Songs From The West Coast harks back to a time, before the tiaras and tantrums when Elton John had an untouchable knack for turning out memorable, melodic songs in tune with the times
Full profiles on Faithless, Antony & The Johnsons, Slayer, The Who, Bell X1, Status Quo, The Flaming Lips, 50 Cent, Madness, Christy Moore, Elton John and Lionel Richie.
Hey, have you seen this new Dreamworks Pictures film, The Road To El Dorado? It’s actually really really fun, even if it is just a cartoon. I had to take my nephews to see it last week, and I think I actually enjoyed it more than they did!
Ironically (or, more likely, deliberately) it takes all of five seconds before the new Scissor Sisters' single awakens in you the urge to get up and dance like a crazy sugar-filled loon. Elton John plays on the track, which is fitting as it is the most Elton John-sounding song the man never wrote himself – lots of ‘70s glam disco flourishes that should guarantee it a place at the top of the charts.
All the trademark Eltonisms are here: the tasty piano fills, the unmistakeable voice, the catchy melodies and lyrics of substance rather than mere frivolity. It could restore him to his rightful position as pop’s queen of tarts.
Though Beth Nielsen Chapman's latest album deeper still was created when she was mourning the death of her husband and battling breast cancer, the result is an uplifting collection of life-affirming songs
Taking time out from a hectic schedule of stage, studio and club work the one and only Boy George sets the record straight on Eminem, Graham Norton, Elton John and the new homophobia
Crack houses, stripping, underwear parties, hate mail from Pink Floyd fans and Elton John’s dog – are you ready for a tasty slice of camp pop history as told by Jake Shears of the Scissor Sisters?
They may be one of the hottest bands of the year, but Las Vegas synth fiends The Killers are planning to cool off this Christmas with some well-earned down-time and a skiing holiday in Utah. But not before they’ve discussed texting Charlize Theron, hanging with Elton John and that David Bowie tribute with Stuart Clark.
Scissor Sisters are back, and this time they’re on a mission to channel Elton John, Paul McCartney and the Bee Gees into the first soft rock masterpiece of the 21st Century. In an exclusive interview, the group’s main songwriter, Babydaddy, gives us the lowdown on their second coming.
Grunge titans Alice in Chains are back after a 14 year hiatus. They talk about the tragic death of vocalist Layne Staley, working with Elton John and keeping the spirit of the early ‘90s alive.
You might not have heard of Leya, but Elton John, Ronan Keating and Jools Holland have. Peter Murphy meets the band who are putting Bangor on the rock’n’roll map
Those of you who've been keeping an eye on the Elton John-endorsed Groove Armada (our Elt famously bought 100 copies of their last album, Vertigo, to distribute to his mates) will have noticed two possibly alarming changes: 1) Their recent output (DJ-wise and remixes) has been decidedly boshing and 2) They haven't been much good.
“A scene that results in Pete Doherty isn’t much to celebrate,” declare Bloc Party as they outline their plan to save UK rock from the heroin chic brigade. Also up for discussion are Elton John, Ash, Thin Lizzy and why they’re nothing like Franz Ferdinand. Honest. Photos by Liam Sweney.
Tom Baxter's second album, Skybound, has just topped the Irish album chart. But it was a record that only got made after Baxter personally financed the sessions with his other talent of figurative art painting.
"...the album comes together like an effortless puzzle and echoes the influences of Stevie Wonder, Michael Jackson, Chaka Khan, Tina Turner and Elton John"
They were one of the most successful – and dysfunctional – bands of all time. Now THE EAGLES are aging gracefully and packing out arenas across the world, with Irish gigs on the way.
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?
IAN STRACHAN was jailed for blackmailing a member of the Royal Family over allegations of a sex and drugs ‘scandal’. But a media blackout ensured that little of the substance of the case was reported.
