Still making great music after all these years, Van Morrison is an Irish genius worthy of comparison with the most enduring ’60s legends such as Bob Dylan and Neil Young
Van Morrison is Los Angeles bound on February 22 for a star-studded Hollywood shindig that’ll see him presented with the US-Ireland Alliance Award by Al Pacino.
It’s the title of his new album, his first on the legendary jazz label, Blue Note. it’s also an apt introduction to an interview in which Van Morrison talks freely about his work, his background in Belfast, his brushes with the music industry – and about what made him what he is.
"Astral Weeks came out of this desire to break out of this rigidity, you know, to extend the lines, and chop it up and move beyond this 1,2,3,4, beats to the bar. "
Van Morrison and Linda Gail Lewis
What next for Van Morrison? Already this year he's gone back to his skiffle roots with The Skiffle Sessions, hauling on board for that project the great Lonnie Donegan. And now Van-the-man returns to a time when he was Van-the-boy, digging the kind of pure country music made by Hank Williams and the frenetic rock 'n' roll sounds fashioned by Jerry Lee Lewis.
Van Morrison has announced back to back Hollywood Bowl shows on November 7 and 8 at which he’ll perform his classic Astral Weeks album in its entirety.
There's this idea abroad that Van Morrison has been working the same groove too often over the past few years. The purpose of this paragraph is simply to state that this is a misapprehension.
No disco, no party, no foolin’ around – here we find Van Morrison by turns enraptured and embittered, on an album that is never less than engrossing and which is occasionally sublime.
The Van Diemens – a group comprised of top musicians who've played with the likes of Van Morrison and Duke Special – play a night of rock tributes in Whelan's this month.
When Paddy Moloney isn t busy gigging, rehearsing or recording with his band of merry men, The chieftains, he s laughing. A man who makes The Laughing Policeman look like Leonard Cohen, Moloney recently took a 10-minute break to talk to Paul Byrne about the band s new album REEL MUSIC, their upcoming London festival weekend, their up-coming Christmas album, Van Morrison and oh, about four million other things The Chieftains are currently involved with. Hold onto your sides!
FROM A WHISPER TO A SCREAM is a major new six-part RTE series. Directed by DAVID HEFFERNAN, and featuring new interviews with the major players including Van Morrison, Bob Geldof, U2 and Siniad O Connor it traces the history of Irish music, from showbands to boybands and beyond. By PETER MURPHY.
During a career spanning almost forty years as a professional musician, Van Morrison has created an extraordinary body of work. A masterful musician, songwriter, producer, arranger and musical director, he possesses one of the most uniquely recognisable and powerful voices in music. His influence on contemporary music has been profound but far from resting on his laurels, his latest work Back On Top ranks among his finest albums to date. For Van Morrison, the search goes on. It was particularly appropriate, therefore, that he was chosen to become the first inductee into the Hot Press Irish Music Hall of Fame, at a special ceremony there last week. Report: Niall Stanage.
NIALL STANAGE reports from the tenth Finsbury Park Fleadh, which featured performances from THE PRETENDERS, VAN MORRISON, ELVIS COSTELLO, SHANE MACGOWAN, DAVID GRAY and, er, RONAN KEATING
Van Morrison fanatics – and there are plenty around – will want to grab hold of tickets for the June 9 show he’s playing at High Lodge, Thetford Forest nr. Brandon in Suffolk.
Kenny Rogers and Van Morrison are the headline attractions at Midlands, a two-day country festival taking place on July 29 and 30 in Ballinlough Castle, County Meath.
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.
EAMON SWEENEY meets RELISH, a northern band just signed to EMI. Up for discussion: Ash, landing a deal, Van Morrison and ghosts in the (studio) machines.
He scored his first hit single as lead singer with Them in 1965, with Baby Please Don t Go . In 1968, he released his debut solo album Astral Weeks, which is widely regarded among critics as one of the most important and complete records of the past 50 years. But these are just two early landmarks in a remarkable career which finds Van Morrison still on top of his game 40 years since he made his debut with his own skiffle group, The Sputkniks, at a school concert in Orangefield in Belfast. In an exclusive interview, carried out for the RTE television series From A Whisper To A Scream, and published in the run-up to Van s latest Irish dates, he talks to Niall Stokes.
