Peering through a letter box, fielding flying knickers and knocking out a strong contender for album of the year - it's all happening for Cooper Temple Clause
"...a powerful collection of passionate, anthemic rockers that will no doubt please their hardcore following whilst winning new converts to the cause."
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.
Since their debut single ‘Wired To The Moon’ went gold here The Revs have established themselves as Ireland’s hungriest and most energetic rock combo, with an appetite for gigging and an eye for publicity that has seen them embroiled in a number of amusing controversies. But behind the brash exterior is the fascinating story of three dedicated young musicians who have overcome their status as outsiders to build one of the biggest and most loyal grass roots following of any local act. Now with the release of their debut studio album, Suck, they are ready to go international.
At a time when public disillusionment with politicians is arguably at an all-time high, Cork Fianna Fail MEP BRIAN CROWLEY continues to buck the national trend by commanding a huge personal vote. But then, this is not a man who fits easily into any obvious political mould. A former rock singer and still a passionate music fan, he has survived a near-fatal car crash and learned to live with a permanent disability resulting from an earlier life-changing accident in his teens. Here, the man many tip to be a future President of Ireland, talks candidly to JOE JACKSON about matters personal and political. Pics: COLM HENRY.
After a career barely spanning five years, there is a definite feeling amongst those who know about such things that POLLY
JEAN HARVEY is destined to be one of the true rock music greats. Her darkly visceral, sexual and lacerating work has struck a
raw chord, and made her the object of passionate adoration. But it has also cast her in the eyes of some as an
"axe-wielding bitch cow from Hell."
LIAM FAY travels to meet ze monsta, but instead finds a home-loving Yeovil lass who likes nothing better than gardening and whipping
up pots of rhubarb marmalade.
Mercier Press have published Cork Rock-From Rory Gallagher to the Sultans of Ping, a book that tells the story of the growth of rock music in the City over the last five decades.
Reef are not the future of rock and roll. In fact, if we have to talk in such grandiose terms about this four-piece from Glastonbury, the best you can say is that they produce an adequate simulation of heavy rock music from the late '60s/early '70s. Rides is all shapes but very little substance.
No matter how many spoken word tours or books Henry Rollins does, he always predictably returns to what he did first - making fast and furious rock music that injects a little food for thought into dumb rock cliches.
What happens when trip-hop producers stop making credible dance music? On the evidence of James Lavelle’s new Unkle album, they start churning out radio-friendly rock music.
For a while back there it looked like nu-metal was going to save rock music. Then we wised up and sent the angst-ridden, shorts-wearing whingers packing. Korn, however, never went away because they were there from the start, probably guilty of landing the whole thing on us in the first place
Having well and truly stuffed Whelan’s earlier in the year, British Sea Power play their biggest Irish shows to date in Dublin and Belfast next September.
Are you a budding muso looking for that first big break? Then take your pick from the River 'Rock' Music Revolution or the Vigilanteism Battle of the Bands...
Without wishing to sound damning, Aaron Smyth is a man setting a course firmly down the middle of the road. That isn’t necessarily a bad thing, as that’s where the huge majority of record buyers like to hang out. White On White deals in nice, well-put-together rock music with an American flourish and nice, well-structured songs. Not the coolest thing in the world, but not the worst either.
With this, their third single, Director prove once again why their album reached No. 2 way-back-when in ’06 – although those clever enough to have seen them live won’t need any more evidence. Catchier than a cold in January, ‘Leave It To Me’ sees Michael Moloney’s distinctive voice (if you’ve never heard Joy Division, Interpol or Editors) plod along smoothly over controlled guitars and a no-nonsense drum rhythm, building up to a sing-along-tastic chorus – warning: may get stuck in head! – before turning up the guitars and going all rocky on us for a bit. While not outstanding, this does exactly what it says on Director’s tin: popular rock music.
The use of rock music for soundtracking and advertising purposes has opened up important new avenues for artists eager to get their music out to a mass audience.
Hard to believe it's been ten years since David Grohl first emerged from the ashes of Nirvana, raised his hand, and asked to be selected as the man to drive forward American rock music.
Even the most optimistic listener couldn’t have predicted the former drummer’s batch of demos would contain such anthems as ‘This Is A Call’, or that he’d be able to follow up Nirvana with another hugely successful outfit.
Yet despite all their accomplishments, the Foo Fighters still have great deal to prove. For all their platinum discs, anthemic singles and sold out tours, they’ve yet to release an album of any real consistence. Grohl could have been speaking about any of the Foo’s previous LPs when he recently said of 2002’s One By One that “Four of the songs were good, and the other seven I never played again in my life.”
AS you all know, I have always been of the view that popular culture is useless. Rock music is a tuneless, repetitive irritant, recorded by people who can t play and listened to by people who can t hear. Cinema is a playground for perverts and fools. And as for cartoons? Nothing could be more puerile and irrelevant.
The demise of No Disco leaves RTE with no real rock music programme at a time when the Irish music scene has hardly been in a more healthy state. We cast a wary eye back over some of RTE’s chequered contributions to musical eye candy. Look upon these works and weep.
Florida's favourite crime writer Carl Hiaasen has turned his attention to the equally murky world of newspapers and rock music for his latest book basket case. Peter Murphy reports
John Walshe talks to Doves Andy Williams about their past life as Sub Sub, their debut album Lost Souls, and what it s like being heralded as the saviours of British rock music.
RTE Lyric FM will celebrate the 80th anniversary of the birth of the late genre-defying trumpeter Mile Davis with a special weekend focusing on a man who is arguably the greatest jazz innovator to have a major impact on rock music. To give you a little something for that weekend, Jackie hayden reflects on one of the true giants of music.
KMLA ARE a band who have no difficulty articulating a vision and a sound that?s at one and the same time intrinsically Irish yet insistent in glancing outward at the shapes and colours of music from all over the globe. Rossa O?Snodaigh, one of Kmla?s main movers and shakers sees roots music?s popularity as an inevitable result of the disillusionment with pop and rock formats.
The days of pop dominance are over. The worm has turned, and a whole new slew of blood and guts rock and roll bands are coming through with records that carry more than a hint of greatness. The darkling posse is headed by the Kings Of Leon – but there are outfits from all over the world who will be vying for poll position over the coming 12 months.
It’s hardcore heaven this autumn as Dischord records release a 20-year retrospective CD, the story of Hope Promotions is chronicled in a new book and Fugazi return for an Irish tour
An Irish band who don’t entirely fit in at home, Relish can console themslves with a great new album Karma Calling, and an international fanbase that stretches from the U.S. to Japan.
An Irish band who don’t entirely fit in at home, Relish can console themslves with a great new album Karma Calling, and an international fanbase that stretches from the U.S. to Japan.
Rory Gallagher’s posthumous Wheels Within Wheels is a remarkable collection of previously unreleased acoustic material by Ireland’s guitar legend. It comes complete with a cover by the celebrated painter, David Oxtoby, that is certain to make a lasting impression.