There are dashes of funk and soul here and there and, at its best (the exuberent ‘Slaveship’), 1972 reaches the heights of Elton John, Billy Joel and latterly Ben Folds and Ed Harcourt.
There were no surprises here, apart from the fact that this veteran performer of 25 years twice killed the good-time atmosphere completely; with depressing ballads and obscure Elton John song covers.
West crosses genres with wilful and speedy abandon, taking the listener on an epic quest where the journey is just as enjoyable and unpredictable as the destination.
As always, the Scissor Sisters are ever so generous with their B-sides…a funky Junkie XL remix of ‘Mary’, and a rather Elton-ified version of Franz Ferdinand’s ‘Take Me Out’.
Hey, have you seen this new Dreamworks Pictures film, The Road To El Dorado? It’s actually really really fun, even if it is just a cartoon. I had to take my nephews to see it last week, and I think I actually enjoyed it more than they did!
He may be trained to kill, but recently James Blunt has been seducing vast swathes of the population with his poignant love songs. Lured to the Hot Press Chat Room, he tells all about his number one album, the Queen, being shot at in Kosovo and lesbian swim parties.
Playing Live at the Marquee on Sunday June 24: Lock up your housewives. Ireland’s most eligible bachelors, Podge & Rodge, are on the road and looking for love.
It's Friday, May 22. The votes haven't even been counted yet, but already a succession of post-ballot parties are taking place. Your prime location is the Mandela Hall at Queens University Belfast, where a few hundred groovers will congregate around an event organised by those feverish tykes from the local music magazine, Blank. The name of the game is 'Keep Ulster Brattish' and admission is a mere quid.
It's Friday, May 22. The votes haven't even been counted yet, but already a succession of post-ballot parties are taking place. Your prime location is the Mandela Hall at Queens University Belfast, where a few hundred groovers will congregate around an event organised by those feverish tykes from the local music magazine, Blank. The name of the game is 'Keep Ulster Brattish' and admission is a mere quid.
Superstars, rock stars, movie stars, sports stars, tv stars, authors, actors, artists, comedians, politicians, broadcasters, astrologers, chefs, outlaws, weirdoes, dingbats and Lee Scratch Perry...
Wayward alt. country sensation Ryan Adams talks about his battles with depression and the new lease of life he's enjoyed since hooking up with The Cardinals.
OK, so ‘Laura’ wasn’t bad, they were pretty good at Oxegen and they seem like thoroughly nice people, but the Scissor Sisters are really not the saviours that everyone makes them out to be.
Pop superstar du jour Daniel Bedingfield talks to Shilpa Ganatra about the enthusiasm of Irish audiences, escaping death in New Zealand and why he intends to push the stylistic envelope on his future albums.
Renowned Cork singer-songwriter John Spillane has joined forces with poet Louis de Paor as the bilingual Gaelic Hit Factory to prove that the Irish language can work in a contemporary context. Jackie Hayden investigates.
Throughout the pioneering events of Band Aid, Live Aid and Live 8, Bob Geldof has repeatedly achieved the impossible, twisting the arms and consciences of self-absorbed rock stars to get them to think beyond their egos and stimulating recalcitrant politicians and a jaded media into doing things that are not really difficult at all but thinking makes them so.
She’s a mouthy young Londoner who knows how to strum a guitar and isn’t afraid to diss ex-boyfriends in song. Just don’t call Kate Nash the new Lily Allen.
As I’ve mentioned about 85 times before, given the choice between leprosy and most major label compilations, I normally go the ulcerated and gangrenous limb route. The Best Of Acoustic is different..
15-years after saying “no thanks” to the people who made a star out of LeeAnn Rimes, Luan Parle has made an album that should finally see her take her place among country’s elite.
John Walshe catches up with James McColl, singer with The Supernaturals, one of the most underrated bands in Britain, ahead of their forthcoming Irish gigs.
Jim Corr-endorsed four-piece Karrier have wowed the Dublin indie circuit and supported Pink at Malahide Castle. Now, the band are looking to make a big impact with their debut album.
