A former member of Shane MacGowan’s band the Popes adds his voice to the criticism of Shane’s manager Joey Cashman. And Shane’s father Maurice also rejoins the fray.
Perhaps the most influential punk band of the ‘70s, The Ramones were nonetheless riven with internal divisions and a variety of personal traumas, both psychological and pharmaceutical. All this and more is covered in an excellent new documentary on the band, End Of The Century – The Story Of The Ramones. Here, Tommy – the last surviving member of the original line-up – looks back on the dark times and discusses the group’s legacy with Tara Brady.
Literon is associated with hard-edged techno funk and ‘Machines’ is a surprise, especially the title track, which sounds like he ventured back in time to revisit the darkest excesses of Joey Beltram’s Code 6 releases on Nu Groove.
Slamming, jacking techno in the Chicago vein with a hint of a ghetto vocal rides atop a dark bassline on 'Chunks' and, midway through, a siren riff builds into the modern-day equivalent of Joey Beltram's 'Forklift'.
Built on the most basic arrangement, the strength of Landsky’s ‘Safari’ rests on its spooky, haunting riff , reminiscent of Joey Beltram’s early 90s flirtations with dark house music. Patrick Chardronnet’s mixes bring bleep techno riffs and unexpected frequency changes to the fore.
As even novice pinheads will know, the story of The Ramones isn’t all Gabba Gabba Heys and the crazy psychodrama of Johnny and Joey’s relationship - Johnny eloping with the love of Joey’s life, the irreconcilable political differences and their sixteen years not speaking - is handled brilliantly here. The film’s greatest achievement, however, is capturing Johnny’s obnoxious, right-wing charm. His perversely pleasurable presence would alone make End Of The Century a mandatory, must-see, drop-everything jaunt down the Road To Ruin.
IN RAT Pack Confidential, his immensely entertaining analysis of the bacchanalian rites of Frank Sinatra s showbiz pals summit in early 60s Vegas, Shawn Levy tells a story about stand-up comedian Joey Bishop, one of the lesser known rodents on the famous Sands Hotel bill which comprised such showbiz luminaries as Ol Blue Eyes, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr and Peter Lawford.
IN RAT Pack Confidential, his immensely entertaining analysis of the bacchanalian rites of Frank Sinatra s showbiz pals summit in early 60s Vegas, Shawn Levy tells a story about stand-up comedian Joey Bishop, one of the lesser known rodents on the famous Sands Hotel bill which comprised such showbiz luminaries as Ol Blue Eyes, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr and Peter Lawford.
MICHAEL STIPE RECKONS THEY'VE PRODUCED THE ALBUM OF THE YEAR, THEIR SINGER HAS BEEN HAILED AS THE ‘NEW BOB DYLAN’ AND THEY HAVE IMPECCABLE TASTE IN COATS. CAN ANYTHING HALT GRANT LEE BUFFALO'S MAD DASH TO STARDOM? LORRAINE FREENEY INVESTIGATES.
The Shane MacGowan organisation has responded to the current controversy surrounding the singer and which is highlighted in the latest issue of Hotpress.
BP Fallon, who toured with The Ramones in 1977 and 1978 - including their epochal gig in Dublin at The State Cinema in Phibsboro that forever changed the face of Irish rock'n'roll - dips into the archives of oblivion to remember Dee Dee Ramone
JOHN WALSHE talks to fresh-faced Euro-pop outfit NV about their quest for pop superstardom, the new Coke ad, and the pros and cons of being a Friends lookalike!
When it comes to meeting musical legends, few people have hobbed with as many rock ’n’ roll nobs as Blondie.
Kicking back before their recent Vicar St. show – an amazing night, in case you’re wondering – Clem Burke and Chris Stein are recalling some of their choicest encounters.
Michael Moore, Billy Joel, Rupert Murdoch and “pussy vegan” Chrissie Hynde are all on the menu as gonzo New York chef Anthony Bourdain gets lightly grilled by Stuart Clark
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
Norman Jay may have been accused of pandering to the establishment when he accepted an MBE – but he’s still fired by a love of the underground, and a desire to change things.
