Though Rory Gallagher has rightly earned his place in music history as a consummate blues player, by comparison his companions in Taste have been somewhat overlooked.
Mark McClelland was a feature and music writer for Cork's Evening Echo for four years. Here, he presents his top ten most significant musical acts to emerge from Cork.
From the legendary names of Van Morrison and Rory Gallagher, through local heroes like Rudi and Stump, to 21st Century Irish stars like Bell X1 and Snow Patrol, this album is definitely worthy of its name. An impressive trip through five decades of Irish Musical History indeed.
Donegal three-piece The Revs have in two short years become one of the country's most successful independent outfits, but, as Nadine O'Regan discovers, the majors are beckoning
This year's Olympics were one of the most fascinating ever. We sought the opinions of leading musicians and sports commentators on a memorable two weeks' action.
Martin Hutchinson is a native of Athy, now resident in Holland. Now Tell Me is his second album, a cool handed take on the blues with a distinctly Irish feel. The influence of Rory Gallagher is never far from the front line of Now Tell Me, especially on two tracks: the instrumental ‘Rory’ and the lament ‘So Rory’s Gone’ – unashamed homages to the great man.
The Answer have played to almost a million people on the current AC/DC tour. Not bad for an indie hard rock band from Norn Iron. Singer Cormac Neeson gives us the skinny on Angus Young’s love of Rory Gallagher, meeting Alice Cooper, and why Hunger is required tour bus viewing.
Those of us who always suspected Bell X1 of the denatured blandness that typified the genre they skirt will find in ‘Bigger Than Me’ a large, layered soft pop track that is cheerfully mordant, with more than a hint of Liam O’Maonlai. In ‘Still Selling Shoes’ we get neatly itemised observations of the mundane roles enjoyed by now legendary or indeed notorious Irish performers. Not many would shoehorn (ahem) Rory Gallagher and Ronan Keating into a song, and fewer still could make it work.
U2, Rory Gallagher, Van Morrison and Phil Lynott go postal this month as a new set of Irish commemorative postage stamps is released - and Hot Press get into the act with an also-commemorative four-cover special to match. As the man said, save 'em, swop 'em, collect 'em all
The news of Rory Gallagher s tragic death has sent seismic shock waves through the music world. Here was a man who managed to combine the gift of being an authentic creative genius with the even rarer gift of being a genuinely decent, honourable human being. Over the next six pages, Hot Press pays tribute to both the legend and the person, with contributions from the stars, friends, fans and colleagues who were touched by the Gallagher magic, and takes a trip through the backpages of an extraordinary career.
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.
Radio Ulster’s Donna Legge ensures there’s no punching below the belt as she and two of the north’s other leading DJs - Maurice Jay and Johnny Hero - come together to discuss the local music scene, on-air rows with James Galway and prank calls to Sellafield.
For the launch of his second album, UNDER THE MOON, MARTIN HAYES returned from his new home in Seattle to his native town of Feakle, deep in the heart of Clare. BILL GRAHAM travelled west to meet one of the musicians responsible for the resurgence in Irish music and discuss his roots in the local tradition, and speculate on the possibilities and conflicts opening up within the genre.
WIN a trip for 2 to NEW YORK CITY with $1,000 spending money OR a set of An Post Commemorative Rock Stamps commemorating the work of U2, Rory Gallagher and Thin Lizzy!
As the Summer festival season kicks in, our Nostalgia Correspondent recalls the heady, pioneering days of rock in the great Irish outdoors. Keep a hose handy.
For 25 years Music Maker have been a central force in the Irish instruments industry, their premises in Exchequer Street in Dublin a veritable musical mecca for international and Irish customers alike. Latterly they have expanded into distribution with MIDI (Musical Instrument Distribution Ireland) and were also involved in the initiative to create the permanent memorial to Rory Gallagher being unveiled this week. Jackie Hayden talked to the key players about the Music Maker success story, and even heard the one about the man with the child's organ!
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.
Adulation from teenage girls, encounters with Jack Osbourne and hi-jinks with coked-up prostitutes – Donegal rockers The Revs are starting to make a name for themselves in Britain and beyond.
Renowned Cork singer-songwriter John Spillane has joined forces with poet Louis de Paor as the bilingual Gaelic Hit Factory to prove that the Irish language can work in a contemporary context. Jackie Hayden investigates.
Following on from Hot Press' extensive polling of musicians around Ireland, we herewith present The 100 Greatest Irish Albums Of All Time as voted by You, the population of hotpress.com
Playing Live at the Marquee on Sunday June 24: Lock up your housewives. Ireland’s most eligible bachelors, Podge & Rodge, are on the road and looking for love.
