When the revellers at a 21st birthday party in Waterford snorted a white powder, it had a dramatic and appalling effect. Ironically, it may be because the cocaine was of unusual purity.
THE CANDLELIGHT SESSIONS at Phil Grimes' pub are the first rung on the ladder for many aspiring musicians. Proprietor Tom Ryan and chief rabble-rouser Johnny Kiely explain why this live gem is an important part of the Irish music scene.
Having already triumphed at this year's National Student Music Awards, ambitious Waterford quartet Floyd Soul & The Wolf are determined to go on to even greater success.
Electric Avenue in Waterford City is now a firmly established stop-off on the Irish circuit. Proprietor and promoter Mick O'Keefe talks a little about his past and explains how he's in this for the long haul.
Having been pounding the festival beat since Oxegen (taking in trips to the likes of Hungary & Japan!) Ash have confirmed an Autumnal return to Irish shores.
Early this month Beat 102-103 opened for business as ireland's first regional radio broadcasting station covering Carlow, Kilkenny, Waterford, Wexford and Tipperary. according to the beat manifesto the station is targeting the 15-34 year old age group with “an upbeat and entertaining programme schedule provided by young presenters, with the aim of giving the youth of the region a service to reflect their tastes and attitudes.
When PETER O CONNELL (not his real name) was charged with the molestation of two young boys in Kilkenny and Waterford in 1994, his statement to Gardai revealed for the first time, his own horrific saga of sexual abuse, and resulted in the conviction of a priest who had ostensibly taken him under his care. With full access to court documents, RICHARD BALLS reports on the case of a 33-year-old with a mental age of 12 who, for much of his grim, institutionalised life, had been in the words of the judge who sentenced him to 18 months imprisonment more sinned against than sinning .
From the backstreets of Waterford to a place on the podium next to the Beatles, Gilbert O'Sullivan lived an extraordinary life. Now 60, he looks back on his rollercoaster career.
After enjoying spectacular success in the early 1970’s, Gilbert O’Sullivan suddenly found his career brought to an involuntary halt by legal red tape that took five years to unravel. The Waterford singer–songwriter managed to survive those dark days, though, and is now back doing what he loves best – playing live and making records.
By rights that should make him a happy man, but, as Joe Jackson discovers when he locks horns with the former ‘Bisto Kid’, there are certain aspects of the past that are hard to reconcile.
Waterford Arts Festival joins the plethora of autumnal events taking place to brighten the shorter evenings, and features an impressive bill featuring the likes of Duke Special, the Marshall Stars and New Colour Soul.
Waterford Arts Festival joins the plethora of autumnal events taking place to brighten the shorter evenings, and features an impressive bill featuring the likes of Duke Special, the Marshall Stars and New Colour Soul.
They’re from Waterford, so given the city’s recent successes in the National Student Music Awards and Murphy’s Live, ‘Sticky Fingers’ should have no problem getting former Ten Speed Racer man Terry Cullen and co. international fame and fortune. The three sombre rock tracks here exude an unhurried, confident nature, complemented perfectly by the dynamic of boy/girl vocals. Promising stuff.
Waterford band The Heard have recently picked up some notable plaudits from the likes of Alison Curtis at Today FM, and at times it's easy to see why. Raw production lends a hint of punk energy to their otherwise straight melodic rock songs. 'Holiday Camp' brings to mind Modern Life Is Rubbish-era Blur whilst 'Shame' has the swagger and punch of The Undertones and the melodies of The Stunning. If there is a criticism, it's that the songs lack imagination. Decent enough nonetheless.
One of the many singer-songwriters emerging from the fertile Waterford scene, Neil White has an album in the traps from which ‘Coming Home’ is a tasty trailer.
Tim Easton is currently delighting audiences around the country as part of Easton, Stagger, Phillips, with dates in Waterford, Dublin and Derry still to take place
There’s a delightfully breezy ambience to this album by two veterans of traditional music. Flute player Peter Horan hails from Killavil, Co. Sligo, while fiddler Gerry Harrington was born in Kerry, now lives in Waterford, and favours the Sliabh Luachra style – particularly evident during his solo turn on a pair of hornpipes previously recorded by Sliabh Luachra players Julia Clifford and Denis Murphy.
“Blurp… Zing…Chickaah” and other such noises litter My House On Neptune, the bedroom-recorded album of unsigned, seven-strong, Waterford-based The Siam Collective.
Celebrating its tenth anniversary, the Heineken Rollercoaster Tour 2003 arrives in Castlebar tonight for the final show, and after Waterford, Cork, Tralee, Dublin, Maynooth, Sligo, Carlow, Athlone, Limerick and Galway, everybody appears to be present and correct.
Impartial, level-headed Offaly supporter BARRY GLENDENNING chronicles the good, the bad and the downright Bizarre in this year’s All-Ireland hurling championship and predicts that the Liam McCarthy cup is, once again, bound for the Midlands.
Contrary to popular belief we’re not familiar with every venue in the country, but below – with the aid of our Hotpress student reps – we provide a guide to some of our favourite student hang-outs
A Garda seizure and anecdotal evidence suggest that the dangerous drug DOB – aka ‘Snowballs’ – is well established in Ireland. and there’s worse to come.
Once every four years we wave them off to do us proud. And this year it was to the home of the Olympics, to the birthplace of the modern athletic movement and the playhouse of the gods, to Athens.
