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.
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
The current issue of Hot Press includes an exclusive interview with The Edge in which he talks about meeting Michael Jackson, the singer's death, criticism of U2 in Ireland, blogging and the controversy over U2’s carbon footprint. He also gives a unique insider’s view of how U2’s 360º Tour works.
In The Time Of Shaking opens this week at the Irish Museum of Modern Art, with special guests Yoko Ono and The Edge lending their high profile support to the Art for Amnesty exhibition
Getting home early from the pub is recommended tonight as Harry Enfield and Paul Whitehouse debut their new sketch show, Ruddy Hell! It’s Harry And Paul, at 9.30pm on BBC One.
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.
Fr Shay Cullen, an Irish Columban Missionary priest, tells Jason O’Toole about falling in love, the battle against corruption in the Philipines, the scourge of western sex tourism – and why the Irish government isn’t doing enough to protect children from paedophiles.
DESMOND HOGAN'S fight against both indifference and hostility towards his homosexuality has led him to Dublin, London, Berlin, North Yemen and the USA. Along the way he's produced *The Edge of the City* a collage of his observations on different cities, which is how he finds himself in the company of Joe Jackson.
The Edge talks to Bill Graham about his soundtrack album "Captive" - and about the hidden reservoirs the band are charting in their search for the follow-up to "The Unforgettable Fire"
Damien Dempsey is back in town after a five month stint Down Under. Hot Press catches up with the Dublin balladeer as he kicks off a 50-date Irish tour, taking in Electric Picnic along the way. He talks about the success of his Rocky Road To Dublin covers record, the thrill of bestriding Croke Park – and having Bono and The Edge checking him out in Sallynoggin!
Nearly a decade after the release of their debut single, U2 are widely regarded as the No. 1 rock band in the world. But the album and the film "Rattle And Hum" depict another kind of reality entirely. Larry, Adam and The Edge talk to Niall Stokes.
DISCO PIGS stars, CILLIAN MURPHY and ELAINE CASSIDY, tell CRAIG FITZSIMONS about how they were drawn to the intense relationship and Cork patois of Pig and Runt
It s taken ten years, but AGNELLI & NELSON have finally made it to the top of the DJ pile with their Hudson St. album. COLIN CARBERRY meets the Ulster dance merchants whose superstar fans include U2
With their biggest dates ever in Ireland looming, LIAM MACKEY dips into voluminous hotpress archives and selects a small sample of what the paper said about U2 over the years
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 .
For many people it is U2's greatest album. Twenty years on, to mark it's re-release, Colm O'Hare talks to Daniel Lanois and reflects on the extraordinary background to a monumental album.
While the entity that is U2 continues to be the dominant focus in the creative lives of its four members, away from the band, Bono, The Edge, Adam and Larry have all indulged in extra-curricular activities, bringing them – and their music - into contact with such legends as Bob Dylan, Robbie Robertson, Keith Richards, and Roy Orbison, By Dermot Stokes
On a fleeting visit to Dublin the legendary Jack White sat down with Hot Press' Stuart Clark to discuss his past life as an upholsterer, jamming with Bob Dylan. Jimmy Page and The Edge and going for dinner with Loretta Lynne.
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.
n a career spanning 25 years in the glare of the stagelight, CHRISTY MOORE has known every emotion from insecurity, despair and vilification to adulation, triumph and the warm glow of creative fulfilment. He has dabbed in drugs, drink to excess, suffered a heart attack for his troubles and made some of the finest records that have ever been subjected to critical scrutiny in this country. Now, in a frighteningly honest interview, he tells it like it is and was. Cross-examination: JOE JACKSON. Microscopic camerawork: COLM HENRY.
In time for our birthday issue, The Edge talks exclusively to Peter Murphy about 30 years of Ireland's premier music mag, and reveals that they're working on a "project" rather than a new album.
Iconic memorabilia belonging to Bono and The Edge helped to raise €1.8 million in an auction to benefit musicians left with nothing after Hurricane Katrina.
Art of gold: the opening gig of Neil Young's three-night stand at Vicar St makes Bono, The Edge, Ronnie Wood and of course your correspondent Stuart Clark swoon. Photo: Mick Quinn
‘Ghostdriver’ finds Hagelstein in darker than usual mode: the title track’s sharp, angular rhythms and metallic drums play host to menacing, claustrophobic FX and a break down that pushes the track over the edge and into insanity.
This remix release would be stronger without Speakwave’s aggressive industrial version of ‘Hydrogen Bonding’: Alexander Robotnick delivers a DJ-friendly Italo remix of ‘Midnight Moroder’ and Marco Passarani tips ‘Acid Bosons’ over the edge and into a world of 303 mayhem.
Stop press! Song in rerecorded-version-better-than-original shocker! While the track from Through The Window Pane sounded like a Christmas bid for No. 1 – and we know how dire they are – they’ve beefed up the production whilst losing none of the track’s better qualities. The result is a pop song that’s as leftfield as you could get without tipping over the edge of the earth, and a fantastic choice of single.
‘Click..Click..Boom!’ sounds for all the world like it should be a hip-hop track and there is a certain swagger and assurance at work here. Musically, this is a duet that sits on the edge of darkness and a track that places itself firmly in the eye of the storm. Producer Karl Odlum continues to bring out the best in Ham Sandwich (b-side‘Song In D’ is, to be honest, equally good) and there is a sense that they could take this anywhere they please. Best new Irish band? At the moment they’re a shoo in.
From the moment the crash of Director’s instruments build to a wall of sound you know you’re in for something truly special. ‘Reconnect’ is one of the most impressive and intelligently constructed Irish debuts in an age. In parts as po-faced as Interpol, it is at its heart an abashed pop song fed astutely through new wave punk. Frontman Michael Moloney exudes an effortless cool with his sharp vocal delivery whilst those around him serve to make this one of the most exciting pieces of guitar music to come out of Ireland since The Edge struck the last chord of ‘Out Of Control’. Were it not for those pesky Flaming Lips, single of the fortnight without a doubt.
It only took Jay Haze and Samim, aka Fuckpony, a few months to write and record 'Children', but its underlying themes are the result of two lives spent on the edge. Haze and Samim's troubled experiences - including stints living homeless in San Francisco and selling LSD while touring with the Grateful Dead - are not obvious from the predominant musical soundtrack, an unusual mixture of deep old school house and wiry minimalism. However, scratch beneath the surface and cautionary tales like 'Cell Phone Hit' and 'Make Money Hoe' reveal the darker side of life. Their story probably warrants a good book or film, but until Sodebergh comes calling, we'll make do with 'Children'.
Springsteen's Irish love affair resumes in July, with a deluxe edition of Working On A Dream now available, and a Darkness On The Edge Of Town box-set in the works...
If there’s one thing that’s worse than a deathly dull sports movie, it’s a deathly dull American sports movie. Now dwell for a moment on the worst of this benighted genre (Hoosiers aka Best Shot may well have the edge here) and double it. That’s where Coach Carter’s at.
Baxter inhabits a soundscape very much of the moment, with lots of atmospheric noises, shuffling rhythms and shifting arrangements that have you on the edge of your seat for most of the album
In a ten-years-after-Kurt Cobain piece entitled ‘When The Edge Moved To The Middle’ published in the New York Times recently, Sonic Youth’s Thurston Moore made a point of dispelling alt-rock nostalgia by declaring: “You wouldn’t know it now by looking at MTV, with its scorn-metal buffoons and Disney-damaged pop idols, but the underground scene Kurt came from is more creative and exciting than it’s ever been.
The Hype are one of countless brave bands struggling to make headway with no money to spend on recording and saddled with a manager in a similar plight
Unpredictability was always Townes' middle name. Just when you thought he was giving it heaps, he'd zip off into the stratosphere, not to be found for days - or weeks even. And A Far Cry From Dead is his postcard from the edge. Funny thing is, it's more polished and poised than anything he recorded while he shuffled on this mortal coil.
Meet the new Boss - not the same as the old Boss! Or is he? When you think about it, this is quite possibly the least surprising album of Springsteen’s entire career. Despite his glory days as a rocker beyond compare circa Born To Run/Darkness On The Edge Of Town, he has always been a folk artist, in spirit if not in deed.
Darkness At The Edge Of Town was the album when Bruce Springsteen and his repertory of characters finally grew up. Which makes it a hard act to follow.
Bono, Adam and Larry. Not to mention the self-styled King Boogaloo himself, Mr B. P. Fallon, whose new book U2: Faraway So Close offers an intimate visual and verbal diary of the band’s world-record shattering ZOO TV tour. For good measure the, um, also self-styled Mr Ramalama talks about Jimi Hendrix and the Mafia connection, toting guns with Tone Loc, giving Little Richard a hard-on, and other little, um, side voyages into other territories, man. Er, tape recorder thingy: Joe Jackson.
An escalation of violence within certain deprived pockets of the Travelling community has provoked a Garda clampdown that many regard as heavy-handed. Meanwhile, despite some notable efforts to improve cross-community relations, Travellers must continue to cope with discrimination, alienation and a growing accommodation crisis. Mic Moroney reports on a people struggling to survive in the shadow of the Celtic Tiger.
It was lost in the heart of a crowd, where recollections grow wild with fancy. Caught in a ... a ... landslide, a light show, a movement, a positive noise, ayee-haw, a whoopee cushion of gigantic proportions, and ...
1980s heroes Echo And The Bunnymen have pulled off the seemingly impossible - they ve made a credible, well-received comeback. Interview: peter murphy.