Goldfinger might be the intelligent face of punk-pop with politics, animal rights and MTV baiting their subject matter. But bassist Kelly Lemieux insists that they remain balls out rock'n'rollers
Five years after the death of singer Michael Hutchence and with the release of the greatest hits compilation Definitive INXS, the biggest Australian rock outfit of the ’80s and ’90s are about to re-enter the live arena
Back on the road again with a famous band name and his classic Forever Changes songs, Arthur Lee of Love recalls the golden psychedelic era of Hendrix, Morrison and Young.
The great and the good of the Trinity philosophical society recently assembled to discuss not epistemology, theology or indeed any other class of “ology”, but rather to address the question, “Is music losing its right to artistic licence?”
Hot Press readers worldwide want to know about Bono for president, Larry for lead singer, that mysterious tattoo, the greatest book, and more. Bono and Larry smoulder on the coals of the hp mixed grill
The extravagantly monikered Chit Chat Von Loopin Stab of Oz crazies Machine Gun Fellatio assures Colm O’Hare that they’re a bit more Las Vegas than the Virgin Prunes
BONNIE PRINCE BILLY is the new moniker of cult hero WILL OLDHAM. NICK KELLY spoke to him about his album I See A Darkness. And received a lot of curt replies.
The Flaming Lips, whose new record is a 'concept album about death' are possibly the most life-affirming band you’ll hear this year. Frontman Wayne Coyne explains why
Responsible dad or not, Liam Gallagher is still capable of some serious rock’n’roll hellraising and giving good quote. Roy Keane, Patsy Kensit, Nicole Appleton, Yoko Ono, Bono and magic mushrooms are all on the agenda as the Oasis singer shoots from the hip. Getting the beers in: Olaf Tyaransen
A surprisingly mellow Tom Ayara of Slayer thinks that calling God Hates Us All “ugly” is unaccurate. “It’s more angry and hateful,” he tells Phil Udell
They may be named after the cute and cuddly creature from Gremlins, but the noisefest Mogwai inflict on the eardrums is more like the after effects of nuclear fallout. John Walshe met them.
They have the tunes to back up their enigmatic image, and it looks like ¡Forward, Russia! will be storming the Winter Palace of indie rock before you can say “Lenin”.
You cook them, we serve them up in the Q&A cantina. At the table to answer the questions posed, in our second serving this fortnight, by members of hotpress.com: Ash
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
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
1 guitar + 1 drum kit + 1 boy + 1 girl = The White Stripes. In other words, sweet, sweet noise meets the best brother and sister penned pop since The Carpenters. Eamon Sweeney meets Detroit's finest, who play Dublin Castle on Saturday, May 4th as part of the Heineken Green Energy Festival
Though soaked in the musical culture of Southern California, female-fronted indie quartet Saucy Monky say there’s an undeniably Irish strain to their music.
The Heineken Rollercoaster Tour is taking to the road again and this time the capital is nobody’s hometown gig. From Kells come Turn, from Limerick Woodstar and from Cork The Frank and Walters. Next stop: a venue near you.
With Cameron Crowe s Almost Famous putting rock hackery on the silver screen, no less, Peter Murphy wonders if Seventies rock journalism is the new rock n roll. Helping him with his enquiries: PAUL MORLEY and GREIL MARCUS
The college circuit is an important stepping stone in rock music around the world. While the potential remains unfulfilled in Ireland, there’s a new breed of Ents Officer who are aiming higher.
They may look after Lambchop’s pets and occasionally leg it from Crawdaddy to catch the last train home, but when not partaking in such hi-jinks, Dublin quartet Delorentos are busy trying to kick rock music another rung up the evolutionary ladder.
The Divine Comedy return to the live arena in September and have recorded several tracks for a new album 'that's going to be fab', according to the ever-immodest Neil Hannon
He s so vain, but brian molko is also one of the most astute men in rock n roll. Having put his hedonistic days behind him honest! the placebo mainman talks to stuart clark about martyrdom, maturity and Marilyn Manson.
It’s been a long, strange trip for David Grohl, from Nirvana drummer to Foo Fighters frontman, via Queens Of The Stone Age and Tenacious D. Now he’s back with a new Foo album, he’s buried the hatchet with Courtney Love and he’s still as rock’n’roll as ever
Who said trad music was for fogeys and whiskery aul' fellas? Spook of the Thirteenth Lock draw on old-timey Irish sounds whilst also referencing prog and nu-gaze
Once a rock’n’roll performer in his youth, CONOR McPHERSON has now graduated into one of Ireland’s brightest theatrical and literary talents. Still only in his mid-20s, he’s already written the screenplay of the acclaimed Irish thriller I Went Down, as well as several acclaimed plays, This Limetree Bower and his latest effort The Weir. Here, he talks to JOE JACKSON about the mixed reception he’s received from Irish theatre critics, and the influence of rock music on his work.
Operating in the interstice where Sonic Youth meet the Jackson 5, Brighton dance-rock outfit The Go! Team are deservedly brewing up a storm with their debut album, Thunder, Lightning, Strike.
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
With ‘Yellow’, Coldplay captured the imagination of even the most resistant of hard-boiled rock’n’roll cynics. Now, as A Rush Of Blood To The Head achieves lift-off in the U.S., even the sky is no longer the limit.
This month, the 2006 RTÉ Living Music Festival, sponsored by IMRO, celebrates Steve Reich, arguably America’s greatest living composer. Jackie Hayden meets the 70-year-old whose influences stretch beyond the contemporary classical world to rock and rap music.
Pierce Turner is back in Ireland for a summer tour, but he’s also pre-occupied by his bad experiences in Ireland as a keen music radio listener and has some radical ideas for shaking up Radio 1 and Lyric FM.
Noise terrorists Paranoid Visions have had their first hit record after 30 years. Is this mere carelessness or part of a cunning plan to subvert the nation?
Psychic and physical disintegration! Quacks, pulsars and Marshall amps! The sound of the end of space and time! And, oh yes, silly song titles too! Welcome to the world of WAYNE COYNE and The Flaming Lips. Interview: Peter Murphy.
In the wake of Metallica’s Some Kind Of Monster, any rock band that’s been together more than five minutes has to ask themselves if they could benefit from the services of a therapist. Bon Jovi’s Richie Sambora is no exception.
It’s all about broken down tour buses, Alan Partridge, high speed collisions, Moby, broken ribs, Mina Suvari, MTV stars and David Bowie as Ash launch a sonic assault on America. So riddle me this: can Ireland’s hardest-working rock’n’roll outfit crack the big one?
From being bottled off stage in Italy to supporting Garbage on a major European tour, to their excellent second album I Am Not A Doctor, life has certainly not been boring for Moloko. John Walshe caught up with them.
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.