Back in the days of the Wild West, Judge Roy Bean presided over his court as ‘the law west of the Pecos’. Rough and ready, and largely self-taught, his constituency included chancers, fleeing miscreants, vagabonds, thieves, murderers as well as homesteaders and frontier entrepreneurs.
He's been painted as a loud-mouthed yob but The Courteeners' Liam Fray is actually a complete sweetheart - so long as you don't ply him with liquor and encourage him to slag his rivals.
Adulation from teenage girls, encounters with Jack Osbourne and hi-jinks with coked-up prostitutes – Donegal rockers The Revs are starting to make a name for themselves in Britain and beyond.
As the summer finally begins to fade and the dark nights of winter start to creep in, many of us look for a last chance to get an away break before the build-up for Christmas begins. Jackie Hayden reviews some of the options countrywide.
2006 has been a busy year for Dublin-born Shaz Oye, capped by the release of her mostly self-penned and self-financed debut album Truth According To Shaz Oye. In conversation with Jackie Hayden she looks back on her story so far.
He’s made the Man U and Ireland right-back positions his own this season, and is playing what he admits is the best football of his career as a result. As the Republic gears up for a play-off crack at World Cup qualification, JOHN O’SHEA talks about life under Trapatonni, and reflects on another successful year at Old Trafford.
MUSIC, COMEDY, THE WORLD - FAMOUS ROSE, THRILLS, SPILLS, AND THE CHANCE TO BE A STAR - IT'S ALL HAPPENING AT THIS YEAR'S TRALEE FESTIVAL IN THE CAPITAL OF KERRY
KARAN CASEY may be a folk singer, but don t classify her as easy listening . Her music is infused with radicalism and eclectism. She spoke to SIOBHAN LONG.
He may have turned the volume down a bit, but Ricky Warwick‘s Tatoos & Alibis album still rocks like a bastard. Stuart Clark meets him and his multi-platinum mate Joe Elliott.
Cork outfit Rulers Of The Planet may have started out with few ambitions other than having lots of fun, but the growing acclaim being afforded their exhilarating brand of corrosive punk-rock means that world domination is an increasingly realistic prospect.
The Prodigy may be one of the most potent acts on the dance scene but they've got a rock'n'roll attitude to live performance. STUART CLARK finds out why from the prodigy himself, LIAM HOWLETT.
Kildare’s favourite son and godfather of the singer-songwriter scene, Luka Bloom, talks to Jackie Hayden about his most intimate album to date, Innocence, gigging with The Frames in Australia and hanging backstage with Gabriel Byrne.
It used to be a dentist’s surgery and the interior décor might generously be described as “quixotic”, but The Chalets’ Paula Cullen wouldn’t dream of departing her well-populated Walkinstown residence.
The Smiths: the band who helped re-write the book of guitar rock, the indie darlings who became mainstream legends, the dream of a group which gave the world the unique reality of Morrissey. guitarist Johnny Marr recalls the thrilling heyday of Manchester’s finest.
La Rocca drummer and canine aficionado Alan Redmond relates how he and his bandmates have risen to the top in the dog eat dog world of greyhound racing
Who wants to be a millionaire? Not Philip Ó Ceallaigh, who actually seems remarkably nonchalant about not scooping a pot of money for his latest short story collection.
You may not have been able to see the banned movie Showgirls in an Irish cinema or take it home from your local video store but that doesn t mean Irish viewers were prevented from catching it on the small screen. peter murphy reports on how satellite television avails of EU regulations to exploit a loophole in the Irish censorship laws.
You may not have been able to see the banned movie Showgirls in an Irish cinema or take it home from your local video store but that doesn t mean Irish viewers were prevented from catching it on the small screen. peter murphy reports on how satellite television avails of EU regulations to exploit a loophole in the Irish censorship laws.
Comedian JACK DEE, the supremo of sarcasm, the sultan of sardonicism, is back on the road and he s headed for this green and pleasant land, for a string of dates in April. Interview: Andrew Darlington
But where would you be in the middle of the night with no bells and your knickers ringing? Or more to the point, where would you be without the new Hot Press/Heineken link up with Tower Records on Sundays?
Danu may just be the hardest working band in trad. With their fourth album The Road Less Travelled only recently released and another promised for the spring, When Jackie Hayden put a number of key issues to the band’s accordionist Benny McCarthy and bodhran player and uilleann piper Donnchadh Hough he found that they don’t just work hard, they talk hard too.
Alabama 3 are known for their love of a good time. On their latest album, these rhinestone spangled bad boys let their inner funk monster off the leash.
Mystery still surrounds the tragic death of a student whose body was found washed ashore on a Wexford beach exactly a year ago. Now, his mother has accused the Gardai of neglect.
Could a serial killer be behind a rash of disappearances in Dublin and neighbouring counties over the past two decades? And might the murderer now be behind bars? Craig Fitzsimons untangles a dark and disturbing tale and wonders whether the truth of what happened will really ever become known.
Singer-songwriter Leslie Dowdall now lives in the picture postcard perfection of the Wicklow Mountains. But Jackie Hayden finds a hive of internal activity within the external tranquillity.
After years of slogging in the undergrowth of comedy, whimsy-merchant David O'Doherty has suddenly become an 'overnight' success having won a top prize at Edinburgh.