Opening our U2 special, DERMOD MOORE catches up with ADAM CLAYTON during the UK leg of the Elevation tour, and delves deep into the physics of music celebrity, politics and, er, penises
Victor Bartley is on the edge - publicly humiliated by criticism of his son's ailing TV show, he has had enough. Once a successful showband manager in Ireland, he is now a sad resentful alcoholic. He bears most of this resentment towards the rock star Richie Earls, one of Ireland's rock and roll elite who has everything that Victor wants... But now Victor has what Richie wants... Murder, menace and middlemen from a great new Irish talent. Let the music begin...
They toured the world throughout the ‘70s, earning rave notices from Bono, The Edge and Melvin Bragg, upsetting the clergy, terrifying the American public in the company of Blue Oyster Cult and the J Geils Band and out-glamming even Bowie with their flamboyant sartorial taste. With a new DVD on the way and much speculation about a possible tour, legendary Celtic rockers Horslips here talk to Hot Press about a decade of adventure, decadence and great music.
U2 are about to unleash their new album How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb. The world’s media are descending on Dublin. And Bono is back at the punch-bag, getting into fighting shape before the shit storm really explodes. The gloves are off. He’s got work to do. And he’s going to do it. Words Stuart Clark, additional reporting by Niall Stokes.
He has one or two other things going on at the moment, but if The Edge happens to be free on the first day of the Electric Picnic there’s a good chance you’ll find him and his wooly hat front of stage for reformed post-punks Magazine.
He may be better known as manager of The Corrs – but John Hughes has been a musician for well over 30 years. Besides, with a US top 50 album to his credit in the 1980s, his new record – the remarkable Wild Ocean – is just the latest instalment in an extraordinary journey that has taken him close to the edge and back. interview: Niall Stokes
At the tender age of seventeen, Dubliner Sinéad O'Connor packed up Ton Ton Macoute, packed her bags and headed for London. Two years on she's had a few close shaves, recorded with the Edge and is on the verge of seriously launching her career with an album in January. Interview: Molly McAnailly Burke.
Steve Lillywhite, who produced U2's first three albums – and has featured on the production team of almost all of their records – looks back over the band's career and recalls the highs... and the lows
Every hip indie musician is namechecking (and soundchecking) Gang Of Four these days. But there’s more to the band than scratchy guitars and funky rhythms – as guitarist Andy Gill tells us, their unique sound was forged during a time of musical innovation and political radicalism.
YOU CAN pretty much guess what was said at the first editorial meeting.
We re going to produce a magazine like Loaded, except without the humour, irony and people who possess a modicum of journalistic talent.
The Police's reformation is the reunion they said would never happen, and according to guitarist Andy Summers the band is still the same mix of egos and visionaries.
PFM! Tolkien! Tales from Topographic Oceans! Myths and legends of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table! On ice!!! Yes, what fun we had back in the good old days of Prog Rock. GEORGE BYRNE outs himself as a recovered progster and recalls the glory days in the company of CHRIS SQUIRE from YES.
Jim Sturgess has attracted plenty of attention for his pin-up good looks and ability to master accents. He’s now further proved his diversity by adopting a Northern Irish brogue for high octane Belfast thriller 50 Dead Men Walking
MARK KAVANAGH reports on the continuing controversy over the awarding of Dublin's dance radio licence, while, below, EAMON SWEENEY, looks at the still- vibrant world of pirate broadcasting.
MARK KAVANAGH reports on the continuing controversy over the awarding of Dublin's dance radio licence, while, below, EAMON SWEENEY, looks at the still- vibrant world of pirate broadcasting.
U2 and Ash played Belfast to support the Yes Vote in the Belfast Agreement. Hot Press columnist Stuart Bailie was the compére for the evening. And it rocked, big style.
Declan Lynch's acclaimed account of an alcoholic coming to terms with his self-destructive past has been adapted for the stage and is proving to be a hit all over again.
Akron singer-songwriter Tim Easton has just settled in Alaska, a place where people “go mad or die”. Thankfully, he’s still alive and sane enough to tell the tale.
American singer-songwriter SHAWN COLVIN explains that her fourth and latest album A Few Small Repairs is about more than just her recent marital breakdown. Interview: JOE JACKSON
"The Joshua Tree" clarifies how U2's vocation has become the revival and renewal of rock and the recovery of its most romantic values. It also highlights the group's new commitment to the song. Review by Bill Graham
The taut, stripped-down techno of Berlin's Get Physical is at the bleeding edge of contemporary dance music. Now the label has released its first mix album.
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
Doctor John may be renowned as a laid-back Big Easy legend, but get him started on the Federal Government's treatment of his beloved New Orleans and he spits nails.
Hunter S. Thompson gets the biopic treatment he deserves courtesy of Oscar-winning director Alex Gibny who wants to remind the world just how important a social commentator the Great Gonzo was.
Sigur Rss are the latest highly-rated Icelandic export. They talk to PETER MURPHY about ambition, inventing their own language and the showband circuit
NO DOUBT word has reached you of the zealous young man who hot-footed it into the lions’ enclosure at London Zoo brandishing a bible and promptly got severely mauled for his efforts.
NIALL STANAGE identifies the contenders in the race to put a new youth-oriented radio station on air in Dublin and speaks to FIONA McLOUGHLIN and DONAL SCANNELL, CEO and Head of Music respectively at FUSE FM, one of the applicants.
He’s the hottest thing in boxing and has been tipped as a future world champion. Recently Amir Khan was in King’s Hall Belfast for a lightweight bout with Laszlo Komjathi of Hungary. Francis Jones was in the audience.
You know him as the straight-talking turkey and Eurovision contender. But, in the confines of his 'pad', Dustin also turns out to be quite the indie rock connoisseur.
While 2004 has not been an especially spectacular year to date, there is good reason to believe that rocks big guns are likely to deliver the kind of records that will revive spirits in the industry. Chris Donovan previews some of the albums that are likely to top the sales – and the critical – charts before 2004 is out...
UK white hopes mansun have toned down their visual image but their music remains as defiantly maverick and angular as ever. Interview: deirdre cartmill.
Claudia Carroll is a busy actress and author, but she still allows our Jackie Hayden the time of day, gives him a hot scoop and introduces him to her haunted room.
Hosting his own chat-show, running away with the circus and wrestling David O’Doherty whilst swathed in bubblewrap – it’s all in a day’s work for Irish comedy’s busiest performer, Jason Byrne.
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
Hot Press’ senior art aficionado, john m. farrell, reviews the main attraction currently on s how at the Irish Museum of Modern Art and argues that the title of the exhibition may in fact be a misnomer.
CRAIG FITZSIMONS talks to KURT JONES and DAVID KELLY, writer/director and star respectively, of Waking Ned, a gentle comedy set in Ireland, but shot in the Isle of Man. Pics Cathal dawson.
Back with another volume of Woody Guthrie songs, BILLY BRAGG talks to Siobhan Long about supersonic boogie, the act of collaboration and why Tony Blair s Labour Party still has his respect.
RICHARD THOMPSON s new album Mock Tudor consolidates his position as one
of the most articulate and influential songwriters around. GEORGE BYRNE met him.
“Come up and see my snails sometime,” is hardly the best chat-up line ever coined, but an undaunted Jackie Hayden decides to brave all and call on Today FM jockette Ann-Marie Kelly.
While one Irish Ronan is currently attempting to break the US market, another already has. COLM O'HARE meets RONAN HARDIMAN, the music composer behind Michael Flatley’s successes and discovers a considerable solo talent
GREEN DAY have had a meteoric rise over the last 18 years, from poky Dublin dives to colossal international stadia. But despite their maturing worldview and increasing political articulacy, they’re still as exciting a kick-ass punk rock group as ever.
He’s the DIY pop genius who, in the space of a year, has gone from stacking the fruit shelves at Marks & Sparks to masterminding Kylie’s next record. Meet Calvin Harris the bedsit wunder-kind.
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.
David bickley, aka Mobius of hyper[borea], tells Olaf Tyaransen about dance music as gaeilge, Bronze Age atmospheres and how he came to throw his Hot Press Award off a cliff.
In the following pages, hear about Bono's top secret solo album; meet The Joshua Trio, the band whose mission is to bring U2's music to a wider audience; thrill to an appreciation of The Fab Four in their native tongue; and, last but not least, discover The Greatest U2 Fan Letter Ever Written! And, remember, don't believe everything you read...
Journalist NEIL McCORMICK was a schoolmate of BONO when U2 were taking baby steps. Over the past 25 years their paths have frequently crossed, inevitably in rather more exotic circumstances than a classroom. As another year draws to a close, they meet up again: the result is an unusually intimate portrait of a man who came not to save the world but to serenade it. Plus: a close-up look at some of the most striking songs on All That You Can t Leave Behind
As Beck contemplates a belated sequel to Odelay, feel free to ask him any old question you like – just as long as it isn’t about that recent break-up with his long-time girlfriend. Oh, and make sure you don’t have the sniffles. Nadine O’Regan packs a hankie
Indie-hit Once director John Carney talks to Tara Brady about how to make an Irish musical, while star Glen Hansard confesses he was pleasantly surprised at the film’s success.
Colm O’Hare talks to Kerry King, guitarist with thrash-metal outfit Slayer, and discovers that under that murderous, violent exterior lies a great big pussy cat . . . almost.
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.
When Tommy Tiernan held court in the Hot Press Chat Room at Electric Picnic recently, he had no idea the kind of shit storm that would unfold. During what was in effect a spontaneous, unscripted live performance – not unlike an appearance on The Late Late Show that also sparked controversy – he told a story about a couple of Jews who reproached him after a performance in New York. The result? He has been accused of anti-semitism and widely vilified. But those who know Tiernan are quite clear that the accusations are completely wrong. So – in order to allow people to judge for themselves – here is the full text of the Chat Room interview.