In a 25th anniversary rose-tinted special, Hot Press' dance correspondents select their 25 most influential floor fillers. The editor's decision is final and all that
Martin Corrigan, who once read The Trial backwards on-stage, has given birth to an eponymous band and debut album. And, as you might expect, it’s a little bit different.
In the first of a new series about life at the rock n roll coalface, musician and writer Peter Murphy recalls the night the devil wrecked all his best tunes. Confessions Of A
Rock n Roll
Survivor
As if shifting 30,000 units of D Video and making the Tivoli their second home wasn t enough, D Unbelievables have only gone and scooped Best Comedy Act in the Hot Press Readers Poll. Here, exclusively for the fans , jon kenny and pat shortt deconstruct the subtext of Timmy Leary s big hands.
D Interview:
barry glendenning.
D Images:
mick quinn.
They may sport one of the most original sounds in rock’n’roll – but along the way they’ve been influenced by some of the greats.
STUART BAILIE identifies the ten (plus!) key influences on the music of U2
When My Little Funhouse signed on the dotted line with Geffen, they were precisely 12 gigs old and probably knew more about the inner workings of a thermo-nuclear reactor than they did a recording studio. Since then they’ve toured the world, taken on the same heavyweight management as Guns N’ Roses and moved to Los Angeles where Slash and Matt Sorum are among their best buddies. Brendan Morrissey tells Stuart Clark why the Kilkenny metallers will either end up filthy rich or six feet under.
With 1993 going down as the year that Irish rock finally emerged from U2’s shadow, HOT PRESS takes an introductory look at four of the rapidly emerging outfits that are poised to make headlines and sell bucket–loads of records in ’94.
Schtum, Ash, Joyrider, Compulsion.
He’s played with The Corrs and was a member of the real-life Commitments. CONOR BRADY talks about life as one of the great unsung mainstays of Irish rock and roll. photos Ruth Medjber
20 years and the last seven days: U2 have gone through a whole heavenhell of a lot to get here. One can only guess at Bono’s state of mind, high on the euphoria of playing the most ecstatic shows of his band’s career, drained from the freeze-dried exhaustion of flying home to Dublin from all points around Europe to endure the dim purgatories every son goes through when his father is dying.
Following the success of her Mercury-prize nominated debut album, Gemma Hayes was struck down suddenly with writer's block. Her artistic recovery was a long, painful process, taking her from a sleepy Kerry village to downtown L.A.
Former Friends star David Schwimmer talks about his dark days of waiting tables and why his lawyer parents were perturbed by his determination to make it as an actor.
(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.)
That, according to Shane MacGowan, will be the title of his next, and exceedingly long-awaited album. in the meantime there’s Sean Nós, the war, his dad, drink and Celtic football legend Jimmy Johnstone to be going on with.
Nerd godhead Kevin Smith has gone back to the motherlode with his new movie, Clerks II. Middle age has done little to dent his infatuation with potty humour, he tells Tara Brady.
Harder, faster, louder... Motorhead have been rocking the planet for the past 26 years. As they prepare to do battle again at the Xtreme festival, Lemmy answers your questions. Warts and all
He has warts on his face, chemical paste in his blood, viagra in his dick and a heart full of rock 'n' roll. "There are occasions when I do preach temperance," Lemmy tells a startled STUART CLARK Woooooargh! Photography: SIMON ROCHE
Following his Man of the Match performance against the Czech Republic, Paul McShane has been hailed as one of the finest young Irish players of his generation.
heirs is music to savour and enjoy, on several levels. It’s distillation of California free thinking and Mexican sensibilities filtered through the arid desert climate of Tucson, Arizona has produced a bedrock on which their music is built.
Three-minute love songs simply can't cope with all the intricacies of a complex relationship, and inevitably veer off into angst-ridden cliché or syrupy feelgood banality. Dr. Millar, however, attempts to tell it like it is, and explains how and why to John Farrell.
Fresh from the success of THE DIVINE COMEDY in the Hot Press Readers Poll, NEIL HANNON drops his guard(s) for some candid talking on love, sex, aesthetics and the whole damn thing. Interview: JOE JACKSON
He began working in music as a drummer, but Dave Pennefather's greatest success has been as MD of Universal Music. Hot Press looks back over the life and times of a man with a larger than life reputation.