Trinity College Dublin Student Union President Rory Hearne was arrested, detained and brutalised by Czech police at the World Bank
and IMF protest march in Prague on September 26th. He relates his experience to Stephen Robinson. Pictures: PETER MATTHEWS
Somebody up there likes us -that's for sure! Slane Castle 4pm on Saturday 25th August 2001 and the sun is shining down through deep blue skies like it hasn’t done all summer.
After a storming appearance at the Eurosonic festival in Holland, Patrick Freyne talks to Cathy Davey about recording, redecoration and ill communication.
Never mind the Champions League, if it’s fierce competition you’re after look no further than the National Student Music Awards. Doing his third level best to pick the winner: Neil Brennan.
The Shamcocks did! Well, it is if you’re one of eighteen women – lesbians all – who’ve decided that it’s time to throw off the shackles and bring a new form of alternative entertainment to the highways and byways of Ireland. Prime mover Jude Cosgrove talks to Danielle Brigham.
The Irish government plan to implement the fingerprinting of asylum seekers from the age of 14. Meanwhile, Amnesty International, the Irish Refugee Council and the African Refugee Network have all reported a rise in race-hate attacks on blacks and non-nationals in recent months. Report: Peter Murphy. Pictures: DEREK SPIERS/REPORT
Contrary to popular belief, not all Australians are surf fanatics from birth. However, that doesn’t mean that participating in the sport isn’t a hugely rewarding experiance, as Hot Press’ resident Antipodean Danielle Brigham discovered when she travelled to Bundoran ahead of the town’s eagerly anticipated ocean festival.
The Irish club scene has been plunged into controversy with the decision to force a number of clubs to close earlier. Meanwhile the threat of a 1.30am curfew has not gone away.
To mark World AIDS Day, JOHN M. FARRELL reports on the continuing socio-political discrimination against those living their lives under the shadow of the deadly virus, and talks to a number of people – mostly teenagers – who fall into the high risk category. This is their story . . .
After more than 15 years in the business, Aslan are still able to command massive, devoted audiences in music venue and record shop alike. John Walshe joins the Lions' club on the road
It’s time for the singer-songwriter fraternity to move over and make room for the new generation of Irish guitar bands. Director, Marshal Stars and The Blizzards are just three of the acts who feature on the debut compilation from Faction Records, the new label which aims to promote and nuture the brightest stars of the Irish underground.
JOHN WALSHE talks to top Irish 400m hurdler Susan Smith about what it means to devote yourself completely to athletics and her need to challenge for gold at the 2000 Olympics in Sydney. Pix: COLM HENRY.
PETER MURPHY previews SWEET DREAMS, a new series beginning this Wednesday on RTE1 at 8.30pm, which tells the real-life stories of performers yearning to realise their career aspirations in the entertainment industry.
From Have I Got News For You to his own sketch show series, from his soap ads to any television awards ceremony you care to mention, Paul Merton is undoubtedly the biggest and busiest star in British comedy. As he hits Dublin for a series of shows, he talks to Liam Fay about the price of fame, his close brush with nervous breakdown and, most importantly, his love affair with Bishop Eamon Casey.
What promoters and clubbers perceive as Garda heavy-handedness in the -war on drugs- is making life increasingly difficult for dance venues across the country. STUART CLARK reports.
Want to know how to get the most out of Witnness? Email your questions/tips/profound insights via the form below (it can be anything from transport queries to what-to-bring hints to who not to miss on the bill) and await response from the online community
Regarded by most sane citizens as an irrelevant safe haven for pompous political windbags, Seanad Eireann is really . . . an irrelevant safe haven for pompous political windbags. Why then, is the decidedly sane TCD academic, ivana bacik, so anxious to get elected to Dail Eireann s Upper House? liam fay finds out.
In the first of a new series about life at the rock n roll coalface, musician and writer Peter Murphy recalls the night the devil wrecked all his best tunes. Confessions Of A
Rock n Roll
Survivor
During the heady days of Italia ’90, The Stunning provided the unofficial soundtrack to the nation’s summer-long party, playing a series of uproarious shows around the country and treating the top-ten like their local. thirteen years later, having just re-released their classic album, Paradise In The Picturehouse, the group reflect on what a long, strange trip it’s been and why they’re not ready to hang up their guitars just yet.
She learned her craft with the Wild Oscars and Kaydee, and more recently featured on the John Hughes album Wild Ocean. Now, Tara Blaise has taken flight with the release of her debut album Dancing On Tables Barefoot – a record that unveils an impressively free-spirit and a desire to live life to the full.
This issue, Hot Press magazine comes with a stunning cover mount CD. Here’s your track by track guide to this exclusive collectors’ item, featuring the winners and headline acts from Murphy’s Live 2007. Click here to buy the mag and get your free CD!
On the eve of the release of Tour De Flock, BellX1’s live album and DVD from Dublin’s Point Theatre, Paul Noonan, Brian Crosby and Dominic Phillips answer the weird and wonderful questions of hotpress readers, from the swimming habits of monkeys to ripping the gusset of your pants on stage.
Have you ever wondered about the diminutive character who keeps the Irish soccer team supplied with clean jerseys, hard balls and, er, all sorts of other footballing paraphernalia? That's Charlie O’Leary, kit man to the Republic of Ireland squad. Here he talks about;the secrets of his behind-the-scenes trade, the players’ bizarre likes and dislikes and the controversies of USA ’94 to Paul O’Mahony.
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.
