A musician from an early age, and the son of a jazz musician, Dave Angel’s association with the UK’s dance scene goes back to the beginning. Richard Brophy fires the questions at the Sarf Lahndan techno prince turned disco don.
No Angel, the debut album from British singer Dido (a sister of Faithless’ Rollo Armstrong), was actually released Stateside over a year ago, but it has taken until now to make an impact commercially.
Sno Angel Like You manages to retain the scuzzy, down-home, come-into-the-parlour-and-take-a-microscope-to-my-heart feel of Howe Gelb’s previous work, while delivering some of the most uplifting, enthralling, soaringly beautiful and gloriously soulful music you’re likely to hear this year.
A brief encounter with Dido – author of multi-million-selling debut album No Angel and brand-newie Life For Rent – not to mention one of the nicest popstars you’re ever likely to meet.
The Mexican-Canadian Dark Angel starlet Jessica Alba gets all grown up with a lasso and leather bra in the Rodriguez/Tarantino directed film adaptation of Frank Miller's neon noir Sin City.
Although arguably the outstanding female country artist of her generation, Emmylou Harris has always distanced herself from the Nashville
mainstream. From early recordings with Gram Parsons and Bob Dylan through to her most recent Daniel Lanois-produced album Wrecking Ball, her work has been characterised by a maverick spirit and real fire in the belly.
PETER MURPHY caught up with her in Dublin.
Each track is a distinct little hit-single, destined for the global Saturday night dancefloor. Some are too twee for my taste, pure bubble-gum, but most of these songs are much deeper and smarter than your average poppy dance tune, with lyrics that reward repeated listening, and a plethora of up-front musical references that read like an encylopaedic history of excellent pop.
“Goth groove” hopefuls Angel Pier are only a year in existence but already they’ve wooed audiences from Galway to New York. Might they be Ireland’s next break-out success?
LIAM FAY celebrates the re-release of Gram Parsons’ two solo albums, G.P. and GRIEVOUS ANGEL on mid-price CD with an appraisal of the life and work of the man dubbed The Father of Country Rock.
Rumours of Depeche Mode’s demise have been greatly exaggerated, as Martin Gore and Andy Fletcher explain on the eve of the release of their 11th studio album, Playing The Angel.
Best known as the original lead voice in Riverdance, John McGlynn may have suffered from a case of sibling domination. His twin brother, Michael, wielding the Anúna baton, seems to have hogged most of the limelight in the past, but now it seems that John is set to redress the balance.
These days he may be more famous for his movies than his prose, but in conversation Neil Jordan remains linguistically precise as he dissects the Hollywood machine, reveals his love for Lord Of The Rings and discusses his latest movie The Good Thief, starring Nick Nolte.
Comic book genius Alan Moore, who was also the original author of the big screen Jack the Ripper yarn, From Hell, has now turned his attention to fellow visionary/madman, William Blake. Peter Murphy reports
The latest Boy to leave the Zone, the launch of Mikey Graham s solo voyage has been attended by
controversy and criticism. But don t underestimate his determination. I m not the passenger, he tells PETER MURPHY. Portraits of the Artist: DECLAN ENGLISH
It’s been ten years since his last novel, but Neil Jordan has now reprised his role as one of Ireland’s finest contemporary prose writers with the dark gothic drama, Shade. In a wide-ranging interview with Olaf Tyaransen the Oscar-winning writer/director discusses the challenges of literary craftsmanship, swimming with sharks in Hollywood, working with Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt, his disinterest in celebrity and why Ireland continues to be his preferred place of residence.
Like many others, I must admit to being a tad underwhelmed with Mary Black's last couple of albums, a lack of direction characterising one, an end-of-cycle lassitude the other.
So it was that I approached this, her latest offering, with some trepidation. After just one listen I was convinced that I had heard one of the albums of the year thus far.
Like many others, I must admit to being a tad underwhelmed with Mary Black's last couple of albums, a lack of direction characterising one, an end-of-cycle lassitude the other.
So it was that I approached this, her latest offering, with some trepidation. After just one listen I was convinced that I had heard one of the albums of the year thus far.
The industry may not have always liked them but their fans couldn’t be more passionate. Ten members, four studio albums, three managers and two major labels later, The Frames still managed to add up to more than the sum of their parts. Peter Murphy, with help from Glen Hansard and other key players brings the story of the band up to date in this, the final part of our two-part special [Photo Mick Quinn]
Blissful, wistful summery pop from the duo consisting of singer Inara George and programmer Greg Kurstin. George has the voice of an angel and the tune drifts along like a warm August breeze the only negative being the chorus which comes over a tad repetitive after a while. But taken in small doses this is gorgeous stuff.
Er…ya wha’? You’d be forgiven for thinking that Ms Church had become a professional holidaymaker/clubber/tabloid botherer of late, so actual evidence of musical output here might surprise a few. If you’re hoping to hear the voice of an angel, you’d be sorely mistaken (if not a little bit tragic), as Char has well and truly put those ‘Pie Jesu’ years behind her.
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.
From balmy folk revivalist to angst-rock totem, there are many Neil Youngs. Sometimes, you wish there was only one: the feckless, snarling fallen angel of On The Beach and Rust Never Sleeps.
Stalking round the stage like a centaur on angel dust - the man has the weirdest posture - he doesn't let up until everybody in the audience is as drenched in sweat as he is
As the lesbian witch willow, Alyson Hannigan was the star turn in Buffy The Vampire Slayer. she’s also the lead female in the ongoing teen comedy caper that is American Pie.