In a rare interview, Simpsons writer Mike Scully talks about the show’s A-list musical guests, his love for Ned Flanders and upsetting the entire population of Brazil. He also tells us what to expect from The Simpsons Movie, which blockbusters its way onto the big screen in the summer.
Stuart Clark – himself a black belt in origami – discovers how The Ramones and kickboxing chinese detectives have helped Ash to overcome their sordid heavy metal past and become Top of the Chops.
The journey from Tallaght to the Premiership hasn’t always been an easy one, but this season has found Richard Dunne in the best form of his career for both club and country.
Mooks, homies, rat bastards and why Quentin Tarantino is in danger of catching a slap
nope, it s definitely not the Phish interview. jonathan o brien raps with
HUEY MORGAN of the FUN LOVIN CRIMINALS.
It s a story that has it all. Fame, drink, women, politics. Even death threats and The Mob. In a special retrospective feature JOE JACKSON explores the myth, and the reality, of THE RAT PACK, the original reservoir dogs.
Funky Ceili, non-conformist politics and the approval of Bob Dylan, Robin Williams and Johnny Cash to name but a few. Larry Kirwan tells Liam Fay how Black 47 have become the hottest band in New York and one of 'The Ten Most Hated Things About America
Joni Mitchell and Bob Dylan at Madison Square Garden? It doesn t get much
better than this. JOE JACKSON goes
backstage for a brief but revealing encounter with Joni and, from a vantage point to die for, finds two 60s legends who can still send shivers up the spine at the end of the millennium.
Shane MacGowan is not happy with the newly published A DRINK WITH SHANE MacGOWAN.
for a start, it should be called Several drinks with Shane MacGowan, he points out. Plus there's a lot in it that's "garbled, dodgy and well-suspect". and on top of that, he wouldn't even stand over SOME of HIS OWN opinions AS expressed in the book. in fact, if shane had his way he'd "burn every fucking copy". Olaf Tyaransen tries to get the record straight while, inevitably, getting the drinks in. photography: Mick Quinn
With his upcoming concert in Poulaphouca marking his solo Irish debut, it's been all too easy in the recent past to overlook Bob Geldof's standing as a musical and lyrical artist. The lines connecting the youthful Dun Laoghaire blues and Dylan aficionado with the creator of The Vegetarians Of Love are rarely traced in media-bytes that prefer to concentrate on Modest Bob, Live Aid Bob and Saint Bob. Here, Bill Graham, who knew the schoolboy, takes musician Bob on a freewheeling trip from then to now.
With his upcoming concert in Poulaphouca marking his solo Irish debut, it's been all too easy in the recent past to overlook Bob Geldof's standing as a musical and lyrical artist. The lines connecting the youthful Dun Laoghaire blues and Dylan aficionado with the creator of The Vegetarians Of Love are rarely traced in media-bytes that prefer to concentrate on Modest Bob, Live Aid Bob and Saint Bob. Here, Bill Graham, who knew the schoolboy, takes musician Bob on a freewheeling trip from then to now.
With his upcoming concert in Poulaphouca marking his solo Irish debut, it s been all too easy in the recent past to overlook Bob Geldof s standing as a musical and lyrical artist. The lines connecting the youthful Dun Laoghaire blues and Dylan aficionado with the creator of The Vegetarians Of Love are rarely traced in media-bytes that prefer to concentrate on Modest Bob, Live Aid Bob and Saint Bob. Here, Bill Graham, who knew the schoolboy, takes musician Bob on a freewheeling trip from then to now.
In a major interview to be published next month by Hot Press, Manchester City and (more importantly) Ireland centre-half Richard Dunne reveals that him and his partner have named their 10-month-old daughter ‘Lyla’ in honour of City supporters Oasis.
The Pixies' sound was always special – the aural equivalent of being punched in the face by a beautiful, shrieking alien woman dressed like a prostitute – and Doolittle was probably the tightest, sharpest take on it.
This ethnic marriage comedy centres on the poignantly plain Toula who made for a ‘swarthy six-year old with sideburns’ and at thirty is even more badly in need of industrial-strength moustache bleach than ever
There are moments during the set where everything sounds a little samey, and FKOS don’t put on the thrilling rock show that various parts of tonight’s performance hint at.