Having undergone a punishing regime of drink, drugs and debauchery during Guns N’ Roses’ heyday, few thought that iconic guitar-slinger Slash would ever again venture out into the mainstream rock arena. But having put together a motley crew of collaborators in Velvet Revolver, he’s now back at No. 1 in the album charts and rocking harder than ever.
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) . . .
It s been a long, long way from there to here and DONAL LUNNY has been at the centre of things every step of the journey. He has achieved enormous acclaim and considerable success with Planxty, The Bothy Band and Moving Hearts. Now with the launch of his latest band and their eponymously titled album COOLFIN, he takes time out to reflect on all of the major figures who have contributed to the extraordinary revival of folk and traditional music that has taken place over the past 30 years. He also recalls the highs and the lows the heartbreak, the good times and the great music that he himself has enjoyed as one of Ireland s finest and most influential musicians. Interview: Niall Stokes. Pics: Colm Henry
LIAM FAY investigates the strange phenomenon of the RAINBOW PARTY, a pseudo-democratic movement dedicated to the abolition of politics and politicians , and meets its leader, the enigmatic RAINBOW GEORGE.
We asked the fans to vote for U2's Greatest Hits and they did - in their thousands. The result is a selection of 20 tracks which, without doubt, would combine to produce a record to rank among the weightiest and most powerful anthologies in the history of rock. The full track listing is not without its controversial selections and omissions, however. Bill Graham and Niall Stokes take us through the fans' vision of the fab four's dream album.
Niall Stokes draws on his best-selling book Into The Heart: The Stories Behind The Songs Of U2 to offer a unique insight into the way in which some of the greatest songs in the history of popular music came into being.
Amid rumours and press reports that his career could be at an end, Larry Mullen reveals the truth about the extent of an injury to his hand that is becoming a common problem for rock drummers. Interview: Niall Stokes
In a rare interview, Simpsons writer Mike Scully talks about the show’s A-list musical guests, his love for Ned Flanders and upsetting the entire population of Brazil. He also tells us what to expect from The Simpsons Movie, which blockbusters its way onto the big screen in the summer.
...or was it? U2's recent Irish dates were greeted with everything from wide-eyed adoration to open hostility. BILL GRAHAM was in the crowd at Pairc Uí Caoimh and the RDS and puts the Zoo TV experience into perspective. Pix: COLM HENRY
Musical trends come and go but the blues continues to thrive. In Ireland, the scene is now stronger than ever. With her reputation growing internationally, Mary Stokes talks about her role as a performer - and her friendships with numerous blues legends. Oh, and Van Morrison's birth sign!
Well when you've conquered the world, what else can the biggest band on the planet do except go into space? BONO and LARRY discuss matters cosmic and personal with Olaf Tyaransen
As U2 gear up for the release of No Line On The Horizon, they meet HP to talk about the creation of their latest masterwork, meeting world leaders, the way they’re perceived in Ireland, the current state of the music business and their future plans.
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
He’s collaborated with Bono, Mick Jagger, and Destiny’s Child, hung out with Bill Clinton and co-wrote the biggest selling rap album of all time. but that’s only the beginning. The multi-talented Wyclef Jean here discusses George W. Bush, the death of his father and why Michael Jackson might not be such a strange guy after all
Giant lemons, 100ft toothpicks and enough lights to put Las Vegas on full-scale UFO alert. Helena Mulkerns watches with gob well and truly smacked as U2's PopMart extravaganza opens for business at the Sam Boyd Stadium.
Pix: All Action
In the magical, wind-swept landscape of Ireland's remote north-west the cameras roll as U2's Bono and Maire of Clannad make the video for their collaborative single "In A Lifetime". Bill Graham joins the entourage at work and at play and talks to the main protagonists.
Jeff Buckley, fresh from his recent triumphant gig in Whelan’s, and with his debut album Grace just released, tells Patrick Brennan why he doesn’t want to live or die in L.A., how Cooney and Begley are getting on in New York and about why he needed therapy after meeting Bob Dylan!
On the occasion of the first Irish screening of Nagisa Oshima’s Ai No Corrida (In The Realm Of The senses), banned for 18 years because of its explicit sex scenes involving lead actor Tatsuya Fujii’s hardcore hard-on’s, Neil McCormick takes a ride through the history of the ’members’ of the film world’s penis colony and while he’s ‘at it’, talks to film sexpert David Sullivan about the ever narrowing gap between the porn film industry and mainstream cinema.
As host of her own show on Network 2, CLARE McKEON is no stranger to controversy. Here she talks frankly to OLAF TYARANSEN about abortion, drugs, motherhood and her legendary temper.
Now taking the solo route, Hugh Cornwell talks about his latest album, reminsces about kicking back with David Bowie, squaring off back-stage with U2 and cooling his heels in Pentonville.
During a career spanning almost forty years as a professional musician, Van Morrison has created an extraordinary body of work. A masterful musician, songwriter, producer, arranger and musical director, he possesses one of the most uniquely recognisable and powerful voices in music. His influence on contemporary music has been profound but far from resting on his laurels, his latest work Back On Top ranks among his finest albums to date. For Van Morrison, the search goes on. It was particularly appropriate, therefore, that he was chosen to become the first inductee into the Hot Press Irish Music Hall of Fame, at a special ceremony there last week. Report: Niall Stanage.
. . . by regular Hot Press contributor
HELENA MULKERNS, is one of nineteen short stories by young Irish writers collected together in Shenanigans, a compendium of darkly humorous end-of-the-century fiction.
As the founder of Island Records Chris Blackwell can claim a unique role in the evolution of popular music. He pulls up a chair and shoots the breeze about his Jamaican heritage, his relationship with Bob Marley and taking power-lunches with U2.
David Gray's debut album A Century Ends signalled the emergence of an innovative singer-songwriter with forthright lyrics, a remarkable voice, and an unusual degree of integrity. Just, one warning: mention the words 'introverted' or 'soul-searching' and you run the risk of being beaten over the head with a guitar... Interview: Lorraine Freeney
Having crammed more into their first four years than some acts do in a decade, Gomez took a much-needed break. But now they’re back with a new album in our gun. "We just got pissed, played a few tunes and started recording," they tell John Walshe
Having survived a flirtation with coke-addled infamy, nice-boy Britrockers Keane natter about the long road to recovery and how it feels to be Bret Easton Ellis' favourite band.
He's the godfather of English whimsy, the spiritual successor to Syd Barrett. So why the hell is Robyn Hitchcock sharing a pokey tour bus with three fifths of REM?
From Kilkenny to LA, kerbdog have been on a seven-year learning curve that's produced a powerful second album, On The Turn. barry glendenning hears how, after an inauspicious beginning, they finally got their act together. Pic: cathal dawson.
With a new novel Eclipse published to universal acclaim, the enigmatic Irish writer emerges from the deep gloomy cavern he inhabits to discuss art, sex, love, hate, humour, death and the battle of the sexes. Interview: JOE JACKSON.
Portraits of the author: CATHAL DAWSON
In a heartfelt interview, Dolores O’Riordan talks to Hot Press about her new solo record, her decision to move to Canada and the debilitating effects of fame. Plus, why a Cranberries reunion may be a matter of ‘when’ rather than ‘if’.
A flyover near the old Harland & Wolff shipyard was the starting point for a remarkable three months that has seen Franz Ferdinand challenging U2 and Coldplay for the title of ‘Biggest Band In The World'. Daredevil photographic exploits completed, Hot Press jumped on their tour bus and got the lowdown on Snoop, Bono, Kanye West, Natasha Bedingfield and nights of debauchery with the Scissor Sisters.
U2, Elvis Costello, The Pogues, The Waterboys, Emmylou Harris, Hothouse Flowers, The Everly Brothers, Christy Moore just some of the dozens of artists who contribute to an adventurous new five part TV series which traces the extraordinary return journey that Irish traditional music has made to America and beyond. Here, Liam Fay previews the programmes, talks to Philip King who originated and nurtured the project and hears many of the participants explain how they discovered the importance and influence of Irish music.
CHRIS BARRY's attempts to free himself from his FM104 contract have resulted in one of the messiest and most ill-tempered court battles seen in Ireland for a long time. STUART CLARK analyses the proceedings so far and profiles some of Barry's shock-jock contemporaries across the water.
Who better to launch this year’s Music Show than Irish band of the moment The Script? In a taster of what to expect from October’s RDS weekender, Danny, Glen and Mark treated a roomful of fans, music students and industry professionals to their thoughts on illegal downloading, songwriting, the dreaded Auto-tune and touring with Macca and U2.
With his work on the soundtrack to In The Name Of The Father bringing him into the full glare of media attention Gavin Friday takes this opportunity to put to rest any accusations of riding on U2’s coat-tails. Confident and brimming with ideas for his solo career, The Spotlight Kid gives the lowdown to an eager BILL GRAHAM.
Padraig Harrington talks about gay golfers, stalkers on the tour, the potential of Rory McIlroy and the death of his father. And, he says, his Open win was just the beginning.
Well, so would you be if you had to wear all that hideous make-up. Barry Glendenning meets FRANK KELLY, the long-established actor and comedian who now finds himself in the curious position of being best-known for shouting 'Feck!', 'Drink!', 'Girls!' and 'Arse!' fr. Jack hackett, this is your other life . . .