Soul legend Solomon Burke waxes lyrical about a new album that sees him aided by a stellar cast including Bob Dylan, Tom Waits, Van Morrison, Brian Wilson, Elvis Costello, The Blind Boys Of Alabama... and one hundred pieces of fried chicken
Despite the controversies in which she has recently bee involved, when SINIAD O'CONNOR starts talking music it becomes evident why she ran away to join the rock'n'roll circus in the first place. Citing Bob Dylan, Bob Marley and Van Morrison as her ultimate trinity, she discusses the spiritual forces that drive and inspire. Interview: BILL GRAHAM
The over of Van Morrison's new LP immediately brings to mind a controversial poem of William Wordsworth's called the Leech Gatherer, later retitled 'Resolution and Independence'.
Gallic house and techno don Laurent Garnier takes a diversion from 4/4s and shows his other influences on this unmixed compilation - which includes classics from Can, John Carpenter, Van Morrison and Miles Davis.
The proceeds from a new CD featuring the cream of Ireland’s musical talent including U2, Sinéad O’Connor and Ash will benefit people living with mental illness
From the legendary names of Van Morrison and Rory Gallagher, through local heroes like Rudi and Stump, to 21st Century Irish stars like Bell X1 and Snow Patrol, this album is definitely worthy of its name. An impressive trip through five decades of Irish Musical History indeed.
The return of one of the country’s finest songwriters, ‘Smile’ is the first single to be lifted from Brady’s forthcoming Say What You Feel album. On first listen it sounds like something that Van Morrison might write. As Brady songs go, it’s not far removed from his most recent output. There’s nothing uniquely special about it and it’s certainly not one of his best.
It is one of the perverse facets of contemporary music that there is a constant demand that artists have to re-invent themselves. I’m all for it if it’s what a band or a performer either needs or wants to do, in order to give renewed sparkle to the muse. But it isn’t something that we ask of poets or writers. Would we want or expect John McGahern to produce a sci-fi thriller set in an imaginary bog landscape five hundred years into the future?
"Hey Jimmy, I want to go home! Hey Jimmy, I been away too long…" And you feel like shouting yeah to the way he sings it, to the way the voice reaches into your soul like only the most expressive instrument can, like Muddy Waters' slide, or Charlie Parker's sax, or Mavis Staples' voice… but you know what he's talking about as well.
Doctor John may be renowned as a laid-back Big Easy legend, but get him started on the Federal Government's treatment of his beloved New Orleans and he spits nails.
Country music’s stock has never been higher. First Johnny Cash gained an entire new generation of fans, then Hollywood began to pepper its films with bluegrass and roots music. Now, everyone from Jack White to Van Morrison is waking up to the magic of country. Ireland's getting in on the act too, with the launch of the Midlands Music Festival, a two-day celebration of all things hatted and booted. Colm O’Hare traces the rebirth of a genre.
On the eve of his appearance in the Dublin Theatre Festival and with a nationwide Irish tour pending, Jimeoin, the award-winning Irish comedian, talks to Tony Clayton-Lea about his journey to fame, from his early jobs as a builder in London and a carpenter in Sydney to his current status as the funniest man in Australia. He may own ten Van Morrison albums but he's still the best man around to liven up a night on the town.
On the eve of his appearance in the Dublin Theatre Festival and with a nationwide Irish tour pending, Jimeoin, the award-winning Irish comedian, talks to Tony Clayton-Lea about his journey to fame, from his early jobs as a builder in London and a carpenter in Sydney to his current status as the funniest man in Australia. He may own ten Van Morrison albums but he's still the best man around to liven up a night on the town.
You look up 'skiffle' in the Chambers 20th Century Dictionary and it says "a strongly accented jazz type of folk music, played by guitar, drums and often unconventional instruments etc. popular about 1957".