GAY AND LESBIAN FILM FESTIVALThe hot new Dublin-born, New-York-based director Jimmy Smallhorn, Desert Hearts and ER director Donna Deitch, and zany NY comedienne Reno will all be on hand to introduce their films at the 6th Dublin Lesbian and Gay Film Festival, which runs at the IFC in Dubin from July 30th to August 3rd.
The tragic death of Mic Christopher before Christmas came as a terrible blow to his many friends and fans (see letters page). Here our own Kim Porcelli recalls her memorable encounters with "an exceedingly generous soul".
The master of the historical psychological thriller,
CALEB CARR's own life has not been short of drama.
Here, he talks to OLAF TYARANSEN about growing up with the Beats and the shock of discovering that his father was a convicted murderer. Pics: Mick Quinn
The master of the historical psychological thriller,
CALEB CARR's own life has not been short of drama.
Here, he talks to OLAF TYARANSEN about growing up with the Beats and the shock of discovering that his father was a convicted murderer. Pics: Mick Quinn
The master of the historical psychological thriller,
CALEB CARR's own life has not been short of drama.
Here, he talks to OLAF TYARANSEN about growing up with the Beats and the shock of discovering that his father was a convicted murderer. Pics: Mick Quinn
COLM O HARE catches up with MARY BLACK, as the singer helicopters her way around the country and talks about her new album, the song writing of Ron Sexsmith and unfair criticism. Pics: PETER MATHEWS.
Annual article: Soul sensation Amy Winehouse has the voice of a fallen angel and the mouth of a docker. And that’s before she’s even got a few vodkas into her.
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.
So what happens when an indie band goes major league? how can you stay cool when your date’s a Charlie’s Angel? how important is the boy/girl song in a flag-waving time? and like Alexander The Great, do you weep when you have no more worlds to conquer? in addressing these and other pressing questions of the day, The Strokes salute John Lennon, Bob Dylan and their own undying band of brotherliness.
She began her career as a police reporter before taking a job in the Chief Medical Examiner's Office in Virginia. There, she spent as much time in the morgue as possible, watching autopsies - including dozens on bodies which had been savagely maimed and mutilated in the course of being murdered. Now she writes crime novels, but Patricia D. Cornwell keeps going back to the morgue to witness the kind of gruesome sights that would give an angel bad dreams.
Interview: Liam Fay Pix: Colm Henry
The supposed one-hit wonders who are now big – no, make that massive – in Japan, Underworld are celebrating ten years of stream of consciousness, musical collages and, er, the greyhound form book.
English folk singer KATE RUSBY has been nominated for the Mercury Music Prize. She tells Colm O'Hare about sad songs, her Bon Jovi phase, and attracting praise from Blur s Graham Coxon
Sprawling across four restless, angry and sometimes contradictory sides, "Rattle And Hum" is nothing less than U2's most ambitious album yet. Review by Bill Graham
Having caused a major rumpus with his last film, Behind Enemy Lines, Irish director John Moore has gone the boy’s own adventure route with his remake of The Flight Of The Phoenix. Dennis Quaid, Kevin Costner and “arseholes working in commercials” all come under the microscope as he talks to Tara Brady.
Éanna Dowling admitted to causing #1,400 worth of damage to Smurfit Institute of Genetics - but the courts took a lenient view. Report: Adrienne Murphy
Tanya Donelly star of the upwardly flying Belly, wouldn't sleep with Robert Redford for a million dollars and she wouldn't throw her knickers at Tom Jones. But she is engaged, believes in the concept of marriage - and is on her way to Sunstroke. Interview: Andrew Darlington
With his new movie End Of Days hitting cinemas nationwide, GABRIEL BYRNE
speaks frankly to CRAIG FITZSIMONS about the challenge of playing Satan,
US cultural imperialism and Ireland's growing economic divide.
He's resident DJ at Mr. C's End club, records for the End label, runs his own Plank stamp, and, with fellow co-Ender Layo makes some rather fine music as the Usual Suspects. He's Matthew B, and he's here to talk to Digital Beat. Interrogating the suspect: Richard Brophy.
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.
Look out for a blinding performance from Kevin Bacon. Moviehouse talks to Nicole Kassell, co-screenwriter of The Woodsman, the provocative new drama in which the author plays a paedophile recently released into a hostile small-town community.
From playing tiny club gigs to serenading Wembley, songstress Tara Blaise has travelled a great distance in a short time. And the journey is only just beginning.
From Donegal to London and beyond, altan s breathtaking music continues to win new converts. As the band showcase material from their latest album, Runaway Sunday, at the international headquarters of Virgin Records,
mairiad nm mhaonaigh tells sarah mcquaid:
It s all about letting it rip.
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.
He might not have been the first rock n roller but he came pretty damn close. And in the success-through-excess stakes no-one could rival Rimbaud. PETER MURPHY savours a revealing new biography of the wild child
From Timeless to Celebrity Big Brother to stopping Esso, and all points in-between – is it any wonder Eamon Sweeney has to ask if the real Goldie would please stand up
She calls Him her “Great Lover”. He tells her to “call Me Daddy”. At any hour of the day or night Himself is likely to drop into the life of Vassula Ryden for a bit of a chinwag. She, in turn, broadcasts His words to the world at large. All of which means that, in what amounts to the metaphysical journalistic coup of the century, our Liam Fay gets an exclusive interview with The Holy Spirit.
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.
Having sent up the zombie flick on Shaun Of The Dead comic duo Simon Pegg and Nick Frost have trained their sights on the cop movie with their new feature, Hot Fuzz.