Adam Duritz of Counting Crows and Kieran Kennedy a mutual appreciation society that went public during the Heineken Green Energy Festival get together to discuss songwriting, critics, genius, mediocrity and what it takes to be a rock n roll outlaw. Referee: PETER MURPHY.
In the past, many Irish people suffered from an inferiority complex about their own culture – about the language, music, film and literature of this island. But music is one arena where things have changed dramatically. Report: Jackie Hayden
The rise and rise of the female singer/songwriter is fast achieving phenomenon status in Ireland - here,
Peter Murphy profiles an eclectic mix of new and distinctive talent
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.
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.
And that s just the band! Galway s finest, The Stunning, take time out from sticking pins in themselves as their debut album Paradise In The Picturehouse finds itself perched atop the Irish charts to explain the secret of their success to an attentive Michael O Hara, who undergoes a road to Damascus experience en route.
The Artists Formerly Known As Jove, Royseven, open their recorded account with the September 8 release of ‘Older’, the first single to be lifted from their The Art Of Insincerity album, which follows in October.
WHILE THE BIRMINGHAM SIX AND THE GUILDFORD FOUR CAN, AT LONG LAST, ENJOY THEIR CHRISTMAS DINNER AT HOME WITH THEIR FAMILIES, THERE ARE STILL MANY OTHERS WHO WILL RING IN THE NEW YEAR LANGUISHING IN PRISON CELLS ON THE STRENGTH OF VERY DUBIOUS CONVICTIONS.
FRANK JOHNSON IS ONE OF THEM.
REPORT: RICHARD BALLS
ARDAL O'HANLON is back in anti-hero mode in a new BBC sit-com. But before that, there's more stand-up, a movie, another book and the small matter of football, football. NICK KELLY hears all about a busy life after Ted. Pix: Cathal Dawson.
ARDAL O'HANLON is back in anti-hero mode in a new BBC sit-com. But before that, there's more stand-up, a movie, another book and the small matter of football, football. NICK KELLY hears all about a busy life after Ted. Pix: Cathal Dawson.
As Albert Reynolds basks in the post-ceasefire glow and Dick Spring’s Labour party strives to assert its
independence in government, BILL GRAHAM believes that the real losers in the new political landscape are the Progressive Democrats.
Forget Oxegen or U2 at Croke Park – the biggest shows in town this summer are the All Ireland Championships. With the crowning of the provincial championships, the season is entering its most competitive stage.
Don’t go, they said. but they didn’t follow their own advice. Now, after much professional and personal upheaval, the Hothouse Flowers are back, once more in love with the idea of “ringin’ the bell”.
When Mick McCarthy became manager of the Republic of Ireland, he enjoyed a honeymoon period as one of the Irish media s favourite subjects. But it didn t last long. Results fell below the grandiose expectations of a nation grown accustomed to success under Jack Charlton and McCarthy became a somewhat embattled figure. Now the team is fighting back and the manager is beginning to relax again, confident in his own ability to deliver. Interview: Stuart Clark. Main pix: The Star
Barely had the new smoking legislation been put in place than the law was broken – in the Dail Eireann bar, by a TD. John Deasy, who subsequently lost his position as fine gael spokesperson on justice, reckons his crime was minor compared to the “criminal excesses” of some of his political colleagues. and he won’t guarantee that he won’t break the law again.
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.
From strange days coming second in a yoghurt-sponsored competition and playing awful gigs sandwiched between boy bands, Damien Dempsey, with a little help from Shane, Sinéad and Christy, has survived and thrived. Eamon Sweeney meets a rap balladeer with a hit album, a social conscience and more than a few stories to tell.
It’s Christmas time and, as far as the hotpress journalistic elite are concerned, there’s not a turkey in sight. JOHN WALSHE, COLIN CARBERRY, CHRIS DONOVAN, EAMON SWEENEY and BARRY O'DONOGHUE report on the Irish acts who are going to be huuuuuuuuge!
over the next 12 months.
Alex Barclay used to write about fashion and beauty products. Now she’s a best-selling crime author with a lucrative book deal. What sets her apart from other whodunnit writers is her forensic eye for detail and chilling mastery of plot. She’s just getting started, she tells Peter Murphy.
ENTERTAINMENT OFFICERS FROM UCC, UCD, UNIVERSITY OF ULSTER, UCG, DCU AND THE UNIVERSITY OF LIMERICK GIVE AN ALTERNATIVE VIEW OF LIFE ON THEIR PARTICULAR CAMPUSES.
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.
Ten, nine, eight… we count down the contenders for 2003. Words Hannah Hamilton, Colin Carberry, Niall Stokes, Richard Brophy, John Walshe, Eamon Sweeney and Stuart Clark
It is an old Republican principle. But it could also be applied to the attitude the authorities have taken to Ireland’s longest serving political prisoners, Paddy McCann and Colm O’Shea. Jailed for the killing of two Gardai during a bank raid in Roscommon in 1980, as the peace process reached its final stages they were asked to sign up to the Good Friday Agreement. They subsequently put their names on the dotted line. That was ten years ago. So why have they not been released in the meantime, like dozens of other former Paramilitary activists? In an extraordinary, confessional interview, PADDY MCCANN makes his case against the State.
Tales of high profile solicitor Gerald Kean's astonishing ability to make truckloads of money - and spend it - have become the stuff of tabloid wet dreams.