Lunar Records supremo Brian Molloy has enlisted the help of such luminaries as Bertie Ahern, Eamon Dunphy and Bono in the making of voices and poetry of Ireland, a one-off CD being released to benefit the homeless this Christmas.
The Rolling Stones, The Who, Tom Jones, Van Morrison, Sinéad o' Connor... The Chieftains are on first-name terms with all of them and as they pocket another Grammy for Celtic Harp Paddy Moloney tells Siobhán Long how the band retain their freshness after over twenty years together.
Carndonagh based group, The Inishowen Gospel Choir will perform their own version of Van Morrison's 'Astral Weeks' among other songs at this years Glastonbury.
From Sting to Frank Zappa, Derek Bell has been literally instrumental in establishing The Chieftains as your average rock legend’s favourite group. Liam Fay hears the full story about his ice cream binges with Van Morrison and his special liking for rosewood oboes!
U2, Rory Gallagher, Van Morrison and Phil Lynott go postal this month as a new set of Irish commemorative postage stamps is released - and Hot Press get into the act with an also-commemorative four-cover special to match. As the man said, save 'em, swop 'em, collect 'em all
He’s a young man is our Ben but you’d never know it from his music, which places him firmly in the classic melodic rock/easy listening bracket. There’s an obvious debt to Van Morrison going on and a depth of musical knowledge (both evident on a version of ‘On Raglan Road’) but this does come across as a bit on the worthy but dull side. Listening to Mark Hogan is a far more exhilarating experience, backed as he is with a tight little three piece band and an approach to acoustic music that owes a debt to Ani Difranco. Horses for courses I know, yet sometimes you want music to thrill rather than impress you.
“I hate these questions,” cries David Holmes, DJ, re-mixer, producer, free associate, film-scorer and friend to the stars. Yet he gamely faces the pan-ish inquisition that is the hotpress mixed grill
In a rare interview, DJ, Sabres Of Paradise mainman and all-round geezer andrew weatherall tells stuart clark about why he won t be working with Primal Scream again, comes clean about his Van Morrison obsession, and does his best not to slag off Kula Shaker and Mansun.
As the management force behind Boyzone, Westlife and Samantha Mumba, LOUIS WALSH is Ireland s Mr. Pop. In a candid interview with Joe Jackson he talks about his relationships with his acts, the ones that got away, the importance of the producer, the uselessness of critics and why he s unlikely to end up managing Van Morrison. Portraits: Cathal Dawson
He may not be your average indie kids dream ticket, but Brian Kennedy has lived in very interesting times. An initially promising career was scuppered by record company machinations, but, under the stewardship of Van Morrison, he matured into a remarkably successful solo artist, as well as a respected novelist. Then there were the small matters of performing at George Best's funeral, the recent Eurovision controversy - and his current run at the helm of RTE's flagship summer Saturday night entertainment show.
By popular demand, ULRIKA JONSSON is coming back to Belfast to co-host this year's heineken-hot press awards. olaf tyaransen meets up with television's Golden Girl and hears about the world of the small screen, the men in her life, the poet behind the party animal, tabloid intrusion and the importance of Van Morrison in keeping her head straight.
Brushing shoulders with the likes of Bob Dylan, Van Morrison and Bertie Ahern is currently all in a day’s work for hugely acclaimed singer-songwriter, Juliet Turner. But, as she tells Hot Press, the singer’s Northern Methodist upbringing has left her with a distaste for the spotlight and an overwhelming desire for creative and personal independence.
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
He's a musician of exceptional skill and creativity, who has brought his brand of magic to the assistance of many others, including Van Morrison - so I guess it was only a matter of time before he made his own solo album.
Lord Laird’s chequered past and unsavoury acquaintances make his criticism of Phil Flynn somewhat strange. Plus: Our columnist recalls a difficult meeting with Van Morrison and explores the origins of the singer’s legendary pugnacity.
This collection of about 50 Irish and British artists performing folk-rock works mostly written by former music journalist Colin Harper is a seriously handsome affair.