Bobby Gillespie's still staying up all night but now it's because there's a baby in the house. Otherwise, it's all systems go for Primal Scream at their bunker hq - Witnness cometh, Mani's back and Kate Moss, Kevin Shields, Robert Plant and AndrewWeatherall all feature on the groundbreaking evil high
After a lengthy period spent "feeding my brain" CERYS MATTHEWS insists she’s really "up for it" again. Although our stop press news suggests her optimism may be slightly premature. Meantime, OLAF TYARANSEN hears about love, politics, presidents, boy bands and CATATONIA's best album yet
Trad quartet Lunasa, named to honour the Irish harvest god Lugh, who also gave his name to the month of August, have become something of gods themselves within the Irish trad scene. Jackie Hayden talks to them in the wake of the release of their new album Se.
Nirvana - Ten years after. Peter Murphy talks to producer Butch Vig, musician Mark Lanegan and critic Greil Marcus, and gets the inside story of the making of Nevermind, the classic album that changed the face of music, unveiled the anthem 'Smells Like Teen Spirit' and brought the world face to face with a screaming soul called Kurt Cobain.
Radio has studiously ignored it but that doesn’t mean that Republic Of Loose’s ‘Girl i’m gonna fuck you up’ isn’t the best Irish single of the year. Tanya Sweeney meets the Dublin boys who just want to have fun.
Radio has studiously ignored it but that doesn’t mean that Republic Of Loose’s ‘girl i’m gonna fuck you up’ isn’t the best Irish single of the year. Tanya Sweeney meets the Dublin boys who just want to have fun.
Radio has studiously ignored it but that doesn’t mean that Republic Of Loose’s ‘Girl i’m gonna fuck you up’ isn’t the best Irish single of the year. Tanya Sweeney meets the Dublin boys who just want to have fun.
Not so long ago mavericks and experimentalism were thin on the ground in Ireland. But with the growth of an independent scene, all of that has changed. for confirmation, look no further than the rise to eminence of The Jimmy Cake.
Starting at Moray Firth Radio in Inverness and ending seven days later at BBC WM in Birmingham, ASTERIX are on a mission to conquer England s airwaves. Joining the tour in Nottingham,
SUSAN DARLINGTON witnesses three days of maps, mobiles and milkshakes.
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.
It’s a good life being a FUN LOVIN' CRIMINAL. You get to party at your own club in Dublin, chill out in Maui, dress like "an irish soccer hooligan" and watch astral television in germany. All this and you’re a nice guy too. HUEY MORGAN tells FIONA REID about life on the town
They may have toured with the likes of Paddy Casey, Ann Scott and Hothouse Flowers, but far from dealing in laidback acoustica, Birr group Wallmark are in fact a hard-rockin’ Led Zep/Who influenced outfit with an appetite for sonic destruction.
Having already played high-profile support slots with the likes of Joe Strummer and John Squire, Omagh folk-rockers The Basement are aiming to go overground in 2003.
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.
STEPHEN RYAN has made his songwriting reputation on the byways rather than the highways. Now, with a new REVENANTS album finally on release, he takes NICK KELLY on a trip off the beaten track. Pics: Bernard Walsh.
STEREOPHONICS are on the up-and-up, their popularity growing without the band making concessions to the London-based music media. GEORGE BYRNE met them to talk about drink, drugs, writer s block and their upcoming Slane support slot.
Mini Pics: MICK QUINN.
How Eric Eckhart quit his swish job, sold his house and cars, split with his girlfriend and burned his picket fence in order to pursue his creative vision.
Well then you better be prepared to hang upside down naked once in a while! Colm O'Hare meets Dublin's Ride Or Die Gang, the band behind this year's ballsiest publicity campaign
She's the hard-rocking- and by all accounts, hard-drinking- Norwegian indie-babe sensation. Ida Maria tells us about the rare condition that lets her see music as colour and more.
If that figure easing down the road looks strangely familiar then that s because it s WILL OLDHAM under yet another nom de plume. EAMON SWEENEY reports
Depending on your viewpoint, it was either a glorious marriage of rock and classical music, or an overblown travesty by proggers who had lost the plot. Now, Deep Purple’s fabled ‘Concerto For Group and Orchestra’ is coming to Ireland. Its creator Jon Lord talks about the piece – and the controversy it created
Personally speaking, the death of the wonderful Elliott Smith was a major blow his year. I found out about his suicide through Ollie Cole, who had e-mailed me with a very succinct, “Elliott Smith is dead. He was my king”, on the day of his death.
The most exciting merger of rock and dance since the heyday of The Stone Roses, the Happy Mondays and Primal Scream – meet The Rapture. Words Paul Nolan
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.
Richard Ashcroft spent the best part of the ’90s on a quest to make one of the great rock albums with The Verve. Having succeeded with Urban Hymns, he promptly broke up the band. Now, with the imminent release of his second solo album, Human Conditions, an upbeat Ashcroft discusses his excitement about collaborating with Brian Wilson, his youthful adventures in clubland, and why The Verve had to split
Having lived a peripatetic existence for several years, Katell Keineg has now settled in Dublin and is earning deserved kudos for her moody brand of arty acoustica.
Bird watching, real ale and having Jim Davidson taken out by a professional assassin are all on the agenda as British Sea Power swap salty tales with Ed Power.
Three bands, 10 venues, 12 dates, four DJ comperes and two high-profile corporate sponsors, including the official national pop station. Jackie Hayden talks to the bands scheduled to play this year’s RTÉ 2fm 2moro 2our, coming to a town near you.
Erasure - namely Vince Clarke and Andy Bell have been creating electronic pop for over a decade. John Walshe catches up with them on a recent promotional tour.
The work of Birr fashion illustrator Sorcha O’Raghallaigh is attracting nods of approval even from those who have little interest in fashion. Jackie Hayden talks to her as her second exhibition comes to Dublin.
SEBADOH, for so long the epitome of the slacker rock band,
seem poised to finally make the breakthrough.
NICK KELLY met them in Dublin only to be asked for cocaine,
and told that Kurt Cobain was so lame he killed himself .
Celebrating its 21st anniversary this summer, 1998's Galway Arts Festival promises to be the best ever. Hot Press' honorary Tribes-man, COLM O'HARE, previews the main attractions and offers a comprehensive guide
to the best places to eat, drink and make merry.
RTÉ is doing its bit for Irish music with the 2FM 2moro 2our. Patrick Freyne went along to the live launch to catch a glimpse of the hit bands of the future.
Paul Smith of Geordie punk-pop sensations Maxïmo Park talks to Phil Udell about breaking out of stylistic straight-jackets, the band's affinity with fellow northerners The Futureheads, and why Jose Mourinho's managerial philiosophy is equally as applicable to music as it is to football.
They got their first break when their single featured on an ad for digital cameras. Now South Africa’s The Parlotones are setting out to conquer the world.
English singer Pixie Lott looks like being the latest pop sensation on the block. The stage-school trained 18-year-old already enjoyed a number one single earlier this year with ‘Mama Do’, and this month sees the release of her debut album Turn It Up.
John Walshe chats to verbose Auteurs mainman, Luke Haines, and discovers why it s been three years since their last release, why all pop stars are scum and how he wants to become a famous TV presenter.
End of the millennium psychosis techno? Political partying house? Dance music with a social conscience and a sense of humour ? If you re looking for all of the above, then look no further than Green Velvet s new LP, Constant Chaos . On the soapbox: Richard Brophy.