Mullingar’s The Blizzards have struck upon an appealing FM-rock schtick, buoyed up by optimistic swirls of piano and a bouncy chorus that seems to clamber down from the stereo and deliver a great big slobber of a hug.
As Live 8 looms closer, rumours have been circulating that artists are being told that they cannot criticise politicians from the stage. HotPress' guest writer looks at the issues from an artist’s perspective. Bob Geldof responds below.
Eurovision may have kick-started her career, but things didn't exactly go according to plan after that. Now NIAMH KAVANAGH is taking off again. colm o'hare reports.
With dance singles going sour quicker than milk in a mid-day Saharan coffee shop, the singles here already sound dated. Thank God then for 'Celebrate Our Love' which is just different enough to get by.
They may claim that they’re not interested in world domination, but US underground infatuated Dublin rockers Angels Of Mons are nonetheless brewing up a storm on the Irish indie scene.
As Secretary Of State in Northern Ireland, Mo Mowlam [pic left by Mick Quinn] played a crucial role in formulation and implementation of the Good Friday Agreement. It helped that she is no conventional politician but rather a warm, down-to-earth and decent individual with a genuine commitment to positive action. in both the UK and Ireland, she became by far the most popular British figure in the history of Northern politics - which may explain why, in the end, she was shafted.
Martin McCann, lead singer of Sack has been ‘out’ for a number of years now. Here he talks about his homosexuality and its impact on his music. Interview: George Byrne.
Promoter Jim Aiken, who passed away recently, was a hugely important and universally admired figure in the Irish music scene. Here, leading industry representatives pay tribute. (free content)
After the release of HSM3, choreographer and director Kenny Ortega tells us why the restrictive family values parameters only inspire him to be more creative.
As the Magnificent Seven prepare to mosey into Thurles, Stuart Clark probes Chas Smash's - or should that be Cathal Smyth's? - split personality and continuing flirtation with Madness
They redefined the parameters of contemporary music, creating weird, eerie and magnificent soundscapes. Now, as they prepare to release a career retrospective, Massive Attack talk about their choice of collaborators and why they agreed to soundtrack a porn movie.
For a city so often celebrated in song, it was inevitable that the horrific events in new york would be felt as keenly in the music world as in any other section of society. STUART CLARK reports on the industry response and compiles a broad selection of individual reactions to the attack
Having survived the Stone Roses and a spell in jail, IAN BROWN briefly toyed with the idea of a career in gardening before re-inventing himself as the man most likely to bridge the gap between rock and dance. Ahead of his appearance at Homelands, he talks to RICHARD BROPHY.
30th Anniversary retrospective: From the murders of Tupac and Biggie to the bizarre implication of Marilyn Manson in the Columbine massacre; from Courtney, Axl and Spector’s falls from grace to the canonisation and demonisation of Peter Doherty... here’s a potted history of the most controversial events in the last 30 years of rock ‘n’ roll.
Their debut Hot Fuss sold over 4 million copies and in the process set The Killers up as one of the brightest young hopes of the modern era. On the eve of the release of their second album Sam’s Town, the band look like settling for nothing less than U2-sized supremacy. Now, if only Brandon Flowers would shave off that, ahem, controversial face fuzz.
One of the finest white soul voices Britain ever produced, Rod Stewart reminisces about the sozzled Faces days, discusses Bob Dylan, his penchant for blondes, and recalls the thyroid cancer that almost robbed him of his voice seven years ago.
[oops this was mis prompted as oxegen video interviews in our e-zine - they're here ]
As the management force behind Boyzone, Westlife and Samantha Mumba, LOUIS WALSH is Ireland s Mr. Pop. In a candid interview with Joe Jackson he talks about his relationships with his acts, the ones that got away, the importance of the producer, the uselessness of critics and why he s unlikely to end up managing Van Morrison. Portraits: Cathal Dawson
Joe Jackson sneaks a peek at Wayne Studer’s new book Rock On The Wild Side, which gender-bends its way through three decades of gay imagery in rock music from Jimi Hendrix’ first kiss to George Michael’s shuttlecock.