Yes, it’s another Irish singer-songwriter. Running Dog is Nick Kelly’s second album, following on from his acclaimed solo debut Between Trapezes, which saw him pip the likes of Van Morrison and Paul Brady to the coveted ‘Best Solo Artist’ gong at the 1998/1999 hotpress Irish Music Critics awards.
While the Cathedral Quarter Arts Festival offered a typically eclectic and dynamic programme once again this year, the organisers behind the event nonetheless weren’t afraid to deliver a few uncomfortable home truths about Northern Irish society.
Jack Lynch's 1979
Kevin Burke and Michael O Domhnaill’s ‘Promenade’ displayed consummate artistry on every level, rivalled only by Planxty and Van Morrison
Renowned Irish recording engineer and producer Brian Masterson has been added to the line-up for Music Ireland 07, which takes place in the RDS from October 5 to 7.
REPORTS THAT Phil Lynott, Van Morrison, Roy Keane and HOTPRESS columnist Paul McGrath are to grace a set of postage stamps have been described by An Post as "premature".
WHENEVER we gather together, as we often do, to celebrate Irish music successes on the international stage, there is a tendency for us to focus almost exclusively on the performers - on U2, Clannad, Van Morrison, Chris de Burgh, and the rest of that litany - invariably to the total exclusion of other equally noteworthy achievers from what some might regard as the more unglamorous wing of the industry.
She was toiling in obscurity until she caught the ear of British TV host Jools Holland. Now Dublin rockabilly siren Imelda May is on the fast-track to the big time.
When Ray Charles passed away last week at the age of 73, music lost a giant whose talent broke the boundaries between blues, soul, country and gospel. Van Morrison pays his respects.
Following on from Hot Press' extensive polling of musicians around Ireland, we herewith present The 100 Greatest Irish Albums Of All Time as voted by You, the population of hotpress.com
GEORGE MARTIN was intrinsic to much of The Beatles brilliance. Now he s coming to Dublin for a series of special concerts. GEORGE BYRNE sets the scene.
Which is a rather cryptic way of introducing an interview by Joe Jackson with Brian Kennedy on his distaste for the macho ethos of rock and his admiration for fellow Belfast troubadour Mr. Morrison.
He became famous in the North as an affable chat show host. But behind the chipper persona Gerry Kelly's difficult upbringing left him permanently estranged from his alcoholic father.
They may sport one of the most original sounds in rock’n’roll – but along the way they’ve been influenced by some of the greats.
STUART BAILIE identifies the ten (plus!) key influences on the music of U2
Hot on the heels of acquiring a controlling interest in Spain’s Benicassim Festival, former Mean Fiddler supremo Vince Power has opened a new “supper club” in the Piccadilly area of London.
rob thomas is cautiously optimistic that his multi-million selling outfit, matchbox 20, will not succumb to the Hootie syndrome. Interview: colm o'hare.
PHIL COULTER is far from the muzak-producing bore of caricature. Here, he talks to JOE JACKSON about family tragedy, northern politics, drink binges, having songs covered by Elvis and his experiences working with stars like Van Morrison, Siniad O Connor and Luke Kelly. Portraits: MYLES CLAFFEY
The pressure’s on for Roisin Murphy. She’s no longer shielded from public scrutiny as a member of Moloko and Electric Picnic is her first outing as a solo star in her native Ireland.
Canadian songwriter Emm Gryner has released a covers album of Irish rock classics. But what inspired her to tackle Horslips, The Undertones and Gilbeert O'Sullivan? And why didn't The Pogues make the cut?
Having already played high-profile support slots with the likes of Joe Strummer and John Squire, Omagh folk-rockers The Basement are aiming to go overground in 2003.
He’s worked with Van, Dylan, Christy, Sinéad, The Cranberries and many other household names – but now he’s gone centre-stage himself as the composer of The General soundtrack. JOE JACKSON meets RICHIE BUCKLEY. Pix: Mick Quinn
Craig Fitzsimons meets Jimmie Dale Gilmore, possessor of a unique high ’n’ lonesome voice and yet another great product of the Lone Star State who, belatedly, is
experiencing a modicum of stardom himself.
