‘The band most likely to do a Franz Ferdinand in 2005!’ proclaims a UK music weekly. This single tells a different story. Bloc Party go one further than the usual flotsam of Joy Division-inspired noiseniks and combine their angular guitar-based funk/punk with a certain amount of heartfelt sentiment.
If it’s Thursday it must be time for the UK music press to invent a new scene. Thus following on from the New Wave of New Wave, Shoegazing, Britpop, the New Rock Revolution etc etc, comes the New Rave ‘movement’ and their trailblazing leaders, Klaxons. You might not be surprised to learn that Magick sounds nothing like the rave records I remember – and it’s really not at the races. They may well disappear, but beware: the New Wave of Irish Riot Rock is only around the corner…
Dream line-ups are occasions to be celebrated, so when news came through that some of the brightest lights emerging from the UK music scene were to converge on Fabric this Easter Bank Holiday weekend for what can only be described as one of the most exciting gigs so far this year, Hot Press felt it was only right to grab our trusty notebook and a hip flask of whiskey and get the hell down there.
Liverpool's musical exports have included The Beatles, Echo and the Bunnymen, the Teardrop Explodes, Pete Burns, the KLF, the Lightning Seeds, Frankie Goes to Hollywood and many more. Mercury nominees The Coral are the latest scallywags to capture the attention of the music press who have picked up on their blend of classic rock influences and irreverent energy
They may not fit neatly alongside the sensations currently pouring out of London, but fresh-faced English rockers Thirteen Senses are nonetheless still brewing up a storm on the UK indie scene.
David McAlmont (left) and Bernard Butler have re-united after seven years, following their ill-received eponymous debut in 1995 and their subsequent falling out. The result, according to Butler is the pair's "true debut"
From gigs with cider punks in limerick to playing for Fidel in Havana and from the low of Richey’s disappearance to the high of performing before Wales’ victory over Italy – life has never been boring for the Manic Street Preachers. Stuart Clark listens intently as Nicky Wire discusses their defining moments
First there was the bad shit then the mad shit – the biggest-selling album in Irish history, an international hit and a record you hear “in every shoe shop”. So, having climbed the white ladder to phenomenal success, how does David Gray follow that?
Richard Ashcroft spent the best part of the ’90s on a quest to make one of the great rock albums with The Verve. Having succeeded with Urban Hymns, he promptly broke up the band. Now, with the imminent release of his second solo album, Human Conditions, an upbeat Ashcroft discusses his excitement about collaborating with Brian Wilson, his youthful adventures in clubland, and why The Verve had to split
What do Hope Sandoval, Liam Gallagher, Susan Dillane, Dr. Subranamian and Paul Weller have in common? They all guest on the new Death In Vegas album, as DIV’s Richard Fearless and Tim Holmes explain
With the last broadcast up for a Mercury and Slane just around the corner, Jimi Goodwin of Doves is happy to enthuse about Planxty, U2, The Streets and Sean O'Hagan. Just don't call his band "the new Radiohead"
Surviving the exit of Darren Emerson, as well as various personal traumas and professional challenges, Underworld have re-emerged with their most positive album yet in 100 Days Off
Paul Weller has a reputation as one of the most truculent men in pop, with a deep-seated dislike of the promotional process. But with the release of his latest solo album Illumination, the man who once led The Jam and the Style Council agreed to put himself in the firing line. Looking back over a career that's studded with success, he's reflective and forthright - but the anger that inspired much of The Jam's finest output still burns
Their music may be dark but there’s nothing gloomy about Stuart Staples’ mood as he talks to Phil Udell about the new Tindersticks album, Waiting For The Moon, and how after 11 years they’re finally going home
JONATHAN O’BRIEN (real name) meets
WREKKED TRAIN DAVE (not real name) of the
LO-FIDELITY ALLSTARS (real name) and finds out how CLAUDIO GENTILE (real name) fits into their chaotic scheme of things.
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
It’s all about broken down tour buses, Alan Partridge, high speed collisions, Moby, broken ribs, Mina Suvari, MTV stars and David Bowie as Ash launch a sonic assault on America. So riddle me this: can Ireland’s hardest-working rock’n’roll outfit crack the big one?
From A to Z, Paul Nolan and Ronan Fitzgerald introduce all the runners and riders for Punchestown – throwing in a baker’s dozen of acts who are not to be missed* along the way
How the mafia did Noel a favour by twatting Liam; the U2 song Oasis might cover; the most he’s spent on cocaine; a great night out in Ireland’ and what it will say on his tombstone. Noel Gallagher answers the reader’s questions. Turning up the heat Stuart Clark.
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.
Van Morrison fanatics – and there are plenty around – will want to grab hold of tickets for the June 9 show he’s playing at High Lodge, Thetford Forest nr. Brandon in Suffolk.
Apart from saving time, money and sanity when touring America, one o the best things you can do is try and get some American radio play. Here are some of the best online stations and guides to doing that.
The new quartet’s chemistry is null and void, resulting in a dated and, at times, painful collection, of stuff that wouldn’t have made it onto a Soundgarden B side in a million years
Liverpool club Cream has, as expected, announced a major change in their DJ booking policy for 1997. From January the club will be concentrating on resident DJs in its main rooms, and guests will now only occasionally appear in the club’s Courtyard area.
At the precise moment that TOWER RECORDS are celebrating their 30th anniversary, they have the youngest managing director in their history – ANDY LOWN. Since assuming his present post in July 1996, he’s masterminded the expansion of the company in Ireland, and is about to preside over the opening of five new outlets in this country. Interview: STUART CLARK.