They’re men behaving wonderfully and they’ve taken Irish television by storm. Now into its second series, Bachelors Walk has made household names of Barry, Ray and Michael, themselves inhabitants of a particularly memorable household. Fiona Reid meets the actors behind the true wise guys. Photos Roger Woolman
The rise and fall of chef CONRAD GALLAGHER was Icarus-like – one moment the toast of Dublin’s glitterati, the next a virtual pariah.
but unlike Icarus, Gallagher has fought his way back, bloodied but unbowed and determined to pay off all his debts
Interview: OLAF TYARANSEN
His TV breakthrough came when he told Pat Kenny about how he hung weights from his penis. Since then it’s been wild globetrotting and fluent Irish all the way. And now, in his latest spectacular for the viewing public, Hector O hEochagain has only gone and bought himself a share in a racehorse.
Waterford's Floyd Soul & The Wolf, winners of this year's National Student Music Awards, embark on a seven-date Irish tour in the coming months to promote their new single.
It’s the guide Ladbrokes, the Central Bank, Mystic Meg and Mark Lawrenson turn to at the start of each year – Jackie Hayden’s cultural, sporting and political forecasts for the forthcoming twelve months.
From “Outspan” to Glen Hansard, from Grafton Street to Hollywood – and onwards to Lisdoonvarna 2003. A portrait of The Frames as a most unusual band. Part one of a two-part special feature by Peter Murphy. [Main Photos: Mick Quinn]
Egyptian-born Ali Selim, now a resident of Tallaght, is the Secretary General of the Irish Council of Imams, which was formed last month to represent Islamic concerns in Ireland, ranging from theological matters to issues of social integration. In this extensive interview, he attempts to dispel many of the Western myths about the Muslim world, addresses the subject of Islamic extremism, Salman Rushdie and the Pope’s faux pas.
SINEAD O'CONNOR has been many things - bona fide pop star, tabloid target, controversial activist, mother and priest. But, above all, she is one of Ireland's most compelling musicians.
With a new album due for release, she talks to NIALL STOKES about love, sex, the Church, fame, racism and why "it's important to make it soul music." Pictures: MYLES CLAFFEY
During the late eighties, Aslan were among the most celebrated of Irish rock acts, immensely popular at home and signed to EMI, a major multinational label, on which they released their debut album, Feel No Shame. And then it all came unstuck, amid squalid tabloid accusations of drug addiction, egotism and recrimination. Now they re back, older, wiser and more resolute but with their musical batteries recharged, a new contract with BMG under their belts and that old emotional band intact. Report: Liam Fay (with additional reporting by George Byrne).
During the late eighties, ASLAN were among the most celebrated of Irish rock acts, immensely popular at home and signed to EMI, a major multinational label, on which they released their debut album Feel No Shame. And then it all came unstuck, amid squalid tabloid accusations of drug addiction, egotism and recrimination. Now they’re back, older, wiser and more resolute – but with their musical batteries recharged, a new contract with BMG under their belts and that old emotional band intact. Report: LIAM FAY (with additional reporting by GEORGE BYRNE). Pix: MICK QUINN
Jape and Lisa Hannigan may inhabit opposite ends of the musical spectrum but their careers have followed remarkably similar paths. On the road together in the UK, he talks about bagging the Choice Music Prize and she discusses her dramatic split from Damien Rice
MIKE SCOTT once fronted the greatest rock n roll band in the world, but before the world got a chance to wake up to the fact he had gone west and invented raggle taggle. Now with a new Waterboys album, A Rock In The Weary Place, just released, Scott takes time out to reflect on his strange but true adventure. By PETER MURPHY
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.
Rabble-rousing controversialist and after hours man, sure. But one time devoted mass goer who now drinks once or twice a month and finds Stringfellows seedy? Welcome to the other side of Eamon Dunphy.
EMINEM s Marshall Mathers LP has gone 12 times platinum in Ireland. He s been voted Time magazine s Man Of The Year. And, having broken through into the mainstream with the remarkable Stan , he s just been nominated for four Grammys. So why is the world suddenly falling at the feet of a venomous bottle-blonde rapper who s penned some of the most repugnant, hate-filled lyrics since the invention of the gramophone record? Peter Murphy tells one of pop music s most extraordinary stories ever
He may well be a prime target for the jibes of other Irish comedian-types, but right now brendan o carroll is
riding the crest of a wave of popularity of quite phenomenal proportions. With three best-selling books to his credit, a smash hit play and a movie already in the offing, he s back on the road with his sell-out one-man show The Story So Far. Here, in a startlingly honest interview, he talks about his addiction to gambling, his contempt for the theatrical establishment, the fear and paralysis that is endemic in RTE, Father Ted, the Catholic Church, groupies and (cue fanfare please) his plans to become an M.E.P. Tape recorder: liam fay.
Pix: MICK QUINN
Prince may be content just to party but in a four-page special the Hot Press journalistic elite takes a look at everything 1999 has to offer. And then some.
The recipient of a Late Late Show tribute and the outgoing presenter of The Arts Show, MIKE MURPHY avails of a timely opportunity to reflect on the highs and lows of his personal and professional life and to assure JOE JACKSON that, contrary to certain popular mythology, he is neither a marshmallow nor a flowerpot man
Each year, the BALLYBUNION BACHELOR FESTIVAL in Co. Kerry sees numerous unattached males flocking to the Kingdom for a week of boozing, carousing and
general merry-making, in a vainglorious attempt to prove their bachelorian credentials. OLAF TYARANSEN went along for this year’s ride. Pics (and occasional enraged outbursts): CATHAL DAWSON.