I’d always have said that Irish people were good at huddling. Our history and our climate, not to mention the controlling influence of the Roman Catholic Church, had tended to give us an inward-looking aspect. We had a thing about bars, matter a damn how dark or gloomy they might be. What we wanted, it seemed, was good place to whisper and to hide.
LA, Joshua Tree, Alabama, New Orleans . . . Kristin Hersh verbally back-packs her way around the most significant places in her life and career thus far.
Interview: Nick Kelly.
With a new tribute album to Gram Parsons on release, PETER MURPHY enlists the help of co-executive producer EMMYLOU HARRIS to recreate the tale of Southern Gothic that was the late singer s life.
Catherine Hardwicke won the Sundance best director award for Thirteen, her controversial and unflinching depiction of teen queen sex, drugs, shoplifting and self-harming. Moviehouse meets the director and co-star Holly Hunter.
FIFTEEN YEARS after his death Elvis Presley is probably having the toughest year of his career. Not Elvis the guy who works down at the chipper or at the local A&P, obviously, but Elvis the social construct and cultural phenomenon. Elvis the quintessential folk hero.
What has transformed 47-year-old boy Adonis TOM MATHEWS into a realistic simulacrum of that red-nosed little feeb in the Bamforth Comic postcards? Yes, readers, a punishing fortnight at the Galway Arts Festival. Now read on
BARRY GLENDENNING visited the Leeds Town and Country to witness the BRUTUS GOLD LOVE TRAIN, an unfeasibly
popular 70s disco extravaganza that will soon be winging its way to Dublin.
BARRY GLENDENNING visited the Leeds Town and Country to witness the BRUTUS GOLD LOVE TRAIN, an unfeasibly
popular 70s disco extravaganza that will soon be winging its way to Dublin.
SHOW ME a poster bearing the entwined silhouettes of two angular dancers accompanied by the words "Tango", "Sultry sensuous passion" and "Direct from Argentina" and the outcome is fairly inevitable.
They may be nothing more than a tribute band but if so, they re a damn good one. JACK L and his BLACK ROMANTICS have been unanimously lauded for their Jacques Brel-inspired Wax album: The idea was to bridge the gap between Brel and Scott Walker. Now Jack L himself talks to JOE JA
Four years on from Inflammable Material and even Jake Burns is beginning to wonder if Stiff Little Fingers are losing their bearings. Here he reveals some of his misgivings to Bill Graham
Though feted by everyone from Metallica to Motorhead, they were the runts of the 80s Metal Litter. But now, unbelievably, vintage headbangers Anvil are back as the stars of their own rockumentary. And guess what? It could be their biggest hit ever. They talk about entertaining Dalymount Park with an outsized vibrator back in the day, explain why life on the road led them to lose all respects for woman and recall the time they parted 'til dawn with Phil Lynott.
It's one thing to suffer in some abstract way for your art, it's another to have some coked-up crazy attack you for it. But that's what happened to one joker-man after a gig in Dublin.
It's off to the most Northerly gig in the country with the island angels of Altan as Bill Graham spends a weekend in Donegal with our most dynamic traditional outfit and posits the theory that by looking to the past for inspiration Altan may hold a significant key to the future.
It’s off to the most Northerly gig in the country with the island angels of ALTAN as BILL GRAHAM spends a weekend in Donegal with our most dynamic traditional outfit and posits the theory that by looking to the past for inspiration Altan may hold a significant key to the future.
Bruised but unbowed by a turbulent campaign, the People s Coalition candidate, ADI ROCHE, discusses matters personal, political and presidential with JOE JACKSON.
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.
JJ72 are being cast as the great new hopes of Irish music. Intense, passionate and melodic, their music has captured an increasing number of fans. With a single in the UK Top Thirty and a debut album about to hit the shelves, they tell NIALL STANAGE how good they are and how good they want to be. Portrait of the Artists As A Young Band: MICK QUINN
From the early excesses of the Birthday Party through meisterwerks like The Good Son to his new release, Live Seeds, Nick Cave has spent nearly fifteen years probing those crevices of the human psyche that few care, or even dare, to venture into.
Here, in a highly personal, in-depth interview, Gerry McGovern grills the god of Goth about his ambivalence towards and obsession with religion, his love of dysfunctional people, his thoughts on the past and his hope for the future, oh, and how to reconcile life as an internationally renowned icon of doom with being a mummy’s boy! (Only joking, Nick!).
Anybody can do sex, drug's and rock 'n' roll; precious few can capture the experience in prose. With her powerful first-person novel Brass, 26-year-old Helen Walsh has done just that.
THERAPY? are back. ANDY CAIRNS talks to Peter Murphy about losing (and re-finding) the plot, hardcore, and the new album s resonances with the Northern peace process.
From First Cuts to Latest Cuts, from the First Lady Of Immediate , recording with Phil Spector, Jimi Hendrix and the Small Faces, to the First Lady of Techno, scoring Top Ten hits with Altern-8 and the Beatmasters, to today with Primal Scream and Ocean Colour Scene
P.P. ARNOLD has always been there, wherever the beat is hottest.
Interview: andy darlington.
If a city can be defined by a catchphrase, then Let the good times roll epitomises new orleans. Landing in The Big Easy slap-bang in the middle of Mardi Gras, siobhan long gets a crash course in gumbo, voodoo, hot music, chilling crime and, believe it or not, legal Ecstasy. But, most of all, she gets a masterclass in how to party. Pix: steve lasky and cathy anderson
Having already conquered Ireland and the UK, SAMANTHA MUMBA is poised to join Britney and Christina at the top of the American pop chart. Not bad for someone who two years ago was fired from a panto by Twink! Now, with her new album Gotta Tell You ready for release, the Dublin singer talks candidly to JOE JACKSON about drugs, sex and the break-up of her parents marriage
Queen of catharsis as the leader of Throwing Muses, Kristin Hersh raised a few eyebrows with her debut solo album Hips And Makers, a sublimely private collection which made it all the way to the Top 10. Here she explains her approach to songwriting, the emotional extremes she suffers and what it’s like working with The Sexiest Man Alive to NIALL CRUMLISH.