In 2007, Hot Press will celebrate its 30th anniversary. By way of a prelude to the up-coming festivities, at Music Ireland ‘06, we will be unveiling the Hot Press Covers Exhibition featuring a selection of the great, and historic images that have adorned the front page of the magazine, from June 1977 onwards...
Christy Moore, who headlines this year’s rejuvenated Lisdoonvarna Festival, recalls the first flowering of music festivals in Ireland – and looks forward to this year’s event, when once again the challenge will be to weave that spell
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.
That was the original headline, back in November 1985, when Tony O'Donoghue - now best known as a presenter on RTE radio - spoke to Joe O'Herlihy (sound engineer with U2, we called him) about the torturous life of the roadie for the following year's Hot Press Yearbook. This is what went down . . .
Incendiary Irish-American rabble rousers black 47 are coming to town for a couple of Irish shows later this month. liam fay talks to band mainman larry kirwan about those two eagerly-awaited dates, as well as their new album, Green Suede Shoes.
Add The Revs to the list of comeback kings. They might not have been apart for as long as The Police, or even The Verve, but they too are back with a bang this summer with a new Irish tour.
Radio has studiously ignored it but that doesn’t mean that Republic Of Loose’s ‘Girl i’m gonna fuck you up’ isn’t the best Irish single of the year. Tanya Sweeney meets the Dublin boys who just want to have fun.
Radio has studiously ignored it but that doesn’t mean that Republic Of Loose’s ‘girl i’m gonna fuck you up’ isn’t the best Irish single of the year. Tanya Sweeney meets the Dublin boys who just want to have fun.
Radio has studiously ignored it but that doesn’t mean that Republic Of Loose’s ‘Girl i’m gonna fuck you up’ isn’t the best Irish single of the year. Tanya Sweeney meets the Dublin boys who just want to have fun.
NIALL STOKES takes a very personal journey back through the music and memories of a friendship with a man he was proud to have known
THE DRIVE to Cork was a lonely one. Ry Cooder on the deck, that sweet slide guitar shooting off tracers: the memories, stacked up like a vast
rack of on-line CDs, kept slipping in and out of the engagement slot. No need ever to press the play button. Now and then I had to hold back the
tears as the music of past friendship flooded the car and, with it, a terrible awareness of all the things that might have, but hadn't, been done.
You're right, that's the not so original headline that we used when Jackie Hayden - who signed U2 to CBS Records in Ireland in 1978 and is now General Manager with Hot Press - spoke to the bearded one about further adventures at the Fab Four's mixing desk, and his growing involvement in
Súlán Studios in Cork.
Premier County natives the Corrigan Brothers are currently the darlings of YouTube with their single There’s No-One As Irish As Barack Obama. Edwin McFee catches up with singer Ger to talk about dodgy rock bands, Roy Keane and, um, ladyboys.
With preparations well underway for Cork city’s hosting of the European City Of Culture festivities in 2005, the indigenous music scene is already rising to the challenge
Nope, it’s not a Jim Morrison tribute; it’s an initiative which sees musicians such as The Blizzards, Neosupervital, Julie Feeney, Roesy and Brian Palm design a special set of doors.
30th Anniversary Retrospective: In a special interview, The Edge reminisces about the early days of Hotpress, explains Bill Graham’s role in U2’s development, and comes clean about what the band have been up to recently in Morocco.
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.
Bob Geldof recently received the freedom of the city of Dublin. But three decades ago, when Geldof first crashed the Irish entertainment scene, with his band, The Boomtown Rats, he was a thorn in the side of both politicians and priests in a notoriously conservative country.
He’s played with The Corrs and was a member of the real-life Commitments. CONOR BRADY talks about life as one of the great unsung mainstays of Irish rock and roll. photos Ruth Medjber
Formerly, by his own admission, a perfectionist, an arch-worrier and an all-round uptight individual, Paul Brady is slowly but surely learning how to relax. As his Full Moon album rises, John Waters takes a long, close look at Paul Brady in a new light.
The second day of the Music Show brought together James Bond composer David Arnold, Enya producer Nicky Ryan, Christy Moore, Sharon Corr and... The Blizzards
Throughout the '90s and beyond, The Frank And Walters were effectively a lone beacon for Cork rock. But over the last year all that changed, with the emergence of an exciting new scene in the city, centred around the Cork Rocks phenomenon. If the momentum can be maintained, there's enough outstanding young bands strutting their stuff to ensure that the city by the Lee becomes the focus for unprecedented A&R interest.
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.