Hot Press celebrates two decades of The Baggot Inn, still Dublin s premier pub venue and home, at various times, to the likes of U2, Thin Lizzy and Something Happens! Here, manager Charlie McGettigan flips through his scrapbook of memories in the company of Conor O Mahony and reveals how the recent appearance of a donkey at a Joshua Trio gig brought things full circle at The Baggot. (Not to mention, Full Circle.)
In a surprise change of direction, Green Day’s latest album American Idiot sees the punk three-piece coming out fighting against a certain George W. Bush.
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.
Dublin anarcho-pop five-piece The Camembert Quartet have just released their debut album Music Is War, but with song titles such as 'Boybands Are C**ts' it's unlikely they'll be joining westlife on tour
They arrived on the scene almost two years ago, determined not to let their unorthodox upbringing and dazzling cheekbones overshadow their music. Now, with their supremely accomplished second album, 2004’s Aha Shake Heartbreak, Kings Of Leon have established themselves among the rock’n’roll elite – from which position they’ve begun to enjoy the perks of rock stardom. “I’m actually getting laid now,” a relieved Caleb Followill admits. words Phil Udell
A breathtaking variety of acts have come together - as Lennon might have put it - to focus attention on the ongoing genocide in Darfur, under the auspices of Amnesty International.
Shot to fame by The White Stripes, the aptly-named Holly Golightly has confirmed her status as the new ace face du jour with a sparkling female take on old male music.
From Yorkshire to the former USSR, from Leeds to Kiev, from The Wedding Present to their latest CD Kultura, THE UKRAINIANS are a unique band. ANDY DARLINGTON submits a political, sociological and musical report on their progress so far.
They've tangled with the legends of Krautrock, extended the hand of friendship to Eastern Europe and campaigned against light pollution. But what you really need to know about British Sea Power is that they're being hailed as this year's answer to Arcade Fire.
Home-recording buff, culinary wizard and fully paid-up member of the local indie cognoscenti – welcome to the cultured residence of turn singer Ollie Cole.
Invisible Armies have just released their killer debut EP, A Neutral Space. Richard Brophy talks to Leo Pearson, one-third of the band s core assault squad.
He believes that country music can make people "turn their hearts away from sin." He also believes that Jerry Lee, Elvis and The Beatles failed to answer the call of Jesus and that many rock groups - U2 consPICUOUSLY not included - are now doing the devil's work. JOE JACKSON hears the gospel according to Ricky Skaggs.
While women are still far from achieving equality of opportunity in music, the last thing women artists want – or need – is to be ghettoised, writes musician and journalist Kim V Porcelli. The point about the women who are at rock’s cutting edge – from Sinéad O’Connor through PJ Harvey to Peaches – is that they defer to no one in their pursuit of greatness.
With preparations well underway for Cork city’s hosting of the European City Of Culture festivities in 2005, the indigenous music scene is already rising to the challenge
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.
MACY GRAY’s latest album "THE ID" documents two years of “love-life changes, sex-life changes and body changes”. FIONA REID hears her tales of drugs, men, music and late nights
Brendan Tallon, guitarist and singer with No Disco darlings Revelino, talks to Patrick Brennan about his early struggle with the music biz that stopped his previous incarnation, The Coletranes, dead in its tracks, and the creative process behind the craft of song-writing that makes his new album, Revelino, one of the year s essential purchases.
The introduction of Ryan Tubridy's breakfast show and the rescheduling of Dave Fanning's slot have led critics, both inside and outside 2FM, to claim that the station is buckling under the pressure of increased competition and limited financial resources. Jackie Hayden reports
Or will we? Pete Townshend's solo career has been marked by an increasingly ambitious search for more "mature" forms of saying what he's got to say. His latest project, psychoderelict, is no exception. So just why has the former powerhouse behind The Who, and much-acclaimed spokesman for a generation, lost confidence in the rock 'n' roll music he did so much to define in the '60's and '70's. Liam Fay goes up before the beak.
Recorded in the bucolic splendour of County Westmeath, Bloc Party's second album is a labyrinthine concept album about urban living. Better to take a risk, says frontman Kelé Okereke, than to repeat yourself .
Noel Gallagher and Paul Arthurs of Oasis talk about their staggering rise from being unemployed no-hopers to Top Ten chart act striving to outshine T.Rex, The Beatles and Neil Young to name but three and show Tony Clayton-Lea how to order a peanut.
Brendan Tallon, guitarist and singer with No Disco darlings Revelino, talks to Patrick Brennan about his early struggle with the music biz that stopped his previous incarnation, The Coletranes, dead in its tracks, and the creative process behind the craft of song-writing that makes his new album, Revelino, one of the year’s essential purchases.
It's been 33 years since Belfast girl Ruby Murray topped the UK charts with 'Softly Softly'. Since then, the female singers from the North have rarely scored internationally. Dana last hit the top 50 in '79. Newry stomper Clodagh Rodgers wowed Eurovision in '71 with her hot pants and a rendition of the oompah crowd-pleaser 'Jack In The Box'. And, er, that's about
Disused Mexican banks, Little Britain, Pete Doherty and drunken Sky TV appearances are all on the agenda as Paul Nolan and his temperamental tape machine meet Carl and Didz from Dirty Pretty Things.
Never mind the naysayers, Dublin 2006 is spilling over with white hot talent. Steve Cummins and Shilpa Ganatra run the rule over the capital's new breed.
This year’s Heineken Green Energy festival has something for every music lover. Whether anthemic stadium rock (Snow Patrol) is your thing or you enjoy boisterous pop (Kaiser Chiefs), it’s a festival packed with sonic treats.
Mark Eitzel and American Music Club have had all the critical plaudits and cult status that they ever could've wished for. What they really want now is fame and megabuck success! Patrick Brennan met the Wet Wet Wet wannabees.
Beaten down by the acrimonious collapse of In Tua Nua and lifted up by a hard-fought victory over cancer, leslie dowdall is back with a new album and new outlook on life. I m just delighted to have been given a second chance, she tells joe jackson. Pix: COLM HENRY.
The story of how Paul Brady was transformed from a superlative folk artist into a superlative rock artist in a blinding flash of light (well, fifteen years actually). Today's reading is by Niall Stokes.
Beaten down by the acrimonious collapse of In Tua Nua and lifted up by a hard-fought victory over cancer, Leslie Dowdall is back with a new album and new outlook on life. “I’m just delighted to have been given a second chance,” she tells Joe Jackson. Pix: COLM HENRY.
Think about direction, wonder why . . . It’s eleven years since Stano released his debut album Content To Write In I Dine Weathercraft. Despite his genuine originality and dedication to his art over the intervening years, he remains one of Ireland’s most enigmatic performers, more appreciated on the continent than in his homeland. Interview: Joe Jackson
Black Francis talks to Hot Press about his friendship with U2, his relationship with the rest of the Pixies and why he's reverting back to his original stage-name.
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.