Grant Lee Buffalo's debut album Fuzzy was the best record of last year - Michael Stipe said so, so it must be true. Its successor, Mighty Joe Moon, has just been released, and while everyone else may expect them to be apprehensive about its reception, the band seem happier and more confident - and in Grant's case, more bonkers - than ever before. Interview: Lorraine Freeney
You know that your pop star interviewee is confident about the quality of his splendid new album, when he's happy to talk about everyone else under the sun. So it is with Pet Shop Boy Neil Tennant as he gives the thumbs up or down to Eminem, Liza Minelli, Kylie Minogue, So Solid Crew, Boy George and Westlife. Keeping score: 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
Undiscovered genius, ahoy! liam fay finds Pierce TurneR still struggling for the recognition his rich talent deserves. And to coincide with the release of his own Best Of, he asks Turner to compile the album of his dreams.
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 trauma of his mother's death; the joy of his marriage to Yvonne; the truth about his sex life; the pressures of growing up in public; the importance of peer respect; the offers of a solo career; and how America might hold the key to keeping boyzone together. In his most personal and revealing interview to date, ronan keating talks to joe jackson
The trauma of his mother's death; the joy of his marriage to Yvonne; the truth about his sex life; the pressures of growing up in public; the importance of peer respect; the offers of a solo career; and how America might hold the key to keeping boyzone together. In his most personal and revealing interview to date, ronan keating talks to joe jackson
The trauma of his mother's death; the joy of his marriage to Yvonne; the truth about his sex life; the pressures of growing up in public; the importance of peer respect; the offers of a solo career; and how America might hold the key to keeping boyzone together. In his most personal and revealing interview to date, ronan keating talks to joe jackson
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.
Live on your TV and your wireless, 2TV will be broadcasting all summer long. JACKIE HAYDEN goes behind the scenes on the show that shakes up Sunday mornings.
FUN LOVIN’ CRIMINAL Huey Morgan offers stuart clark a guided tour of the rotten apple, detouring occasionally to take in topics such as California Mist, London gangsters, Tricky, Ian McCulloch and Tony Bennett, as well as his high-profile relationship with Jerry Hall’s daughter. And, let’s see now, there was one thing . . . oh yes “every American’s inalienable right to have nails hammered through their scrotum if they want”.
Having written his own obituary on his latest album, RANDY NEWMAN rises from the grave to discuss love, age, irony, honesty, the importance of melody and the tightrope act of being an idealist in pessimist's clothing. JOE JACKSON helps roll away the stone.
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.
Snow Patrol‘s Gary Lightbody may be the thinking woman’s indie sexpot, but with their new album Eyes Open going supernova all over the shop, the poor fella has no time to capitalise on his status, given that the only people he sees on a regular basis are his band and crewmates. With whom, he assures us, “penetrative sex is out of the question.” Also on the agenda: break-ups, infidelity, the Northern body politic, U2 and, of course, underpants.
Greetings From LA
beck and tom petty get together in Los Angeles for an impassioned rap on songs, songwriting, showbiz, the Unplugged phenomenon and how too much music can boggle the mind. mark rowland listens in.
It's probably the last headline you'd expect on a Portishead interview but, then again, you haven't heard Beth Gibbons using her favourite expletive. Very few people have - the singer with Bristol's latest and potentially greatest musical export up 'til now refusing to talk to the press because she reckoned she had nothing to say. But even the most reluctant of tongues can be loosened as Stuart Clark and his cattle prod discover when they go Avon calling.
