She mightn’t be 13, but that hasn’t stopped Andrea Corr having her own Bebo page, which includes 30 second previews of three songs from her upcoming Ten Feet High album.
Now, there's a sentence you don't see every day. But when Hot Press hooks up with Ronnie Wood, there's always more where that came from. Read on to learn why the Stones won't be playing the "Party In The Palace", why Ronnie can be found in Arizona before tours and about the new DVD that captures Andrea and Slash's special relationship
Niall Stokes: As a band you took more responsibility with In Blue you have a greater level of input into the production and so on. Was that a strain when you were doing it?
At the end of another eventful year, Andrea Corr takes time out to reflect on life, death, love, health, music and her role, off-stage and on, in the family that plays together. Interview: Niall Stokes
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.
Making her solo debut, Andrea Corr has set about re-casting herself as a vampish singer with a taste for dark beats and sultry wordplay. In a forthright interview, she talks about her unexpected re-invention.
Lord only knows what happened to her after The Corrs went on hiatus, but Andrea Corr’s back with a new stylist, a new fringe and a totally different sound. With Bono as “executive producer” (whatever that means), ‘Shame On You’ sounds like she’s aiming to do for pop what the Klaxons did for indie. In other words, be shamelessly bleepy. Ah, we missed Euro-pop.
The Corrs hit paydirt with In Blue, an album of memorable pop songs that topped the charts in over twenty countries around the world. It gave them the breathing space they needed to re-establish their roots, to live a little and to reassess their purpose as a band. Now, with the release of Borrowed Heaven, they’re back in the music biz frontline – slightly older, considerably wiser, but still with the same hunger to make great and honest records.
THE CORRS' public image is one of unblemished beauty and soaraway success. But beneath the pop sheen lurk the darker lyrical themes of Andrea
Corr.
JOE JACKSON talks to her about the inspiration behind some of the Corrs' biggest hits, hears her anger at recent critical reaction and finds out what "Ireland's sexiest woman" really thinks about love, sex, drugs and rock 'n' roll and the whole damn thing.
The idea for Home, an album of Irish songs, has been on the agenda for The Corrs for a number of years. But its release marks an important stage in the evolution not just of the band, but of lead singer Andrea Corr – who has been exploring new ways of expressing herself as an artist with increasing poise and confidence.
Dark as you like electro from where else Andrea Parkers gaff. All tracks are worth a spin, but its the dirty, time-stretched electro of Dryer thats rockin our box. Like a slowed-down Mark One with added 808, this is unpredictable and original.
By any standards, The Corrs are an extraordinary phenomenon. It won't be long before the combined global sales of their albums to date top the 20 million mark. In Ireland alone, by the end of the year, they will have sold over a million records - at which point they may well have established themselves as the biggest-selling Irish act of all time on home turf.
Andrea Parker’s Touchin’ Bass imprint digs deep to deliver underground electro that flirts with industrial and rave influences, but the real power behind these tracks is the bass, evident on the gut-wrenching low end frequencies on Eggfooyoung and Plaid’s contributions.
Aslan’s Christy Dignam lives not too far from where he grew up in Dublin. He talks to Hot Press about birdwatching, how he stays away from drugs and his disdain for celebrities who complain about fame.
If you’ve been aching for a twee diddle-de-di confection set in the depressingly prehistoric Ireland of the '60s, then The Boys And Girl From County Clare is guaranteed to float your boat like no flick since Waking Ned.
X marks the spot! The spirit of the Los Angeleno post-punk pioneers fairly haunts this superlative garage-rock stomper, as Andrea Zollo’s Kim Gordon-like growl interplays superbly with the kind of spiralling guitar riffs that were last heard at a Television gig circa 1978. Fittingly, the last singles page of 2003 fades out to the sound of the young soul rebels. Merry Xmas.
Though the pitch for Gianni Amelio’s award winning film – distant father bonds with long-lost disabled son – may recall the well-meant condescension of Rain Man and Inside I’m Dancing, The Keys To The House somehow strikes an implausible balance between tear-jerking drama and clear-eyed depictions of impairment.
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.