Bob Dylan, Joni Mitchell, Van Morrison and Lewis Carrol may all be touchstones for the muse of sinÉad lohan, but this is one talented and increasingly successful singer-songwriter who definitely does things her way. joe jackson meets a self-confessed "spacer".
Pix: Mick Quinn
Grappling with weighty political themes is grist to the mill for Colin Meloy of Oregon art-rockers The Decemberists. He’s even written a song about the Shankill Butchers.
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.
Eurovision may have kick-started her career, but things didn't exactly go according to plan after that. Now NIAMH KAVANAGH is taking off again. colm o'hare reports.
Musical trends come and go but the blues continues to thrive. In Ireland, the scene is now stronger than ever. With her reputation growing internationally, Mary Stokes talks about her role as a performer - and her friendships with numerous blues legends. Oh, and Van Morrison's birth sign!
The Stunning's new EP, Deja Voodoo, features cover versions of Beatles, Byrds, Dylan and Captain Beefheart tracks. But what about the more intriguing and embarrassing records that lurk within Steve Wall's collection? Olaf Tyaransen investigates and unearths a few surprises like The Goons, BBC sound effects albums, and ...Barry White?!
BIG IN BRITAIN! BIG ON THE CONTINENT! BIG IN THE STATES! YET IRELAND STILL HAS TO FULLY SUCCUMB TO THE DELIGHTS OF FOUR MEN AND A DOG. HERE, THE TRAD SUPERGROUP EXPLAIN THEIR CURRENT SITUATION TO COLM O'HARE AS THEIR SECOND ALBUM *SHIFTING GRAVEL* HITS THE SHOPS.
With presenter John Creedon on a roll with his new mid-afternoon slot on RTE Radio 1, Jackie Hayden crosses the threshold of his Cork abode to see what the man gets up to away from the mike.
This year’s Heineken Green Energy festival has something for every music lover. Whether anthemic stadium rock (Snow Patrol) is your thing or you enjoy boisterous pop (Kaiser Chiefs), it’s a festival packed with sonic treats.
YOU WON'T GET STRONG ODDS ON THESE
ROMANTIC PAIRINGS HITTING IT OFF IN 1995 BUT THE BOOKIES HAVEN'T RECKONED WITH Hot Press RESIDENT CUPID PROTEGé LIAM FAY DONNING HIS CLERICAL GARB ONCE AGAIN.
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.
The industry may not have always liked them but their fans couldn’t be more passionate. Ten members, four studio albums, three managers and two major labels later, The Frames still managed to add up to more than the sum of their parts. Peter Murphy, with help from Glen Hansard and other key players brings the story of the band up to date in this, the final part of our two-part special [Photo Mick Quinn]
Sharing the spotlight with only his trusty guitar, Ireland's foremost troubadour Christy Moore prepares to take on audiences at The Point later this month. Here he tells Bill Graham of his growing sense of worth and self-confidence, defends Siniad O'Connor's right to free speech and explains just why good hecklers are worth their weight in gold.
Well, a little about it, at least. JONATHAN O'BRIEN discovers that jim REID
doesn't have too much to say about The Jesus And Mary Chain's seventh album, Munki.
John Walshe talks to Counting Crows frontman Adam Duritz about love, fame, journalism, nervous breakdowns, dating the cast of Friends and the band s special relationship with their Irish fans. Birdwatcher: Declan English
When not sleeping late or trying to score free beer, students like nothing better than to kick back and watch a movie. In fact, it is thanks to students that many films have gained a permanent place in the pantheon. Here are some stude faves from the annals.
‘Looking after number one’ was the record that kick started Ireland’s passage toward punk, and the man who penned it is still vitriolic about the time and place that inspired the song.
DEREK BELL on art, spirituality and porn! MARTIN FAY on Sean O'Riada, Carnegie Hall and drink! And PADDY MOLONEY on superstar friends, Bono's problematic vocals and his critics, inside and outside the group. Yes, it's the second and final part of JOE JACKSON'S extraordinary interview with THE CHIEFTAINS.