Las and Cast man John Power takes care of ribbon cutting duties on November 2 when Waterford’s newest bar and live venue, Electric Avenue, opens for business in John Street.
Without wanting to condone their hero’s chemical excesses, Babyshambles aficionados would be forgiven for worrying that a newly rehabilitated Pete would mean an end to the gloriously anarchic Babyshambles shows of the past. Judging by this Heineken Green Spheres gig however, they may rest easy.
Donegal rockers The Revs begin their extensive tour of the Republic on Friday, and if you want check out what they’re like, you can watch a live'n'sweaty performance online.
The Frank & Walters have announced an extensive tour to coincide with the April 20 release of ‘Fight’, the latest single to be lifted from their fab A Renewed Interest In Happiness album.
Rodrigo y Gabriela take to the road next month in support of their eponymous new album, which was produced by Radiohead, Stone Roses and Muse man John Leckie.
Hot on the heels of acquiring a controlling interest in Spain’s Benicassim Festival, former Mean Fiddler supremo Vince Power has opened a new “supper club” in the Piccadilly area of London.
Award-winning tradsters Danu are the headline attraction on Monday January 12 as Ireland launches its presidency of the EU with a concert in Brussels' Flagley Concert Hall.
To coinicide with the Festival Of World Cultures at Dun Laoghaire, Tonic in Blackrock has announced a fringe festival, with Mocrac and David Hopkins headlining.
There’s the usual cracking mix of music, news and views to be had this weekend on Beat 102-103 as Rob O’Connor takes to the air between 6 and 8pm with Irish Beats.
Hungry Hill (Canada), The Jeff and Vida Band (USA), Sunnyside (Czech Republic) and Buffalo Gals (UK) are among the highlights of this year's Guinness International Blue Grass Festival.
Rennie and Brett Sparks - unofficial ma and pa of alt-country and progenitors of last year's brilliant Twilight - return to teach us some Handsome Family values
Dublin foursome More Tiny Giants – who recently made it onto the bill for Hard Working Class Heroes – are offering their entire Wolves At The Door EP as a free download.
The Green Room Sessions Presents - Heineken's brand-new, totally free-gratis-and-for-nothing gig series - hits the music venues of the nation starting late February. First band up: Lemon Jelly. Read on for details
The two bands who are in the running to win a prize that includes a support slot with the Automatic, an EP with Fifa Records, studio recording time, full PR and a six month management deal, are exclusively revealed.
If it's "alternative organic pop" (ahem) you're after, your long lonely search is over with the release of Rory Faithfield's Blood, Bones & Soul later this spring
To launch their new single 'Your Love Goes On', the Hothouse Flowers will return to their early days of busking in the city, with a lunchtime gig on Friday January 16 on Grafton Street, Dublin.
Beat 102-103 FM’s Irish Beats programme, presented by Rob O’Connor, is to broadcast live from the First Cuts Rock Clinic at the Wexford Arts Centre on Saturday September 6.
Lipfloater head our way for Irish tour. Who they, you wonder? The Boston band, fronted by Dub Barry Kelly, who recently opened for The Strokes, that's who
Next month Hot Press will hold a First Cuts Clinic in Wexford, giving up-and-coming artists access to free mentoring sessions. Read on to see how you can get involved...
Liu Fang and Michael O'Toole have announced an Irish tour to promote their album Changes, billed as "an extraordinary musical meeting between east and west."
David Power's done a brilliant job of researching the notes on the tunes for the CD booklet, and one only wishes he'd applied the same thoroughness to displaying his clean, elegant playing in the best possible light: too often, irregular foot thumps and other minor glitches mar the overall effect.
Sir Bob and his, eh, scandinavians to team up with Power FM to vy for the southeast regional radio license. Competing bidders Vince Power and Paul McGuinness, beware
Only two weeks left until the submissions deadline for the next IMRO Showcase Tour: - and record-breaking numbers have already entered! Get postal, people
Only two weeks left until the submissions deadline for the next IMRO Showcase Tour - and record-breaking numbers have already entered! Get postal, people
Having been feted in Irish singer-songwriter circles for over a decade, Limerick’s Don Mescall has signed a seven-figure deal with Nashville’s Curb Records.
The Dublin alt-country merchants give us a preview of their forthcoming debut with lead single 'The Dry Law', which you can have a listen to right here...
It’s shaping up to be the mother of all battles of the bands as Dublin heroes Bravado square up against Waterford’s Gorbachov in the Murphy’s Live 2008 final in The Savoy, Cork on May 15.
Two top 20 singles, a top 5 album and a slot on the Rollercoaster tour not good enough for you? Well, no, actually, say The Revs: we wanna play the Ambassador. Make it so
It may be wet outside and April doesn't bode any better but there's news to brighten your mood: the former recipients of the Hot Press single of the fortnight nod are playing a few dates round our way.
While the album opener (‘Dissociate’) takes a while to kick in, the incessant riffing of second song ‘No Easy Ride’ is a suitable sucker punch to the nether-regions.
Punk-funk poet Jinx Lennon introduces the nation – well, two nations actually – to his Know Your Station Gouger Nation album when he plays Ireland later this season.
