An escalation of violence within certain deprived pockets of the Travelling community has provoked a Garda clampdown that many regard as heavy-handed. Meanwhile, despite some notable efforts to improve cross-community relations, Travellers must continue to cope with discrimination, alienation and a growing accommodation crisis. Mic Moroney reports on a people struggling to survive in the shadow of the Celtic Tiger.
Throughout his career, Freud was particularly intrigued to learn what women wanted. If only he could have lived to see The Sisterhood Of The Travelling Pants.
PACK YOUR LEMSIP AND NIGHT NURSE AND PREPARE TO DO BATTLE WITH THE BEIJING FLU AS THE SAWDOCTORS TACKLE THE SOUTH OF ENGLAND ON THEIR LATEST TOUR. CURRENTLY BETWEEN LABELS THE BAND’S U.K. FANBASE IS INCREASING STEADILY, EVEN IF THE CONCEPT OF ‘DESIGNER BOGMEN’ HAS YET TO PENETRATE THE SHIRES
CHECKING THE TEMPERATURE: BILL GRAHAM.
IF last week's violenct clashes between members of the travelling community and the good folk of Glenamaddy served any purpose, it was to show what a bunch of fascists, hypocrites and bigots we the (settled) community of Ireland are.
Their friends warned them against it and the textbooks were hardly more encouraging, but when ADRIENNE MURPHY gave birth to Fiach, herself and partner Dara were not to be dissuaded from travelling en famille for three months in the "hot thin waist" of Central America. This is their remarkable story
Cavernous arenas, capacity crowds, shrieking teenagers and a brisk trade in merchandising.
No, it s not a Take That reunion, it s eh, Dublin popsters picture house travelling the autobahns of Germany.
Our Eurosceptic in D|sseldorf: colm o hare
Travelling by first class train between Wales and London James Dean Bradfield did a surprising thing: he started working on his first solo album. The resulting record taps the Manic Street Preacher’s growing affection for his roots in the valleys.
The dark, romantic Raining Down Arrows is the latest milestone in the creative
liberation of Mundy, a man whose thoughts on love, friendship and connecting with the audience are at the core of his music.
He can't sing, he can't play but Jim Rose can sure wail on a pile of glass! STUART CLARK meets the man behind the travelling freak show that took Féile by storm and Ray Darcy by surprise. Pix: CATHAL DAWSON
FRANCIE BARRETT rose to public acclaim in 1996 when he became the first member of the travelling community to represent Ireland at an Olympic Games. Now a documentary, Southpaw, has been released which relates the Galway boxer s story. CRAIG FITZSIMONS met him and was impressed.
This 18-track compilation is an exhilarating mix of songs and tunes by travellers and their friends. It ranges over the decades, with a track from the fifties by fiddle players Paddy and Stephen ‘Spare Parts’ Rainey, to a comparatively recent version of ‘The Travelling People’ by Christy Moore and Declan Sinnott which is worth the album price alone.
When Shad T Scott isn’t programming for acts like No Doubt and Alanis Morissette, he likes nothing better than travelling to the farthest depths of electro’s outer limits as Gosub.
A new name to me, Neil Myles has, it appears, been travelling to foreign parts these last few years, but is now back in Drogheda, from where his gameplan for world domination is being launched...
Of the many affecting moments in the recent Arena Pete Doherty documentary, one that sticks out was the final, lengthy shot of Doherty travelling home after a gig, singing along dreamily to Radiohead’s ‘High And Dry’.
After seeing him lost in so many ways, it was rewarding to see him simply lost in music. And rewarding it is, too, to be able to write about Doherty as a musician rather than a red-top hellraiser. I’ve never really bought into all the artist of his generation stuff (The Libertines had a handful of admittedly memorable moments; Babyshambles have been pretty ropey across the board) but this might just be the turning point. For a start, it sounds like a proper record, well produced and actually featuring fully formed songs as opposed to the half-baked ideas of before. Good songs they are too, with three of the five tracks (‘The Blinding’, ‘Beg Steal Or Borrow’, ‘Sedative’] easily up there with his best work. Whether this creative upswing can continue will depend on a lot of obvious factors – this is a reminder of the living, breathing talent behind the tabloid titillation.
Rolling Thunder finds Dylan and his travelling minstrel band reveling in novelty, comradeship, a sense of the mischievous and, most tellingly, the freshness of the then newly released Desire album.
The Songs Of Praise Karaoke competiton tour is set to hit the road next week, travelling to college campuses and venues all over Ireland in a search for the nation's best karaoke stars.
Belonging to the same time-travelling mindfuck genus as Donnie Darko and Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind, Shane Carruth’s splendid $7000 dollar debut rightly took the Grand Jury Prize at last year’s Sundance Film Festival, beating the faux-indie Garden State to the punch.
U2 fans take note: Stealing Hearts At A Travelling Show will appear at Music Ireland '07. This is the first time this unmissable exhibition has been shown in Europe, so be sure to check it out. The exhibition will feature the designs that shaped the band for 25 years and the designers will also present an intimate Q&A session in the Red room on Saturday October 6.
With the Edinburgh Festival just around the corner there’s a veritable plethora of preview offerings from some of the Irish comedy contingent who’re travelling over to strut their stuff.
Spiritualized are back with a new album which confirms Jason Pierce’s theory that “the best music is made by people who are out of control.” Loving the alien:
With their Eurovision adventure as a focal point, it may have been a strange and unusual year for Dervish – but they've bounced back with a superb new album.
Travellers have been barred from the town of Larne in Northern Ireland, in what amounts to one of the most extreme uses of an ASBO yet under UK law. Report by Eamonn McCann.
After a long hiatus in the studio, London-based psychedelists saint etienne are back with an acclaimed new album, Good Humour. adrienne murphy finds out what they've been doing in their spare time.
Meet Rodrigo Y Gabriela, Mexican guitar virtuosos and planet-hopping adventure-seekers who, as Kim Porcelli discovers, are partners in more ways than one
For so many bands, touring is a drag: months on the road away from home; living in the back of a van or a bus; surviving on large amounts of fast food and alcohol. Andy, lead singer with Therapy? enjoys it a hell of a lot and gives his advice to young bands going on the road.
“I was clearing out some boxes recently and I came across these sketches I must have done when I was about six. I had scribbled in bright crayon across the page ‘Swimwear Collection’, and had drawn these bright yellow stick insect figures with big heads"
"I used to always take clothes off people as well, like little kids after gigs who would go 'You were brilliant' and I’d go, 'Can I have your jacket?'”
In just two years the 2fm 2moro 2our has grown into a high-profile showcase for Ireland's best new talent. Ahead of the latest jaunt, the featured acts tell Colm Russell what it means to them.
She’s one of the chief movers in the Cork music scene. But what does Cork Rocks’ founder Francesca Brown get up to when she’s back at base? Photos by David O'Mahony.
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.
Two Icelandic natives who came together in London and have carved out a niche playing supremely melodic, melancholy pop music – boy-girl duo The Honeymoon look to be here for the long run.
Manu Chao may not be able to change the world, but he’s certainly conquered it with his unique fusion of musical styles. Fresh from a sell-out show in The Point, he talks to Danielle Brigham about journeying to the North Pole, trashing Argentinian TV studios and “Mr. Bush, the number one terrorist.” Photographs: Cathal Dawson.
Jeff Martin rose to fame as singer and guitarist with Canadian rock band Tea Party. Now trading as a solo artist, he is currently holed up in a remote part of County Cork where Jackie Hayden tracked him down.
Currently promoting his debut solo album The Ideal Condition ahead of his appearance at Electric Picnic, Paul Hartnoll made his name alongside his brother Phil in Orbital, one of the most significant dance acts of the past 20 years.
Katell Keineg confesses that she's lazy, eccentric and mis-understood yet she's back with a live appearance in dublin in February and a new EP due in the spring. Interview: Fiona Reid
With Hello Starling Josh Ritter has emerged as one of the finest songwriters who's operating today. John Walshe meets the reluctant hero who's storming the Irish charts.
Producer and musician Daniel Lanois talks about turning his latest album into a film, cutting out the middleman to distribute his own music, and why he's fascinated by Michael Jackson's feet.
Fifteen years since they first topped the Irish charts, The Saw Doctors remain one of this country’s most successful bands. So why do so many people still consider them a novelty act?
Rolling Stone's most promising artist of the year and Dylan/Stones endorsed songstress Kathleen Edwards tells all about her acclaimed new record Back To Me, life on the road in the US and why she just might make the move to those shores in the not-too-distant future.
Until recently, Scottish jazz/folk legend john martyn was almost as renowned for his hard-living consumption of booze as he was for his marvellous records. But, he tells colm o hare, these days he s on the wagon, and operating on full horsepower for the first time in years.
In August of this year, Hot Press photographer Emily Quinn undertook a unique journey to Uganda to document the lives of people touched by the efforts of the A-Z Children’s Charity.
The tragic death of Mic Christopher before Christmas came as a terrible blow to his many friends and fans (see letters page). Here our own Kim Porcelli recalls her memorable encounters with "an exceedingly generous soul".
'Cellar veteran and all round nice guy Dermot Carmody returns to the fray with a brand new one-man show which he previews in Dublin, Galway and Cork before travelling to Edinburgh this Summer. Stephen Robinson reports
Abortion hasn t gone away, you know; rather it s Irish women,
some 6,500 a year, who have to do the travelling while, back home,
the pro-life movement continues to insist that It Can Never Happen Here. TONY O BRIEN of the Irish Family Planning Association believes it s
well past time tht we got to grips with a problem whch, time and again, has dominated public debate while leaving women in the
throes of crisis pregnancy to fend for themselves.
Interview: Siobhan Long. Photography: CATHAL DAWSON
Best known for his mirth-inducing, deadpan quips on Have I Got News For You, paul merton is travelling to Kilkenny this year for the Murphy's Cat Laughs comedy festival. A typically upbeat barry glendenning asks him about bad comedy, failed marriages, mental breakdowns and Don't Feed The Gondolas.
Best known for his mirth-inducing, deadpan quips on Have I Got News For You, paul merton is travelling to Kilkenny this year for the Murphy's Cat Laughs comedy festival. A typically upbeat barry glendenning asks him about bad comedy, failed marriages, mental breakdowns and Don't Feed The Gondolas.
Best known for his mirth-inducing, deadpan quips on Have I Got News For You, paul merton is travelling to Kilkenny this year for the Murphy's Cat Laughs comedy festival. A typically upbeat barry glendenning asks him about bad comedy, failed marriages, mental breakdowns and Don't Feed The Gondolas.
The Charlatans have reclaimed their DIY ethic and released their latest album as a free digital download. It's a far cry from the days of booze, E, and backstage encounters with Madonna.
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.
Author Robert Sabbag has made his name as a dynamic chronicler of the shadowy world of drug smuggling. Olaf Tyaransen hears about his difficulties and successes on the trail of the white powder and gold weed
So famous in Chicago that they've named a day after him, Frankie Knuckles has used his position as the world's top house DJ to highlight the cause of people living with HIV.
Gemma Hayes tells John Walshe about playing the International Bar, singing with Guy Clarke, recording with Julian Lennon and how she doesn't just write love songs.