With the launch of a commemorative series of Irish postage stamps celebrating four of the nation's most important rock legends, we revisit some of the seminal moments in the careers of Phil Lynott, Rory Gallagher, Van Morrison and - first - U2
It is 15 years, almost to the day, since sound engineer JOE O'HERLIHY did his first gig with U2. SIOBHÁN LONG profiles the man with the longest beard in rock'n'roll (well, nearly) . . .
As the management force behind Boyzone, Westlife and Samantha Mumba, LOUIS WALSH is Ireland s Mr. Pop. In a candid interview with Joe Jackson he talks about his relationships with his acts, the ones that got away, the importance of the producer, the uselessness of critics and why he s unlikely to end up managing Van Morrison. Portraits: Cathal Dawson
The quadruple-covered collector's edition of your favourite mag is dangerously close to selling out nationwide - so we need your help restocking while it lasts. Yes there IS something in it for you, since you ask
Arriving in Dublin in the last sixties as a 16 year old guitar wunderkind, Belfast born Gary Moore embarked on a musical career that has seen him go through several metamorphoses and achieve numerous notable success in the process.
And that s just the band! Galway s finest, The Stunning, take time out from sticking pins in themselves as their debut album Paradise In The Picturehouse finds itself perched atop the Irish charts to explain the secret of their success to an attentive Michael O Hara, who undergoes a road to Damascus experience en route.
Fermanagh is a county that s accommodated a rake of musical traditions both past and present. Split by the sibling lakes of Upper and Lower Lough Erin, Fermanagh s musical identity is as diverse as her geography, to the extent that at times there s little or no crossover in musical style from north to south of the county and vice versa.
John Walshe had a ringside seat for all the music, speeches, laughs and tears that made the 2002 hotpress Irish Music Awards in Belfast a night to remember.
In 1991, five years after the death of Phil Lynott, the late Bill Graham wrote in Hot Press of Philo's enduring legacy. Over ten years later his words are as relevant as ever
Stuart Clark, whose middle name is “Intrepid”, recently spent 48 hours on tour with PET LAMB, grindpopcore merchants extraordinaire. His liver and tympanic membranes survived intact, and after a mere six weeks recuperation, he filed this report.
The old fashioned virtues of talent and charisma, combined with the latest innovations in media technology, look set to make JACK L Ireland's first superstar of the new millennium. JOHN WALSHE has the inside story on a man who is about to get to The Point.
The old fashioned virtues of talent and charisma, combined with the latest innovations in media technology, look set to make JACK L Ireland s first superstar of the new millennium. JOHN WALSHE has the inside story on a man who is about to get to The Point.
Promoter Jim Aiken, who passed away recently, was a hugely important and universally admired figure in the Irish music scene. Here, leading industry representatives pay tribute. (free content)
With his upwardly mobile CV and flash lifestyle trappings, VIP publisher JOHN RYAN looks like the personification of the Celtic Tiger at its most all-consuming. Not so, says the man himself, believing he has paid a high personal price for his business success. But can he take the flak as calmly as he dishes it out? JOE JACKSON finds out. Pictures: Colm Henry
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.
Long before boomtime Ireland there was boomtown Ireland, a country where the national symbol was not a tiger but a rat. to coincide with the release of the best of the boomtown rats, Bob Geldof looks back to the tepid Irish scene of the mid-’70s from which the rats emerged, biting, snarling and laughing, to take on the establishment, Britain and, almost, the world.
With a new 'best of' bringing the band's story up to date U2's guitar man steps forward to riff on good times and bad, the private life of a public figure, discovering the secrets of the universe on mushrooms and why, after all these years, few things match the high of being a member of U2.
Special hotpress.com members edition: "director's cut" featuring interview sections unavailable anywhere else.
Graham Knuttel talks about his fight with the bottle, his friendship with Sylvester Stallone and why he doesn’t want to be surrounded by his own paintings.
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
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’s a different world than it used to be! In this special extended birthday column, The Hog takes a necessarily selective – and typically colourful – look at the 30 most important influences on the process of change that has brought this country all the way from there to… well, where else but here?
Are Bono and the boys just a really good rock band or have they succeeded where the priests and politicians have failed and unlocked the neuroses of our colonial past? Joe Jackson indulges in a spot of cultural sparring with John Waters and finds the author of Race of Angels: Ireland and the Genesis of U2 well able to maintain his guard.
We arrived just in time for Ham Sandwich – soft vibes, floating vocals, bass-player with the best rhythmic leg scratch in Ireland. It might have been the midges.
By the banks of the Lee, Christy Moore and Declan Sinnott paid homage to Cork-born songwriters by interspersing a set of Christy classics like 'Lisdoonvarna' and 'Nancy Spain' with great covers including 'Magic Nights At The Lobby Bar' by John Spillane and 'The Contender' by Jimmy McCarthy.