Triumph Of The Will meets Spinal Tap and Bach meets Sabbath as METALLICA join
forces with 101 dinner jackets. Peter Murphy travels to Berlin to sample the results.
“I grew up in a tough neighbourhood, and we used to say, ‘You can get further with a kind word and a gun than with just a kind word’.”
- Robert De Niro as Al Capone in The Untouchables
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.
Sharp suits, a global fan base, his own luxury recording studio - David Gray has certainly come a long way. On the eve of the release of his latest album, he talks about the dark side of success and explains why he wants to leave the singer-songwriter tag behind
30 years after the savage Tate/LaBianca murders that epitomised the dark side of the American hippy dream, CHARLES MANSON aka God aka The Devil, continues to exert a potent influence on popular culture. In part one of a two-part feature, PETER MURPHY recalls the twisted vision of a charismatic man whose personal interpretation of The Beatles Helter Skelter helped give rise to one of the crimes of the century.
One of Ireland’s premier singer/songwriters whose work has been covered by Christy Moore and the Corrs, Jimmy MacCarthy’s latest album The Moment illustrates a lighter side to his character. Below Jimmy gives us the inside track on the songs, the singers and the craft of writing
Irish teen popsters B*WITCHED last month became only the seventh act in chart history to see their debut single go straight in at Number One in the UK Top 40. Are they the latest great white hope for pop music, or simply a troupe of over-hyped cod-ceili dancers? And what does all this signify for the Irish music industry as a whole? peter murphy reports.
TRACY CHAPMAN S eponymous debut album was one of the biggest sellers of last year more than ten years after its release.
She spoke to PETER MURPHY about her life before and after fame, that album and the race issue.
AND THAT WAS JUST IN THE HOLLYWOOD BOARDROOMS! NEIL McCORMICK LOOKS BACK AT THE MOVIEMAKING YEAR IN WHICH ARNIE TOOK A TUMBLE, DINOSAURS CAME BACK FROM THE DEAD AND MICHAEL JACKSON’S PETER PAN DISAPPEARED OFF TO NEVER NEVER LAND.
The sheer quality, not to mention quantity, of the GALWAY ARTS FESTIVAL once more triumphed over inadequate facilities.
OLAF TYARANSEN reflects on a cultural banquet.
KEN RUSSELL is one of the most
controversial film directors of our time. Now, he s published his first novel. OLAF TYARANSEN met him. Pics: CATHAL DAWSON.
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.
The mainman in Tenacious D and scene-stealer in High Fidelity, Jack Black is now at the heart of a box-office phenomenon in School of Rock. But who does he really want to be – Laurence Olivier or Ronnie James Dio? Tara Brady asks the tough questions.
Pioneering ambient artist, film-scorer, and producer of choice for everyone from Willie Nelson to U2, Daniel Lanois has assembled one of the most impressive CVs in modern rock. And with his new album, Shine, having just hit the racks, he’s far from done yet, as he tells Peter Murphy
Don't write the singular Maria McKee; write the plural Maria McKee instead. Bill Graham encounters a mercurial talent in a variety of moods, musics and memories.
CATHAL COUGHLAN has long been among the most articulate and angry of Irish songwriters. Here, he talks to JONATHAN O BRIEN about his new album, money problems and adapting to middle-age
Television s best-known wearer of colourful jumpers turned Conservative politician has reinvented himself yet again this time as a writer of credible fiction. PETER MURPHY hears the nice Tory s vice story. Pix: CATHAL DAWSON
With an Irish tour approaching and a new album in the shops, Luka Bloom looks back on three decades that have taken him from busking in a pub in Newbridge to the big stages of Europe and America. In this candid interview with Jackie Hayden the man also known as Barry Moore talks about brother Christy, overcoming stage fright, finding an original voice, dealings with the music business, the need to combat racism - and why he remains a wannabe bogman
Running a marathon, writing the folk-pop equivalent of Dante’s Divine Comedy, buying a house, releasing the finest record of his career. All in a year’s work for Josh Ritter. John Walshe travelled to Boston to meet the young songwriter.
Private, reserved and self-controlled, Tanita Tikaram seriously wonders if there’s a place for her music in the world of frantic rock and frenetic rave. Interview: Joe Jackson
So this is Christmas and what have we done... As U2 prepare to enter the final yearof the decade, Bono devotes a long night at his home in Dublin to reflecting on his life, his music and U2's extraordinary career to date. Interview: Liam Mackey
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.
Elstree, remember me, went the old Boggles tune. The location is a far-flung suburb of north London, former nerve centre of an entire B-movie industry, now home to television shows like East Enders, Holby City (wandering through the corridors, your correspondent comes across a room identified by the rather ominous notice: Make-up - GUTS), and of course Top Of The Pops.
Inevitably, The Best Of Nick Cave ... The Bad Seeds can only hint at the scope of the band's back catalogue. But if one listens to the group's ten studio albums chronologically, there are no gear-grinding changes of direction or radical overhaulings of the sound, all the more remarkable considering the amount of personnel that passed through the line-up.
The star of what s set to be the summer s hottest movie, High Fidelity, on love, obsession, movies, rock n roll, his pal Bruce Springsteen and the records he turns to when he s had his heart broken. With support from co-star Lisa Bonet and director Stephen Frears. Text: CRAIG FITZSIMONS
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.