If there were handouts for the shy and retiring, Dervish would be at the back of the queue. Never backward in coming forward, this Sligo/Roscommon ensemble have elevated audience rapport to an art form that's sadly all too rarely practised round these here parts. Lead singer, Cathy Jordan (the sole Roscommon interloper amid a quintet of Sligomen) delights in the more quirky and bizarre backgrounds to the band's songs and tunes. And somehow they all seem to treat a night flight to Kuala Lumpur with the same gravity as they would a skite to Kenmare. Dervish live and breathe on the road. Its interminable miles are the band's sustenance, its cat's eyes their compass to the next town, the next continent, and the next gig.
The traffic in Dublin has steadily been getting worse. Now, however, new alternatives are beginning to assert themselves. Stephen Robinson finds out about what the LUAS line, currently under construction has to offer
In the last issue of Hot Press, NIALL STANAGE wrote about his experiences as a busker-for-a-day. This time around he meets the real thing those who try to make their living on the streets of Dublin. PICS: CATHAL DAWSON
Joe Jackson talks to John Kilby, founding member of famed French theatre company Footsbarn, who are set to light up the George’s Dock Festival this June with Perchance To Dream, their lively and imaginative reinterpretation of Shakespeare’s most famous plays.
Internationalist jet-setting dance-pop playboy Sam Sparro has been propelled to ubiquity by the single 'Black And Gold', but he's not above offering HP a bite of his cheese toastie. Ahem.
Having one’s bare arse dragged along sandpaper is one thing – but having said raw arse doused in salt and vinegar is something else again. Paul Nolan meets the team behind the UK’s answer to Jackass, Dirty Sanchez
Having befriended Joe Strummer before the Clash man’s untimely death, artists such as Adam Duritz, Ryan Adams and Shane MacGowan are also now lining up to give kudos to New York singer-songwriter Jesse Malin.
Damien Dempsey is back in town after a five month stint Down Under. Hot Press catches up with the Dublin balladeer as he kicks off a 50-date Irish tour, taking in Electric Picnic along the way. He talks about the success of his Rocky Road To Dublin covers record, the thrill of bestriding Croke Park – and having Bono and The Edge checking him out in Sallynoggin!
Glaswegian quartet TRAVIS may have spent much of the last year playing
support to Manc legends Oasis, but deep down, all they want to do is rock. Interview: NICK KELLY
The supposed one-hit wonders who are now big – no, make that massive – in Japan, Underworld are celebrating ten years of stream of consciousness, musical collages and, er, the greyhound form book.
Superheroes, talking animals, three fingered dressmakers and more populate the weird and wonderful world of the soon to be massive Empire of the sun and Edwin McFee steps inside the mind of main-man Luke Steele for a journey he’ll never forget.
Uber-hip electro-rock merchants The Bravery are brewing up a storm on the UK indie scene thanks to their blindingly inventive records and raw and energetic live shows. Interview by Hannah Hamilton.
Belfast-based novelist Jo Baker has once again become the subject of much attention in literary circles with the publication of her powerful and compelling second novel The Mermaid’s Child.
Lisa Dorrian was popular and fun loving. Then she fell foul of the North’s paramilitary underworld. A year since she vanished, her family is still trying to uncover the truth about her disappearance.
Steve Earle is known for his passionate political views. But never mind standing firm in the face of conservative America. The hardest thing he ever did was follow Christy Moore onstage.
She’s an acclaimed novelist – but Emar Martin is fast earning a reputation as a visual artist also. As her latest exhibit opens, she talks about moving between the two media
It started in Brooklyn and is set to take over the world. STUART CLARK talks to Kamal, one of the, er, brains behind the cult phenomenon of the year, THE JERKY BOYS.
They’re barely out of high school and have strong opinions on daytime TV and R. Kelly’s dwarf fascination. So, no, The Spinto Band aren’t your average run of the mill indie-rock outfit,
Sliabh Notes are a trio of renowned traditional musicians who play dance music that long preceded the breed that flourishes these days in the club scene. Siobhan Long pays a visit to them in the best place possible to hear the music: a wedding reception in Kerry.
Defeat to New Zealand Maori has plunged the Lions into crisis. With the crunch first test against the All Blacks looming, can Brian O'Driscoll and his troops recover in time? Written by Niall Breslin from The Blizzards (and formerly a pro with Leinster).
Life on the road isn't always a blur of parties and groupies. Sometimes it's exhausting, and oftn plain boring, as Irish hopefuls Director found out when they went on tour with Hard-Fi.
Rik Mayall is back with a show that could be his rudest and most spectacular yet. Paul Nolan asks about the latest installment of bottom, and why he and Ade Eedmondson are the new Laurel & Hardy.
Rik Mayall is back with a show that could be his rudest and most spectacular yet. Paul Nolan asks about the latest installment of bottom, and why he and Ade Eedmondson are the new Laurel & Hardy.
The scion of Wexford rock ‘n’ roll royalty, Odi has, at the age of 26, managed to kick start a music career as well as modelling and appearing in Emmerdale.
He's the original soul brother number one love machine (with respects to the late James and Issac) and he's got the kind of honeyed voice that could charm the knickers off a nun.
An Irish human rights campaigner travelled to Colombia recently – and returned with an alarming picture of a society where activists face the constant risk of murder by paramilitary gangs.
Recent violent attacks, such as the horrendous killing of two Polish men, may have involved young people. But that shouldn't lead us to tar an entire generation.
Shaz Oye has been described as having the most extraordinary voice ever to come out of Ireland. On the eve of the release of her much-awaited debut album, she talks to Jackie Hayden about her Irish upbringing, and its highs and lows.
He's gone from bashing out Brel covers in pokey Dublin clubs to crooning 'New York, New York' while gazing at the Manhattan skyline.For his latest project, the wonderful story so far. Jack L has pushed the boundaries yet again by collaborating with up and coming Irish Novelist Anna McPartlin. Here they talk to Hot Press about their intriguing hook-up and explain how your career can lead you to some very strange places...
Or the total lack thereof, in an Ireland where unfavourable weather conditions and reactionary legislation has had the effect of ensuring tourists now rate Dublin as one of the most boring cities in Europe.
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.
When it was announced in Hot Press that a new incarnation of De Dannan was about to hit the road, it came as a surprise to one of the group's founders, Alec Finn. Here, he talks about why he objects to the use of the name by his former musical partner, Frankie Gavin.
One of the leading figures in Belfast's electronic scene has just embraced an intriguing new identity. Step forward A.J. SUZUKI a.k.a beatmaster Jupiter Ace.
Michael Franti is mad and he wants you to know about it. To demonstrate the fraught condition of the world, he’s even gone to the Iraq and Afghanistan war zones to make a movie.
There is no smoke without fire, they say. Well there is a lot of smoke hanging over Hollywood today. A pall of thick, black, lung-choking smoke from the fires engulfing the East Coast.
With his first film The Station Agent, Tom McCarthy has fashioned a magnetic fable of Fin, the new-dwarf-in-town, which has invited comparison with Ford and Cassavetes.
Bosnian ex-pat Aleksander Hemon has found modern resonances in the century-old tale of the murder of Jewish immigrant Lazarus Avenbach by the then Chicago chief of police.
Following a collapse in the numbers of students taking up the J1 Visa in 2004, the US Ambassador, James C.Kenny, has gone on the campaign trail in Ireland.
As Northern Ireland begins to cash in on its recent history, NIALL STANAGE takes a West Belfast taxi tour around the area s landmarks. Pics: PETER MATTHEWS
He’s the hottest thing in boxing and has been tipped as a future world champion. Recently Amir Khan was in King’s Hall Belfast for a lightweight bout with Laszlo Komjathi of Hungary. Francis Jones was in the audience.
As the masses prepare to descend on Punchestown, we dispatch Hannah Hamilton to assess the festival fitness of one of this year's Oxegen buzz bands, Franz Ferdinand.
For a city so often celebrated in song, it was inevitable that the horrific events in new york would be felt as keenly in the music world as in any other section of society. STUART CLARK reports on the industry response and compiles a broad selection of individual reactions to the attack
The Lovebox festival returns to Dublin with a stellar line-up including Maximo Park, N*E*R*D, Paolo Nutini and Gorillaz Soundsystem. We talk to organisers Groove Armada.
25 years into his
career and with a
new album set to be
followed by a video
documentary of his life
and times, liam o'flynn
is the acknowledged living
master of the uileann pipes.
Interview: Sarah McQUAID.
Pics: Colm Henry
She may have met her prince in a bar in Santa Fe but their marriage has introduced her to a sacred oriental art that she is bringing to the west for the first time. Princess Marianne of Bali describes how ‘tantra’ turned her life around.
One of Ireland’s outstanding violin players, Steve Wickham is a long-time member of The Waterboys and respected composer in his own right. Born in Dublin, he’s a country boy at heart.
Sting – all dull AOR anthems, mawkish charidee singles and empty celeb blather, right? wrong! The artist formerly known as Gordon Sumner here talks to hotpress about the lingering fall-out from the break-up of the police, hanging with über-hip filmmakers Terry Gilliam and David Lynch, and getting the seal of approval from the late Johnny Cash.
Karl MacDermott used to be the next-big thing in comedy until his stand-up career didn’t pan out as expected. Now he’s back in the public eye with a semi-autobiographical first novel.
The making of Phantom Power, bringing it all back home to Wales and (sigh) why the Irish are great – the Super Furry Animals share a jar with Eamon Sweeney
The mother of Philip Lynott has seen her home in Dublin double as a place of pilgrimage for fans of the Irish rock legend – and she wouldn’t have it any other way.
Pop star, movie star, UNICEF youth ambassador – Samantha Mumba has already packed a lot into her young life (including a secret boyfriend!) and the stakes are constantly being raised
In one his first ever interviews, James Ruskin, the man behind the Blueprint label, incendiary three-deck DJ sets and the landmark Further Design album, comes out of the shadows. Richard Brophy looks on in awe.
Aisling O’Loughlin is one of the effervescent presenters on TV3’s Xpose. This week, however, she’s stuck with Jackie Hayden making one of his house calls.
It was Wednesday June 14th, 1995, when the terrible news of Rory Gallagher’s death was first phoned through to the Hot Press office. In more ways than one, it was the end of an era. On Wednesday November 8th, a commemoration service was held at Brompton Oratory in London. The ceremony ended with a tribute, which was delivered by Niall Stokes, editor of Hot Press. As a special remembrance of Rory, on the 10th anniversary of his death, we reproduce here the full text of that tribute.
Social diarist Amanda Brunker is so high-maintenance even her paper plates are designed by Damien Hirst. Colm O'Hare joins the TV presenter, model, actress, budding novelist and loose-tongued Eamon Dunphy guest in her comfy sea-front residence in Clontarf. Photos by Cathal Dawson.
Rumours of Depeche Mode’s demise have been greatly exaggerated, as Martin Gore and Andy Fletcher explain on the eve of the release of their 11th studio album, Playing The Angel.
Cecilia Peck, director of music documentary-political travelogue Dixie Chicks: Shut Up And Sing reminisces about her Dingle childhood and explains what it’s like being part of a great Hollywood dynasty.
Ed Byrne has just finished a smash-hit series of concerts at Dublin’s Olympia Theatre as part of his hundred-date tour but those who are missing him already can tune into the new Network 2 show Just For Laughs which finds him wearing his TV presenters’ hat. and shades.
