They may (still) not be doing anything particularly new, but here at least Ocean Colour Scene sound like they really mean it, playing with a passion that so few of their Britpop contemporaries are able to muster.
They've sold albums by the truck-load and are about to embark on a sold-out four-night run in Dublin, but Brummy three-piece Ocean Colour Scene have plenty they'd like to complain about, including the press, the music industry, and – especially – ringtone ads appearing on their albums.
As Ocean Colour Scene’s string section take a sabbatical to join Paul Weller on tour, singer Simon Fowler and drummer Oscar Harrison have opted to go back on the road also, with an acoustic show that debuts in Ireland
Kilkee beach in County Clare will play host to the inaugral Cois Fharraige surf and music festival this September, which features the likes of Fun Lovin' Criminals and Ocean Colour Scene.
SIMON FOWLER of OCEAN COLOUR SCENE speaks to Colm O'Hare about the band s new album, his outing at the hands of the tabloid press, and hanging out with Noel Gallagher.
The Coral, Simon and Oscar of Ocean Colour Scene, Brandi Carlile and The Broken Family Band have all been added to the Sony Ericsson Cois Fharraige bill.
The Heineken Green Energy Festival takes place in The Munster Showgrounds in Cork and the Castlegar Sportsgrounds in Galway over the June Bank Holiday Weekend
It’s all pretty brave – the faithful may scratch their heads and the detractors probably won’t even listen but just maybe they’ll find themselves reaching a whole new audience.
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.
As famous for being mates with Paul Weller and Noel Gallagher as for being pop stars in their own right, ocean colour scene take time out from a hectic touring and recording schedule to explain to john walshe just how popular they are. Pix: mick quinn.
Like Ocean Colour Scene and Paul Weller, Reef doubtless make for great festival fodder.
Their workmanlike brand of heads-down boogie-metal (as exemplified by their best known number 'Place Your Hands') is always guaranteed to get bodies moving and heads popping.
Why are four Birmingham lads skulking through Barna Woods in Galway, and why is there a camera crew following them around? john walshe met up with ocean colour scene on the set of their new video, Traveller s Tune . Pix: AENGUS McMAHON.
There’s something reassuringly real about Delays. They’ve kicked around the dreary provinces (in their case Southampton), gigged every toilet in the UK, supported Ocean Colour Scene and released a string of singles that have inched their way towards the bottom end of the Top 40.
There are quite a few things that the world needs at the minute: love, of course, empathy, tolerance, and maybe even a new album from Lauren Hill. However, I’m not sure how far down the wish-list one has to travel before the prospect of a Scandinavian Ocean Colour Scene is mentioned.
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.
Record shopping: Damon Minchella and Steve Cradock of Ocean Colour Scene gratefully accept the offer of a chance to splash some cash in Dublin. Hot Press invited the Birmingham boys on a shopping spree for records and CDs and they dually obliged.
Damon Minchella and Steve Cradock of Ocean Colour Scene gratefully accepted the offer of a chance to splash some cash in Dublin. Hot Press invited the Birmingham boys on a shopping spree for records and CDs and they dually obliged.
This Bournemouth five-piece released their first single less than a year ago, and have already been hailed as the next big thing by the British music media.
They may not fit neatly alongside the sensations currently pouring out of London, but fresh-faced English rockers Thirteen Senses are nonetheless still brewing up a storm on the UK indie scene.
Think of all the indie bands that you can remember from the last decade, bad to mediocre to absolute classic, and throw them all together in an indistinguishable aural stew and you're kind of close to High, the debut album from London six-piece, Southern Fly.
Twenty five years after The Jam went their separate ways, bassist Bruce Foxton and drummer Rick Buckler are back playing together under the name From The Jam.
The Roisin Dubh has become one of Ireland's most prestigious music venues, hosting artists such as Violent Femmes, Josh Ritter and Republic Of Loose. Booker Gugai gives us the lowdown on the live scene way out west.
A decade of
decadence down the line, and Limerick popsters the hitchers show no signs of going away. Frontman
niall quinn yes, really talks to Kevin Barry.
There is many a haven for shunners of the Christmas Cheer like myself. Lots of lovely bands, singers, comedians and even hynotherapists are at hand to entertain the life out of us, and distract Santa while we throttle him. Right up to the New Year there’s so much going on you needn’t come home till Easter.