As the Bush-Gore election night morphed into pure strung-out political farce, a footloose hotpress writer found himself hunkered down in Amherst, Massachusetts, the place Emily Dickinson and Dinosaur Jnr have both called home. With smalltown American as his window on the world, this is the view that Peter Murphy got
Though he was busking in Grafton Street at 14, it s taken Glen Hansard more than a few shakes of the lamb s tail to reach the plateau of success which his songwriting talents have, for so long, threatened to take him but after the colossal success of Revelate , The Frames are, finally, set fair to enjoy their day in the sun. Here, Glen and guitarist, Dave Odlum, put Niall Crumlish in the picture.
Though he was busking in Grafton Street at 14, it s taken Glen Hansard more than a few shakes of the lamb s tail to reach the plateau of success which his songwriting talents have, for so long, threatened to take him but after the colossal success of Revelate , The Frames are, finally, set fair to enjoy their day in the sun. Here, Glen and guitarist, Dave Odlum, put Niall Crumlish in the picture.
At 21 years of age Roy Keane is potentially Ireland’s most expensive ever footballer. Growing in stature at International and Club level, his increasing profile has also brought media attention of a type that hasn’t always been welcome. Here, he talks of his mistrust of the tabloids, coping with fame, his fairytale breakthrough to the top and his ambition to play in Italy at some stage of his career
Hot Press is 20 years old? Drokk it , so is 2000 AD! The mag edited by an Alien, produced by Art & Script-Droids, and read by Earthlets everywhere the one which revolutionised the comic industry, and of the Graphic Novel. ANDY DARLINGTON assesses its cultural impact and legacy.
As the son of horror writer Stephen King, Joe Hill has a great deal to live up to. Far from being over-shadowed by his father, however, Hill has crafted a chilling and original debut novel.
Go on, admit it. You thought you knew it all about the most festive occasion. Wrong, suckers! OLAF TYARANSEN is the man with the definitive lowdown on the Christmas alphabet as he offers his essential guide to surviving the Santa season. Well, with a name like that he’s obviously more in tune with the North Pole, right?
THE CHARLATANS are back firing on all cylinders, and talking global domination. TIM BURGESS and JON BROOKES talk to STUART CLARK about the joys of L.A., the dangers of Jack Daniel s and falling down Noel Gallagher s
marble staircase. Pics: MICK QUINN
JJ 72 have been hailed by some critics as the finest thing to come out of Ireland since U2 - and no wonder. With a hugely impressive debut album under their collective belt, the expectations are even higher for the follow-up, I To Sky. They share with their illustrious predecessors a predilection for intense songs of spiritual yearning - and a desire to make music that truly stands the test of time. But is it rock'n'roll?
JOHN FARRELL was brought up in an Irish working–class neighbourhood in Brooklyn. From a very young age he knew that he was gay. But it took twenty–five years before he could go fully public, with this powerful, funny and tragic telling of his own journey to sexual maturity.
It was one of rock's most bizarre and impressive spectacles - the MANIC STREET PREACHERS live in Cuba, in front of an audience including Fidel Castro! STUART CLARK was there, and spoke to JAMES DEAN BRADFIELD about Bill Clinton, Top Of The Pops, Bono, Elian Gonzales and the band's new album
WHILE HE WAS BEING TERRORISED AND BRUTALISED IN MONNOWITZ, LEON GREENMAN MADE A DEAL WITH GOD: IF HE WAS TO BE ALLOWED TO SEE THE OUTSIDE OF THE DEATH CAMPS AGAIN, HE WOULD DEVOTE HIS LIFE TO TELLING THE WORLD WHAT HAPPENED THERE. NOW, AS DENIAL OF THE HOLOCAUST CONTINUES TO AID THE INSIDIOUS RISE OF THE FASCIST MOVEMENT IN EUROPE, IT IS MORE VITAL THAN EVER THAT HIS STORY IS TOLD. REPORT: GERRY McGOVERN.
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.
(N.B. This is a work of faction. All names have been changed in order to protect the guilty from certain incarceration in state mental institutions or correctional
facilities.)
The recent murder of
the notorious b.i.g., following the killing of Tupac shakur six months ago, has been linked by many to the prolonged East Coast-West Coast feud which threatened to tear the US hip-hop community apart. jonathan o brien reports on how life
chillingly imitates art in the gangsta rap wars.
His brother, John Bruton, was the leader of Fine Gael and served as Taoiseach. Now, Richard Bruton is a key member of the opposition front bench. Would he have anything different to offer if he was Minister for Finance?
When Siniad O Connor tore up a picture of the pope on the Saturday Night Live television show in the US recently, she unleashed a storm which has been swirling around her ever since, causing her at one point to announce her premature retirement from the music industry. One month on, bruised and weary she may be but Siniad is neither downhearted nor repentant. Having declared war on the Roman Catholic Church she is determined to keep taking the battle to the real enemy. Interview: Niall Stokes.
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.
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
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...
Andy Darlington travels to Manchester to meet the Stone Roses, an outfit who’ve progressed past the point of being just a band to become something altogether bigger...
Did you hear the one about the Clare man who loves Dublin and is less than enamoured with rural Ireland?
Or the staunch Labour Party man who doesn’t worship Dick Spring?
Or the politician whose fed up to the teeth with political correctness?
Then you haven’t heard about PAT UPTON, Labour TD for Dublin South Central.
LIAM FAY did, and now it’s your turn.
Pix: COLM HENRY
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.