Black & White Pix: CATHAL DAWSON
. . . Or not, as the case may be. In this extremely revealing interview with peter murphy, henry rollins speaks frankly about relationships, violence, depression, squaring up to Al Pacino and the problems that come with a life lived on the road
Although critics have discerned all manner of political and religious significance in There Will Be Blood, director Paul Thomas Anderson insists that it's a horror film about the birth of California.
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
Formula One's plucky outsider Eddie Jordan talks about motor sport's party-hard reputation, jamming with Bryan Adams and winning to the British national anthem.
It’s been 25 years since the legendary Dr. Strangely Strange last toured. Now they’re back on the road, in the Highlands and Islands of Scotland. Tim Booth kept this diary.
The Stunning's new EP, Deja Voodoo, features cover versions of Beatles, Byrds, Dylan and Captain Beefheart tracks. But what about the more intriguing and embarrassing records that lurk within Steve Wall's collection? Olaf Tyaransen investigates and unearths a few surprises like The Goons, BBC sound effects albums, and ...Barry White?!
From pioneering ambient-trad with Clannad, through to her brand new concept album 'Two Horizons', Moya Brennan can now look back on 30 years of lending her voice and harp to some of the most distinctive music ever to come out of Ireland.
After an undoubtedly slack 2003, 2004 was the year in which TV comedy once again came into its own. In addition to to further series from Monkey Dust, Peep Show, Little Britain, 15 Storeys High and Curb Your Enthusiasm, there were also excellent new shows in the shape of The Smoking Room, The Mighty Boosh, Nighty Night and Catterick. In particular, the forum for alternative humour provided by BBC3 and BBC4 continued to provide an invaluable creative outlet for the oddballs, misfits and mavericks of British comedy.
The fourth series of RTÉ Two's highly-acclaimed Other Voices, presented by John Kelly, was recorded over an extraordinary eight days during the madcap run-up to Christmas, in the thoroughly invigorating coastal environs of Dingle. Hot Press reporter Craig Fitzsimons was there to soak up the phantasmagoria, as some of the hottest talent from Ireland and abroad descended on the tranquil Kerry town to make heavenly music.
Barry Glendenning had a good idea: as a journalistic exercise – and a guarantee of public humiliation – someone should try their hand at stand-up comedy. Indeed, it was such a very good idea, that he was promptly Hot Press-ganged into doing it himself. This, then, is the true-life story of one man who stood up to be counted.
...IS COMING TO TAKE YOU AWAY! WHEN JOE JACKSON WENT TO INTERVIEW BONO AT U2'S SECRET DUBLIN RECORDING BASE, HE HAD NO IDEA WHAT TO EXPECT. WHAT HE GOT WAS A CRAZY ROLLERCOASTER RIDE THROUGH THE EXTRAORDINARY WORK-IN-PROGRESS WHICH WILL BECOME U2'S FOLLOW-UP TO THE ACCLAIMED "ACHTUNG BABY!", WITH BONO AT THE WHEEL AND AN UNSEEN PRESENCE WORKING THE ACCELERATOR LIKE A DEMON. "RECORDS SHOULD BE MORE OF A TRIP," SAYS THE MAN IN THE WRAPAROUND SHADES. FASTEN YOUR SEAT BELTS THEN. THIS WILL BE NO ORDINARY RECORD. AND THIS IS NO ORDINARY INTERVIEW.
PHIL COULTER is far from the muzak-producing bore of caricature. Here, he talks to JOE JACKSON about family tragedy, northern politics, drink binges, having songs covered by Elvis and his experiences working with stars like Van Morrison, Siniad O Connor and Luke Kelly. Portraits: MYLES CLAFFEY
Last month, An Bord Pleanála gave the green light for a Superdump in Kildare which would take all Dublin’s commercial and domestic waste for a decade. Roddy O’Sullivan reports on the reaction in Kill, where local residents are convinced that there was political interference with the planning process.
ned o'hanlon and maurice linnane, the men behind media company dreamchaser productions, aren't given to false modesty. And why should they be, given that their recent list of clients includes Garth Brooks, U2 and the Rock 'N' Roll Hall Of Fame? siobhÁN LONG meets the men who once adopted Gary Oldman for an all-night bender in America.
Allen Long put his own life on the line, smuggling dope from Colombia to the US in massive quantities. The business made him wealthy and gave him a taste for both the good life and the fast, white powder. But then it all went wrong: after some years on the run, Long was caught and sentenced to five years in jail.
Now author Robert Sabbag has put his extraordinary story in print. hotpress meets "the American Howard Marks"
From a commercial point of view it hasn't exactly been all sweetness and light for SONNY CONDELL but his new album Someone To Dance With should bring a smile to his face. Interview: Siobhán Long
Ross Fitzsimons goes to Portugal’s Euro 04 in search of the beautiful game and the perfect bowl of cataplana, and discovers more than he bargained for – including the ribbon of death.
Fianna Fail justice spokesperson John O Donoghue wants the Gardam to pursue a policy of zero tolerance. But how would it work in reality? liam Fay conducts a social experiment. Artist s impression: david rooney.
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.
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.
He may have done time in Long Kesh for possession of explosives but Progressive Unionist leader DAVID ERVINE has left behind his terrorist past and embraced a future based on shared social democracy which, he says, the peace process can bring about. Interview: JOE JACKSON.
From "Out Of Control" to "All I Want Is You", Neil McCormick presents a major critical retrospective on the complete recorded works of U2, the band who went from being one of the world's worst cover groups to become a leading force in modern Rock'n'Roll
Comedian of the moment Andrew Maxwell talks about his recent car-crash gig in Dublin, in which he staggered on stage drunk and promptly blacked out, the controversy over Tommy Tiernan's comments on the holocaust and his love/hate relationship with Ireland. Plus, why we're to blame for our current economic crisis and how going to the same school as U2 helped turn him into ther performer he is today.
One of Ireland’s leading young painters, Rasher has had his work collected by Colin Farrell, Louis Walsh and Ali Hewson, and has also contributed a cover image to the new edition of Declan Lynch's The Rooms.
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
Having scored critical and commercial success – not to mention putting Irish cinema on the map with the likes of My Left Foot and In The Name Of The Father – Jim Sheridan has now mined his own past for in America, a haunting remembrance of the film-maker’s time as a struggling immigrant on the streets of New York.
The outrageous diaries of the late Carry On star KENNETH WILLIAMS, are now in the bookshops - often unsavoury, irascible, candid and scurrilous, but seldom boring. Williams dishes the dirt on Tony Hancock, Joe Orton, Stanley Baxter, Barbara Windsor, and on his own tortured homosexuality. ANDREW DARLINGTON reports.
He may indeed be from Limerick but if you think you’re going to get a subheadline that mentions bringing home the bacon, acting the ham or even being on the pig’s back, then you’re sadly mistaken. Instead we’re going to keep things simple. Mick Hanly has just released a new album entitled Happy Like This. What better occasion for Jackie Hayden to visit him in his Kilkenny home and look back over his career to date, and to remember the days when he hadn’t a sausage (would you cut the crap, please? – Ed)? Pix.: Brendan Fitzpatrick.
Or not without crediting your sources at any rate! Their first three Top Ten singles sampled Annie Lennox, Kate Bush and Phil Oakey. Here modernist electric dance crossover ???? Utah Saints argue the morality - as well as the aesthetics - of sample-theft, explain its problems, name the guilty men, and then glimpse a vision of the future playing support to U2 in Portugal. Interview: Andy Darlington.
IN THE FIRST PART OF A WORLD EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW IN THE LAST ISSUE OF HOT PRESS, BONO UNVEILED THE NEW U2 ALBUM, SPOKE ABOUT ITS GENESIS IN CYBERPUNK LITERATURE AND THE BAND'S HUNGER TO PUSH ROCK'N'ROLL TO ITS LIMITS. HERE HE ELABORATES ON HOW U2 GO ABOUT WRITING THEIR SONGS AGAINST THE BACKGROUND OF GLOBAL CHAOS, HIS ARTISTIC REFERENCE POINTS OUTSIDE MUSIC, THE SUBVERSIVE POWER OF HUMOUR, AND HOW HE ADMIRES THOSE WHO 'PARTICULARLY AGGRESSIVELY' DON'T BELIEVE IN GOD. AND THEN THERE'S THE STORY ABOUT JOHNNY CASH AND THE EMU. CAN THIS MAN BE FOR SURREAL? INTERVIEW:JOE JACKSON.
Deciding he d achieved as much as he could within the confines of the music scene in Ireland. Barry Moore changed his name, packed his bags and took off for the USA. There, as Luka Bloom, he was fjted for his live performances, awarded a major international record deal and his debut album, Riverside, given the four-star treatment by Rolling Stone. On a visit home, he tells Bill Graham about his emigrant s success story and explains how a man who was regarded as a folky in Dublin came to cut a rap track in New York.
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.
Sharing the spotlight with only his trusty guitar, Ireland's foremost troubadour Christy Moore prepares to take on audiences at The Point later this month. Here he tells Bill Graham of his growing sense of worth and self-confidence, defends Siniad O'Connor's right to free speech and explains just why good hecklers are worth their weight in gold.
Sex & Death & Rock 'n' Roll
With The Divine Comedy's new album Casanova, the dreamily romantic Neil Hannon has come over all carnal. "I felt I had to get an awful lot of real shit out of my system", he tells Niall Crumlish. "Sometimes you've got to get a bit scummy".