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
There's another Belfast, an alternate dimension populated by C.S. Lewis, Van and your host and spirit guide, Duke Special, who's just released his latest album.
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
At the end of the last decade, Philip King was best known as a founder member of Scullion and writer of the music to the Frank O’Connor translation of the Irish lyric ‘I Am Stretched On Your Grave’. However, since setting up Hummingbird Productions with his partners Nuala O’Connor and Kieran Corrigan in 1987, he has established himself as one of the country’s leading makers of films about Irish music and culture, including acclaimed series such as Bringing It All Back Home, A River Of Sound, and Sult. Here he talks to Peter Murphy about the current Irish climate for independent film-makers, his stop-start relationship with RTE, and post-Riverdance Irishry. Pics: Cathal Dawson
John Walshe talks to The Wannadies Pdr Wiksten and Christina Bergmark about their new album, Yeah, tribute bands, Swedish soft rock stars and the Abba legacy.
In the middle of the present rather straitened times, it may seem a bit previous, as they say in Cavan, to be talking about the recession bottoming out. well, actually, in its own rather weary wary piddly way, it is.
Before he was the face of televised pop Jools Holland played empty pubs alongside U2, mentored a skinny kid called Mark Knopfler and rode to school in Daniel Day-Lewis's dad's Mercedes.
Annual article: The Electric Picnic wasn’t just one of the musical events of the year; it also let us chow down and have a natter with some of the top pop combos of the day, including Bloc Party, Gang Of Four and New Order.
With the launch of a commemorative series of Irish postage stamps celebrating four of the nation's most important rock legends, we revisit some of the seminal moments in the careers of Phil Lynott, Rory Gallagher, Van Morrison and - first - U2
He's reputed to be one of the toughest interviewees in music. But RAY LAMONTAGNE is slowly learning to chill out and, if not embrace the limelight, then at least live with it...
SUSAN McKAY has just published a startling book about Northern Protestants. Here, NIALL STANAGE meets the Dublin-based journalist and, below, relates his own experiences of life as a Belfast-born Prod. Portraits: Cathal Dawson
It's Friday, May 22. The votes haven't even been counted yet, but already a succession of post-ballot parties are taking place. Your prime location is the Mandela Hall at Queens University Belfast, where a few hundred groovers will congregate around an event organised by those feverish tykes from the local music magazine, Blank. The name of the game is 'Keep Ulster Brattish' and admission is a mere quid.
It's Friday, May 22. The votes haven't even been counted yet, but already a succession of post-ballot parties are taking place. Your prime location is the Mandela Hall at Queens University Belfast, where a few hundred groovers will congregate around an event organised by those feverish tykes from the local music magazine, Blank. The name of the game is 'Keep Ulster Brattish' and admission is a mere quid.
Since 1914, the PRS has administered the rights accruing to Irish songwriters, composers and publishers from the use of their music in public places throughout the world. However, the campaign to establish Ireland as a separate territory, with its own independent music rights organisation, has been gathering momentum. Now in a controversial move the PRS have declared that this change can only take place with the approval of two-thirds of the Society’s members in Ireland. Niall Stokes – himself a member of the PRS – examines the issues and concludes that subsidiary status is no longer enough for IMRO.
Having released his debut album to little recognition at home in Ireland. Perry Blake's career unexpectedly gathered momentum in continental Europe. Whilst he remains little more than a cult figure in his native land. These days in France it's all deification by La Monde, movie soundtracks and policy debate with the Culture Minister. "Part of me is thinking, oh fuck I hope it doesn't do a David Gray" Perry Blake.
Pierce Turner is to perform his 2001 album 3 Minute World in its entirety for the time ever at The Courtyard Piano Bar in Leixlip, Co Kildare on Thursday July 30.