When the offer came to produce the new Rolling Stones album in Dublin what answer could Don Was give but a resounding ‘Yes’. Mick, Keef & Co. are the latest in a long and impressive list of the man’s studio credits which includes Bob Dylan, The B-52’s, Willie Nelson, Bonnie Raitt and Paula Abdu. But throw in the small matter of the career of Was (Not Was) and the musical rehabilitation of errant Beach Boys’ genius Brian Wilson and we’re talking major industry player here. Bill Graham takes up the story . . .
From dark age to middle age, Nick Cave is such a far cry from the blood-spilling junkie of rock legend that these days you’re likely to encounter him commuting to his 9 to 5. Except of course that his job is writing and making music, his new album is called Nocturama and there are, he admits, some sizeable blow-outs in the memory banks.
Maverick genius or away with the fairies? Peter Murphy travels to North-East Scotland to meet Mike Scott at home in the spiritual Findhorn community where The Waterboys’ latest album was written and recorded. And Steve Wickham explains how he left and rejoined the band.
The Manson Family at work, rest and play, in sickness and in health. Peter Murphy travels to britain and the US to bring back the full, intimate story of a band on the run
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
He may have ranked among the biggest-selling artists in the world in 2002 – but the ambition that has driven Eminem to pop’s dizziest heights shows no sign of abating with the release of his own biopic, 8 Mile. On track to becoming Hollywood’s latest darling, with all the attendant pressures and provocations that entails, will his art survive?
As escape acts go, it ranked up there with the very best of Harry Houdini. Bishop Brendan Comiskey, in theory at least, was back to face the music and undergo a gruelling, exhaustive interrogation at the hands of the assembled press corps. Instead, his press conference turned into a stage-managed anti-climax, and the media watched helplessly as he slipped from their grasp.
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
It's been a long strange trip and no mistake, one that describes a discernible line from
Harry Smith's Anthology Of American Folk Music through to the Handsome Family.
But there's even more going on beneath the surface. GREIL MARCUS, the music critic's music critic,
is PETER MURPHY's guide on a mystery train whose other passengers include Elvis Presley, Robert Johnson, Mark Twain, Nick Cave, The Blair Witch, Bill Clinton, The Band, Siniad O'Connor, Beck, William Burroughs, William Faulkner and Bob Dylan. And that's just the first class carriage. All aboard
In the same week that pictures of Kate Moss snorting cocaine were plastered all over the front of The Daily Mirror, the paper’s controversial former editor Piers Morgan has been talking to Hot Press about the model and her amour Pete Doherty.
Though he styles himself as a singer-songwriter, this English Son and former squaddie (who served in Kosovo) comes across as one of those earnest, Pop Idol pretty-boy types with acoustic guitar and floppy haircut – you know the kind!
Strange and beautiful French DJ/producer Kid Loco, last heard (most likely) on a Donal Dineen programme near you, to play first-ever Irish shows in late July
Dust off your platform shoes and get your camping gear at the ready - now that's some advice we never thought we'd give - 70s legends Sister Sledge are coming to Ireland!
On the downside, they’ve kept the hair and leather, along with a selection of best forgotten Dad rock staples: cringeworthy moments of cheese-o-riff guitaristry and an epic arena Rock Voice.
Sacred space is if anything an even finer piece of work than Lifting The Veil, its mixture of the abstract and the personal making connections on many levels.
It's been a decade since trance-meister supreme Paul Van Dyk first appeared on vinyl with the seminal Visions Of Shiva single 'Perfect Day', and four years since . . .
Rounds is a cross-fertilisation of innovation and pop sensibility, and has a warmth and understated charm that many other obtuse, more indulgent knob-merchants would gladly sell their Powerbook for.
Confronted as we are these days by hordes of fame-hunger, toxic, teen princesses – Stefani’s odd-ball, retro-futurist bubblegum pop can be seen as a heartening example of individuality in a field that’s more often creepily exploitative and conformist.
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.
With Siouxsie ... The Banshees having gone gently into that Good Night, The Creatures is now a permanent set-up, rather than just a side-project for Ms. Sioux and Budgie to indulge the wayward side of their muse.
The nigh-on three hour set will see the prolific Adams delve deep into his extensive back catalogue, panhandling for precious nuggets, with songs from Heartbreaker and Gold glinting among the Cardinals’ material.
JANE SIBERRY has a voice so exceptional it could stir absolutely anyone, even those whose idea of romance involves fifteen pints of Guinness and an eleventh hour lunge at the least intimidating person in the vicinity.
Ultra-modern twists on the singing styles of jazz, soul and blues are Topley Bird’s trademark, but her understated ease and sultry innocence are very much her own.
Hartman’s voice carries real emotional depth; equal parts honeyed and husky, it perfectly complements the swoonsome guitar-pop of ’Beauty Queen’ and ’Let Me Out’.
Juliet Turner cuts a striking figure as she scrapes her auburn hair to one side and looks down from the Vicar St stage. Toweringly tall, at times she seems almost awkward, her movements exaggerated even when swaying ever so gently to the sound of her backing band.
Beautiful images, idiosyncratic phrases and quirky notions pervade this singer-songwriter’s second album, Spoonface.
Meanwhile, Christophers’ choirboy voice soars and drops, sparse, edgy guitar hums and electronic beats insist their way into the music.
Though it hardly constitutes breaking news, the South Korean new wave continues to dazzle, invent and mind-fuck. Lady Vengeance, a dizzying baroque and the capstone to Chan-wook Park’s spectacular revenge trilogy keeps up the good work.