Andrea Corr as the "local girl" who falls for a fiddle player from Liverpool? Yep, when she reignites her acting career to star in romantic musical-comedy the Great Ceili War
As revealed earlier in the year, Bono, Andrea Corr and Gavin Friday are among the artists contributing to the CD Rogue's Gallery: Pirate Ballads, Sea Songs & Chanteys.
Not content with dueting with Bono at the Live 8 finale in Edinburgh, Andrea Corr hits the big screen again this month in a 25-minute thriller called The Bridge.
The name is unfamiliar (and let's face it, absolutely ridiculous) but in the States they have notched up Grammy nominations and hit singles to beat the band. Of course, the fact that they have received such plaudits is no indication of quality. In fact, Sixpence None The Richer come across as an indie version of The Corrs, complete with titles like 'We Have Forgotten' and Andrea Corr-style vocals from Leigh Nash.
Gavin Friday has been talking about his involvement in a Johnny Depp-inspired project that also involves Bono, Andrea Corr, Tom Waits, Nick Cave, Bryan Ferry, Antony & The Johnsons, Richard & Linda Thompson, Loudon Wainwright and some of his former Virgin Prunes bandmates.
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.
Ten Feet High is surprisingly playful, but in a serious way. For the most part, Corr and producer Nellee Hooper have fashioned a hybrid of high street pulses, airy melodies and acoustic chamber pop.
Currently drawing huge crowds to The Olympia with his third Mrs. Brown play, Brendan O’Carroll nonetheless has a bone to pick with those pushing for the retention of the section 481 tax break for film-makers.
melys are more than just the latest Gorky's soundalikes or Super Furry Animals copyists to emerge from the wilds of Wales, according to an enthusiastic nick kelly.
Niall Stokes: As the drummer in a band, you re occupying a seat that s normally occupied by men.
Caroline Corr: It s a natural thing for boys to go for instead of girls. But I think there should be a lot more females playing. I don t know why they don t.
Joe Jackson talks to Dawn Bradfield, star of Poor Beast In The Rain, the latest instalment in playwright Billy Roche’s widely acclaimed Wexford trilogy.
Niall Stokes: People would make an assumption that since The Corrs have sold millions of records, you ve already got it made. Does it feel like that to you?
The Corrs Talk On Corners was the biggest-selling album of 1998 in the UK. So far it s shifted 6 million copies worldwide and rising. And now the band are set to embark on their American campaign, with who knows what ultimate destination at journey s end. So they ve had it easy, eh? It s all a big marketing scam, masterminded by the moguls in the American record company that signed them? We thought you d like to know so we put these and other accusations to someone who should know, their manager of nine years, john hughes. And got some interesting answers too. Interview: niall stokes.
Since writing her book The Morning After: Sex, Fear And Feminism, author Katie Roiphe has been subjected to an unprecedented level of private and public vilification for her outspoken views on rape. Here, she talks to Liam Fay about the growing complexity of sexual politics in the States.
Pix: Cathal Dawson.
GEORGE MARTIN was intrinsic to much of The Beatles brilliance. Now he s coming to Dublin for a series of special concerts. GEORGE BYRNE sets the scene.
The glitz and glamour is but the tip of the iceberg a lot of blood, sweat and tears has also gone into making THE CORRS the huge success they are. And it s not just about the music either the tricky business they call show has to be negotiated too. NIALL STOKES gets the inside story from the captain of the ship, manager JOHN HUGHES, with supporting testimony from some of the crew.
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.
Low priced guitars and pianos manufactured in China are music to the ears of Western music fans: Mark Godfrey reports from the biggest music expo in Asia.
His good humour apparently unblunted by years of drug addiction, Aslan’s Christy Dignam talks about heroin, sexual abuse and his belief in the redemptive power of music.
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.
Back in the '60s the MC5 made it on to the CIA's 'Most Wanted' list. Now, they're a chi-chi fashion accessory beloved of Jennifer Aniston and her Hollywood pals. Guitarist Wayne Kramer explains it all to Stuart Clark.
From the profound and the insightful to the weird, funny and just plain daft, Paul Nolan rounds up what the famous and infamous had to say for themselves in 2004...
Niall Stokes: With this record you took on responsibilities as a group which were significantly greater than had been the case before, in terms of shaping the record, being involved in production. How did that affect the process?