Jerry Fish – or if you prefer, Gerry Whelan – is what you might call a happy man right now. In fact, if the guy were any higher, the boys in blue would probably stop him on the street and ask him to piss into a cup. Not only is he preparing to close on his most successful professional year in a decade, he’s also received a rather momentous early Christmas present. Some 28 hours before our meeting, the singer’s partner Niki had given birth to a baby boy, their second child. Mr Fish, as you can imagine, is coasting on cigars and brandy and goodwill to all men.
Jeremy Hickey, aka Rarely Seen Above Ground, has become one of the most acclaimed artists in the Irish indie scene. He talks about the intriguing origins of his unique musical style.
Liam Fay teams up with the IMRO hit squad as they venture north to Monaghan in search of bars, discos and other such venues that do not have a licence to thrill, or at least a licence for the public performing of music.
Exhausted following her prolonged spell on tour, Bic Runga is keen to make it back home to New Zealand for some well-earned r’n’r. but not before she discusses the vagaries of life, love and pop stardom.
When time comes for the models to put on their real life clothes, chances are they’ll turn to Filippa Knutsson. Alison Bourke meets the designer who’s more interested in “style than fashion”
Bill Wyman apparently retired from rock n roll five years ago so what s he doing releasing the first in a trilogy of new albums? colm o hare talks to a Stone alone.
Having made his name in the folk arena with Emmet Spiceland, Planxty and The Bothy Band, DONAL LUNNY went electric with the ground-breaking Moving Hearts. In the second part of a wide-ranging interview reflecting on all of the major characters and plots in Irish music since the folk revival blossomed in the '60s, he talks about the demise of the Hearts, the impact of Riverdance, Shane MacGowan, Sharon Shannon, Altan, Coolfin – and what he'd like to do with Sheryl Crow. Tape: NIALL STOKES
A former skateboarding god and young entrepreneur of the year, Davie Philip exchanged the fast life for the good life. Iva Pocock reports on the curious making of a passionate green activist
With feelgood fables like Jerry McGuire and Almost Famous, Cameron Crowe has forged a reputation as one of the Good Guys of American cinema. His new film Elizabethtown does nothing to change that perception, no matter how much he protests. "I'm more caustic than you think," he tells Moviehouse.
PETER MURPHY reports on the bureaucratic traps and social hysteria confronting Ireland s tiny immigrant refugee population of 4,000. And he interviews the founder of Immigration Control Platform, Aine Nm Chsnaill.
Life has been a bit of a rollercoaster for Ronan Keating since he left Boyzone for a solo career. But he’s not one for moaning or dishing dirt – even when conversation turns to Louis Walsh.
If the name TINDERSTICKS is synonymous with images of grim-faced men in suits, peddling unbearably lovelorn songs of emotional destitution and heartbreak, then the Nottingham sextet have only themselves to blame. But, as frontman STUART STAPLES tells NIALL CRUMLISH, their new offering Simple Pleasure swops despondency for optimism with brilliant results.
Spare a thought for Julian Casablancas. His bandmates having flown the nest to do their own side-projects, he’s confessed to feeling, well, at a bit of a loss these days. To fill those empty days, the lead singer for The Strokes has embarked on a solo career of his own. Edwin McFee catches up with the frontman on the eve of the release of Phrazes For The Young and finds out all about the record that he never thought he’d make. Plus, Casablancas also reveals why he doesn’t miss his old sparring partners one bit.
Whether it's a four-minute love song about a caress that lasts ten seconds, a journey through the universe in a silver plane or a simple escape form war, Air promise that you'll never have a bad trip with their music. Danielle Brigham talks to Jean-Benoit Dunckel, one half of the enigmatic French duo.
LIAM CLANCY is in sparkling form as he looks forward to the release of a documentary on his life, which explains how he escaped the Irish Ayatollahs and wowed a young Bob Dylan in Greenwich Village.
Niall Stanage pays tribute to a remarkable young woman whose passion for music made her one of the most widely respected and genuinely loved people in the history of Irish music
Irish fiction continues to grow in both popularity and hipness. In this special feature we talk to three of its most prominent young exponents: John Connolly, Conal Creedon and Julie Parsons.
From Dublin to Hollywood and from hanging around in Ballykissangel to hanging out with Al, Bruce and Tom, actor Colin Farrell is making the most of life as 'the next big thing'. "I'm a lucky bastard," he tells Craig Fitzsimons
Billy Bragg’s larynx, sexual politics, and Jilly Cooper paperbacks. What’s it all about? NICK KELLY finds out when he beams himself up to the planet DUBSTAR.
Belfast filmmaker John T. Davis on Uncle Jack, a troubled but ultimately cathartic labour of love commemmorating his late uncle’s achievements as a cinema architect. Interview: Cathy Dillon.
Andrew Maxwell who has followed up a year of successful television appearances with a sell-out stand-up show and a nomination for a prestigious comedy award.
They've got the songs, the attitude and the neatest line in Oxfam chic since The Smiths but when will Pulp be famous? Niall Crumlish delves into the seedy twilight world of Sheffield's new sex gods.
Flora Montgomery is one of Ireland's brghtest stars of stage and screen. She may have achieved a career high as the curvaceous criminal lead in When Brendan Met Trudy. But, as Stephen Robinson discovered, you don’t want to ask her about her nude scenes
JOHN WALSHE talks to JIM WHITE about his amazing life – from dropping acid and modelling for Vogue to surfing for Jesus – and his amazing album No Such Place
From Dr Strangelove to Eyes Wide Shut, film director Stanley Kubrick cast an enigmatic shadow over film. Since his death, the director’s widow, Christiane Kubrick, has dedicated herself to preserving his legacy. Here she offers a glimpse of the man behind the legend.
DESMOND HOGAN'S fight against both indifference and hostility towards his homosexuality has led him to Dublin, London, Berlin, North Yemen and the USA. Along the way he's produced *The Edge of the City* a collage of his observations on different cities, which is how he finds himself in the company of Joe Jackson.
Last month the eternally under-rated indie outfit The Cribs released Ignore The Ignorant, easily their most ambitious and critically acclaimed record to date. Catching up with the band in Belfast Edwin McFee talks to Gary Jarman and new recruit Johnny Marr about press attention and expectations as well as hearing about how the former Smiths guitarist has found a new home with the brothers from Wakefield.
Happy in both her personal and professional life, DOLORES KEANE has learnt the wisdom of doing things for herself. Following the release of her latest album, Solid Ground, SIOBHAN LONG gets to meet her - at the second attempt.
In which Olaf Tyaransen comes face to face with a raging bull, declares war on the neighbourhood dogs and undergoes the Thai rite of passage that is surviving a motorbike accident.
This fortnight, Olaf Tyaransen bravely overcomes his homesickness and takes a trip to the mainland – only to have two Thai hoodlums break into this hotel room and a tatooed Welshman offer him some opium. Oh dear…
Bruised but unbowed by a turbulent campaign, the People s Coalition candidate, ADI ROCHE, discusses matters personal, political and presidential with JOE JACKSON.
His TV breakthrough came when he told Pat Kenny about how he hung weights from his penis. Since then it’s been wild globetrotting and fluent Irish all the way. And now, in his latest spectacular for the viewing public, Hector O hEochagain has only gone and bought himself a share in a racehorse.
Their name may be derived from a river that runs through the Scottish capital of Glasgow, but the word on the streets is that like Wimbledon Scottish second division leaders Clydebank are considering a controversial move to Dublin. Report: stuart clark.
STUART CLARK asks DAN MURPHY whether antique collecting is the new rock 'n' roll and in the process discovers why it's taken SOUL ASYLUM nine years to become an overnight success.
Girls Aloud’s Nadine Coyle talks about her Derry childhood, drug use in the pop industry and explains why she gets irritated when the band are called “British”.
DAVID HOLMES new album is likely to
elevate him to the world s DJ-ing A-list.
STUART CLARK visited him in Belfast to hear tales of voodoo, punk, Primal Scream and, er, Gilbert O Sullivan.
Pictures: MYLES CLAFFEY
BARRY GLENDENNING visited the Leeds Town and Country to witness the BRUTUS GOLD LOVE TRAIN, an unfeasibly
popular 70s disco extravaganza that will soon be winging its way to Dublin.
BARRY GLENDENNING visited the Leeds Town and Country to witness the BRUTUS GOLD LOVE TRAIN, an unfeasibly
popular 70s disco extravaganza that will soon be winging its way to Dublin.
On the face of it, the show is like any other Brian Kennedy night. Young girls become giddy. Mothers are impassioned as they shove themselves to the front, wailing along with the words and leaving piles of flowers at the singer s feet. The singer, bless his heart, is trilling and wowing at the reception, resplendent in crushed velvet, letting his all-embracing charms soften up the crowd.
It’s been a hell of a year for The Thrills, propelled from rehearsal rooms in rainy Dublin to a number one album, sell-out shows and limo-driven tours of L.A. at night. Hotpress catches up with the band as they kick off an irish homecoming trek with an exclusive Dublin fan club gig.
With even the comparatively tranquil Euro 2004 marred by trouble on the Algarve, the issue of football hooliganism remains a live one. Now, one of its definitive texts has made it to the big screen. Craig Fitzsimons meets the men – and learns about the hard men – behind The Football Factory
The Irish language is currently enjoying its most significant renaissance in many a year. in a special report, Seán O Héadeáin investigates the rebirth of the most unfairly maligned element of traditional culture
Adored by Hollywood’s elite and admired by everyone from the dearly-departed Oasis to Bruce Springsteen, Kasabian’s career has gone into over-drive this year. Main songwriter Serge Pizzorno dishes the dirt on those swine flu rumours, how Quentin Tarantino might be the next alumni from Tinsel Town to fall under their spell and why he’ll need to take a few days off after their Arthur’s Day celebrations in Dublin.
Going back to the deep-seated roots of music is the route taken by THE PALACE BROTHERS on their stunning debut album. GERRY McGOVERN goes to meet them at the crossroads where cultures collide . . . well, The Baggot Inn actually.
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.
The new year, according to some astrologer or other, was a very good time for making resolutions, as long as you got on with them from the start. If you’ve left it ’til now, forget it. Depending on your particular weakness, you might be just as well off.
With the final countdown to Christmas already well underway, what’s on offer by way of music-related presents is on every rock’n’roll fan’s mind. We took Jerry Fish into HMV in Grafton St. and asked him to pick out the most desirable items on offer – including, of course, his own wonderful new record Live At The Spiegeltent.
With the final countdown to Christmas already well underway, what’s on offer by way of music-related presents is on every rock’n’roll fan’s mind. We took Jerry Fish into HMV in Grafton St. and asked him to pick out the most desirable items on offer – including, of course, his own wonderful new record Live At The Spiegeltent.
In the run-up to Bloomsday, gay rights activist Senator David Norris explains why he hates iPods and he wouldn’t have wanted James Joyce as a neighbour.
Now taking the solo route, Hugh Cornwell talks about his latest album, reminsces about kicking back with David Bowie, squaring off back-stage with U2 and cooling his heels in Pentonville.
Niall Stokes: As the drummer in a band, you re occupying a seat that s normally occupied by men.