This is THE CHIEFTAINS as you've never encountered them before - more like mad, trad and dangerous to know than the grand-daddies of Irish traditional music. Smoking dope with Philip Lynott! Busting muscles through wild sex! Yes, it's the bits that aren't in the official biography. But, soft, not a word to Paddy, OK? Part One of an exclusive two-part interview. By JOE JACKSON.
Liam Fay calls on Shane MacGowan at home, where over mugs of brandy, the singer cheerfully rationalises his notorious alcohol-intake in the face of widespread concern that he might be drinking himself to an early grave. The premier Pogue disagrees, predicting instead a happy fulfilling life away from the stage, in which he would own and run a fully-licensed restaurant in London and face extended vacations in Thailand.
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.
On the eve of the release of Snow Patrol's epic fifth album A Hundred Million Suns, Hot Press finds out how singer Gary Lightbody gets inspiration for his songs.
In the second and final part of an extensive interview, director Jim Sheridan discusses his troubles with Gabriel Byrne and Noel Pearson, explains why he could marry Daniel Day-Lewis but would fail to measure up against Richard Harris, and suggests the best way forward for the embattled Irish film industry. Plus: the ouija board prophecies which seem to have shaped his life. By Joe Jackson.
Great slogans, great scams, great music and wreckless eric too. 20 years after the label first saw the light of a record shop, richard balls gets some of the key players to reminisce about the glory days of stiff records.
Ahead of the European Championships in Portugal, the England and Arsenal full back on another great year for the Gunners, discipline and indiscipline, football scandals, money and, of course, Roy Keane.
The godfather of the modern Irish gothic tradition, Patrick McCabe, has released what critics are hailing as his darkest, and arguably finest, novel yet, Winterwood.
It s easy to trace the tracks of DAVE GAHAN s tears. Like the illustrated man, the marks on his body tell their own story. But not the whole story for this is a man who took heroin abuse to such a lethal extent that he was once clinically dead for two minutes. Now, after a long and painful battle, he s clean, sober and delighted that depeche mode have released the album that few ever expected them to make. Interview: Olaf Tyaransen.
The actor, director, novelist and husband of Uma Thurman on the thrill of being a non-specialist and the challenge presented by "the greatest adventure you can have" - being in love
Their unique combination of sensual Latin melodies and brilliant, metal-inspired guitar playing have made Rodrigo y Gabriela a phenomenon in their adopted Ireland, with a platinum album, sell-out tours and barn-storming festival appearances already to their credit. Now, with the release of their third album, Rodrigo y Gabriela, their sights are set on the international arena. Here, this extraordinary couple explain why they swapped sun-drenched Mexico for rain-kissed Dublin – and, for the first time, talk candidly about the open relationship they enjoy, as long-term friends and lovers.
STUART CLARK meets man-of-the-moment NORMAN COOK (aka FATBOY SLIM). On the agenda - tabloid intrusion, drugs, his love affair with Zoe Ball, and The Housemartins.
With a self-recorded and self-released album – called simply O – Damien Rice has emerged as a major force in Irish music. But that’s just the start of it: the record is now in the charts in both the U.S. and the U.K., and with the kind of momentum he has generated, the feeling is that it might just go all the way.
Neil Jordan's controversial new film Interview With The Vampire has angered both the gay community, who objected to the dilution of the movie's homoerotic content, and the author of the novel from which it is adapted, Anne Rice, who disagreed with the choice of Hollywood golden boy Tom Cruise in the starring role.
However, with Anne Rice conspicuously recanting and the critics in the U.S. responding rapturously, signs are that this is one Vampire which won't lay down and die. Report: Helena Mulkerns
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.
It's a double home-coming as U2 return from their odyssey 'round the globe to bring "The Joshua Tree" tour to their fanatical Irish supporters in Dublin and Cork. Bill Graham reports.
ADRIENNE MURPHY lived with the ecological vigil-keepers in the Glen O The Downs for two weeks leading up to the dreaded day when the chainsaws finally arrived. This is her report from the frontline of Ireland s latest environmental battle. Pix: Colm Henry
In the making of their third album, Coldplay may have abandoned all hope at one juncture and come within an inch of splitting up, but the record has now finally arrived in the shape of X & Y. Chris Martin and co. here give Peter Murphy the inside story on the fraught creation of perhaps the most anticipated album of the year.
As The White Stripes prepare to unleash another work of scuzz-bucket genius, frontman Jack White talks about his Catholic upbringing and explains why, as a teenager in blue collar Detroit, he fell hopelessly in love with the blues.
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.
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.
Sometimes it's hard to be a woman, especially when it involves piling on layers of latex, strapping on corsets, and getting to grips with false eyelashes. And yet, whether it's Kurt Cobain donning a scruffy frock, Robin Williams in full matronly guise for Mrs Doubtfire, or the 6'7 Ru Paul co-presenting The Brits, transvestism seems to have acquired a stronger multi-media allure than ever before. Andy Darlington examines the portrayal of TVs in cinema and the arts, and considers the sexual and social implications of the ancient art of cross-dressing.
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.
Er, perhaps not, but after 25 years of waxing, back-combing and tottering around on six-inch heels, Mr. Pussy has certainly earned the right to call himself ‘Ireland’s Most Misleading Lady’. LIAM FAY gets a lesson in cross-dressing from the man who’s stripped Bono to the waist, offered solace to Charlie Haughey and stuck a hairy appendage under Ringo Starr’s nose. PIX: Colm Henry
It’s Christmas, time for some of the leading lights of the Irish musical family to return from far-flung stages and convene for a traditional evening of reflection, revelation, conversation, merriment and, well, gargle. The guests: Glen Hansard and Colm Mac Con Iomaire of The Frames, Gemma Hayes, Mundy and David Kitt.
The still vibrant 64-year-old on why Morrissey’s like Father Frank, why Iraq is like Vietnam, and on her meetings with Elvis Presley, Marilyn Monroe, Bono, Phil Spector and a whole Oval Office full of presidents.
Following the sudden death of his girlfriend in the early ’90s, traumatised US writer Bill Carter took off for the unlikely destination of war-torn Sarajevo. Whilst there, he established a series of satellite link-ups with U2’s Zooropa tour, which still rank among the most divisive and controversial moments of the band’s career. Despite the subsequent media fallout, an unconsummated affair with an indian supermodel, and several brushes with death, Bill Carter has lived to tell his extraordinary tale.
The night has a thousand eyes, and, after a skinful of booze, most of them are on the lookout for a good after-hours cook-house where they can get a nice fry up. Bon vivant and gourmet, LIAM FAY, takes a long, strange trip into the netherworld of The Manhattan and The Gigs Place, two exotic night spots where daytime rules no longer apply.
He’s the joker in the Irish music pack, a working class hero who has at once conquered and subverted the mainstream. For his first album in six years JERRY FISH and his MUDBUG CLUB have also roped in some top-tier collaborators including rockabilly queen Imelda May and Carol Keogh.
On Sunday 16 October a unique event takes place in The Gaiety Theatre in Dublin, as the climax of the 1994 Dublin Theatre Festival. Organised by Amnesty International, Voices Of The Disappeared is intended to highlight their campaign on “ Disappearances” and Political Killings. Stuart Carolan reports.
Over the past decade or so, Will Self has remained one of the most fascinating, infuriating and downright provocative writers in contemporary literature. Now, following the publication of his typically inventive and challenging new book, Dr Mukti and other Tales of Woe, the perennially combative author gives Hot Press the low-down on the perils of psychiatry, his relationship with ultra-controversial artist Sebastian Horsley, and that memorable showdown with Paul Merton on Room 101.
Yup, we thought you'd like our stab at a tabloid headline. Thing is, there was a time when Danny Boy O'Connor looked inexorably set on a course for the California State Penitentiary. Then he discovered the therapeutic qualities of the House Of Pain and apart from the odd skirmish with the 2FM Roadcaster, there's been no looking back since. Crime reporter: Stuart Clark.
PAUL BRADY has had an embattled career. In the course of it, he has made great music, won new fans and lost old friends. He has written powerful songs, locked horns with his record company, even contemplated quitting the business entirely. Now finally, he has come to new realisations about himself and about the enduring power of love. Interview: JOE JACKSON.
The Red Hot Chili Peppers visited Lansdowne Road, Dublin on July 8 but we caught up with the band in Paris recently and heard why the west coast warriors of funk-rock have never been hotter
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.
As the only Dail representative of the Green Party, newly-elected TD, Trevor Sargent, has become the most high-profile public face of Irish environmentalism at a time when the entire movement is going through a period of re-definition. In this wide-ranging interview, Sargent argues that the Greens are more than a single issue pressure group and defends the party against changes of innate conservatism and built-in obsolesence. Not surprisingly, however, he also comes out fighting on issues such as animal rights and the ongoing threat of Sellafield.
pat mcCABE is on a roll. Neil Jordan s film adaptation of his acclaimed novel The Butcher Boy has been rapturously received. His latest meisterwerk Breakfast On Pluto about a border county transvestite is about to be published. He s going on the road with Jack L. And what s more he was recently named Monaghan Man of the Year! Interview: liam fay.
Pics: Mick Quinn
Neil McCormick embarks on a verbal showdown with Hollywood's most famous drug store cowboys and discovers that 1994 was the year in which the hot shots traded in their smoking guns for a pill called Prozac.
From the pits to the pits no, hang on, that s the story of Welsh soccer. Or is it Welsh rugby? For the manic street preachers, by contrast, it s all onwards and upwards. james dean bradfield tells jonathan o brien about their unlikely climb to the top.