Uncompromisingly quirky and at times downright odd, Turner has always been refreshingly honest and true to his skewed musical vision. His brand of artisitic singularity has come with a price and though he has been churning out album after album to growing acclaim, commercial success has eluded him.
New York blues prodigy JOE BONAMASSA is making a name as one of the hottest young guitar-slingers in the West. With a Dublin visit on the way, he's foaming at the mouth at the prospect of visiting Rory Gallagher's home country.
Awards by the dozen, celebrities wall-to-wall, gobsmacking world exclusives and of course, great music: it can only be the Hot Press Irish Music Awards. Only 24 hours to go - here's how it's all shaping up
Both these albums serve a valuable purpose in giving new bands a vehicle to be heard, but more attention in the quality control departments would stop the true gems suffering in the presence of the merely mundane.
He's been languishing in the undergrowth for way too long. But Lonnie Donegan has emerged from the shadows with a mighty fine album, a calling card to be proud of, especially when he comes knocking on the doors of an entire generation who missed out on the delights of 'My Old Man's A Dustman'.
Album number three sees them progress to such a startling extent that they have a right to believe both critical acclaim and commercial success will follow.
Tributes have been pouring in, to one of the most important figures in the Irish music industry over the past fifty years, the concert promoter Jim Aiken, who died yesterday (free content)
You look up 'skiffle' in the Chambers 20th Century Dictionary and it says "a strongly accented jazz type of folk music, played by guitar, drums and often unconventional instruments etc. popular about 1957".
...here's the Hot Press Irish Music Awards, and a massive bash avec much live music is pencilled in for Belfast in April. Read on for the categories and nominees in full
IT’S BEEN a strange month. Hot Press has been at the centre of controversies before – but never quite like this! Elsewhere in this issue, we cross swords with Eoghan Harris and the Sunday Times regarding an issue of defamation.
Today sees the first unveiling of the complete Hot Press Covers Exhibition online, featuring a selection of the great and historic images that have adorned the front page of the magazine, from June 1977 onwards
When the Northern powder keg went off, the conflict was painted as an ethno-religious one, rather than as a clash of political principles. But what was really going on remains unfinished business...
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
Mother Records' expansion plans receive another major boost with former Sugarcube Bjork signing to the label for all European territories excluding the UK. Mother will also be handling Irish distribution for The Levellers and are about to release a new 12" by Bumble, suggesting that earlier reports of their demise were decidedly premature . . .
We go retro in 2002 with special collectors editions featuring Elvis and Rory Gallagher (not together, you understand). And we've covers with The White Stripes, Coldplay, Foo Fighters, and more.
1995 had us gaga about Courtney love, PJ Harvey, Tindersticks, R.E.M., Blur, Whipping Boy and, em... Star Trek. Plus, our Rory Gallagher memorial issue.
Volume 1 - 1977-78 and will be unveiling a new volume every few days between now and the end of the year. The complete collection will take you through both a musical and a social journey. "Across the swamps of time," as Mr. Dylan had it in 'If Dogs Run Free'...
So, here's the evolution of rock 'n' roll in images. Cast your eyes over the stark black-and-white cover featuring Rory Gallagher, in front of a cast of reprobates (we're talking about the guys seated around the cabinet table) on the very first HP - a Macroom Festival Special, which hit the streets in June 1977.
Volume three of our Hot Press covers collection features classic images of Bowie, Rory Gallagher, the Boomtown Rats, Stiff Little Fingers, Thin Lizzy, the Undertones and much, much more...
And the prize for most unexpected cover star goes to.... Margaret Thatcher. No, really! And we've got The Pogues, Rory Gallagher, Nanci Griffith, Keith Richards, Fleetwood Mac and Zig and Zag, interviewed by Mr Graham Linehan!
Have a listen to our exclusive playlist of some of our favourite Northern acts who are appearing on July 25 at the small but massive Glasgowbury festival in Draperstown, County Derry.
Now that American rock ’n’ roll has succumbed to its self-destructive urges and with its British counterpart reduced to self-indulgent navel exercises, the stage is now set for the radical rejuvenation of Irish music both as an international commercial viability and as a cultural touchstone for the new generation at home. Bill Graham meets philip king, the captain of the flagship of the latest revival river of sound, and finds that in the wake of the Riverdance phenomenon, it’s full steam ahead for Irish trad. Pix: NUTAN.
Neil McCormick, a friend of U2 in their earliest days, who, as a writer, has closely monitored their progress since then, analyses Eamon Dunphy's much-touted 'authorised' biography "Unforgettable Fire" – and can't quite believe what he reads
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.