Caroline Corr: It s a natural thing for boys to go for instead of girls. But I think there should be a lot more females playing. I don t know why they don t.
Having amicably but firmly put the Cranberries behind her, Dolores O’Riordan found refuge in motherhood, but is now raring to get back on the road with her first solo album.
The revolutionary Venezuelan government of Hugo Chavez aims to cast off the shackles of what it describes as US cultural imperialism by educating its people. But can it continue the campaign without US intervention?
Taking surf rock, doo-wop and bowery punk down the Euro-autobahn, The Raveonettes have hit on a winning combination of the wild, the innocent and the sado shuffle. Sharin Foo tells the story.
Taking surf rock, doo-wop and bowery punk down the Euro-autobahn, The Raveonettes have hit on a winning combination of the wild, the innocent and the sado shuffle. Sharin Foo tells the story.
Taking surf rock, doo-wop and bowery punk down the Euro-autobahn, The Raveonettes have hit on a winning combination of the wild, the innocent and the sado shuffle. Sharin Foo tells the story.
the biggest grossing tour of the year or just the grossest tour of the year? Jackie Hayden encounters tales of everyday madness and sadness in the trail of St Therese
Despite predictable criticism from certain quarters, Sarah McLachlan’s vision of “a celebration of women in music” has made the touring Lilith Fair one of the hottest tickets in rock in 1998. Tim Perry reports.
Donegal fiddle player john doherty died relatively unheralded in 1980 at the age of 86. Now, a new CD bears ample testament to his almost supernatural skill with a bow and strings.
By peter murphy.
Dundalk-born director John Moore has produced one of the most gung-ho portrayals of the US military in recent cinema history in behind enemy lines, yet Craig Fitzsimons discovers a film-maker who finds flag-waving unacceptable
He's the godfather of English whimsy, the spiritual successor to Syd Barrett. So why the hell is Robyn Hitchcock sharing a pokey tour bus with three fifths of REM?
Accompanied by images from his photo diary, DONAL DINEEN takes us through a month-by-month guide to the records that kept himself, and the Today FM faithful happy in 2001
Returning for a second big screen helping of stunt show Jackass, Johnny Knoxville lovingly recalls the time he was strapped to a rocket –and nearly died.
Well it’s one for the money Two for the show
US3 GET READY . . .
. . . Now go cats go! When a critic talks about awarding his favourite gig, album and band of the year accolades to the same outfit then we gotta be talking about something special. In this case it’s transatlantic Jazz Rappers US3. And the, er, critic in question: MR. STUART CLARK
Music journalist-turned-publicist KEITH ALTHAM has spent more than 35 years behind the scenes with the likes of The Who, Rolling Stones, Small Faces and Van Morrison. His new book reveals (almost) all. Interview: GEORGE BYRNE.
Beginning 1989 as complete unknowns and ending it with a major international recording deal, two well-received singles and acres of press coverage, the scale of An Emotional Fish s progress has been the envy of their contemporaries. But how did the band go from being minnows to the catch of the year? Paddy Kehoe dons his waders to find out.
KIM PORCELLI sees DAVID KITT in Brussels on the eve of the release of his new album The Big Romance. Back in Dublin, the pair settle in at the Long Hall for the long haul…
Photography: MYLES CLAFFEY
Want to know how to get the most out of Witnness? Email your questions/tips/profound insights via the form below (it can be anything from transport queries to what-to-bring hints to who not to miss on the bill) and await response from the online community
In a heartfelt interview, Dolores O’Riordan talks to Hot Press about her new solo record, her decision to move to Canada and the debilitating effects of fame. Plus, why a Cranberries reunion may be a matter of ‘when’ rather than ‘if’.
With her superb new album Kelly’s Heroes, SANDY KELLY has established herself as Ireland’s undisputed Queen of Country Music. She has also consolidated her status as an international star of the highest calibre. Report: COLM O’HARE
Two major London newspapers recently ran large advertisements which contained the most extraordinary injunctions to world leaders - and proposed the direst of consequences should they fail to comply. Under the dramatic headline World News Flash, it was confidently predicted that the world would end on July 25th 1994.But will it? And who is behind this incredible attempt to save us all from imminent extinction? LIAM FAY reports
From the early excesses of the Birthday Party through meisterwerks like The Good Son to his new release, Live Seeds, Nick Cave has spent nearly fifteen years probing those crevices of the human psyche that few care, or even dare, to venture into.
Here, in a highly personal, in-depth interview, Gerry McGovern grills the god of Goth about his ambivalence towards and obsession with religion, his love of dysfunctional people, his thoughts on the past and his hope for the future, oh, and how to reconcile life as an internationally renowned icon of doom with being a mummy’s boy! (Only joking, Nick!).
It’s been 25 years since the legendary Dr. Strangely Strange last toured. Now they’re back on the road, in the Highlands and Islands of Scotland. Tim Booth kept this diary.
When Enya s Watermark was released last September, few outside her closest associates could have predicted the runaway success which would ensue. To date, the album has clocked up worldwide sales of over 3 million copies with the Orinoco Flow single topping the charts in many countries, including Britain, Holland Venezuela! To promote her records, Enya undertook a gruelling promotional schedule in which the term globe-trotting took on a new meaning. This is an account of those travels . . . in her own words.
The first rule of interviewing LOU REED is that you don t: he interviews you. Peter Murphy survives the turning of the tables and is rewarded with thoughts on Joyce, Wilde, Dylan, Ginsberg and on becoming an elder stateman for the alternative thing .
Flying winger Denis Hickie is one of Ireland and Leinster's leading stars. But when he takes off his boots, it's music he turns to for inspiration – from Nick Drake, through Mark Lanegan and Hem to Athlete (but of course!). Interview by Steve Cummins. Photography by Cathal Dawson
Gosh. 2004. We came (almost literally when Quentin T. swaggered back into town), we saw, we felt gooey. An awesome, sweltering, overwhelming time was had by all – well, by movie buffs at any rate. Dead genres arose and appeared to many. Documentaries – long the bridesmaid of cinema history – got their groove back, thanks in part to that Moore fellow’s rants and raves.
On the eve of the release of the group’s new album Winning Days, The Vines’ bassist Patrick Mathews gives hannah Hamilton the inside story on the tensions that threatened to split the band, hanging with Steve-o and the Jackass crew, and the group’s heretofore undeclared love of the Clancy Brothers.
You might think that the Crash Test Dummies are a strange bunch now but you should have seen them four years ago! Dan Roberts and Mitch Dorge tell Stuart Clark how a big-haired Winnipeg bar band with a penchant for the Clancy Brothers have managed to hit the big time. Pix: Cathal Dawson
In an exclusive interview, Once stars Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova talk about the love affair that sneaked up on them, recall their Oscar-winning adventures, give us the inside track on the movie's remarkable success and explain what it's like to hang out with the Coen brothers for an evening.
When your personal background includes dusting down knives for sex and walking up the aisle wearing a white shirt with your husband’s name written in blood on it, then playing all-action heroine Lara Croft on the big screen probably seems like the very essence of normality. Angelina Jolie describes the joy of death-defying work, explains why England is more attractive to live in than the US, underscores the importance of her UN role and, finally, talks about life and love post-Billy Bob. interview Tara Brady and Craig Fitzsimons
They are a hunted species, forced to live out their lives in covert(s) under constant threat from marauding hounds and their society masters. You’d imagine that a fox would know something about what it feels like to be gay in ’90s Ireland but not johnny fox, the independent TD for Wicklow. Here, he unleashes an unrestrained attack on homosexuality, the practice of which he believes should never have been decriminalised in this country. For good measure, he also has a go at the government’s ‘liberal agenda’, the European Community, Bord Fáilte and the standard of refereeing at GAA football matches. Interview: Liam Fay.
Pics: Cathal Dawson
A straight-talking Swede renowned her famously candid – and frequently highly controversial – personal web-blog, European Commission Vice President Margot Wallstrom is not your typical Eurocrat. On a recent visit to Dublin, she took time out to talk to Hot Press about Tony Blair, George Bush, the Irish and the Swedes’ mutual love of alcohol, Bertie Ahern, Charlie McCreevey’s accent, Bono and Bob Geldof. And she even taught us a few Swedish swear words. Interview by Jackie Hayden. Photography by Liam Sweeney.
In a recent issue of Hot Press, John Farrell wrote critically of the Irish Museum of Modern Art exhibition, ‘Beyond The Pale’. Here, artist Nigel Rolfe answers back.
Yes, it's the long-awaited return of the world's greatest politically incorrect headline. Michael Hutchence of Féile headliners INXS explains why he's flying a flag for the old-fashioned values and going back to his musical roots. All this plus: condoms, Mick Jagger at 50 and the best-hung member of INXS. Interview: Neil McCormick.
As the final countdown to Blur’s Oxegen comeback gets underway, Alex James talks about falling in and out with his bandmates, collaborating with New Order’s Bernard Sumner – and why Clonakilty Black Pudding will definitely be on the band’s Punchestown rider.
Hot Press favourite prelate, bishop michael cox of Cree, Co. Offaly, would dearly love to stand for election and if he succeeds in breaching the gates of Leinster House, he promises to banish the Rainbow like St. Patrick banished the snake . The one big obstacle in his way is a lack of funds. Ben Dunne never threw me any money, he tells liam faY, but I wouldn t say no.
When massive attack decided that they'd meet the press in Dublin, stuart clark got just thirty minutes to prepare for the
interview. But he still manages to talk to 3d about music, football, the band's new album Mezzanine - and the difficulties of making sweet leurve to the sound of your own records.
JENNIFER BATTEN, as well as being a solo artist in her own right, has spent 10 years slinging six strings for michael jackson. Amazingly, she has survived to tell her story to peter murphy.
Pix: Cathal Dawson.
They are young, smart and full of self-belief. Their ambitions are boundless, their talents rich and varied. For a generation of young Irish women, the world is awash with possibilities.
From actors to musicians, models to politicians, women are redefining what it means to be female and Irish. Their role-models are women who have achieved greatness, who have made us sit up and pay attention. Not content to bask in someone else’s glories, they believe every woman should aspire to be the best at what they do.
These are the women for whom second best is an anathema. They are the future. To introduce the Hot Press-selected crew: Tanya Sweeney and Louise Hodgson.
Sean Tyrrell’s Cry Of A Dreamer has been hailed as a timeless masterpiece. In the long run, however, it may be seen as merely the beginning of an extraordinary musical saga. Interview: Patrick Brennan
She can't sit still. She has the attention span of a senile goldfish. And she has got some very strange personal habits. But Bjork is still one of the brightest and most compelling pop stars the nineties has produced thus far. LIAM FAY travels to darkest Blackpool for a close and often strange encounter with the Icelandic imp herself.
On the eve of the release of Tour De Flock, BellX1’s live album and DVD from Dublin’s Point Theatre, Paul Noonan, Brian Crosby and Dominic Phillips answer the weird and wonderful questions of hotpress readers, from the swimming habits of monkeys to ripping the gusset of your pants on stage.
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.
In the second and final part of an extended interview with Limerick's very own Fab Four, STUART CLARK travels back in time to their humble beginnings and charts their extraordinary transformation into one of the supergroups of the 90s. From shiny pink tracksuits to shiny platinum discos, here's the whole unexpurgated story.