At the time of writing indications are that Tori Amos’ ‘Cornflake Girls’ single will hit the No.1 spot in the British charts this week. Celebrations may indeed be in order – but for Tori right now there are far more burning issues to be talked through and dealt with. In an extraordinarily intimate, open and at times devastatingly honest interview, she talks about the horrific knife-point rape documented in ‘Me And A Gun’, the lingering wounds inflicted on her by the experience and the difficult healing process she has begun – including, she says, accepting the ‘prostitute’ in herself. Along the way she challenges a wide range of assumptions on love, sex, violence, religion, masturbation, feminishm, lesbianism and the main
man himself, Jesus Christ. By Joe Jackson.
Kieron "Wolf" Ducie, describes what happened on the night Katy French passed away in compelling detail. He also recalls the build-up to the tragic events that unfolded.
It's head-scratching, nail-biting, on-the-tip-of-your-tongue time again, as GEORGE BYRNE presides over our renowned annual music quiz [this is for the year 2000]
He pioneered the art of glam-punk excess with the New York Dolls and now he's learned to grow old gracefully. Peter Murphy meets the boy from New York City, the ever cool David Johansen. Photos: MYLES CLAFFEY
Every year thousands of film fans make the trip to the southern capital for the feast of cinema that is the Cork Film Festival. Hot Press looks back over the history of one of Europe’s longest-running cinematic events and checks out what this year’s packed programme has to offer. Report: Patrick Brennan
It's all changed for DAVID GRAY. Within the past month he has played a series of sell-out gigs across the US, gone top ten in the UK, and returned to this country to celebrate the release of Lost Songs. In a hotpress exclusive, NIALL STANAGE reports from New York, Boston, London and Dublin on the globalisation of Ireland's favourite Welshman. Hotshot hitman: STEVEN FISHER
Re-telling the story of September 11 with a measured hand and lightness of touch hithertoo unhinted at, director Oliver Stone proves a more serious thinker than his paranoia-soaked canon would suggest. Here, he explains how his experiences as a soldier in Vietnam framed his outlook on life and art.
He’s jammed with Bob Dylan, partied with Keith Moon, sued The Byrds, traded spiky tops with Rod Stewart, had close encounters with Presleys Reg and Elvis and played "name that key" with John Lee Hooker, but arguably the best moment in his life was when he was named small breeder of the year. RON WOOD, the man who would be the queen mum of rock 'n' roll, tells a mean tale.
Words: STUART CLARK. Pictures ROGER WOOLMAN
As the dust settles on the Northern Peace deal and Sinn Fein gears up for an election in the Republic, Gerry Adams talks about his journey from political outcast to statesman, Bono's knighthood and what’s on his iPod.
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.
An elegant meditation on mourning, Nanni Moretti's Palme D'Or winner is a moving and honest account of the death of a loved one which never stoops toward the sickly sentimentality, otherwise known as Robin Williams factor, that typifies the Hollywood treatment of such subject matter
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
The new Hot Press follows hot on the heels the biggest weekend in Irish rock 'n' roll history, with The Ultimate Oxegen report, plus a world exclusive REM interview.
Latest in the bewilderingly long line of generally worthless horror movies 2003 has had to offer, The Dead End isn’t nearly as spectacularly bad as most of the others but despite its impressive atmospherics and sense of claustrophobia, it has neither the originality nor the suspense necessary to overcome its obvious limitations.
Latest in the bewilderingly long line of generally worthless horror movies 2003 has had to offer, The Dead End isn’t nearly as spectacularly bad as most of the others but despite its impressive atmospherics and sense of claustrophobia, it has neither the originality nor the suspense necessary to overcome its obvious limitations.
The Corrs were at the British Embassy in Dublin today to receive an Honorary Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (MBE) from the British Ambassador, Stewart Eldon.
THE CORRS HAVE been confirmed as one of the headliners at the South African “Freedom Day” concert, which is taking place in London’s Trafalgar Square on April 29th.
Four years is a hell of a long time in pop music – the fact that The Corrs could afford to lay low for such an extended period is a testament to the band’s confidence in their audience...