Ciaran Cuffe [right by Mick Quinn] doesn’t look much like a typical Teachta Dala. So little so, in fact, that when the Green Party TD comes out to greet photographer Mick Quinn and myself in a guarded reception area in Leinster House, we simply don’t recognise him. He just doesn’t look the part.
KIM PORCELLI sees DAVID KITT in Brussels on the eve of the release of his new album The Big Romance. Back in Dublin, the pair settle in at the Long Hall for the long haul…
Photography: MYLES CLAFFEY
There is a serial killer on the loose in London, who has targeted the male gay community. But because of the spanner ruling, which has made a criminal offence of consenting SM sex practices, those who are most at risk are finding it impossible to talk to the police. And inevitably, the sensational distortions of the british media are only making matters worse. This year's Gay Pride March took place against that disturbing backdrop. Fay Wolftree reports. Pix: Leo Regan
BECKETT ON FILM is one of the most ambitious cinematic projects ever. Nineteen of Samuel Beckett's plays have been made into movies, directed by and starring numerous A-list figures. To mark the occasion, JOE JACKSON talks to Bono, John Hurt and Enda Hughes about one of the 20th century's greatest dramatists
For a former mod who once failed to get a prince review published in Hot Press, Mark Little has done pretty well for himself. Paul Nolan quizzes the author and broadcaster about Iraq, Washington, the West Wing, Ireland’s place in the world, politics, the media, Michael O’Leary, Bono and, of course, the smoking ban.
In a remarkable interview, the legendary David Kelly looks back on a long and adventurous career including parts in box office smashes, Charlie And The Chocolate Factory and Waking Ned.
Ireland's most hyped event of the year, the MTV EUROPE AWARDS may have had as many gossip columnists as winners thanking God, but after hours it was IGGY POP and heavy friends who made the real headlines on a night when rock'n'roll bit back. Report: OLAF TYARANSEN and PETER MURPHY. Awards Pics: PETER MATTHEWS. Iggy Pics: Cathal Dawson
Christmas wouldn’t be Christmas without the dissection of the rock ‘n’ roll year that is the Hot Press Summit. Gathering round the table are the good and great of Irish music, but who let Podge & Rodge in?
Critics have not been kind to the long-awaited second novel from Booker-winning novelist DBC Pierre. After a lifetime that has lurched between excess and poverty, privilege and despair, he’s not bothered though.
With the death of Johnny Cash two weeks ago, music’s Mount Rushmore finally crumbled. From the hell-raising country outlaw of the ’60s to his final incarnation as a patriarchal figure intoning songs of guilt and redemption, Cash’s voice resonated down through the years with undimmed intensity. In this special Hot Press tribute to the Man In Black, Peter Murphy talks to Cash collaborators Sandy Kelly and U2, and recounts the turbulent life and times of one of the most iconic figures in 20th century music
In Ireland, he’s the biggest name in comedy – a superstar who can pack them into live shows and shift DVDs by the jumboload. But having conquered his homeland, Tommy Tiernan faced the question: where to from here? The answer was America, the Holy Grail for anyone in the entertainment business. The story of his battle to win hearts and minds is captured in Jokerman – Tommy Tiernan Takes On America, a documentary series that is about to hit the screens on RTE. But first, there’s the important matter of a Hot Press interview to attend to.
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.
After a career barely spanning five years, there is a definite feeling amongst those who know about such things that POLLY
JEAN HARVEY is destined to be one of the true rock music greats. Her darkly visceral, sexual and lacerating work has struck a
raw chord, and made her the object of passionate adoration. But it has also cast her in the eyes of some as an
"axe-wielding bitch cow from Hell."
LIAM FAY travels to meet ze monsta, but instead finds a home-loving Yeovil lass who likes nothing better than gardening and whipping
up pots of rhubarb marmalade.
London has long been recognised as one of the world's leading centres of entertainment and musical excitement - not to mention pleasure in all its multifarious manifestations. But when you really need it, do you know where to find it? Fay Wolftree brings you the insider's inside guide to Europe's premier rock 'n' roll metropolis.
25 years after the publicaton of Fear And Loathing In Las Vegas, doctor hunter s. thompson remains the originator and unequalled exponent of Gonzo journalism, an author as famous for his own high-octane, outlaw lifestyle as he is for the remarkable series of books and articles which made him a rock star of the written word.
Tracked down to his lair in the Colorado mountains, Thompson lives up to all expectations in this exclusive interview and story by daniel senstius and jurrien dekker. Photography: chris van houts.
Colm O’Hare reports on the latest developments in the Irish film world which – thanks to initiatives spearheaded by Michael D. Higgins, Minister of Arts, Culture and the Gaeltacht – is experiencing an unprecedented boom period.
The Solas we knew is, on record at least, no more. In its place is a highly polished outfit bringing their own muse to new pastures, where the technical possibilities of the various instruments are stretched in all sorts of ways, usually delivering that which is sought
What the hell is going on? This extraordinary sight greeted people on Exchequer Street, in the centre of Dublin, and around the corner from the Hot Press offices this morning.
Ronnie Drew has heard the song that was recorded as a special tribute to him by U2, Kila, Simon Carmody and a cast of leading Irish musicians. He talks to Hot Press editor Niall Stokes about his reaction.
Art of gold: the opening gig of Neil Young's acoustic three-night stand in Vicar St makes Bono, Edge, Ron Wood and of course your correspondent Stuart Clark swoon. Pics: Mick Quinn
Hot Press understands that there’s absolutely no concern in the U2 camp over four tracks from the band’s new album which leaked onto YouTube over the weekend.
"Bragg is taking stock. He’s now doing it for himself, at his own pace. Those in search of revelation from an old punk with a new perspective will be left hanging."
The CDs and DVD from the Nelson Mandela AIDS awareness show will be heavily Irish in their content; Plus more news from the U2 camp with a photo retrospective tipped for publication
Hot Press was granted unique access to U2, interviewing all four members as they rehearsed for their recent Brit Awards appearance. They talk about No Line On The Horizon, how they're viewed in Ireland, the current state of the music business and more...
A full-blown reunion tour may have persuaded a majority to alter their views favourably, but a proper comeback now looks unlikely. So, those who had their appetite whetted for more Floyd material last summer will have to make do with projects like On An Island, guitarist/vocalist David Gilmour’s first solo album since 1984. Happily, it delivers at least some of what they may be looking for.
The ante has been upped on every level – the playing, singing, presentation and production – and the songs sound less like the jumbled collection of ideas of yore and more like genuine contenders.
With How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb dominating the Christmas sales rush, U2 have firmly re-established their place at the top of the rock tree. Now comes further evidence of the expanding ambitions of Ireland's biggest ever showbiz export.
The Undertones were getting teenage kicks and SLF were snarling about suspect devices, but while U2’s sound was equally jagged and hormonal, their themes were already leaning toward metaphysical, if not existentialist.
U2, Andrea Corr, The Dubliners, Sinead O'Connor and Kila are among the acts who will appear on tonight's Late Late Show to perform their tribute to Ronnie Drew.
For The Vines, being heralded as ‘the next Nirvana’ could go either way.
It could be argued that describing Craig Nicholls as ‘the voice of a generation’ is perhaps a bridge too far – yet, with ‘Winning Days’, they certainly seem able to take such improbable expectation in their stride.
Slavishly adhering to every fluffy Brit rom-com cliché, the shrill mother, the precocious kid sister and the slutty best man are all present and correct.
Casting a cold eye on 1986, one must be frank that, although it was a good year, the absolute pinnacles that have marked previous years were absent. Perhaps ‘The Unforgettable Fire’ and ‘Born In The USA’, and their respective tours in 1985, not to mention Live Aid, drained a lot of emotion.
Prinzhorn Dance School want to be sparse, but while interesting sound designs can keep sparing music afloat, this displays only the most grudging regard for the listener’s patience.
With her raspy voice and big shouty delivery, Etheridge has always sounded like a female Rod Stewart or John Cougar Mellencamp. Since releasing her self-titled debut in 1988 she has more or less followed the same stylistic path – a mix of mid-western bar-band rockers and ballsy ballads.
Slow, languorous beats. Guitar playing which, save for the odd noisy squall, is determinedly minimal. Songs of intensity, infidelity, intoxication and copulation. The voice of a doleful Scotsman. Whether Arab Strap charm you or leave you cold, there's no denying that the sonic brew they have distilled over the past five years is distinctive.
Most big beat producers and DJs have changed their direction during the last few years, dropping the cartoon samples and breaks for twisted house grooves.
The world waited with bated breath when UNKLE released Psyence Fiction four years ago. As the man behind the Mo Wax label, and with DJ Shadow in tow, in had seemed that James Lavelle could do little wrong.
Since 1977 Hot Press has looked at music, books, film, culture and politics. This bumper birthday issue looks back at the best bits of the last 30 years.
Coldplay's Viva La Vida is likely to see the end of its current reign at the top of the Irish charts as U2 release re-mastered versions of their classic albums Boy, October and War.
Based on the true-life story of British mountaineer Joe Simpson, who went merrily climbing in the Peruvian Andes in 1985 with his mate Simon Yates, Touching The Void is another profoundly hair-raising documentary from the accomplished Oscar-winning filmmaker Kevin MacDonald (One Day In September).
“Where were you last night?” asked the ol’ man. “We played a concert in Trinity College. “How did it go?” “Well,” I said, we had a bit of trouble from a few 16 year olds in the audience. “You weren’t very polite yourself at 16!” he replied.
U2, Simon Carmody and Kila have led a collaboration on a special tribute to Ronnie Drew, which was recorded in Windmill Lane Studios in Dublin, over the past few days.