Intrigued by the ridicule and bad press being generated by London s Millennium Dome, BARRY GLENDENNING pays a visit to Greenwich and discovers why Tony Blair is having trouble sustaining his massive erection.
When it was first published, very few people would have predicted the extraordinary, best-selling success of Fever Pitch. Now, NICK HORNBY s winning story of a chronic football obsessive has been elevated to the big screen. But, in a world of bungs, bootboys, bandwagon-jumpers and the relentless hype of Sky Sports, is he still in love with the (sometimes not so) beautiful game? Interview: CRAIG FITZSIMONS.
When it was first published, very few people would have predicted the extraordinary, best-selling success of Fever Pitch. Now, NICK HORNBY s winning story of a chronic football obsessive has been elevated to the big screen. But, in a world of bungs, bootboys, bandwagon-jumpers and the relentless hype of Sky Sports, is he still in love with the (sometimes not so) beautiful game? Interview: CRAIG FITZSIMONS.
Having learned her moves on RTE with AA Roadwatch, Drive and Live At 3, LORRAINE KEANE moved to TV3 in the role of Entertainment Correspondent. Here she talks about life, love, the media and what it s like to be the daughter of an Indian!
Interview: NIALL STANAGE. Photos: Colm Henry
Michael Franti has taken a personal stand against George Bush by leading a peace delegation to the Middle East. Now back in the States where he’s vigorously campaigning against the president, he talks to Danielle Brigham about his experiences in two of the world’s most deadly war zones.
Their debut album Hopes And Fears launched a host of hit singles, going on to become one of the most successful British records of the past five years. But, their indie background notwithstanding, Keane have still been dismissed by some self-styled aficionados as just too nice to be considered real rock'n'rollers. "If only people knew," says lead singer Tom Chaplin.
And that s just the band! Galway s finest, The Stunning, take time out from sticking pins in themselves as their debut album Paradise In The Picturehouse finds itself perched atop the Irish charts to explain the secret of their success to an attentive Michael O Hara, who undergoes a road to Damascus experience en route.
This is THE CHIEFTAINS as you've never encountered them before - more like mad, trad and dangerous to know than the grand-daddies of Irish traditional music. Smoking dope with Philip Lynott! Busting muscles through wild sex! Yes, it's the bits that aren't in the official biography. But, soft, not a word to Paddy, OK? Part One of an exclusive two-part interview. By JOE JACKSON.
LAURYN HILL s debut album, The Miseducation Of Lauryn Hill was the fastest selling album ever by a female artist in the United States. What s more it s just garnered her five Grammy Awards, confirming her status as one of American music s most important new icons. OLAF TYARANSEN went to London to hear the singer talk frankly about success, motherhood, the future of The Fugees and her father-in-law, Bob Marley.
and didn’t like what he saw... Fatboy Slim tells Stuart Clark about an encounter with Man Utd so unpleasant that even Zoe Ball is thinking of switching her allegiance to Brighton. Plus: the highs of Normstock and the lows of So Solid Crew
Jack Johnson may be a regular dude, but with his latest album simultaneously at No.1 in the UK and the US he is one with a vast world-wide fanbase. So how did this happy-go-lucky surfer suddenly become a hero to millions?
Is Ireland really drowning in gargle? Is there no hope for the youth? and is ever more draconian legislation all we can do? Dermot Stokes sidesteps the hysteria to offer some sober reflection on the use and misuse of alcohol
Technology is setting the pace in the musical instrument and equipment market of the ’90s, with one great leap forward following another, and the musican reaping the benefits in terms of a vastly increased range of product choices. But it’s a difficult market for retailers nonetheless, with the level of investment and exposure rising all the time. Report: Colm O’Hare
COLM O'HARE meets SCOTT YOUNG, father of Neil, and a renowned journalist, author and broadcaster in his own right. In this rare interview he talks about his best-known subject - his famous son.
For Gen X-ers like Kurt Cobain, Matt Groening and Sonic Youth, Daniel Johnston is akin to Syd or Roky, a gifted figure beset by the demons of delusional paranoia and manic depression. A 1994 tribute album featuring Beck, Tom Waits and eels showcased his ghostly and surrealistic folk songs, and now, as the remarkable documentary film The Devil And Daniel Johnston goes on release, hotpress is granted an audience with the man who isn’t there.
Boyzone are, irrefutably, Ireland s first ever bona fide Pop gods. Reviled by many but dreamed about, screamed at and lusted after by far, far more, they are the men boys of the moment. Joe Jackson meets Louis Walsh and John Reynolds, the Svengalis behind Boyzone, and asks Steve, Shane, Ronan, Mikey and Keith what it s like when every female alive wants to shag you senseless. As if he doesn t know.
Niall Stokes: People would make an assumption that since The Corrs have sold millions of records, you ve already got it made. Does it feel like that to you?
From her humble origins in Corofin, Co. Clare to The White House, Sharon Shannon has blazed her own unique trail across the landscape of Irish music. Her extraordinary success notwithstanding, she has remained an enigmatic and elusive presence, renowned for the child-like sense of wonder she radiates. Here, for the first time, she opens up, telling her own remarkable story to Hot Press. Interview: Gerry McGovern.
From her humble origins in Corofin, Co. Clare to The White House, SHARON SHANNON has blazed her own unique trail across the landscape of Irish music. Her extraordinary success notwithstanding, she has remained an enigmatic and elusive presence, renowned for the child-like sense of wonder she radiates. Here, for the first time, she opens up, telling her own remarkable story to Hot Press. Interview: GERRY McGOVERN.
Christy Dignam of Aslan has never been one to pull his punches and, as a result, controversy has dogged the band with every new public utterance. Now as their debut album Feel No Shame nestles at the top of the Irish charts, in an in-depth interview he attempts to set the record straight, on his attitude to U2, poverty, drugs, groupies, his personal life and the macho implications of the band s image and music. Sceptical Eye: Cathy Dillon
Dave Grohl looks back on 20 years of playing music and talks about the birth of his daughter, the trapped Beaconsfield Miners and why Neil Young is his hero.
EAMONN McCANN reports on detailed, eye-witness claims of the Catholic Church’s involvement in the Rwandan genocide of 1994 – and of the Vatican’s efforts to protect the guilty
He pioneered the art of glam-punk excess with the New York Dolls and now he's learned to grow old gracefully. Peter Murphy meets the boy from New York City, the ever cool David Johansen. Photos: MYLES CLAFFEY
Don’t go, they said. but they didn’t follow their own advice. Now, after much professional and personal upheaval, the Hothouse Flowers are back, once more in love with the idea of “ringin’ the bell”.
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.
Raised on the road by evangelical hippies, Joaquin Phoenix has overcome the tragic death of his brother, River, to become one of Hollywood’s most brooding leading men.
Damien Rice has emerged as one of the most distinctive and independent voices of recent years, achieving a remarkable level of success and artistic respect with O – the debut album that was recorded on a shoestring in his own bedroom. Famously media shy, he agreed to talk to Hot Press about the Free Aung San Suu Kyi 60th Birthday Campaign, and the beautiful tribute single ‘Unplayed Piano’, recorded with Lisa Hannigan. But, tape rolling, he talked about a whole lot more, giving the most candid and complete insight yet into the real Damien Rice.
Contrary to the negative way in which it's so often portrayed by the national media, Limerick is a city that combines a rich sense of tradition with an eye for innovation and in recent years has developed into one of Ireland's leading cultural centres. Kevin Barry takes a look at the people - and the places - breathing new life into the mid-western capital.
Backstage at Creamfields, JOHN WALSHE talks to FATBOY SLIM about the joys of fatherhood, being one half of the posh and becks of the chemical generation; sharing a hot-tub with Baz Luhrman and how he got Christopher Walken to tap-dance
The godfather of the modern Irish gothic tradition, Patrick McCabe, has released what critics are hailing as his darkest, and arguably finest, novel yet, Winterwood.
The location is the George Sauna in downtown Dublin. The subject is sex. Matthew Devereux, the impish frontman with The Pale, takes off his clothes and reveals his most intimate secrets, thoughts and fantasies to an equally naked John Farrell.
Photographic observations: Colm Henry.
FUN LOVIN’ CRIMINAL Huey Morgan offers stuart clark a guided tour of the rotten apple, detouring occasionally to take in topics such as California Mist, London gangsters, Tricky, Ian McCulloch and Tony Bennett, as well as his high-profile relationship with Jerry Hall’s daughter. And, let’s see now, there was one thing . . . oh yes “every American’s inalienable right to have nails hammered through their scrotum if they want”.
Running a marathon, writing the folk-pop equivalent of Dante’s Divine Comedy, buying a house, releasing the finest record of his career. All in a year’s work for Josh Ritter. John Walshe travelled to Boston to meet the young songwriter.
. . . and talks and talks. But when it's NICK KELLY doing the talking, he's always worth listening to, whether what's under discussion is Leonard Cohen, french polishing amid plastic furniture, the brain-numbing efficiency of the music industry or the long-term future of the FAT LADY SINGS. LIAM FAY has plenty of time for him but barely enough tape.
The last 18 months have been a hell of a ride for The Thrills, catapulted from the relative obscurity of the south dublin suburbs to the top of the uk charts, rubbing shoulders with Van Dyke Parks and Peter Buck along the way. But are the band suffering from diver’s bends? is that laid-back california-in-my-mind facade starting to crumble? We put on our therapist’s hats and endeavour to find out, if something’s gotta give, what gives?
Shane MacGowan interviews Sinead O’Connor for hotpress, with Olaf Tyaransen acting as referee. On the day, Victoria Clark also sat in. What followed turned into a wide-ranging and often hilarious exchange of almost Beckettian dimensions.
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.
They are one of the most interesting and enigmatic groups in rock. They are also one of the biggest, with a string of multi-million selling albums to their credit. But they don’t like interviews much, making themselves available for only a handful in Europe to coincide with the release of their new album Around The Sun. Once Peter Buck sits down opposite a microphone, however, a different face of REM reveals itself, as he talks eloquently about life, family, downloads, air rage, Iraq, Bush – and The Thrills.
2007 was another vintage year for Iggy. Here, he finds the time to discuss reforming the Stooges, his relationship with Bowie, the Stones and his trailer park upbringing.
Cum On Feel The Noize of turning pages as Slade s NODDY HOLDER does a literary tour to promote his autobiography, telling tales of
Phil Lynott, Oasis, Gary Glitter, Glam-Rock Excess, MERRY XMAS EVERYBODY and Suicidal Groupies. ANDY DARLINGTON tags along.
Spike Lee is a firebrand film-maker and not one to mince his words. So what is the spiritual father of African-American cinema doing making an old fashioned heist flick?
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.
Cameron Crowe's Almost Famous offers a pleasant and almost innocent view of the life of a rock hack - sort of Little House On The Road. The reality, as PETER MURPHY explains, is rather different. Certain names in this harrowing saga have been changed to protect the guilty - and the author's delicate bone structure
Despite being peerless at his chosen profession, CHRIS MORRIS has been sacked from more jobs than most people will have in a lifetime. He announced the death of Michael Heseltine on live radio, was responsible for a debate about non-existent drugs in the House of Commons and once screamed Christ s fat cock! at Cliff Richard during an interview. BARRY GLENDENNING examines the career of the broadcaster commonly regarded as Britain s foremost media satirist.