Wexford singer-songwriter and ace guitarist Clive Barnes follows his recent support slot with Jeff Beck at Vicar Street with news of a new single, album and 17-date Irish tour.
The local support acts have been unveiled for the RTÉ 2fm 2moro 2our, which finds Messiah J & The Expert, Giveamanakick and The Flaws zapping round the country for a goodly part of May.
KARAN CASEY
The Shelter, Dublin
As interesting a band as they unquestionably are, there was always a nagging doubt when it came to Irish American folkies Solas – namely you wished they would often just can their diddling a bit and let singer Karan Casey work more of her stunning vocal talent.
Mundy's Vicar St. performance on June 19 has been cancelled to make way for the Anti-War gig, which is being moved from The Point to the more centrally located venue.
After six Murphy’s Live gigs and after much deliberation, the bands that will go to the next stage of Murphy’s Live for the semi-finals have been decided.
David Kitt’s upward career trajectory continues with ‘Song From Hope Street (Brooklyn, NY)’ being co-opted onto the soundtrack of Josh “Pearl Harbour” Hartnett’s new movie, 40 Days & 40 Nights.
Newly signed to Universal, the Duke will release his new 'Sweet Sweet Kisses' single next month, followed by a nationwide tour taking in no less than 12 counties.
Fresh from their appearance at the BudRising Spring festival, Dublin's Delorentos return with a new single, support slots and a headline tour of their own.
Concerto For Constantine, Codes and Grand Pocket Orchestra are among the 46 promising Irish acts who take to the road this weekend as part of the 2008 IMRO Showcase Tour.
Ireland’s favourite troubadour is back with his second live album. Live At The 9:30 Club documents the Idaho native’s stopover at the Washington D.C. venue last October .
The forthcoming single ‘Time’ by Michele Ann Kelly, to be released in June, is being dedicated by the Dublin singer-songwriter to the campaign for Marriage Equality.
The competition might be hotting up as the Murphy’s Live battle of the bands enters the semi-final stage, but that’s nothing compared to the temperature at Whelan’s.
The long-awaited follow-up to the phenomenal Music In Mouth is nearly upon us, and just to build up the tension a little more, you can get a sneaky peek at the cover right here...
Fight Like Apes have rescheduled some of the dates on their upcoming Irish tour, and will now support the Ting Tings on their September/October UK tour.
A match made in ... heaven? The Handsome Family - the husband and wife duo of Brett and Rennie Sparks who make beautiful, if rather spooky music together.
A surprisingly gentle, Preston Sturges-inspired satire on Hollywood from the blessed pen of David Mamet, State And Main is almost scarily good-natured coming from the man behind such far-from-gentle classics as the scalpel-sharp Speed The Plow.
Paul O'Reilly brings us Songs; Luc and the Platelets and The Warlords Of Pez say Let's Battle in the Storehouse; and Leagues and Robert Stephenson get famous
This compilation brings together a tenuously-linked group of artists who got tired of waiting for record companies to open their ears and decided to release their own music.
Live music industry stalwart Vince Power and classical guitar guru John Feeley are the latest additions to The Music Show, set for October 4-5 in Dublin's RDS.
Back in his native Dublin after another successful stint in the US, magician Keith Barry is a young mage in a hurry. But what’s this about being arrested for driving while blind-folded?
The inaugural Live Music Venue Of The Year awards give IMRO members a chance to vote for their favourite venues. And now the nominees have been announced...
You’ve got your ticket, bought yourself a tent and picked out a nice pair of wellies. Now all you have to do is actually get to Punchestown. Read on for the definitive guide.
Having well and truly rocked Limerick last night with Reverend & The Makers and Tom Middleton, Heineken Green Spheres now turns its attentions to Waterford.
The line-up for this year’s Murphy’s Live extravaganza has just been unveiled and, as predicted in our last issue, it’s a cracker!
Supported throughout by hotpress, the headline acts and ports of call are The Blizzards @ Cork (January 18); The Marshals @ Whelan’s, Dublin (25); Delorentos @ The Granary, Killarney (February 1); Dae Kim @ Geoff’s, Waterford (8); Vesta Varo @ Dolan’s, Limerick (15); and Hybrasil @ Whelan’s, Dublin (22).
Of course, there's a competitive element to the trek, with two unsigned acts being selected each night to play support. Four go through to the Cork and Dublin semi-finals in March 2007, and then the top 2 slug it out on May 10 for a prize fund of €10,000. This includes studio time, a six month management contract and the release and national distribution of an EP courtesy of FIFA Records. Last years winners were Lotus Lullaby, pictured right.
Calling students in Trinity College; NUI Galway; Limerick IT; NCAD; Athlone IT; Carlow IT; Blanchardstown IT; Sligo IT, Waterford IT: Hot Press have a few remaining vacancies in these colleges for our student rep program.
The station that rewrote the commercial radio rulebook in Europe, Radio Caroline, is close to sealing a deal with NTL which will make their programming available in Dublin, Cork and Waterford City.
One-off clubs, chillout nights, New Year's Eve events and of course gigs, gigs, and more gigs to suit your every mood: hotpress.com picks the very best stuff to do over the holiday
He may have been a mere whippersnapper when the punk wars erupted in London- but Stuart Clark hustled his way into the Roxy when it was all happening, and survived. At least, we think he did!