WHATEVER YOU think about the subject matter of Eleanor McEvoy's breakthrough song, 'A Woman's Heart', melodically it is a pure delight. Listening to her debut album one also hears undeniable evidence of a classically trained, and gifted, composer at work.
Not since Dylan went electric has such debate raged over artistic choice. The revolt has begun. Walk outs, heckling and cries of “worst Frames gig ever” marred the first and the last nights of The Frames' three sell-out gigs at Vicar St. So irked was Glen Hansard by fans’ calls for ‘Revelate’ and ‘Star Star’ that, at one stage, he angrily announced, “How about you be the audience and we’ll be the band. Okay?” This wasn’t the happy Frames of past.
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.
Intergalactic Sonic Seven's (soon to be followed by a B-side compilation) is a collection of absoloutely cracking tunes that might just bring the acclaim that has so far escaped Ash in the US
Sorry, my mistake. I thought I was off to see a Cole Porter biopic. You know, the champagne-swilling, charismatic omnisexual raconteur who invested his songs and his nightlife with the same saucy elegance?
Northern hopefuls Fighting With Wire and rising Dublin electro act Robotnik are among those set to play this year's HWCH festival, with the full line-up just announced.
When Delorentos came on stage everything seemed to fall into place. Although they’re clearly influenced by the current Brit Pop new wave, Franz Ferdinand et al, and are not wholly original, they do conjure undeniably sharp riffs and tight rhythms. They’re also great fun to watch.
Emmett Tinley doesn’t do ‘immediate’. His songs never, ever grab you on first listen: sometimes they even seem a bit pedestrian. But give it five or six hearings, and something mysterious happens. Some sort of magical osmosis sees Tinley’s songs transformed into the most glorious, heartfelt paeans to loves lost, loves left behind and loves that never really existed in the first place except in your wildest imaginings.
Unsurprisingly, we’re straight into dramatics with Ms. Goldfrapp delivering Kate Bush proportioned vocals over Connery Bond themes that never got made.
While 1987 will of course be recognised as the year U2 conquered the world, spare a thought for those whose careers begin beneath the shadow of ‘The Joshua Tree’.
Meet Glen Campbell is a masterclass in how to make a song your own. The man knows it too: dig the sleeve’s Ezekiel quotation: “Sing to the lord and make music in your heart to him.”
Consider both the facts and the odds. It would be more likely that a torrent of frogs would descent from the skies to land on the Palace of Westminster and then pass through six floors down to the Parliamentary chamber to squelch upon Margaret Thatcher’s head that that King Of America would be anything other than an excellent album.
Unfolding like a freak show for the very best and worst of humanity, the ridiculously precocious director has fashioned historical grievances and iniquities into a modern classic.
You have to hand it to The Frames. Even Bruce and U2 baulk at starting new campaigns outdoors in front of 17,000 people – although Glen Hansard might claim that this is a farewell to Set List arms rather than the unveiling of Burn The Maps.
It’s a forbidding date – no I’m not talking about Friday the 13th, I’m referring to Ash’s first Belfast date proper since the departure of guitarist Charlotte Hatherley.
Even before we get through the opening credits, a Molotov of freak show lettering, crude animations and Ennio Morricone’s galloping theme, you know you’re in the Western’s answer to Latin mass.
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.
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
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.
THE CRITICS PANEL WHO VOTED FOR THE TOP 30 ALBUMS AND SINGLES OF THE YEAR ARE AS FOLLOWS: BILL GRAHAM, LIAM FAY, GEORGE BYRNE, STUART CLARK, LORRAINE FREENEY, TARA McCARTHY, GERRY McGOVERN, NEIL McCORMICK, DERMOT STOKES, OLIVER P. SWEENEY, SIOBHAN LONG, STEVE AVERILL, ANDY DARLINGTON, COLM O’HARE, JOE JACKSON, HELENA MULKERNS, DAN OGGLY, CATHY DILLON, NIALL CRUMLISH, OLAF TYARANSEN, PATRICK BRENNAN, JACKIE HAYDEN AND NIALL STOKES.
Gosh. It’s so difficult to review Tarantino movies without sounding like a stalker fan-girl who’d blissfully dwell amidst his celluloid garbage. Or worse, his actual garbage.
The actors who became cult heroes for their recreation of the tribunals on Tonight With Vincent Browne are bringing their show to the stage. Interview: STEPHEN ROBINSON
With The Book Of Lightning, Waterboys fans will be thrilled to have Mike Scott back on form, while the uninitiated will get a chance to understand what all the fuss was about.
It was obvious right from the start that there was more to Annie Lennox and Dave Stewart than the restricting format of The Tourists would ever be capable of revealing.
It gives your reviewer great pleasure to report that on this album the singer has quite literally cut the crap and created a vibrant and inventive urban variation on an old school R&B set (that’s R&B as in rhythm in the beats and blues in the voice rather than rhinestones and baubles).
Over three days, the cream of up-and-coming Irish and Scandinavian talent gave it their all. Killian Murphy picks out those that shone brightest. Click here. for live gallery.
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...
The first day of The Music Show saw some hot debates, great music and Glen Hansard in stirring form.
Reporting: Peter Murphy, Celina Murphy, Niall Stokes, Stuart Clark and additional Hot Press reporters
THIS WEEK'S batch of demos includes some by bands who have had my feet tapping in the past. Unfortunately, the results aren't always quite as captivating as first time round.
John Lennon is back but trust him to deflate the expectations that have been invested in his return. The message of Double Fantasy is that he and Yoko won't be anybody's heroes if they can't be each other's. This is a family album, Yoko's as much as his.