Frank Black is something of the Paul McCartney of the alternative set - one quarter of a hugely influential band but struggling to recapture that muse throughout a patchy solo career.
It’s the second night of The Pixies’ three-gig run in the Olympia, and like the other two shows, this date is completely sold out. It’s not hard to fathom the level of interest, as the pitch is pretty irresistible – the legendary quartet performing Doolittle, one of the greatest ever alternative albums, in its entirety.
They’re a classic three-piece, with perhaps a nod in the direction of Dinosaur Jnr and a hint of Sugar, but possessed of a ballsy, in-your-face attitude that’s all their own.
From Cult to mass culture is the giant leap Alison Krauss seems set to take with her latest album, Forget About It.
That she has chosen to do it from the base of her long-time label Rounder rather than with a major label has to be admired.
Air have retained their trademark dream-pop sound, though they have added a few interesting new elements to the mix.
Music Review | Live
29% | 22 Apr 2004
Maurice O'Brien
Billed as a night of spoken word, rare footage and a live Ramones set with their former sticksman himself sitting on the drum stool, it soon becomes apparent that this is merely going to be another example of an ex-punk flogging a dead horse.
The season may be over, but the next couple of months are going to be busy ones for managers as they try and do business during the transfer window. We get the lowdown from Tony Cascarino.
ROYAL ASTRONOMY is, by a yawning margin, the most peculiar record I've heard in ages: a totally insane amalgam of jaunty orchestral passages, mashed-up breakbeats, lounge kitsch and synthesiser abuse. It's as cheesy as fuck, it's utterly deranged, and it's absolutely brilliant.
They're one of the tastiest sides in the UK, but Arsenal's relatively low standing in the league shows there's little use in stringing fancy passes together if you can't mix it up when the going gets rough.
When San Marino played in Ireland, they were the worst team he’d ever seen. So there's no point in trying to dress-up a 2-1 win over them as a decent result.
Time, it seems, has not mellowed Cure mainman Robert Smith one iota. If anything, this eponymous album, the band’s first since 1999’s Bloodflowers, is the angriest they’ve ever been.
In an unusually frank interview, Dave Clarke talks legal wrangles, crap trance, techno survivalism and government sponsored drug conspiracies. Richard Brophy listens in amazement.
Sol Campbell has been one of the Gunner's best performers, but that doesn't excuse his recent disappearing act. Meanwhile, things could finally be looking up for Ireland fans. The Republic have every chance of qualifying for Euro 2008.
The Mayor of Baltimore, Martin O'Malley has issued a statement to hotpress.com stating that the "Martin O'Malley" whom allegedly signed the ongoing online petition regarding Shane MacGowan's business relationship with Joey Cashman is NOT Martin O'Malley the Mayor of Baltimore.
A couple of recent outdoor parties on a beach in north County Dublin have proved that there’s life in the old rave dog yet. We won’t mention the location in case there are any members of An Garda Siochana reading, but suffice to say global warming can’t be all that bad a concept if it enables over 1,500 techno loons to dance until dawn on a Dublin beach in April and May.
As Mikam Sound celebrates its 30th year at the top of the Irish sound-hire and production business, Jackie Hayden talks to its driving forces, Paul Aungier and Mick O’Gorman, about their early days, the changing face of the music industry here and abroad and the phenomenal success of their Mosco Sound Design off-shoot.
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.
Clubbers rejoice – the Planetlove summer festival is bound for County Meath. And the really good news is this year's event will feature some of the best in Irish DJ talent.
Any day now a hombre called Padre Alessio Parente will arrive on these shores to whip up support for the canonisation of an Italian madman who called himself "Padre Pio."
Liverpool club Cream has, as expected, announced a major change in their DJ booking policy for 1997. From January the club will be concentrating on resident DJs in its main rooms, and guests will now only occasionally appear in the club’s Courtyard area.
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.
Colm O'Hare turns over a new leaf or two from the huge variety of publications on the shelves this Christmas, from rock biographies to more general Irish published works. So, for those of you who like your entertainment between the covers, read on . . .