For under-18s, gaining entry to concerts in licensed venues is a constant problem. But the regular BLAST gigs at Dublin's Temple Bar Music Centre provide a solution: twice a month, up-and coming bands play afternoon shows to a teenage crowd in a venue serving nothing stronger than water. NIALL STANAGE reports.
Having supported the likes of Relish and Interpol, Belfast-based rockers Leya have now signed with prestigious Dublin label Rubyworks. Plus the usual round-up of news from the domestic front.
I find it hard to know where to begin, so deep is the sense of disillusionment I feel. Every few days now, it seems, we are confronted by some new racially-motivated abomination in Ireland. Last week the Richardson family from England were the victims a mixed race group of father (white), mother (black) and son (student at Trinity College), they were on a night out in Dublin, celebrating a family occasion. Walking back, along Pearse Street, to the apartment in which they were staying, they were attacked by a bunch of yobs shouting racial insults. The father, David Richardson, was stabbed brutally and almost died. Rushed to hospital, he remained in intensive care for days. Who knows what scars he will carry with him, physically and psychologically, for the rest of his days as a result?
With the same old trad royalty still being treated with grovelling reverence, promoter and manager David Caren thinks it stime the young and innovative got their dues. But will it happen? Report: SIOBHAN LONG.
There are a glut of new Irish dance releases to tell you about, not least the fantastic debut album from Third Eye Surfers, also the first Irish hip-hop collection.
There are a glut of new Irish dance releases to tell you about, not least the fantastic debut album from Third Eye Surfers, also the first Irish hip-hop collection.
MIND-BOGGLING. There is no other word for it. A decade ago the country was tearing itself apart over the legalisation of divorce. Three years ago, we introduced it by the most slender of majorities – the vote split almost evenly down the middle and succeeded by less than one per cent. Now Councillor Anne Devitt of Fine Gael has proposed that we open up castles by the sea as “romantic” places in which to have civil weddings.
There's one sure fire way to bring your music to the attention of the masses – and that's by getting it played on radio. Fortunately, Ireland has no lack of independently inclined stations out there – most of which play demos.
25 YEARS ago this month, on January 30th, 1972, Bloody Sunday, British soldiers stormed up the street where I was born and shot 13 people dead. I watched some of it happen.
The glitter cannon has been primed. The pyrotechnics are sorted, likewise a series of 40 foot video screens. A massive sound system will have been freighted in from London. And at midnight on New Year's Eve, a Shine club special at the King's Hall in Belfast will be hailed by much noise and a computerised system sequencing animation, music and samplers - a millennium shindig that's likely to be the best of its kind in Ireland
Cutting edge techno-tronica DJ John Braine’s dream of putting out a compilation of Irish dance music produced by members of an internet discussion group was recently realised, a year after he first asked for musical submissions from fellow IE-Dancers.
The Concert – Running Order:
James 1.00pm
The Seahorses 2.15pm
Finley Quaye 3.30pm
Robbie Williams 5.00pm
Manic Street Preachers 6.30pm
The Verve 8.30pm
A couple of recent outdoor parties on a beach in north County Dublin have proved that there’s life in the old rave dog yet. We won’t mention the location in case there are any members of An Garda Siochana reading, but suffice to say global warming can’t be all that bad a concept if it enables over 1,500 techno loons to dance until dawn on a Dublin beach in April and May.
Now that American rock ’n’ roll has succumbed to its self-destructive urges and with its British counterpart reduced to self-indulgent navel exercises, the stage is now set for the radical rejuvenation of Irish music both as an international commercial viability and as a cultural touchstone for the new generation at home. Bill Graham meets philip king, the captain of the flagship of the latest revival river of sound, and finds that in the wake of the Riverdance phenomenon, it’s full steam ahead for Irish trad. Pix: NUTAN.
On this, the occasion of my last Demo Parade (yes, readers, the sad truth is that by the time you read this I will be back home in the United States) I thought it would be appropriate to look back on my reviews and pick out the ten best demo tracks of my year at Hot Press.
Think you've got them all right? Or maybe you fancy a sneaky peak (you're only cheating yourself you know!). Either way, you've got the questions – we've got the answers....
Filí, amhránaithe and ceoltóirí na héireann member Steve Cooney on the rights of trad acts to travel, get paid… and obtain a cup of tea when playing Dublin castle. Folk Centre with Sarah McQuaid
There are fewer refugees living in Ireland than there are Irish emigrants in Munich, but that hasn’t stopped Justice Minister John O’Donoghue, however inadvertently, whipping up race hate on the refugee issue.
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.
Some of the people operating behind the scenes in the Irish music industry have been there, seen that and done it too. So their words of wisdom about how to get yourself tacked up for rock n roll stardom are well worth listening to.
Report: PETER MURPHY
'The Irish Are Coming' was the banner headline for a two-night musical extravaganza held at The Venue in London, organised in conjunction with Hot Press, that showcased some of the most promising Irish bands. Gerry McGovern gives a behind-the-scenes account of the weekend that was...
Five years ago no-one would have believed it. But with dance music reaching new heights of popularity, Irish rock ’n’ roll is engaged in a desperate fight for its very survival. Reporting from both sides of the battle line: Stuart Clark
It may be miles off the beaten track, but Connolly’s of Leap has become one of the best-loved live venues in Ireland. Now with the launch of Rescue Music, the man behind the Connolly’s phenomenon, Paddy McNicholl is embarking on an exciting new phase of activity. Report: Jackie Hayden.