As suede prepare for their headline slot at Dublin Castle next month, their stock has never been higher, thanks mainly to the success of their fantastic third album Coming Up. craig fitzsimons talks to singer brett anderson about it and invites him to take stock of the last few wildly successful months.
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.
Controversial underground magazine The Vacuum has been drawing severe criticism from the more conservative elements of Belfast City Council, including threats of an outright ban. words Colin Carberry
Morrissey famously said that he hoped the author would die in a motorway pile-up. David Crosby was freebasing when he gave him the best interview of his life. He once went a whole year without speaking to another human being. And now he s just updated his classic biography of The Byrds and made it five times longer. He s JOHNNY ROGAN, the rock biographer s rock biographer. And he s talking to Jonathan O Brien.
Most cities and towns have their trouble spots and their danger zones, but Limerick's have been given more than their unfair share of publicity. Such a focus on the negative has tended to detract attention from the positive aspects of this resurgent city, with its vibrant music scene, its buzzing university, the warmth and friendliness of the people, its obsession with rugby, and er, Ryan Turbidy.
He’s worked with Van, Dylan, Christy, Sinéad, The Cranberries and many other household names – but now he’s gone centre-stage himself as the composer of The General soundtrack. JOE JACKSON meets RICHIE BUCKLEY. Pix: Mick Quinn
It s been a long, long way from there to here and DONAL LUNNY has been at the centre of things every step of the journey. He has achieved enormous acclaim and considerable success with Planxty, The Bothy Band and Moving Hearts. Now with the launch of his latest band and their eponymously titled album COOLFIN, he takes time out to reflect on all of the major figures who have contributed to the extraordinary revival of folk and traditional music that has taken place over the past 30 years. He also recalls the highs and the lows the heartbreak, the good times and the great music that he himself has enjoyed as one of Ireland s finest and most influential musicians. Interview: Niall Stokes. Pics: Colm Henry
Fourteen years after Richey Edwards disappeared without trace, THE MANIC STREET PREACHERS have summoned the courage to fashion an album from the lyrics he left behind.
Twelve months ago The Cranberries were unknown outside of the hippest rock circles, now with the platinum success of Everybody Else Is Doing It, So Why Can't We? they stand as the first Irish band to genuinely crack America since U2.
Much of the media attention given to them has focussed on Dolores O'Riordan, a singer whose unique approach to her craft underlines the defiantly independent path the group has trodden all the way to the top of the Billboard charts. Here she talks to JOE JACKSON about what by any standards has been a perfect year. .
THE GREAT RADIO DEBATE – 1993’s FINAL INSTALMENT
In strictly commercial terms, 98FM are by far the most successful Irish independent station. But over the past 12 months they have come in for severe criticism for a music policy which has frequently been described as anti-Irish. As a result, says their Australian Controller of Programmes Jeff O’Brien, there have been changes at the station – and there may be more to follow. Interview: Jackie Hayden.
In Auckland, it was punk rock, gang wars, heroin and prostitution. In Cavan, it s rolling countryside, a recording studio in a church and more dogs than you could throw a stick for. It s been a long way from there to here for BRENDAN PERRY, the former partner in Dead Can Dance who now has a solo album on release.
Interview: NICK KELLY. Pix: CATHAL DAWSON.
...IS COMING TO TAKE YOU AWAY! WHEN JOE JACKSON WENT TO INTERVIEW BONO AT U2'S SECRET DUBLIN RECORDING BASE, HE HAD NO IDEA WHAT TO EXPECT. WHAT HE GOT WAS A CRAZY ROLLERCOASTER RIDE THROUGH THE EXTRAORDINARY WORK-IN-PROGRESS WHICH WILL BECOME U2'S FOLLOW-UP TO THE ACCLAIMED "ACHTUNG BABY!", WITH BONO AT THE WHEEL AND AN UNSEEN PRESENCE WORKING THE ACCELERATOR LIKE A DEMON. "RECORDS SHOULD BE MORE OF A TRIP," SAYS THE MAN IN THE WRAPAROUND SHADES. FASTEN YOUR SEAT BELTS THEN. THIS WILL BE NO ORDINARY RECORD. AND THIS IS NO ORDINARY INTERVIEW.
Formerly, by his own admission, a perfectionist, an arch-worrier and an all-round uptight individual, Paul Brady is slowly but surely learning how to relax. As his Full Moon album rises, John Waters takes a long, close look at Paul Brady in a new light.
Journalist NEIL McCORMICK was a schoolmate of BONO when U2 were taking baby steps. Over the past 25 years their paths have frequently crossed, inevitably in rather more exotic circumstances than a classroom. As another year draws to a close, they meet up again: the result is an unusually intimate portrait of a man who came not to save the world but to serenade it. Plus: a close-up look at some of the most striking songs on All That You Can t Leave Behind
After more than 15 years in the business, Aslan are still able to command massive, devoted audiences in music venue and record shop alike. John Walshe joins the Lions' club on the road
U2, Elvis Costello, The Pogues, The Waterboys, Emmylou Harris, Hothouse Flowers, The Everly Brothers, Christy Moore just some of the dozens of artists who contribute to an adventurous new five part TV series which traces the extraordinary return journey that Irish traditional music has made to America and beyond. Here, Liam Fay previews the programmes, talks to Philip King who originated and nurtured the project and hears many of the participants explain how they discovered the importance and influence of Irish music.
You re the frontman with The Stunning, you make an innocent remark about farmers and acid house and you end up creating banner headlines in The Western People. Lorraine Freeney assures Steve Wall that this is the sort of stuff Hot Press never stoop to, and also hears about the new album, Deco in The Commitments and the art of bridging the rural-urban divide.
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.
Philip Chevron's career has been nothing if not varied. From the early days with the Radiators through his collaborations with people like Agnes Bernelle and right up to his current work with The Pogues, he has proved himself to be a consistently fine songwriter and performer. In the first part of a lengthy and intense interview, he talks to Eamonn McCann about his childhood, his love of Broadway musicals, the Horslips connection, the genesis of the Radiators and his fleeting career as a journalist.
On the eve of his unprecedented 23-night run at Vicar St., PAUL BRADY reflects on a dazzling career and describes the long and sometimes difficult process which has led to a new and resounding declaration of independence.
Interview: JACKIE HAYDEN
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
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
n a career spanning 25 years in the glare of the stagelight, CHRISTY MOORE has known every emotion from insecurity, despair and vilification to adulation, triumph and the warm glow of creative fulfilment. He has dabbed in drugs, drink to excess, suffered a heart attack for his troubles and made some of the finest records that have ever been subjected to critical scrutiny in this country. Now, in a frighteningly honest interview, he tells it like it is and was. Cross-examination: JOE JACKSON. Microscopic camerawork: COLM HENRY.
Are Bono and the boys just a really good rock band or have they succeeded where the priests and politicians have failed and unlocked the neuroses of our colonial past? Joe Jackson indulges in a spot of cultural sparring with John Waters and finds the author of Race of Angels: Ireland and the Genesis of U2 well able to maintain his guard.