A crack team of collaborators and advisors including Nick Cave, Bono and James Dean Bradfield have ensured that Antipodean indie princess KYLIE MINOGUE is virtually unrecognisable from the fresh-faced teenager who made the breakthrough from Ramsay Street to recording studio back in 1987. Interveiw: OLAF TYARANSEN.
Wicklow's own country-music diva Luan Parle looks like hitting the big time soon, having recently chummed up with Madonna's songwriter (Billy Sandberg) and Elton John's manager (Derek Mackillop), among others. You heard it here first
Saturday, July 13th, 1985 will go down in history as Live Aid Day, the extraordinary culmination of Bob Geldof's attempts to mobilise the international music industry behind urgently-needed famine relief in Africa. Among the stellar cast performing for 72,000 people at Wembley Stadium, London are U2, a band determined to rise to the occasion. Report: Neil McCormick
Having had his fill of Eurovision and being ripped-off on the Irish circuit, Louis Walsh went for broke with the boys who would be boyzone. Now he can afford to speak his mind. JOE JACKSON is all ears.
Having had his fill of Eurovision and being ripped-off on the Irish circuit, louis walsH went for broke with the boys who would be boyzone. Now he can afford to speak his mind. JOE JACKSON is all ears.
Cum On Feel The Noize of turning pages as Slade s NODDY HOLDER does a literary tour to promote his autobiography, telling tales of
Phil Lynott, Oasis, Gary Glitter, Glam-Rock Excess, MERRY XMAS EVERYBODY and Suicidal Groupies. ANDY DARLINGTON tags along.
After two decades of electro-pop hits, the PET SHOP BOYS have gone back to basics with their new album Fundamental – and thrown some timely political digs into the mix while they’re at it. But the real battle is getting people to take them seriously.
After years of pushing the self- destruct button, Pete Doherty has proved his detractors wrong with a solo album that's on a par with anything he did with the Libertines.
Neil Jordan's controversial new film Interview With The Vampire has angered both the gay community, who objected to the dilution of the movie's homoerotic content, and the author of the novel from which it is adapted, Anne Rice, who disagreed with the choice of Hollywood golden boy Tom Cruise in the starring role.
However, with Anne Rice conspicuously recanting and the critics in the U.S. responding rapturously, signs are that this is one Vampire which won't lay down and die. Report: Helena Mulkerns
Over the hills and far away, Chumbawamba come out to play! They get knocked down. But they get up again. They get dropped by Indie One Little Indian, and then get signed up by Capitalist major EMI. Then the Tub-Thumpers Anonymous go on to score the most unlikely hit single of 1997. So what now for Alice Nutter and her chums? ANDY DARLINGTON reports.
Over the hills and far away, Chumbawamba come out to play! They get knocked down. But they get up again. They get dropped by Indie One Little Indian, and then get signed up by Capitalist major EMI. Then the Tub-Thumpers Anonymous go on to score the most unlikely hit single of 1997. So what now for Alice Nutter and her chums? ANDY DARLINGTON reports.
Former cop, private eye and the only man on the Presidential ballot paper, derek nally is the dark horse candidate who could yet shake up the race for the Park. Here he holds forth on low standards in high places, how Sean Doherty almost destroyed the gardai , the foul treatment of Albert Reynolds, the case for the decriminalisation of prostitution and why he wasn t surprised by J. Edgar Hoover s penchant for frocks. Interview: liam fay.
Pix: Cathal dawson.
Sometimes it's hard to be a woman, especially when it involves piling on layers of latex, strapping on corsets, and getting to grips with false eyelashes. And yet, whether it's Kurt Cobain donning a scruffy frock, Robin Williams in full matronly guise for Mrs Doubtfire, or the 6'7 Ru Paul co-presenting The Brits, transvestism seems to have acquired a stronger multi-media allure than ever before. Andy Darlington examines the portrayal of TVs in cinema and the arts, and considers the sexual and social implications of the ancient art of cross-dressing.