Hard house is this year s biggest dance craze, and it was born at the most renowned
after-hours gay club in the world, Trade. MARK KAVANAGH talks to LAURENCE MALICE,
the Caligula of clubland , about excess, success and his Irish roots. Photographs: Myles Claffey
Their unique combination of sensual Latin melodies and brilliant, metal-inspired guitar playing have made Rodrigo y Gabriela a phenomenon in their adopted Ireland, with a platinum album, sell-out tours and barn-storming festival appearances already to their credit. Now, with the release of their third album, Rodrigo y Gabriela, their sights are set on the international arena. Here, this extraordinary couple explain why they swapped sun-drenched Mexico for rain-kissed Dublin – and, for the first time, talk candidly about the open relationship they enjoy, as long-term friends and lovers.
Or perhaps that's 27 under the present squad numbering system. JEFF KENNA may be living in Garry Kelly's international shadow but that doesn't mean the former Palmerstown Rangers full-back isn't one of the Premiereship's brightest prospects and a genuine contender for the Ireland team as the Green Army advances towards the European Championships. Interview and bollocking from Jack Charlton: STUART CLARK
Pix: COLM HENRY
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.
The Streets’ new album, A Grand Don’t Come For Free, looks set to skyrocket Mike Skinner’s status as the voice of hedonistic British youth. Hot Press meets up with Skinner backstage in Derry to discuss the creation of his latest masterwork, the perils of fame, superstar collaborations, hanging out in Ibiza and the art and artifice of his onstage persona.
Many Irish holiday-makers will be heading for the United States this year. But there’s much more on offer in that vast playground than the dubious prospect of sweltering in the crushing heat of an Orlando football stadium in June. Jackie Hayden travelled with a bunch of media types to the small town of Lynchburg in Tennessee and visited the source of one of the world’s great spirits, Jack Daniels, making some musical connections along the way.
WITH THEIR LONG AWAITED SECOND ALBUM *JUNK PUPPETS* ABOUT TO HIT THE STREETS AN EMOTIONAL FISH ARE BACK ON THE ROAD AND READY TO TAKE THE WORLD BY STORM. BUT FIRST, THERE'S THE SMALL MATTER OF A TRIP TO THE WILDS OF WEST CORK, DURING WHICH THE BAND CAN RELAX, REFLECT, INGEST LARGE QUANTITIES OF LIQUID REFRESHMENTS-AND PLAY THE ODD STORMING GIG. A TIRED AND VERY EMOTIONAL LORRAINE FREENEY REPORTS.
With a self-recorded and self-released album – called simply O – Damien Rice has emerged as a major force in Irish music. But that’s just the start of it: the record is now in the charts in both the U.S. and the U.K., and with the kind of momentum he has generated, the feeling is that it might just go all the way.
When the IRA ceasefire began in the early minutes of September 1st last, nationalists in Belfast and Derry rejoiced in the streets. In the South Armagh village of Crossmaglen, however, there was barely a murmur. Over the past 25 years, the sniper’s bullet and the mortar bomb have claimed the lives of more soldiers and RUC personnel in this small area than anywhere else in Northern Ireland. Anne Connolly visits what has become the most militarised zone in western Europe and takes the post-ceasefire pulse of a stubbornly resilient little town. Pics: Jason Clarke.
phish
are a bone-fide American underground phenomenon who have gone overground in a very big way. Word of mouth rather than record company hype, initially made their reputation Stateside and now they can boast of chart success,
mega-audience attendance and their very own devoted following of Phisheads. But is Europe ready for the 90s equivalent of The Grateful Dead extended jams, waccy baccy, patented ice-cream flavours and all?
peter murphy
investigates.
Darina Allen, eat your heart out. New York chef ANTHONY BOURDAIN has done it all, from chopping out lines to chopping off fingertips, along the way dealing with the Mafia, Madonna, a dead man in a freezer and the palpitating heart of a cobra. STUART CLARK hears about cooking as rock'n'roll. CATHAL DAWSON serves up the pictures
ADRIENNE MURPHY lived with the ecological vigil-keepers in the Glen O The Downs for two weeks leading up to the dreaded day when the chainsaws finally arrived. This is her report from the frontline of Ireland s latest environmental battle. Pix: Colm Henry
The drink, the drugs, the fights, the sex, the loves, the hates, the hits and the Taoiseach's daughter - here are Ireland's most successful boy band as you've never heard them before.
Hearing their confessions: Joe Jackson
He survived the IRA London bus bomb of February 1996 only to find himself wrongly accused of involvement in terrorism by the British press. His name having been duly cleared young Dubliner BRENDAN WOOLHEAD should have been able to put the worst behind him. Instead, he succumbed to heroin addiction and died in a London hospital having just undergone a costly and controversial detoxification treatment that is now being advertised in Ireland. In the week of the inquest into his death, OLAF TYARANSEN reports on the disturbing implications of a tragic case.
In the making of their third album, Coldplay may have abandoned all hope at one juncture and come within an inch of splitting up, but the record has now finally arrived in the shape of X & Y. Chris Martin and co. here give Peter Murphy the inside story on the fraught creation of perhaps the most anticipated album of the year.
With The Story Of O, poet and journalist OLAF TYARANSEN has written an Irish memoir like no other before, a remarkable, powerful, controversial and outrageously funny book that s set to catapult him into the literary
limelight and to the top of the best-sellers lists over the coming weeks. If you think that the accompanying pix tell the naked truth, just wait till you read the book. Ireland s first outlaw autobiography, it s an uncompromisingly confessional tale of literature, sex, drugs, rock n roll and rebellion. But it is also a beautifully-written tour-de-force, a love story that will entertain, shock and move readers. In this short extract, the author battered by the rigours of his pro-cannabis election campaign and broken-hearted by the apparent collapse of a long-term relationship goes completely off the rails. Nude portraits: MICK QUINN
CHRIS DONOVAN looks at the incremental progress of the would-be King of Slane, who tells him about life, love, Christianity, veganism and scoring for films Plus: Profiles of Slane s other attractions, MACY GRAY, MEL C, BRYAN ADAMS, THE SCREAMING ORPHANS and DARA. Also: A Quickie with LORD HENRY MOUNTCHARLES
Christmas is the time of the year when thousands of Irish emigrants return home to link up again with families and friends. All over the country, for a brief interlude, towns and villages will come alive with stories, songs, drink and craic. And then all will be quiet again. Gerry McGovern examines the impact of emigration on Irish society – and the sense of alienation which many emigrants feel about their treatment by the authorities here.
It's off to the most Northerly gig in the country with the island angels of Altan as Bill Graham spends a weekend in Donegal with our most dynamic traditional outfit and posits the theory that by looking to the past for inspiration Altan may hold a significant key to the future.
Though he was busking in Grafton Street at 14, it s taken Glen Hansard more than a few shakes of the lamb s tail to reach the plateau of success which his songwriting talents have, for so long, threatened to take him but after the colossal success of Revelate , The Frames are, finally, set fair to enjoy their day in the sun. Here, Glen and guitarist, Dave Odlum, put Niall Crumlish in the picture.
Though he was busking in Grafton Street at 14, it s taken Glen Hansard more than a few shakes of the lamb s tail to reach the plateau of success which his songwriting talents have, for so long, threatened to take him but after the colossal success of Revelate , The Frames are, finally, set fair to enjoy their day in the sun. Here, Glen and guitarist, Dave Odlum, put Niall Crumlish in the picture.
You wanted the best, you got GENE SIMMONS. Here, the motormouth frontman of KISS, the world s greatest showband, talks about sex and women at length (quelle surprise), discusses his Jewish heritage, explains why Kierkegaard and Nietzsche obviously never got laid, and announces to an increasingly bemused JOE JACKSON that he Gene, that is possesses the world s smallest penis.
At 21 years of age Roy Keane is potentially Ireland’s most expensive ever footballer. Growing in stature at International and Club level, his increasing profile has also brought media attention of a type that hasn’t always been welcome. Here, he talks of his mistrust of the tabloids, coping with fame, his fairytale breakthrough to the top and his ambition to play in Italy at some stage of his career
A top American psychologist claims she has unearthed disturbing evidence of CIA involvement with British Intelligence in Northern Ireland.
Olaf Tyaransen reports.
She calls Him her “Great Lover”. He tells her to “call Me Daddy”. At any hour of the day or night Himself is likely to drop into the life of Vassula Ryden for a bit of a chinwag. She, in turn, broadcasts His words to the world at large. All of which means that, in what amounts to the metaphysical journalistic coup of the century, our Liam Fay gets an exclusive interview with The Holy Spirit.
ave Fanning: We just played "Wild Things Run Free" (sic) and as you say yourself you are "back in the harness". Now, except for the vocals would it be a fair assumption to call the music on the new album pop with a rock steady beat?
There are no saints in love. That’s a lesson The Frames’ mainman Glen Hansard learned the hard way – and which he articulates in the bittersweet love songs that make up much of the band’s new album The Cost. Hot Press hits the road with the band for an extended interview, conducted in radio studios, backstage areas, tour buses – and one very dedicated fan’s house.
It’s off to the most Northerly gig in the country with the island angels of ALTAN as BILL GRAHAM spends a weekend in Donegal with our most dynamic traditional outfit and posits the theory that by looking to the past for inspiration Altan may hold a significant key to the future.
Promoter Jim Aiken, who passed away recently, was a hugely important and universally admired figure in the Irish music scene. Here, leading industry representatives pay tribute. (free content)
The star-spangled story of how Richard Melville Hall learned to relax and love sex, drugs and rock'n'roll. "Don't tell anybody but I'm actually the lead guitarist with Slipknot," he informs Stuart Clark.
At the end of a year which saw (most of) Fleetwood Mac reunited, on CD and stage, drummer Mick Fleetwood recounts the story of a legendary band and the making of a classic album – Rumours.
John Walshe talks to Jamiroquai mainman, Jay Kay, about the funk soul brother’s latest album, A Funk Odyssey, his testy relationship with British tabloids and why President George W. Bush is a “bad fucker”
LIMP BIZKIT are a rock'n'roll phenomenon. Notching up in excess of 20 million album sales over the past two years, they're in the vanguard of the nu-metal movement that has seen guitar rock reclaiming its place at the top of the singles charts. In Madrid to catch the band live, PHIL UDELL first hears passionate words from the frontman, FRED DURST. But, amid a welter of controversy, the raging music is put on hold as Limp Bizkit's show in the Spanish capital is cancelled – an ominous foreshadowing of the events that will see their UK, German and Irish dates also sensationally cancelled
When someone dies in a car crash, alcohol is routinely blamed. But a close look at the figures shows that, beyond the tabloid hysteria, the truth is sometimes very different.
. . . Or not, as the case may be. In this extremely revealing interview with peter murphy, henry rollins speaks frankly about relationships, violence, depression, squaring up to Al Pacino and the problems that come with a life lived on the road
As Secretary Of State in Northern Ireland, Mo Mowlam [pic left by Mick Quinn] played a crucial role in formulation and implementation of the Good Friday Agreement. It helped that she is no conventional politician but rather a warm, down-to-earth and decent individual with a genuine commitment to positive action. in both the UK and Ireland, she became by far the most popular British figure in the history of Northern politics - which may explain why, in the end, she was shafted.