Señor Smoke is more of the same from Dick Valentine and crew. Like its predecessor it’s packed with raw energy and pure fun. Valentine can be laugh out funny at times.
Who was it that said that beauty is a double-edged sword? True, it could be all too easy to denounce Mainline as six pretty boys, looking for all the world like a band of spruced-up Fonzies. Luckily their sound tells a different and much more substantial story.
"...a powerful collection of passionate, anthemic rockers that will no doubt please their hardcore following whilst winning new converts to the cause."
For over an hour at the Temple Bar Music Centre, the prodigious Australian Ben Lee took us on a journey through his life affirming and spiritually fertile world.
The sophomore album from Swedish rockers Mando Diao is a schismatic affair. A few minutes of sheer brilliance like gems ‘Added Family’ and ‘Next To Be Lowered’ get our hopes up one moment only to frustrate them the next by been-there, heard-that mediocrity.
The sophomore album from Swedish rockers Mando Diao is a schismatic affair. A few minutes of sheer brilliance like gems ‘Added Family’ and ‘Next To Be Lowered’ get our hopes up one moment only to frustrate them the next by been-there, heard-that mediocrity.
While nobody was looking, a silent revolution happened in the Irish music scene. Out of the singer-songwriter pact and shoegazing electro posse, a cross-breed sprang up..
Lou Barlow’s efforts with grunge-pioneers Dinosaur Jr generally took a back seat to frontman J Mascis, while his subsequent work with Sebadoh and Folk Implosion was often unhelpfully mired in no-fi under-production. So his first real solo album, much of it recorded at his home in LA (home-emoh, get it?) sees him crawl from under the noise to deliver a very personal selection of indie folk tracks that bear comparison with the introspection of more mainstream singer-songwriters like Neil Young or Jackson Browne.
They say that you play venues like Whelan’s twice in your career – once on the way up, once in the other direction. The Stereophonics are somewhere between the two at the moment so their appearance at the Wexford St. venue has to be an unusual state of affairs. Indeed it is, part of a series of club dates designed to introduce new album Language, Sex, Violence, Other? and make the daily chore of talking to the press more bearable.
For the most important album of their post-Joshua Tree career, U2 loaded up on Nine Inch Nails, My Bloody Valentine and Sonic Youth records, whilst also taking account of rhythmic developments in Manchester and Detroit. The result was an intoxicating brew of hard-edged industrial klang (‘Zoo Station, ‘The Fly’) and funky, danceable grooves (‘Even Better Than The Real Thing’, ‘Mysterious Ways’).
Enniskillen brothers Pat and John McManus (one time members of '80s metal trio Mama's Boys) are joined by keyboardist Jonathan Czerwik to form the core of this London-based collective.
Spectacularly imposing in size and scale, the green ball of primal rage is easily the most memorable creation of its kind in cinematic history, and there’s immense pleasure on offer as he trashes man, beast and plane with fly-swat ease throughout an inordinately enjoyable face-off finale.
While The Great Destroyer is a much more straightforward rock record, there is certainly still much to be admired in Parker and Sparhawk’s muted chemistry. Their cuddly intimacy has given way to a much more charged sound.
Easy on the eye, but downright insulting to the brain, this competently glossy but hopelessly predictable sub-Bond thriller will probably be best remembered (if at all) for the hilarious will-they-won't-they pairing of Sean Connery and Catherine Zeta-Jones (age difference: thirty-nine years).
Tracks like ‘Nine Million Bicycles’ and ‘Halfway Up The Hindu Kush’ could easily trouble charts the world over; indeed virtually all the tracks are the epitome of radio-friendliness.
The first solo album in nine years is an inspiring example of how a legendary superstar can still make challenging music long after what one might justifiably have assumed to be his sell-by date
As the title may well indicate, Harold and Kumar Get The Munchies is a stoner movie. Not just any old stoner movie mind, but quite possibly the Citizen Kane of the entire addled milieu.
Given the Hartnoll brother’s capacity for emotion and narrative within the often-restrictive confines of electro music, this is a somewhat insufficient and underwhelming collection.
I knew he wouldn't let me down. When Waterboys mainman Mike Scott enthused about this, the crucial third album, there was an inevitable underlying fear: everybody says that the new album is the best thing they've ever done - Barry Devlin once went into print claiming that 'The Unfortunate Cup Of Tea' was Horslips' masterpiece but we're not here to dig up the dirt... we're here to talk about *This Is The Sea*.
April 26 sees radio duo Donna Legge and David O’Reilly enter the realm of the audio-visual in Across The Line TV, with Snow Patrol playing a starring role in the warm-up special
In their prime, a decade or so ago, the Levellers made for an awesome live prospect – all flailing fiddles, flying dreadlocks and impassioned agit-prop lyrics.
Journey is not merely a trawl through the ubiquitous Donal Lunny's back pages but a compulsory purchase potted summary of three decades of Irish trad and the company it's been keeping.
Bruce Springsteen is one of those performing artists who you should see at least once before you die, fan or not. At best, I consider myself to be merely a casual Springsteen follower, yet I felt like I was in safe hands from the moment he stepped onstage at the Pantages Theatre in Los Angeles. and stood amidst the sumptuous drapery and candelabrum.
FRANKIE KENNEDY - R.I.P.
WRITING ABOUT death is never easy, but trying to find the appropriate words to mark the sad passing of Frankie Kennedy is, for me, particularly difficult.
It’s not often that people start queuing outside London’s Koko at 5pm – the last time was for Madonna, and that was Madonna. Tonight though, the Doherty-ites are making sure Babyshambles’ UK tour kicks off in style.
Sam’s Town suggests that the newly face-fuzzed Brandon Flowers has contracted a serious dose of Bruce-llosis (a quick scan of the album’s titles yields a number of Boss buzzwords: “river”, “town”, “Jonny”, “wild”). No bad thing necessarily, but any rock band without the E-Streeters’ skill or Springsteen’s Steinbeckian grasp of American history should beware of straying across the wrong side of the New Jersey tracks and ending up in Bon Jovi-ville.
Sam’s Town consistently grandstands to the bleachers, makes cheap plays for the listener’s emotions and foolhardily flaunts with the conventions of good taste. Just like a great rock ‘n’ roll record should.
Utah Saints could hardly be described as the world’s most prolific musical collective. After all, the aptly named Two is only the sophomore effort from Jez Willis and DJ Tim Garbett and the follow-up to their 1993 eponymous debut.
What happened when the woman who wrote ‘Fist City’ worked with the young man who liked to use his? Well, that will depend on your take on both country music and the music of the White Stripes.
In an increasingly competitive world, there’s an increased awareness that practical knowledge and experience, allied to the appropriate qualifications, can give people the edge over rivals who adopt a more casual approach.
This year’s Hollywood hymn to tainted hippy-era rock’n’roll excess – think Boogie Nights meets Drugstore Cowboy – the overblown but highly engrossing Wonderland provides an unexpectedly riveting memorial to the life and times of legendary ’60s and ’70s porn-star John Holmes.
Music Review | Live
21% | 10 May 2004
Kim Porcelli
Incredibly, the woman before you in the rustling, blindingly white wedding dress, Mrs Tracee Mae Miller (flame-coloured cascade of hair; skin like a porcelain doll; sugary-breathy voice like the thought at the back of your mind), will turn out not to be the most interesting thing on stage tonight.
Last night began a momentous chapter for the world’s biggest band. For U2, it was the first live airing and radio/internet broadcast of material from their eleventh studio album, How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb. For those in attendance, it was an opportunity as rare as they come. The location: Dublin, Ireland. More specifically, at the album’s birthplace, in their Hanover Quay studios. Hot Press editor Niall Stokes was in attendance to feel the impact and capture the aftershock. [photos by John Dardis, courtesy of U2]
THE STANDOUT foreign-language flick of the season, sure to scoop awards by the bucketload, Central Station effortlessly avoids any of the snags that almost always seem to attend acclaimed prizewinning foreign movies. Beautifully filmed, it manages to adopt and sustain an epic, melancholic, sweeping majesty from start to finish.
David Holmes has confirmed to Hot Press that he will DJ a set at U2’s after-show party for their U23D film premiere in Dublin, and revealed details of his upcoming solo album due for release this year.
Every bit as haunting and entrancing as the Big O's ballad of the same name, but nowhere near as enjoyable, the truly terrifying In Dreams seems to finally mark the end of Neil Jordan's flirtations with anything resembling commercial mainstream cinema.
Gothic, brooding, malicious and deeply disturbing, the film is a dark-beyond-description thriller-chiller which heralds an apparent return to the more fevered style of Angel and Company of Wolves.
So Bono and the lads did appear at last night’s IRMA Meteor Music Awards in the end (you would, too, if you had eight of them to collect). Read on for the IRMA results in full
The official opening of The Music Show will take place in Trinity College, with an interview with Island records founder Chris Blackwell conducted by our very own Stuart Clark.
ON PAPER, Black 47 could've saved Irish rock 'n' roll. A mouthy, unrepentantly Republican NY-based combo with the eclectic sensibilities of Fishbone, the rebel zeal of Dexy's or Little Steven and a fired up frontman in the form of Wexford expatriate patriot Larry Kirwan,
Watch a video interview with Bonnie 'Prince' Billy, aka Will Oldham - including a (truly lovely) exclusive acoustic performance - and enter to win copies of 'Master And Everyone'
Supergrass are survivors and don’t we just hate them for it? This has nothing to do with their music, a blokey psychedelia informed by a flair for everyman pop, and everything to do with cosmic justice.