Sprawling across four restless, angry and sometimes contradictory sides, "Rattle And Hum" is nothing less than U2's most ambitious album yet. Review by Bill Graham
Over a hundred acts took part in the annual Hard Working Class Heroes event in Dublin last weekend. While the standard wasn’t uniformly impressive, a number of new contenders emerged who might ultimately be capable of lifting the rock’n’roll crown...
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.
It was a year when all manner of ecological malaise seemed to come home to roost. In particular the Sudan was in turmoil, putting our own nasty little problems of smog, toxic waste and criminal fish kills into sharp relief –
Returning to vintage mode of several venues for year six Hard Working Class Heroes 2008 in Dublin from 12-15 September was the finest installation yet.
New Irish presenter, Laura Whitmore, was thrust into London's bright lights when she was plucked from obscurity and placed in front of the camera lens six months ago.
The opening night of a U2 tour can be fraught with peril. But in the Camp Nou in Barcelona tonight they exorcised the demons of previous tours and started on a winning note. Report: Olaf Tyaransen
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?
Once again from the north of Ireland, we have The Id. The line up has swelled a little and now comprises Carl Papenfus on drums, Kenneth Papenfus on guitar, Tony Brady on keyboards, Brendan Kelly on vocals and Darren Campbell on bass.
I didn't want to write this one. The one where I say that I've just finished a three-month relationship and it hurts too much to cry and I don't understand myself or men any more.
Dateline San Diego, March 28th: with seven songs from their world-beating Vertigo album in the set, on the opening night of their world tour, it quickly became clear that – the occasional glitch notwithstanding – U2 have re-imagined their live set with remarkable success. Tara McCarthy asks: how do they do it?
The Music Show was a huge success, with people from all aspects of the music industry coming together to participate in an event which, as well as showcasing all the latest instruments and equipment, was rich in ideas, information and, above all, great music
A shaggy dog story: Tom Waits shows up at a Northern Californian studio, prospecting for premises close to home so that he can ferry his kids to and from school while working.
’85 was a remarkably stagnant year. Twelve months after the end of ’84, little seems to have changed or advanced musically and I only hope and pray we won’t be running on the same spot when ’86 ends.
There is no better or more fitting tribute to Stephen Gately than that which was read and said at the funeral in St.Laurence O’Toole’s church in Seville Place by Keith Duffy, Mikey Graham and Ronan Keating of Boyzone. The fourth remaining member of the band, Shane Lynch, stood beside the three others and shared in the emotion and the grief. The tribute was written by Ronan Keating, with Keith Duffy providing his own personal introduction and improvising around the text.
Metallica have emerged as the most popular metal band in Ireland to judge by their showing in the chart of the one hundred best metal tracks of all time as chosen by the readers of Hot Press and the listeners to 2FM’s increasingly popular Metal Show.
The hitherto undisclosed links between 'Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds' and Our Lady Of Fatima. Plus: Why the current impasse in the Peace Process reveals the fatal flaw in the Good Friday Agreement.
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?
This fortnight's Hot Press is our Electric Picnic special to celebrate we've teamed with O2 to put together a collection of the best Irish talent to grace the festival in a 16 track free CD. There’s something here for everyone; in fact, it’s the perfect picnic spread! Not only that, but we've got some of the bands in question to preview the festival for you (and us!!)
OMAR KHAYAM knew about libel lawyers. Remember how he put it? "The moving finger writes and, having writ, moves on in elaborate circumlocutions."
So I'm not about to say anything too straight or overly explicit about the case of Gay Byrne, the popular media personality who, at the time of writing, might be banged up at any moment in Mountjoy on account of having broadcast an item about the 1976 Sallins mail train robbery - the so-called "Nicky Kelly case".
30th Anniversary Retrospective: From indie flicks to Hollywood classics, Irish gems to world cinema masterpieces, Tara Brady here selects the top 101 films of the past 30 years.
As St Patrick’s Day approaches, what better time to celebrate all that’s great about Irish culture. From music and film to food and literature, Ireland has always punched far above its weight.
Hard rock has taken on many forms, but if it's loud enough to annoy the neighbours, it should be categorised as good old-fashioned metal. Peter Murphy guides you through our choice of the Top 30 metal albums of all time.
Having reported in Hot Press ten years ago on a riotous week at the Cannabis Cup in Amsterdam, the time seemed ripe for Olaf Tyaransen to make a return trip.
On Tuesday 23rd November, at the National Concert Hall in Dublin, the Church & General Insurance Company present The Celebration Concert, featuring an extraordinary array of Ireland's finest contemporary songwriting and composing talents. In this four-page special, Jackie Hayden explores the background to the event and we profile the leading players.
Another one from the archives: in a feature from 1987 – as Michael Jackson releases Bad – Neil McCormick charts the phenomenal career of the enigmatic star.
Music Review | Live
19% | 7 Sep 2006
They said it couldn’t be done, but this year’s Electric Picnic achieved the impossible by being even more joyous, vibey and action-packed than its predecessors. Hot Press was in the thick of things as 200 acts and 30,000 music lovers descended on one very big house in the country.
The relationship between drugs and creativity has always been a hotly debated subject. But narcotic indulgence has proven to be the downfall of many a gifted artist.
That’s the philosophy behind Cross Border Media, a label which has had a remarkable impact on Irish music since its foundation just three years ago. A special report by Colm O’Hare and Jackie Hayden
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.
The soundtrack to Icelandic director Einar Mar Gudmundsson's movie Englar alheimsins (Angels Of The Universe) was predominantly composed and aranged by fellow countryman Hilmar Vrn Hilmarsson and unfortunately merely features two Sigur Rss tracks already available on the 'N4y Batterm' single over here.