The warped indie-rock of PlaytOh has put them at the forefront of the Cork music scene. Now they're poised to take on the world. Interview by Tanya Sweeney.
Steve Cummins meets Philip King, the man behind Other Voices: Songs From A Room, the acclaimed music show which has provided an invaluable platform for Irish musicians – and which has now expanded its remit to include international artists as well.
Steve Cummins meets Philip King, the man behind Other Voices: Songs From A Room, the acclaimed music show which has provided an invaluable platform for Irish musicians – and which has now expanded its remit to include international artists as well.
HIS FIRST studio album since the (decidedly unsoulful) Heavy Soul, and first release since the immodestly titled greatest hits collection Modern Classics, Heliocentric finds Weller settling even more comfortably into the role of UK rock's Mr Everyman.
Welsh noiseniks
STEREOPHONICS who've just come up with the song title of the year in the shape of "More Life In A Tramp's Vest" have recently been the subject of a frenzied A&R bidding war. Sarah McQuaid finds out more.
Editors mainman Tom Smith is pining for his mainsqueeze Edith Bowman. HP advises him on an anniversary gift. Aw, bless. Still, he hasn't gone soft, as is borne out by copious potshots at Keane and Sugababes.
Bronagh Gallagher, Autamata, The Radio and The Divine Comedy are among the artists that will be performing as part of RTE's new season of Other Voices, Songs From A Room
Super Furry Animals are yet another Welsh band poised for huge success on the back of their new album. They talk to STUART CLARK about their rejection of Brit Pop, strange Japanese fans and the glory days of The Free Wales Army. Pics of Super Furry Animals with super furry animals: Mick Quinn.
Paul Weller has a reputation as one of the most truculent men in pop, with a deep-seated dislike of the promotional process. But with the release of his latest solo album Illumination, the man who once led The Jam and the Style Council agreed to put himself in the firing line. Looking back over a career that's studded with success, he's reflective and forthright - but the anger that inspired much of The Jam's finest output still burns
You’ve grown your hair and want to make a bitching rock record. Who do you call? Arctic Monkeys tell Stuart Clark about their remarkable journey from Sheffield to the Mojave.
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
It's been ten years that's shaken a fair bit of the world and now, suddenly, OASIS are back. what better time for a reflective, confessional, candid and scandalous one-on-one with a man who always gives great quote, NOEL GALLAGHER. Interview: STUART CLARK
After being a magnet for A&R men during the 80s, Dublin has recently developed into something of an underachiever. The city may have the second biggest growth-rate in Europe but there are a hell of a lot of gigs and records that simply aren t selling. peter murphy casts a critical ear over the capital s music scene and decides that what s required is a full-scale artistic enema.
While no end of guitar bands would kill to occupy the same lofty perch as this shower in the pop-rock firmament, you get the impression that Cast's reputation as solid, dependable, on-stage-at-7pm festival fodder is a source of constant frustration for frontman John Power.
Maybe the place is just too big, maybe the sound's too low or the songs too weak, but rapt musical attention is giving way to inflatable chair fights and beery boredom
Hardly had the ink dried on the last issue s item of advice for would-be entrants for the revised Bacardi Plugged band competition than a number of missives arrived in asking why there was no advice for those who might be thinking of entering the song part of the same project. As some of the senders know where I live I d thought I better oblige.
Forget brain surgery or being Shane MacGowan's oral hygienist, the toughest job in the world has got to be that of an A&R man.
At around about the same time that I was telling everybody that Thee Amazing Colossal Men were going to conquer the world with their second album, a demo from five pasty-faced Londoners went from the Clarkian desk to bin in record time on account of its tired Bowiesms.
Isn t it ironic, as Alanis was just saying the other night, that in an age in which both global and local communications are expanding and developing on a daily basis, some of the most consistent criticisms of young bands relates to their apparent unwillingness to get their message across.
At least 95% of budding musicians and songwriters currently touting their wares around Ireland will probably have given up in frustration within five years
The Irish music industry has spawned a number of official bodies and companies, who provide invaluable services especially relevant to artists going the independent route. But what do these operators actually do? Here, we present a handy run-down on the key bodies and expert companies out there waiting to serve you.
Relish brothers Ken and Carl Papenfus have joined forces with the jazz funk supergroup, Players, that also features former Style Council-or Mick Talbot, Paul Weller’s drummer Steve White and ex-Ocean Colour Scene man Damon Minchella.