Long before boomtime Ireland there was boomtown Ireland, a country where the national symbol was not a tiger but a rat. to coincide with the release of the best of the boomtown rats, Bob Geldof looks back to the tepid Irish scene of the mid-’70s from which the rats emerged, biting, snarling and laughing, to take on the establishment, Britain and, almost, the world.
Music Review | Live
26% | 28 Oct 2003
Jackie Hayden
A decent night’s work, with Brady’s voice sounding as mightily impressive as ever.
A mere six months after taking on the role of Minister for Foreign Affairs, Dermot Ahern has been appointed by Kofi Annan as one of four envoys to assist in the reform of the United Nations and the achievement of Millennium Development Goals. Jackie Hayden spoke to him last week in his Dundalk office about this key appointment, as well as a range of key issues including the war in Iraq, political bribery, Shannon refuelling stops, Gerry Adams and the IRA, our immigration policy, the Health service, his real hopes for the Peace Process and the influence of Dave Fanning on his musical tastes. Photography by Emily Quinn.
It's been over four intriguing years since Damien Rice's extraordinary debut album O was launched. That record went on to become a huge underground international hit, selling in excess of 2 million copies. Now his long-awaited follow-up – the similarly simply titled 9 – is finally ready to hit the shops. So how did Rice so successfully capture the collective imagination? And will the latest instalment in the Rice musical biography propel him to even greater heights? Hot Press talks exclusively to some of the key players in his remarkable rise and rise.
Having played to 80,000 people last year in Croke Park, The Police have confirmed that they’re returning to Ireland for a June 20 show in the grounds of Belfast’s Stormont Castle.
What on earth is milky-white, squeaky-clean, God-fearin PAT BOONE doing,
wearing leather
and studs and singing heavy metal anthems? JOE JACKSON delves behind the year s most bizarre comeback to extract a rare and fascinating interview with a man who once alienated rockers and now finds himself ostracised by Christians.
The first issue of (RED)Wire digital music magazine will be available for download on December 1 to coincide with World AIDS Day. It's the latest initiative from (RED), the HIV/AIDS organisation whose prime movers include Bono.
KNOCK, KNOCK. Who’s there? Gary. Gary who? Exactly.
It’s an old joke, but it still rings kinda true. It’s hard to believe now, but not too long ago the entire record industry seemed to think Barlow would be the only member of Take That to emulate that boy band’s success as a solo artist.
Let’s try to imagine for a moment that this was a collection of duets that, somehow, managed to hook Brother Ray up with the guys and gals who benefited most from his example.
Of course the advantage with dead rap acts is that you can store their phone messages, pizza orders, laundry lists and interviews, then underdub all manner of rhythm tracks until kingdom come, or the fans decide they’ve had, or been had, enough. It’s time to let the ol’ bastard rest in peace.
Tributes have been pouring in, to one of the most important figures in the Irish music industry over the past fifty years, the concert promoter Jim Aiken, who died yesterday (free content)
Heathen may not be the spectacular return to form that some people are claiming, but it’s certainly a far more cohesive affair than its predecessors, Earthling and …hours, which both buckled under the weight of their experimentation.
You look up 'skiffle' in the Chambers 20th Century Dictionary and it says "a strongly accented jazz type of folk music, played by guitar, drums and often unconventional instruments etc. popular about 1957".
The flamboyant torch songs of Rufus Wainwright feel like jetsam from a dazzling alternative reality.
In Wainwright’s rococo otherworld, Busby Berkeley and Tin Pan Alley cast a languorous and lingering shadow. Overwrought emotion is respected artistic currency. And the Golden Age of Hollywood – the era of high-camp and brash musicals – abides in perpetuity.
In a world largely punctuated with angular, upturned-collar punk riffery, Hal are a glittering exception. For an audience weaned largely on scruffy garage angst, Hal stands alone as an affable, nicely hazy sort of record. This is the kind of gloriously textured album that confounds expectation and subtly surprises with every track.