Sexual Politics and Pixies, P.J. Harvey and the Marquis de Sade, Sexism and self-loathing, Black Sabbath and Doris Day. THE BREEDERS aren't always quite what you'd expect them to be. Interview: ANDY DARLINGTON
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.
WILLIAM GIBSON is no ordinary science-fiction writer. Aside from coining such essential nineties' terms as Cyberspace and Cyberpunk, his work has also influenced everyone from computer hackers to scientists developing virtual reality technology. In the rock world, he's regarded as a visionary and artists as diverse as U2, Billy Idol and The Rolling Stones have all claimed inspiration from his novels. Interview: Liam Fay. Cyberpics: Cathal Dawson.
Though their second album, All The Way From Tuam, has yet to hit the shops in Britain, The Sawdoctors are beginning to pack em in in the strangest of places like Norwich and Leeds. Bill Graham talks to Leo Moran about the band s phenomenal success to date and, against a backdrop of cynicism among rock s self-conscious cognoscenti, asks the perennial question: what is hip?
It’s Christmas time and, as far as the hotpress journalistic elite are concerned, there’s not a turkey in sight. JOHN WALSHE, COLIN CARBERRY, CHRIS DONOVAN, EAMON SWEENEY and BARRY O'DONOGHUE report on the Irish acts who are going to be huuuuuuuuge!
over the next 12 months.
Is she a manufactured pop act made to look like a rock chick? is she a rock chick who sells records like a manufactured pop act? or is she something else entirely? Why’d Avril Lavigne have to go and make things so complicated?
The initial rumours were that it was going to be a rock n roll record . Then subsequent whispers hinted at everything from trip-hop to techno to ambient. But U2 s eighth studio album, Pop, is all of these things and more. It s the first album since 1983 that they ve made without the assistance of Brian Eno, it s been a long time in the making roughly a full year, all told and it s selling like the proverbial warm buns. Here, NIALL STOKES talks to BONO and ADAM CLAYTON, as well as co-producers FLOOD, HOWIE B and THE EDGE, about its lengthy genesis and what the band hoped to accomplish in creating it.
Pix: STEPHANE SEDNAOUI .
Annual article: The Electric Picnic wasn’t just one of the musical events of the year; it also let us chow down and have a natter with some of the top pop combos of the day, including Bloc Party, Gang Of Four and New Order.
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.
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.
The latest wave of right-wing attacks on US musicians is likely to have a knock-on effect here, with the words and actions of our own artists coming under increased scrutiny. In a special hotpress report, Ed Power enlists the help of Marilyn Manson and a number of major Irish players to pick his way through the censorship minefield.
With Thin Lizzy now officially a thing of the past, Philip Lynott is preparing to start anew with Grand Slam. At this transitional point in his public career Tony Clayton-Lea sought out the private Lynott to ask him his views on a wide range of issues including music, politics, religion, sex, drugs, Ireland, parenthood and rock'n'roll stardom. The result is probably the frankest and most revealing interview Philip Lynott has ever given.
ENTERTAINMENT OFFICERS FROM UCC, UCD, UNIVERSITY OF ULSTER, UCG, DCU AND THE UNIVERSITY OF LIMERICK GIVE AN ALTERNATIVE VIEW OF LIFE ON THEIR PARTICULAR CAMPUSES.
It may be that she will forever be associated with the Zipless Fuck, but if her new book, Of Blessed Memory, takes off like Fear Of Flying, erica jong could yet become synonymous with another hot erotic scenario, The Three Slipperies. Still creating controversy after all these years, the author talks feminism, Judaism, rock n roll, fashion and but, of course sex, with Joe Jackson.
Pix: cathal dawson
MIKE SCOTT once fronted the greatest rock n roll band in the world, but before the world got a chance to wake up to the fact he had gone west and invented raggle taggle. Now with a new Waterboys album, A Rock In The Weary Place, just released, Scott takes time out to reflect on his strange but true adventure. By PETER MURPHY
They may be about as prolific as giant pandas, but now the waiting is over. The mighty LEFTFIELD are back with their first new material in almost five years - the new album Rhythm And Stealth - and it looks set to have the same genre-redefining impact as their debut long-player Leftism. BARRY GLENDENNING talks to mainman PAUL DALEY about media critics, professional jealousy, John Lydon, banned videos and that Guinness ad.
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.
PIGEON-HOLE THEM AS BELFAST HARDCORE MERCHANTS AT YOUR PERIL - IN THE PAST FEW MONTHS THERAPY? HAVE RELEASED TWO CLASSIC PUNK-POP EP'S THAT SHOOK THE BRITISH CHARTS, AND EVEN GOT THEM INTO THE PAGES OF TEEN-BIBLE SMASH HITS. AS THEY BEGIN RECORDING THEIR NEW LP, THEY TAKE TIME OUT TO GET NERVOUS ABOUT FEILE, GET ANGRY ABOUT THE BEATLES, AND EXPLAIN WHY THE DAYS OF THE NINE-MINUTE INSTRUMENTAL EPIC ARE OVER. INTERVIEW: LORRAINE FREENEY
He’s a legend, an icon and a farmer. His hit singles tally in this country is surpassed only by Elvis Presley and Cliff Richard. He is, above all else, the man who brought... ...us ‘Do You Want Your Old Lobby Washed Down’ and ‘Carrots From Clonoun’. Behold the unexpurgated brendan shIne on sex, drugs, drink, the accordion, grunge, GATT and Donie Cassidy’s wig. Interview: Liam Fay. Pix: Cathal Dawson.
Pigeon-hole them as Belfast hardcore merchants at your peril in the past few months Therapy? have released two classic punk-pop EPs that shook the British charts, and even got them into the pages of teen-bible Smash Hits. As they begin recording their new LP, they take time out to get nervous about Fiile, get angry about the Beatles, and explain why the days of the nine-minute instrumental epic are over. Interview: Lorraine Freeney.
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.
Sean O’Reilly, whose superb Watermark hit the shelves recently, has been hailed as one of the most important new voices in Irish fiction. So why has more widespread success eluded him to date?
Basking in the warm glow of that first day's successful recording may tempt you to imagine that it's all over but for the fame and fortune. Wrong, and double wrong. JACKIE HAYDEN considers music marketing and PR.
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
RADIOHEAD are just about to release one of the most uncompromising and controversial records of the year in Kid A. As the band prepare for their upcoming Irish dates, mainman THOM YORKE talks about the genesis of a record that seems destined to divide rock fans for years. Not to mention Bono, Britney and Alicia Silverstone! Interview: DAVE FANNING
As the first ever Green Party member in The Mansion House, Dublin’s current Lord Mayor, JOHN GORMLEY, is certainly unique. However, dismissed as a novelty by some and derided by others, the substance of his views as a politician have often been completely overlooked. Here, the capital’s number one citizen is unchained. Interview: JOE JACKSON. Pix: COLM HENRY.