Formula One's plucky outsider Eddie Jordan talks about motor sport's party-hard reputation, jamming with Bryan Adams and winning to the British national anthem.
DOLORES O'RIORDAN may have the highest profile but the others are also here to remind you that THE CRANBERRIES are a group. and with the release of their new album wake up and smell the coffee, a happier, wiser, less embattled group than ever before. “all you need is love,” they assure JOE JACKSON
It is 15 years, almost to the day, since sound engineer JOE O'HERLIHY did his first gig with U2. SIOBHÁN LONG profiles the man with the longest beard in rock'n'roll (well, nearly) . . .
Damien Dempsey has battled his way centre stage, winning the support of luminaries as diverse as Morrissey, Robert Plant, Sinéad O'Connor, Larry Mullen and Brian Eno along the way. Now with the release of his third album Shots, he is poised to make a major breakthrough. Interview by Tanya Sweeney. Photos by 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?
An Irish football legend shoots from the hip: the highs and lows of the World Cup, the pain in the ass of being 'Saint Niall', the reason players get fed-up with the FAI, why Kevin Kilbane would make a good husband, and where to now for Mick McCarthy, Roy Keane and Ireland after that disastrous start to the European Championship.
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
Boyzone are, irrefutably, Ireland s first ever bona fide Pop gods. Reviled by many but dreamed about, screamed at and lusted after by far, far more, they are the men boys of the moment. Joe Jackson meets Louis Walsh and John Reynolds, the Svengalis behind Boyzone, and asks Steve, Shane, Ronan, Mikey and Keith what it s like when every female alive wants to shag you senseless. As if he doesn t know.
Boyzone are, irrefutably, Ireland’s first ever bona fide Pop gods. Reviled by many but dreamed about, screamed at and lusted after by far, far more, they are the men – boys – of the moment. Joe Jackson meets Louis Walsh and John Reynolds, the svengalis behind Boyzone, and asks Steve, Shane, Ronan, Mikey and Keith what it’s like when every female alive wants to shag you senseless. As if he doesn’t know.
He may have an image as a political bruiser, but even if he is prepared to engage Bertie in a head-butting contest, Michael Noonan would rather win over the electorate by the more gentle art of persuasion. Joe Jackson meets the Fine Gael leader to discuss public issues and personal traumas, and discovers why he's partial to drink and Bill Clinton but opposed to Sinn Fein, the Bertie bowl and tax breaks for sports stars.
From hip replacement to hip and onto hip-hop, the second coming of texas has been one of the most unlikely artistic and commercial triumphs of recent years.
But as olaf Tyaransen discovers, the new-look
sharleen spiteri remains very much her old self.
By any standards, The Corrs are an extraordinary phenomenon. It won't be long before the combined global sales of their albums to date top the 20 million mark. In Ireland alone, by the end of the year, they will have sold over a million records - at which point they may well have established themselves as the biggest-selling Irish act of all time on home turf.
The rise and fall of chef CONRAD GALLAGHER was Icarus-like – one moment the toast of Dublin’s glitterati, the next a virtual pariah.
but unlike Icarus, Gallagher has fought his way back, bloodied but unbowed and determined to pay off all his debts
Interview: OLAF TYARANSEN
The legend of the booker prize-winning author is of a life of fear and loathing and bad craziness that not even Hunter S. Thompson would dare to invent. But the truth is even stranger than the fiction. From a pampered mexican childhood through lost family fortunes, doomed movie ventures, alleged swindling, a couple of convictions and a serious drug habit, Peter Finlay has re-emerged atop a mountain in Leitrim, a little god of the literary world. Interview Olaf Tyaransen Photo: Nick Hitchcox
A veteran of conflicts in Nicaragua, Somalia, Lebanon, Rwanda, Algeria and the former Yugoslavia, Lara Marlowe is currently best known to readers in Ireland for her compelling and humane reports from Baghdad for the Irish Times. On the eve of what was being billed as a potentially decisive battle for the city, she spoke to Peter Murphy by satellite phone about war and journalism, her personal circumstances and why she believes the invasion of Iraq could still end in catastrophe
Released in 1999 Paddy Casey’s debut album went double-platinum, establishing him as one of Ireland’s brightest prospects. but the intervening four years have seen that crown slip, as a succession of homegrown singer songwriters battled their way into contention, outstripping him in terms of record sales – and hard graft. now casey is back in the frame, with his long-waited follow-up, the cheekily titled Living – an album that sees him gloriously back on top of his game. why did it take four years to make? the answer to that burning question may go back even further. because Paddy Casey’s life story is truly a remarkable one.
After a lengthy silence, TRICKY is back with an impressively upbeat new album. But the man himself still insists on going against the grain. Here he talks about his aversion to celebrityhood, his dislike of the music biz, his fondness for Bryan Adams and Bono, and how he copes with the terrible burden of having hundreds of women who want to have sex with him. Interview: OLAF TYARANSEN
No problem! Eamon Gilmore has just taken over at the helm of the Labour Party. Here, in a wide-ranging interview, he talks about Bertie Ahern, the future of Labour, Gay marriage, God, abortion, bias in the media – and a whole lot more besides.
The fascinating story of how four Tallaght schoolfriends – and unofficial fifth member Shuggy – made a new home and a career playing music in the USA. All with a little help from their many friends.
Greetings From LA
beck and tom petty get together in Los Angeles for an impassioned rap on songs, songwriting, showbiz, the Unplugged phenomenon and how too much music can boggle the mind. mark rowland listens in.
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.
Ahead of his 50th birthday, Morrissey talks exclusively to Hot Press about the sexual nature of singing, letting go in the studio, being blacklisted by the UK's Radio One and how he approaches songwriting.
BECKETT ON FILM is one of the most ambitious cinematic projects ever. Nineteen of Samuel Beckett's plays have been made into movies, directed by and starring numerous A-list figures. To mark the occasion, JOE JACKSON talks to Bono, John Hurt and Enda Hughes about one of the 20th century's greatest dramatists
He may indeed be from Limerick but if you think you’re going to get a subheadline that mentions bringing home the bacon, acting the ham or even being on the pig’s back, then you’re sadly mistaken. Instead we’re going to keep things simple. Mick Hanly has just released a new album entitled Happy Like This. What better occasion for Jackie Hayden to visit him in his Kilkenny home and look back over his career to date, and to remember the days when he hadn’t a sausage (would you cut the crap, please? – Ed)? Pix.: Brendan Fitzpatrick.
The outlaw loved by the in-law, Willie Nelson can draw 4,000 people outside Dublin virtually by word of mouth. But it ain't all middle of the road: as befits a veteran of the honky-tonks who had done battle with the IRS and the law, the country music legend can still get in touch with the dark side of Hank
So says the new Minister for Drugs, Pat Carey. Which makes an interesting change from the usual sensational stuff we’re fed by politicians, the Gardaí and the media. But is he right?
The trauma of his mother's death; the joy of his marriage to Yvonne; the truth about his sex life; the pressures of growing up in public; the importance of peer respect; the offers of a solo career; and how America might hold the key to keeping boyzone together. In his most personal and revealing interview to date, ronan keating talks to joe jackson
The trauma of his mother's death; the joy of his marriage to Yvonne; the truth about his sex life; the pressures of growing up in public; the importance of peer respect; the offers of a solo career; and how America might hold the key to keeping boyzone together. In his most personal and revealing interview to date, ronan keating talks to joe jackson
The trauma of his mother's death; the joy of his marriage to Yvonne; the truth about his sex life; the pressures of growing up in public; the importance of peer respect; the offers of a solo career; and how America might hold the key to keeping boyzone together. In his most personal and revealing interview to date, ronan keating talks to joe jackson
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. .
With their biggest dates ever in Ireland looming, LIAM MACKEY dips into voluminous hotpress archives and selects a small sample of what the paper said about U2 over the years
Anti-capitalism, political fundamentalism, life after September 11 and what to tell the kid who has only two stripes on his tracksuit - the celebrated no logo author tells Hotpress about how best to beat the brand.
Dail Eireann has never been short of socialist mavericks but rarely has a member of government spoken out so emphatically in favour of divorce, abortion and the shackling of the Catholic church as Democratic Left’s EAMON GILMORE. JOE JACKSON meets the agnostic Junior Minister who smoked and inhaled and reckons he'd probably make a better whoremaster than a priest. Pix: Colm Henry.
The star of cult movies such as Natural Born Killers, Kalifornia and Strange Days, Juliette Lewis appeared to have a direct entry to rock's premier league when she turned her attention to her punk outfit The Licks. Instead, she opted to embark on a small-scale tour and play a series of small venues throughout the US and Europe. Peter Murphy was on hand as Lewis' magical mystery tour reached Ireland, and was witness to some truly fascinating scenes as the singer and her band bewitched the Dublin indie cognoscenti, travelled south to rock Limerick and strolled the red carpet to join the glitterati backstage at the Meteor Awards. Photography by Liam Sweeney.
From “Outspan” to Glen Hansard, from Grafton Street to Hollywood – and onwards to Lisdoonvarna 2003. A portrait of The Frames as a most unusual band. Part one of a two-part special feature by Peter Murphy. [Main Photos: Mick Quinn]
Falling in love not only altered David Kitt’s heart but helped reshape his musical vision. Olaf Tyaransen visits his home cum studio and hears about the family affair that is his new album and how meeting Poppy reawakened his love of pop. all this and why the son of a Minister opposes the smoking ban! Photography Roger Woolman.
Thanks to Eddie Hobbs Ireland is more financially astute than ever before. But his meteoric rise as champion of the little people hasn’t been free of controversy.
...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.
Critics have not been kind to the long-awaited second novel from Booker-winning novelist DBC Pierre. After a lifetime that has lurched between excess and poverty, privilege and despair, he’s not bothered though.
SINEAD O'CONNOR has been many things - bona fide pop star, tabloid target, controversial activist, mother and priest. But, above all, she is one of Ireland's most compelling musicians.
With a new album due for release, she talks to NIALL STOKES about love, sex, the Church, fame, racism and why "it's important to make it soul music." Pictures: MYLES CLAFFEY
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.
The HP-7 Summit is back with Michelle Doherty, Rocky O'Reilly, Niall Breslin, Mark Greaney, Niamh Farrell, Messiah J and Danny O'Donoghue sat around the only table that matters this Christmas.
Well when you've conquered the world, what else can the biggest band on the planet do except go into space? BONO and LARRY discuss matters cosmic and personal with Olaf Tyaransen
Upwards of two million people do it in Ireland every Sunday - and yet little or nothing is ever written about it in the media. So we asked ourselves a few questions: Why do so many people attend what is by any standards a very strange ritual? Do they enjoy themselves? Is the performance a good one? What do they get from it? And are the sound and lighting really up to the international standards? That's right, a crack Hot Press team of reporters attended Sunday mass recently - this is what they found.
OUT FROM BEHIND THE GREASE-PAINT THAT ADORNS HIS FACE ON THE COVER OF ‘SPIKE’, ELVIS COSTELLO EMERGES TO TALK ABOUT THE MUSIC THAT RUNS IN HIS FAMILY FROM BIG-BAND TO SPEED-METAL, HIS MUCH-TOUTED IRISH CONNECTION, WORKING WITH PAUL McCARTNEY, HIS CONTEMPT FOR MUCH OF TODAY’S POP MUSIC AND THE FEELINGS THAT INSPIRED HIS DEATH-WISH FOR MARGARET THATCHER.