Baz Luhrmann’s forthcoming musical is set in the 19th century, features classic songs from the 20th and was made in the 21st. A lot of big names – Bowie, Beck, Bono – have been co-opted to make this soundtrack more interesting than your average movie tie-in.
He’s still capable of the odd moment of genius, and his place in the pantheon of rock greats is more or less sacrosanct, but Gettin’ In Over My Head singularly fails to reach the stratospheric standards Brian Wilson has previously set himself.
Some performers wish you to know they can sing like angels and howl like banshees. In fact, so proud are they of their foundation-shaking vocals, they hesitate to allow anything as trivial as a song get in the way.
THE EARLY promise of Musical Shapes, the album Carlene Carter recorded in England - and which was produced by her then husband Nick Lowe - wasn't fulfilled until almost a decade later.
THE PUNDITS tend to get all sniffy about Aslan, but the fact is, there ain’t that much difference between the Northside quintet and the likes of Ocean Colour Scene or Cast or even Oasis – working class traditionalists specialising in whitebread Beatles values, an old fashioned adherence to live work, and a melodic but inarticulate speech of the heart.
Marianne Faithfull possesses a voice made out of Blue Velvet; cracked and compelling in its evocation of ruined innocence.
This wayward aristocrat has had a reckless career; in the last two years alone Faithfull's gone from fronting Brecht and Weill's The Seven Deadly Sins to gracing Metallica's 'The Memory Remains' with the kind of performance she could moan in her sleep.
Question: Why do so many rock bands take the tradesman’s entrance these days? And when was it they became so self-referential, self-effacing, heterogeneous, monosexual; cut off from the tributary streams of the other arts, adopting forelock tugging as a stance? What happened to glamour, decadence, risk, dandyism, wit? The idea of the pop star as alien emissary, queer weirdo, sin-eater, beautiful freak?
if you are the kind of individual who lives for musicals, Baz Luhrmann’s latest blast of kitsch madness is almost certainly the most mouth-watering feast served up for your consumption since Madonna’s Evita
As the country’s largest music festival, Oxegen is a crucial shop window for Irish acts. From main-stage headliners Snow Patrol through new kids on the block The Script. Here are some of our favourite Irish picks.
Seven years ago, I sat with a dear friend of mine in a coffee bar one Saturday morning and we read the Irish Times. The night before, Ireland had elected Mary Robinson. It was an Irish revolution.
There was a time when being shortsighted was regarded as a major handicap. However with the popularisation of contact lenses the necessity of wearing specs has diminished. Meanwhile the design of frames has improved so dramatically that prescription glasses and shades alike have become a hot fashion item. Report: Colm O’Hare.
Found this in the Guardian, tucked away anonymously, page 29, Sept. 19th:
Goodbye Elton John,
though we never liked you all that much,
You inspired Diana,
even though you were hardly butch
And it seemed to me
you lived your life
like a candle in the wind,
your hair never knowing what to cling to
When the rain set in.
And though we would have liked
to love you,
It would be a great big fib.
Your talent burned out long before
Your chutzpah ever did.
Those were the final, prophetic words from STEPHEN GATELY on Twitter, as he planned to finish his children’s fantasy novel, The Tree of Seasons. Tragically, death was to intervene, bringing a sad and premature end to the career of a man who was much loved, warm and wonderfully likeable.
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....
They’ve embraced the big sound of America but The Killers still aren’t fully comfortable with the burdens of stardom, reveals frontman Brandon Flowers.
Aer Rianta’s Annual Arts Festival takes place this year from the 6th to the 12th of February at Dublin Airport. Now in its seventh year, the festival is a massive undertaking and is the first and only event of its kind to take place at an airport terminal, anywhere in the world. Featuring both performing and visual arts, this year’s festival promises to be the most ambitious and exciting to date and a quick glance at the impressive line-up should confirm exactly why, writes Colm O’Hare.