A broken and distraught LIAM FAY recounts his nightmare on Stephen Street where he endured the full horrors of LINE DANCING . . . and just about lived to tell the tale. Pics: Mick Quinn
Dana may be trying to shunt him into the background, but TCG O?Mahony is adamant that it was he who inspired the former Eurovision winner to run for the presidency. And while he is confident that ?she will win if it is God?s will?, he warns of serious repercussions from above should one of her opponents triumph in the race to the Aras. Our man with the locust repellant: liam fay.
was born in Navan, discovered comedy in Dublin, paid his dues in London and then conquered Edinburgh in 1996. Liam Mackey meets Dylan Moran, the stand-up comedian with the world at his feet.
Senate leader Donie Cassidy, a reluctant interviewee, opens up about his rivalry with Fianna Fail colleague Mary O'Rourke and reminisces about his days in the show-band business.
What links Richard Harris with Linda Ronstadt, Art Garfunkel with The Supremes, and Frank Sinatra with er, Ghost Of An American Airman? Why, the music of Jimmy Webb, of course, one of the most widely-respected songwriters of all-time. Here he talks to JOE JACKSON about his friendship with Richard Harris, his encounters with Elvis and his deep-rooted love of Irish music.
In the first part of a two-part interview, Michael D. Higgins, Minister for Arts, Culture and the Gaeltacht, talks about his philosophy of art, about his own poetry and, more controversially, about RTE, the IRTC, the future of commercial radio - and the sustained and slanderous campaign against him in the Sunday Independent.
DEREK BELL on art, spirituality and porn! MARTIN FAY on Sean O'Riada, Carnegie Hall and drink! And PADDY MOLONEY on superstar friends, Bono's problematic vocals and his critics, inside and outside the group. Yes, it's the second and final part of JOE JACKSON'S extraordinary interview with THE CHIEFTAINS.
DENIS LEARY, sultan of sneer, is en route to Dublin to star in the Murphy s Ungagged Comedy Festival. By way of a little limbering up, and proving that there s no smoke without fire, here he lets rip on Noraid, The Kennedys, The Royals, Bill Hicks, Dean Martin, Oasis, Father Ted, drugs in Kerry and, oh yes, why he d like to go to Riverdance with a sniper s rifle . Interview: LIAM FAY.
One of the ten most photographed people in Ireland, TV presenter Caroline Morahan isn’t just a pretty face. Fame, fashion, drugs, the Antisocial Behaviour Order and George Dubbya are all on the agenda all she pours scorn on John Walshe's ten-year plan and vetos Caroline – The Fragrance. Photography by Liam Sweeney.
In the second and final part of an extensive interview, director Jim Sheridan discusses his troubles with Gabriel Byrne and Noel Pearson, explains why he could marry Daniel Day-Lewis but would fail to measure up against Richard Harris, and suggests the best way forward for the embattled Irish film industry. Plus: the ouija board prophecies which seem to have shaped his life. By Joe Jackson.
The fact that it's just over ten years since Pac-man was wowing the world's computer buffs, shows the vast leaps that the gaming industry has made since. Hot Press investigates the cult of the console.
LET'S GO SHOPPING
Gerry McGovern embarks on a mission to steer you through the sea of software.
They go together like a horse and carriage. You can't have one without the other - or words to that effect. In fact, however, even rock 'n' roll has yet to invent an erotic language that does justice to the breadth and complexity of human desire. In pushing out the boundaries, madonna has taken on the role of sexual pioneer, and done it with courage and no little success. Niall Stokes weighs up the evidence . . .
One of the most distinctive and colourful characters in Dail Eireann, Junior Minister WILLIE O’DEA is also passionate about his commitment to reforming adult education. Here he talks to Joe Jackson about his brief, about Michael Noonan, Frank McCourt and “Stab City”, and about his recent outspoken comments on taxi drivers, political donations and other controversies. And, yes, he admits he did inhale and was “legless” the night he got elected
You know you re doing something right if your book disturbs both Cat Stevens and Snoop Doggy Dogg. But Sligo-born eamonn sweeney s debut novel, Waiting For The Healer, with its explosive mix of booze, blood, manic comedy and rock n roll, is also winning rave reviews for its uncompromisingly forthright author. Interview: liam fay.
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.
Olaf Tyaransen travels east to investigate the mail-order bride business in the Ukraine and returns with a story of love, lust, laughs, paranoia, despair and hope. An extract from ‘To Ukraine For Love’, a featured piece in Olaf’s acclaimed new collection of journalism Sex Lines – Adventures In The Erotic Underground
I've been taken to task by reader Brian Bolger from the band Cushy for the compulsive need I and everybody else in HP seems to have to put every band into a descriptive compartment.
Again, it is showcase nights like these that remind us of Irish music’s capacity to evolve and remain self-sufficient, without the clout of the industry which claims to wholeheartedly endorse the scene.
An over-14’s event at the Ambassador tonight – though some crowd members look even lighter in years than that, making this possibly the youngest audience at the venue since its days hosting cinema matinees.
The speakers in Whelan’s may need replacement. So loud were the 22-20’s, their rock and blues infused numbers were still ringing in my ears two days after they’d left the stage. At times the Wexford street venue must have shook with the noise.
Despite their pre-election pledge to Hot Press to stamp out ticket touting, the Green Party have admitted that it’s not an issue they’ve focused on since going into coalition.
Jesus Christ And The Church Of Gnostic Rock. Peter Murphy on the good, clean, but mostly dirty, fight for the soul of the Devil s Music. Part One: The Old Testament.
As frontman with The Spikes, Tom Dunne likes to makes sure that he stands out from the crowd. Jackie Hayden asks the former model his views on the links between fashion and rock music.
As frontman with The Spikes, Tom Dunne likes to makes sure that he stands out from the crowd. Jackie Hayden asks the former model his views on the links between fashion and rock music/
Rise does end up coming across as a hotch potch collection of familiar sounds, leading the listener to play spot the influence as opposed to developing any real understanding of the band themselves.
And now it, and The Stunning, are back – albeit for a limited period only. If you were one of those who thrilled to this first time round, chances are that this reissue will leave you all dewy eyed and nostalgic.
Armstrong has been canny enough to make this more than just the soundtrack to an imaginary movie, the frequent instrumentals combining a massive cinematic scope with the ambition of the best left-field rock and dance artists
What happens when post-rock becomes merely post? This is a dilemma confronting Mogwai, once frontiersmen of sonic extremity, now your third favourite band from the ‘90s.
There will be no repeat of Fionn Regan's 2007 nomination success as the shortlist for this year's Mercury Music Prize has been revealed – and no Irish acts have made the cut.
For Some Strange Reason is a mature and confident sounding album by a band who could show some of their younger rivals how to write decent rock tracks.
I used to sit up nights fretting about LiR, puzzling over their hyper-intricate arrangements and their gratuitous exhibition of their flawless, and often pointless, musical technique
With their self-titled debut album The Black Rebel Motorcycle Club have been causing an unexpected sensation by harking back to the dark distorted attitude-laden style of British bands such as The Jesus & Mary Chain, The Verve and Ride.
All things considered, the past twelve months are unlikely to be considered essential in the rock’n’roll scheme of things. It was a year when few new acts came to the public eye and those that did weren’t breaking any particularly new ground.