Non, merci, say continentals, you can keep your U2s, your Oases and your Robbie Williamses... Dundalk's finest The Corrs are officially the "best-selling group in Europe"
Here Dillon brings her warm, natural style to standards like ‘Black Is The Colour’, ‘Lark In The Clear Air’ and ‘I Am A Youth That’s Inclined To Ramble’.
It’s certainly plain to see how their teaming of sentimental, wide-eyed AOR and neo-trad power choruses is a hit with the audience, and they are indisputably talented, yet there is still something about the Corrs that strikes me as somewhat bloodless. Perhaps it’s me, for I haven’t seen an audience in the Point so animated and enthusiastic in ages.
Fine words, fine wines and possibly even the occasional fine. Tom Mathews makes his now annual pilgrimage to the cuirt festival of literature in Galway.
You may love them or loathe them but we'll bet you never thought THE CORRS played "British regional music". Peter Murphy observes The Observer getting its nationalities in a twist
hotpress.com can reveal the line up for the 2004 Heineken Green Energy Festival, which returns to Dublin on the June Bank Holiday weekend - June 4th through 7th - in the courtyard of Dublin Castle.
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
The sun slicing through the Dublin evening skyline makes the after-work traffic bearable on the hike out to furthest Rathfarnham. Indeed, the gridlock is so bad that we miss the start of Interpol and have to be content to hear the masterful ‘NYC’ and the driving ‘Obstacle One’ while walking down the leafy path that leads to the venue.
The banjo has got some bad press over the years and not without some justification. However, prepare to have your prejudices on this score reduced to rubble: Alison Brown is a wizard and a true star and Stolen Moments is a cracker of an album from start to finish.
...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
The illustration by David Rooney in the last issue of Hot Press, depicting a priest marturbating, was offensive not just to the clergy but also to women. At least that's what one caller to Joe Duffy claimed. It got us thinking as we prepared the Hot Press Women's Issue (though not, we have to say, for very long....)
Rogues Gallery, can be roughly – if fancifully – described as a Hallowe’en masqued ball staged on a decrepit ghost galleon. Featuring a cast of hundreds arrayed over two albums and 43 tunes, it’s an unruly assembly whose various belchings, bilgings and bemoanings lurch in tone and timbre from the bawdy to the doleful.
Awards by the dozen, celebrities wall-to-wall, gobsmacking world exclusives and of course, great music: it can only be the Hot Press Irish Music Awards. Only 24 hours to go - here's how it's all shaping up
Hot Press gets saucy with a steamy Samantha Mumba shoot. Also, Sinead O'Connor goes wild in Jamaica, Damien Dempsey takes on the world and Andrea Corr fronts our women's issue.
Corrs fans are going to have to wait a little bit longer for the band’s mooted reunion with Andrea lined up for a new London production of Brian Friel’s Dancing At Lughnasa.
Taken from the Bell X1 man's solo album Kill Your Darlings and directed by Andrea Demers as part of the Fall 2007 semester Hot Press/NYU Tisch School Of Arts music video project.
Belfast, like Dublin, is getting a bit frisky with the promise of spring. Loads of music initiatives are being planned and the landscape is looking better than ever. The difference between the two social diaries is that Belfast stops having fun at the end of June, to allow the marching season to have its ruinous way. By the time we pull out of that regular mess, the summer is packing up and it s time to go indoors again.
Belfast, like Dublin, is getting a bit frisky with the promise of spring. Loads of music initiatives are being planned and the landscape is looking better than ever. The difference between the two social diaries is that Belfast stops having fun at the end of June, to allow the marching season to have its ruinous way. By the time we pull out of that regular mess, the summer is packing up and it s time to go indoors again.
Belfast, like Dublin, is getting a bit frisky with the promise of spring. Loads of music initiatives are being planned and the landscape is looking better than ever. The difference between the two social diaries is that Belfast stops having fun at the end of June, to allow the marching season to have its ruinous way. By the time we pull out of that regular mess, the summer is packing up and it s time to go indoors again.
Far from leading to violence, studies show that the availability of hard core porn leads to a reduction in sex crimes. And besides, perfectly normal people enjoy it.
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
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....
Independent Irish acts have been enjoying unparalleled success recently both at home and abroad. We talk to some of the key bands, DJs, bedroom boffins, labels, fanzines, record shops and blogs who've decided to follow the DIY path to glory.