In what could prove to be one of the year's biggest marketing coups, Apple Computer Inc. have inked a deal with U2 which sees the band putting their name to a customised iPod. [pics courtesy of Apple]
Shaking violently, and almost swallowing the mic, his screaming vocals demanded you pay attention NOW. This wasn't singing, it was some type of exorcism
Taking The Long Way is the kind of record you could slot between Lucinda and Emmylou at any Nashville Babylon hootenanny without anyone batting an eyelid. Listen without prejudice.
Whelan’s is completely jammed for English maverick Robyn Hitchcock’s performance, and you can scarcely move without spilling the pint of a musician, DJ, journo or music industry figure of some description.
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.
The Script and Sharon Shannon were just two of the big acts honoured at last night's Meteor Awards, where Hot Press editor Niall Stokes also picked up an award...
It is one of the perverse facets of contemporary music that there is a constant demand that artists have to re-invent themselves. I’m all for it if it’s what a band or a performer either needs or wants to do, in order to give renewed sparkle to the muse. But it isn’t something that we ask of poets or writers. Would we want or expect John McGahern to produce a sci-fi thriller set in an imaginary bog landscape five hundred years into the future?
...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
CHRISTY HITS the chill-out zone? It’s enough to put the heart across club culturalists and hardcore troubadours alike. Moore’s often bedecked his songs with gaudy tapestries, but on Traveller, in partnership with Leo Pearson, he’s cross-pollinating folk forms with deep space beats, head music and ambient swashes, sticking his neck out further than ever before.
There could be no better illustration of how U2 have become global icons. Kick-starting the European leg of their Vertigo tour in Brussels’ King Baudouin Stadium on June 10, the old anti-sectarian favourite ‘Sunday Bloody Sunday’ electrified the crowd like no other. Here, however, it had been transformed from its original intent as a plea to end bloodshed in Northern Ireland into a hymn for religious harmony among the ‘sons of Abraham’ – Christians, Jews and Muslims.
A musical set in modern Dublin? Starring The Frames’ Glen Hansard as a love-struck busker? Nobody believed in John Carney’s Once but, following a rave debut at the Sundance film festival, it might just prove to be the biggest Irish movie of the year
"The Joshua Tree" clarifies how U2's vocation has become the revival and renewal of rock and the recovery of its most romantic values. It also highlights the group's new commitment to the song. Review by Bill Graham
Lissen, the first time I heard the new Bruce Springsteen record, I was with my mate Johnny The Zip in his big black Buick screaming down the New Jersey turnpike, headin' for a major scene in Benny's Billiards.
“One… two… three… four. Is anybody aliiive out there?” Recorded at the final two shows of his record breaking ten-night stand at Madison Square Gardens last summer, this is The Boss’ most anticipated release in years.
By threatening to tighten the rules for provisional drivers, the government is implicitly holding young motorists responsible for rising levels of death on the road.
Despite rumours of relegation, RTE's Apres Match team of BARRY MURPHY, RISTEARD COOPER and GARY COOKE release a live video for Christmas, return to the live arena this winter and are looking forward to Ireland's World Cup final games. STEPHEN ROBINSON reports
Bertie Ahern has been swimming through a shitstorm over the past fortnight, with accusations regarding controversial payments making the headlines. But Michael McDowell looks like coming to his rescue. Or maybe it’s just William Shakespeare in disguise...
81,394 punters, the majority decked in the blue and navy of Dublin, made the pilgrimage to the GAA Mecca of Croke Park for the Leinster Senior Football Final. Lifelong Blues supporter John Walshe was one of them.
To coincide with the launch of his new 'Greatest Hits' DVD , Ed Byrne talks to Jackie Hayden about profanity in Irish comedy, how he fucked up in Edinburgh, the Christopher Reeves joke that some misunderstood, and how he regularly meets people who claim not to know him.
Hunter S. Thompson gets the biopic treatment he deserves courtesy of Oscar-winning director Alex Gibney who wants to remind the world how important the Great Gonzo was.
There is no question about it. He may look as if he's been dipped in a bottle of red ink but it is Adam who stands there bollock naked before the camera and the world on the back sleeve of the latest, long playing opus from the band whose name begins with U and ends with 2. And is that Eve who hovers topless behind Bono on the front?
"Hey Jimmy, I want to go home! Hey Jimmy, I been away too long…" And you feel like shouting yeah to the way he sings it, to the way the voice reaches into your soul like only the most expressive instrument can, like Muddy Waters' slide, or Charlie Parker's sax, or Mavis Staples' voice… but you know what he's talking about as well.
When you go shopping for funiture, it's worth remembering that every surface should be tested for its erotic potential. Now there's a nice sofa - for fornicating on.
Portia, my six-month old female kitten, had her tubes tied yesterday. Bringing her to the vet in the morning was heart-breaking. She kept on sticking her paw out of the cage to touch me for reassurance while we were in the taxi, expressing such misguided trust in me that I felt like a monster. I was apprehensive because her mother had died under anaesthetic, and I had grave suspicions that such things were hereditary. But in the evening I collected her, and she had survived.
I KNOW that there are more important things going on in the world than car clamping like, for example, the grotesque murder of the former IRA man Eamon Collins. But what can we say about that monstrous deed that adds to the sum of human insight, knowledge or happiness?
I M looking again now at a picture taken at the funeral of the West Belfast taxi driver John McColgan, who was murdered by the LVF. In the centre is Lorraine McColgan, John s wife, her face contorted with crying, her body doubled over in grief.
*Well, it's 9th and Hannepin/And all the donuts have/names that sound like prostitutes/And the moon's teethmarks are/on the sky like a tarp thrown over this...*
When a woman is successful on the running track, why is it that our first response is often to question their gender? And if the line between male and female is sometimes blurred, is it really that big of a deal?
IT IS heartening to note that Mr. John Major has recently joined the Bad Language Revival Movement, founded by the former Irish Prime Minister, Charles Haughey.
LET US go back in time to the events preceding the Nazi takeover of Lansdowne Road. You may recall that a football match had been in progress, and that the Republic of Ireland were trouncing England 1-0.
The Hot Press Irish Music Awards proved to be as keenly contested as ever with U2, Ash and The Corrs emerging as big winners. But the number of awards acknowledging nascent talent prove there’s more heavy-hitters waiting in the wings
Rosa Luxemburg once wrote that anyone who steps needlessly on a worm on the road to revolution has committed a crime. But even she might be dismayed by how daft the British media sometimes go about animals.
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
When 28 people died in an Israeli massacre at Qana, Lebanon, the Derry Anti-War Coalition occupied Derry's Raytheon Plant. Eamon McCann reports on their visit to Qana.
Despite the impression created by the tabloids, most Irish third-level students are only beginning their sex lives. But – with all that time on your hands! – college is undeniably a good place to learn about the pleasures of the flesh…and how to enjoy them responsibility.
Having dragged Britain into war, former Prime Minister Tony Blair is now touting his services as a peace-dealer in the middle east. With Christmas on the way, no wonder he's looking crazier than ever before
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.
At the time of writing, we are in a state of suspended animation. The new, so-called Blueprint for the North which has been hammered together over the past fortnight by the Irish and British governments is finished.
SHORT CUTS (Directed by Robert Altman. Starring Andie McDowell, Bruce Davison, Julianne Moore, Mathew Modine, Anne Archer, Fred Ward, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Chris Penn, Lili Taylor, Robert Downey Jr., Madeleine Stowe, Tim Robbins, Lily Tomlin, Tom Waits, Frances McDormand, Peter Gallagher, Annie Ross, Lori Singer, Jack Lemmon, Lyle Lovett, Buck Henry, Huey Lewis)
Since records began, popular music has maintained a healthy and unstinting preoccupation with political issues. GERRY McGOVERN namechecks some of the artists who have nurtured such links and argues that even music which ostensibly extricates itself from the issues of the day, is itself inherently political.
But only if we let them. Draconian changes in the arts infrastructure have been proposed, the damaging effects of which will be felt for generations to come. Now is the time to shout: STOP!
With Bono and Simon Carmody orchestrating it, and Kila minding the gap, the recording of a tribute to one of the most important and widely loved figures in the history of Irish music turned into a very special occasion indeed.
AGNES BERNELLE s death last month brought a truly remarkable
life to a close. SIOBHAN LONG looks back, in the company of
Gavin Friday, Philip Chevron and Alan Amsby.
With politicians up in arms about flower-beds while Raytheon helps destroy Lebanon, it’s enough to make even Tony Blair frown. Thank god we still have rock.
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
Located in Dublin’s thriving Temple Bar area and owned by U2, The Kitchen is one of the hottest clubs in one of the most happening cities in Europe. Report: Colm O’Hare
Why aren’t more artists protesting against the US government’s refusal to grant visas to Cuban musicians? Plus: The inside story on Mark E. Smith’s infamous appearance on Newsnight and why the controversy over Derry airport has exposed the hypocrisy of Michael O’Leary.
Hot Press, in association with ritz, presents the definitive guide to the Irish dance scene, incorporating our regular dance column Digital Beat. Your authoritative host: mark kavanagh.
Budget cuts almost spelled the end of Other Voices. But the team behind the Dingle music institution rallied around – with the result that this year’s line-up is arguably among the strongest in the history of the show
She had been with him for months now and sex had always been good. So what could it mean when an orgasm eluded her? Was this, perhaps, the end of the affair?
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!
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.
Richard Lynn is the University of Ulster’s dirty secret. He is Professor of Psychology at the university’s Coleraine campus. The authorities there hope that he will go away quietly when his tenure ends next year.
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