While they lack the pop skills to become stadium beasts, We Are Scientists do offer more sonic delights. They can build furiously enjoyable storms of sound; full of bleary Sonic Youth riffage and pounding bass – and even incorporating a jerky, new wave sensibility on occasion.
rom its sumptuous packaging onwards, there’s obviously been a bucketful of record company money spent here, perhaps in the hope that this will be the one to break the band on a worldwide level. It might well do that, but it won’t be down to any compromise on the band’s part.
Andre Antunes, ace percussionist with Republic of Loose, was born in Brazil. Here, he waxes lyrical about his memories of his native country, and offers tips on where to visit.
Following a decision to cease broadcasting rather than risk being raided, Phantom FM issue a press statement about this week's Dublin pirate radio crackdown
Phantom FM have unveiled details of the people who are partnering them in their bid for an Alternative Rock Music Sound Broadcasting Service on the FM Band in Dublin City and County.
Thankfully for them, the Manchester three-piece deliver on the promise of their debut, as their sophomore effort is brimming with the kind of timeless guitar tunesmithery that marked their earlier work
A record that is simultaneously more expansive and microscopically intimate, and in places (‘Paper Machete’, ‘In Rivers’) even makes you think of Talk Talk – so sophisticated is the music on offer.
As if Beck’s brilliance wasn’t enough, Radiohead deliver an absolutely stunning set that puts the efforts of Coldplay, Keane, Muse and the million other pretenders to their throne into utterly unforgiving perspective.
And so the Pixies arrive at the 'difficult' fourth album stage. 'Difficult' because they haven't set so much as a little toe wrong to date, which naturally causes one to wonder just how much further they can travel in their pixilated state before tumbling head over arse?
Depending on your point of view, this frustrating album is either an amusingly disjointed flying-visit traipse through the usual bustling, omni-cultural Cornershop tour of central London and points east, or a disappointing collection of great ideas brought about seventy percent of the way to satisfying fruition and then, perversely, left there
Is Plastic Orange Ireland’s Top Of The Pips? JACKIE HAYDEN unpeels RTE’s latest rock show, gets right to the core of its raison-d’être, almost goes bananas, but, er, stops well short of taking the pith.
While Marc Carroll is definitely possessed of a considerable talent, this solo outing unfortunately sees him spreading it too thinly over writing, playing and production duties
There was an odd period some ten or fifteen years ago when punters would pay a few bob to go into a folk club and shut their gobs while somebody played. I can’t imagine why. Perhaps the late arrival of technology was making us romantic.
Around the time of their Throwing Copper album, Live were being heralded as the next REM. In fact, along with the aforementioned foursome from Athens, Georgia, Neil Young and Nirvana, this band recorded one of the best MTV Unplugged shows I have ever seen.
They’ve got a killer dress-sense but there’s more to Mr. Hudson And The Library than spiffing threads. For one thing, they’re surely one of the first hip-hop acts fronted by an Oxford graduate.
According to Buzz Records in Chicago, the sound that’s created by Irish band Half Film is “music for the solitary life”. Maybe it’s appropriate, then, that we’ve interviewed them without even talking, never mind meeting face to face.
There’s more to Glasgow than Rab C. Nesbitt, Rangers/Celtic turf wars and Taggart. Adele Bethel, vocalist with Sons And Daughters, sings the praises of her native city.
For under-18s, gaining entry to concerts in licensed venues is a constant problem. But the regular BLAST gigs at Dublin's Temple Bar Music Centre provide a solution: twice a month, up-and coming bands play afternoon shows to a teenage crowd in a venue serving nothing stronger than water. NIALL STANAGE reports.
A simmering dissatisfaction with the amount of Irish music being played on Irish radio bubbled over at Music Ireland, with a debate that was, by turns, lively and illuminating.
From U2 to The Frames and Sinead O’Connor to Damien Rice, music has helped put this country on the map. So why is the government so slow to back the music industry?
Now that American rock ’n’ roll has succumbed to its self-destructive urges and with its British counterpart reduced to self-indulgent navel exercises, the stage is now set for the radical rejuvenation of Irish music both as an international commercial viability and as a cultural touchstone for the new generation at home. Bill Graham meets philip king, the captain of the flagship of the latest revival river of sound, and finds that in the wake of the Riverdance phenomenon, it’s full steam ahead for Irish trad. Pix: NUTAN.
It’s shaping up to be the mother of all battles of the bands as Dublin heroes Bravado square up against Waterford’s Gorbachov in the Murphy’s Live 2008 final in The Savoy, Cork on May 15.
On 25 August 2001 - twenty years after first appearing there in support to Thin Lizzy - U2 play Slane Castle. NIALL STOKES reflects on the extraordinary journey that has led up to this historic, and beautiful, day
Although born in Melbourne, Australia, Liam Finn regards Auckland in New Zealand as his spiritual home. He takes us on a tour of some of his favourite neighbourhoods.
RELISH
Another Downpatrick act with the chance to make good. Now signed to EMI Ireland, a single is due presently. Previous demos found them mixing a gleaming American rock sound with soulful vocals, not unlike Roachford or Terence Trent d Arby. A challenge to anyone s marketing department, but still preferrable to the average indie toss.
Five years ago no-one would have believed it. But with dance music reaching new heights of popularity, Irish rock ’n’ roll is engaged in a desperate fight for its very survival. Reporting from both sides of the battle line: Stuart Clark
Dublin's Hyland Brothers are aiming to punch their way into the Guinness Book Of Records. How? They are all launching individual bids for European boxing titles.
In rock terms, that's what U2 are, having successfully defended their crown against all-comers since The Joshua Tree crashed to No.1 in the US in 1987.
To suggest that music is thriving in Sligo is akin to declaring that there s been a bit of an upturn in the economy lately. Music of all breeds, creeds and colour can be found in abundance around the county.
For those who thought that treading water was no way to dismantle an atomic bomb, and that when added together X and Y amounted to nothing much at all, over the horizon some long-awaited ballast is about to arrive.
Wayne Coyne prefers a white suit to a white hat, but make no mistake; At War With The Mystics is one hell of a heroic and defiant album.
Twelve months ago The Cranberries were unknown outside of the hippest rock circles, now with the platinum success of Everybody Else Is Doing It, So Why Can’t We? they stand as the first Irish band to genuinely crack America since U2.-Much of the media attention given to them has focussed on Dolores O’Riordan, a singer whose unique approach to her craft underlines the defiantly independent path the group has trodden all the way to the top of the Billboard charts. Here she talks to JOE JACKSON about what by any standards has been a perfect year. Pix: Michael Quinn.
To mark AC/DC's sell-out return to Ireland, Hot Press celebrates one of the greatest rock and roll bands of all time – tracing their drama-packed early years and talking to some of the musicians they helped influence.
Hot Press, in association with ritz, presents the definitive guide to the Irish dance scene, incorporating our regular dance column Digital Beat. Your authoritative host: mark kavanagh.
Music Review | Live
24% | 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.