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
And so, unbelievably another year has bitten the dust. Here, continuing a tradition as Christmassy as the eating of turkey and the consumption of way too much alcohol, The Hog reflects on a turbulent year, when we all grew older and much, much wiser.
lthough left broken-hearted by the demise of the Irish Press, CON HOULIHAN s latest collection of prose, Windfalls, confirms that his pen, like the Castle Island colossus himself, is still mightier than the rest. Now, at 71, a novel is in the works. SIOBHAN LONG embarks on a long night s journey into day with the legendary journalist.
Pix: COLM HENRY.
lthough left broken-hearted by the demise of the Irish Press, CON HOULIHAN s latest collection of prose, Windfalls, confirms that his pen, like the Castle Island colossus himself, is still mightier than the rest. Now, at 71, a novel is in the works. SIOBHAN LONG embarks on a long night s journey into day with the legendary journalist.
Pix: COLM HENRY.
lthough left broken-hearted by the demise of the Irish Press, CON HOULIHAN s latest collection of prose, Windfalls, confirms that his pen, like the Castle Island colossus himself, is still mightier than the rest. Now, at 71, a novel is in the works. SIOBHAN LONG embarks on a long night s journey into day with the legendary journalist.
Pix: COLM HENRY.
Saturday, July 13th, 1985 will go down in history as Live Aid Day, the extraordinary culmination of Bob Geldof's attempts to mobilise the international music industry behind urgently-needed famine relief in Africa. Among the stellar cast performing for 72,000 people at Wembley Stadium, London are U2, a band determined to rise to the occasion. Report: Neil McCormick
With a new 'best of' bringing the band's story up to date U2's guitar man steps forward to riff on good times and bad, the private life of a public figure, discovering the secrets of the universe on mushrooms and why, after all these years, few things match the high of being a member of U2.
Special hotpress.com members edition: "director's cut" featuring interview sections unavailable anywhere else.
Niall Stokes draws on his best-selling book Into The Heart: The Stories Behind The Songs Of U2 to offer a unique insight into the way in which some of the greatest songs in the history of popular music came into being.
inishing off a year in which his immersion in the craziness of orthodox religion won him a top journalism award, Liam Fay finds himself standing atop a windswept Hill of Tara in the dead of night in the depths of winter all the better to survey the diverse landscape of paganism and witchcraft in 90s Ireland.
A special report on the arts in Northern Ireland which is alive and rocking with the whole gamut of cultural activity. Here James Elliott and Margaret F. Grundy give the lowdown on the province’s artistic and creative hub.
The future is here. Well, somehow it always is. And, as usual, it is both familiar and strange. Nothing seems to change, but one day you turn around, it is 1995, and you are cybersurfing on the internet, summer seems to last all winter, ambient-acid-techno is bubbling away on the radio, your fax machine shows up on the Antiques Roadshow and papa’s got a brand new drug.
From "Out Of Control" to "All I Want Is You", Neil McCormick presents a major critical retrospective on the complete recorded works of U2, the band who went from being one of the world's worst cover groups to become a leading force in modern Rock'n'Roll
Far more than on any previous album, Cathy Jordan is at the forefront and she shreds the rulebook and pulls, from God knows where, the best vocal performances of her career.
Dutch female techno DJ/producer Shinedoe’s ability to move between styles and make them her own makes ‘Sound Travelling’ highly recommended. It also means that ‘Face Your Fears’ adds a sensual element to Rob Hood’s razor sharp minimalism, while ‘Enjoy The Moments’ is a warm, electronic bass-led reinvention of Steve Rachmad’s work as Sterac.
For reasons best known to herself, Cassandra Wilson, the finest jazz singer of her generation, has recorded an album of Miles Davis covers (with added vocals) as a follow-up to 1996's New Moon Daughter, an inexplicably acclaimed effort which was so far up its own arse it probably caught sight of a few jazz critics.
Check out our video interview with The Avalanches - those magpie-like Aussie geniuses, whose wondrous debut seamlessly assembled a glittery collection of forgotten gems, pretty ribbons of song and obscure sound snippets into one entire magical album, Since I Left You....
Blonde On Blonde revival tent. Dylan’s raucously entertaining melodrama swaggers and swoons between costumed surrealism, poppy field interludes and pot shots at John Lennon, but mostly he’s preaching about love.
Music Ireland ’07 has scored a major coup by getting Prince drummer John Blackwell to grace the Sennheiser Live Stage at the October 5 to 7 event in the Dublin RDS.
With his blonde strands thinning noticeably and his trademark feline features becoming bloated, time appears to be taking a particularly heavy toll on the once vital Tom Petty. Performing 'Room At The Top' recently on Later with Jools Holland he looked and sounded jaded. Such is the mood on Echo his "long awaited" follow up to 1994's Wildflowers.
It's been a decade since trance-meister supreme Paul Van Dyk first appeared on vinyl with the seminal Visions Of Shiva single 'Perfect Day', and four years since . . .
Matthew Sweet belongs to an honourable power-pop tradition in the US that is lauded in certain quarters but exists largely away from the gaze of the public at large.
If you break film down into the smallest possible grammatical units, then there’s a very good argument for saying that French director Claire Denis (with considerable assistance from DoP Agnes Godard) is the planet’s greatest living filmmaker.
Music Review | Live
29% | 27 Nov 2003
Kimberly Mack
No matter, with such relentlessly high spirited music it was impossible for the West Hollywood crowd to hold back the love.
This is a motley collection of original album tracks, live recordings and re-recordings. It rollercoasters through several Scullion incarnations built around the Sonny Condell-Philip King axis.
Never Said Goodbye is impossible to dislike. If Matthews has decided to pull back from a full-on roots/folk detour, there are still enough quixotic diversions to justify your love.
The first ever Planetlove Winter Session has been confirmed for the Punchestown Conference Centre in Co Kildare for February 16, hotpress.com can reveal.
A strange hybrid of supernatural thriller and magic realist soap opera, it's no wonder this galloping hokum is the third biggest grossing title of all time in its native Mexico.
Everywhich way you turn now, the extent of the intrusion of the State into the minutiae of Irish life is more keenly felt. It is unlikely that James Connolly would have approved.
WIN a trip for 2 to NEW YORK CITY with $1,000 spending money OR a set of An Post Commemorative Rock Stamps commemorating the work of U2, Rory Gallagher and Thin Lizzy!
Subtitled Notes From Planet Earth (whatever that means) this newly compiled collection from the Dalkey Dynamo claims to be different in one major respect from previous Greatest Hits offerings.
Sountracks are getting weirder, that's for sure. No longer an excuse for stringing together the usual clutch of Motown classics, they are increasingly challenging audiences' sense of time and place by crossing genres and spanning generations.
Sountracks are getting weirder, that's for sure. No longer an excuse for stringing together the usual clutch of Motown classics, they are increasingly challenging audiences' sense of time and place by crossing genres and spanning generations.
Brought to you by the makers of Human Traffic, SW9 often plays like its predecessor’s older, more world-weary sibling. Its thematic preoccupations may be similar, but it’s a less frenetic and free-wheeling affair.
Set over a 24-hour period in Tehran, the film deals with the lot of seven women who have found themselves on the wrong side of the law, and thereby on the fringes of Iranian society
What is it with Irish band-member casualties this summer? The latest to head to A&E is Darragh Butler, drummer out of Wilt. Read on to find out what happened, and to hear how their European tour kicked continental arse anyway
As gigs in Whelan’s go, this was a strange one. Brian McFadden was re-inventing himself. Unshaven and dressed in ripped jeans and a t-shirt, he clearly had the scruffy indie kid down.
Ray LaMontagne could break your heart just by singing the alphabet. His voice, which sounds like it’s spent decades soaked in a vat of whiskey and tears, is a miraculous thing.
This film adaptation of Douglas Adams’ book/radio-programme/television show/demi-religious cult took so damned long getting here, that the author – who happily had a hand in the screenplay – never lived to see its completion. But could Adams’ convoluted sci-fi yarn, with its blend of public-schoolboy joshing, humdrum Englishness and Pythonesque surrealism survive him? Apparently so.
Approximately one hundred times more intriguing and emotionally engaging than I'd dared to hope, this beautifully majestic period piece will set your heart singing no matter how hard you try to resist.
A long, meandering road, wending its way round gullies, crevices and drumlins: that's the kind of musical journey Cormac Breatnach has embarked on in this, his debut CD. Pensive and considered, it's a collection of gentle, low key tunes - with a surprising song or two in their midst.
Tough new measures are being promised, to tackle the phenomenon of dangerous driving among young males. But the law is far more likely to work if it seen to be applied intelligently – and if there is a positive side to any new Government campaign.
Perry Ogden’s fine film – a loose series of naturalistic vignettes following its eponymous traveller girl – doesn’t entirely avoid romanticizing its subject.
There’s nothing worse than staggering out of the traps when the winner has already been declared, and Douglas McGrath’s Truman Capote biopic, arriving after last year’s highly regarded, Oscar-winning film, has something of the bridesmaid about it.
It was another spectacular own goal by Immigration Control. Nineteen Moldovan workers arrived in Dublin Airport last week. They had valid visas and work permits. Despite that fact, however, they were questioned for between two and four hours by immigration officials at the airport - and then refused entry.
The Heat marks an impressive progression for Jesse Malin, as this time it sees him stepping out from the shadow of best mate, collaborator and alt-country poster boy Ryan Adams to firmly establish himself as a formidable force in his own right.
Here it is Oxegen-goers: all you need to know about the coming weekend festival including transport, camping, opening times, what to bring, etc. etc. etc.
The Turkish film Uzak (Distant) took the Grand Prix and Best Actor awards at Cannes last year, and it’s as grandly, haughtily arthouse in complexion as one might reasonably expect for a work thus honoured.
It’ll doubtless go down as the most anticipated (and long awaited) re-union in Irish music history. More than thirty years after they first transformed the possibilities of Irish music forever, the Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young of trad/folk finally decide to re-convene for a series of gigs.
The Twang are essentially a derivative mix of early Stone Roses, ecstatic Happy Mondays, and the laddish posturing of Mike Skinner. That’s not to say it’s not entertaining.
The National Gallery is one of Ireland's unheralded treasures – and with a new exhibition of Hans Christian Anderson illustrator Harry Clarke now being held, there's never been a better reason to visit.
Luke Kelly and Brendan Behan had much in common. They were both Dubliners to the marrow, sang a lot, drank a lot and caused more social unrest merely by strolling down Grafton Street than an entire army of Irish "rockers" would achieve in a decade.
Newly crowned Rose of Tralee, Aoife Kelly, tells Amanda Allen her style secrets as well as a few style disasters – whatever you do don't call her ‘Socks’!
Craftily low-key, tartly bittersweet and divinely arch, Sideways is surely a lock for official Unlikely Hip Movie Of Zero Five, but unlikely is something of a speciality with this filmmaker.
What is it about films and Chaos theory? Everyone from David Thewlis in Naked to Jeff Goldblum in Jurassic Park has expounded on the theme in their best faux-analytical tones.