Our correspondent gets his snout out of the suey trough long enough to watch Hal, The Revs and former Snow Patrol man Iain Archer participate in the Eurosonic talentfest in Groningen. Words and Photos: Stuart Clark
Hot Press' answer to Russell Grant, Jackie Hayden, slips into his chunky-knit jumper, gazes at his crystal ball and comes up with more predictions that probably won't come true. Like last year.
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.
With the focus of world attention increasingly on Unionism and its capacity to respond positively to the IRA ceasefire, IAN PAISLEY JNR. – the son of Dr Ian Paisley – talks about culture and the Protestant identity, about his father’s emotive brand of politics, about secret deals and about ‘that petty little Fuehrer’ Albert Reynolds. Interview: Joe Jackson. Pix: COLM HENRY
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?
JULIET TURNER seems to have turned an emotional corner with her more effervescent new album Burn The Black Suit. Here she talks to COLM O'HARE about faith, hope and songwriting
Or perhaps we might have reached for another old familiar headline - Fears and Loathing in RTE - as the bosses at Radio 1 announce the chopping of virtually all specialist music programmes from the schedule. It is, writes Bill Graham, an act of cultural criminal negligence.
Heineken/Hot Press Awards presenter ULRIKA JONSSON offers her thoughts on fame, comedy, motherhood, relationships, loyalty and the media A? as well as a very final word on Stan Collymore. Interview: BARRY GLENDENNING.
Most of us agree that the Eurovision Song Contest is a load of arse, but at least we can switch to another channel. The Irish Times' KEVIN COURTNEY, however, attended this year’s contest in Copenhagen - and got sucked into the black hole of rock 'n' roll
As Duke Special set off for a jaunt around Europe with the Divine Comedy, our correspondent hitched a ride on the tour bus. In between the sound-checks and the motor-way pitstops, he received a unique insight into the life of the touring musician.
In 1991, five years after the death of Phil Lynott, the late Bill Graham wrote in Hot Press of Philo's enduring legacy. Over ten years later his words are as relevant as ever
All over Ireland, at any time of the day or night, hundreds of musicians are at work in recording studios, getting their sounds down for your delectation. So which are the trailblazing facilities? COLM O HARE reports.
It s been a long, long way from there to here and DONAL LUNNY has been at the centre of things every step of the journey. He has achieved enormous acclaim and considerable success with Planxty, The Bothy Band and Moving Hearts. Now with the launch of his latest band and their eponymously titled album COOLFIN, he takes time out to reflect on all of the major figures who have contributed to the extraordinary revival of folk and traditional music that has taken place over the past 30 years. He also recalls the highs and the lows the heartbreak, the good times and the great music that he himself has enjoyed as one of Ireland s finest and most influential musicians. Interview: Niall Stokes. Pics: Colm Henry
With the release of their debut album, My German Lover, Hada to Hada's tenure as one of Ireland's best-kept musical secrets may well be over. Siobhán Long talks to Keiran Duddy and Belinda Morris about the craft of song-writing and the dedication
that made the album possible.
The Miss Ireland competition is in its 45th year. Liam Fay went along to the Burlington Hotel final to come to (metaphorical) grips with the assets of Miss Irish Sun Newspaper, among others.
He found the experience deeply embarrassing. Pix: Colm Henry.
Calling all up-and-coming music stars! The path to success can sometimes seem dauntingly steep. But, in an ongoing series, JACKIE HAYDEN looks at the various challenges which face new bands, and how to overcome them. This issue: RECORDING. Photo: KAREN CAULFIELD
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.
n a career spanning 25 years in the glare of the stagelight, CHRISTY MOORE has known every emotion from insecurity, despair and vilification to adulation, triumph and the warm glow of creative fulfilment. He has dabbed in drugs, drink to excess, suffered a heart attack for his troubles and made some of the finest records that have ever been subjected to critical scrutiny in this country. Now, in a frighteningly honest interview, he tells it like it is and was. Cross-examination: JOE JACKSON. Microscopic camerawork: COLM HENRY.
John Walshe had a ringside seat for all the music, speeches, laughs and tears that made the 2002 hotpress Irish Music Awards in Belfast a night to remember.
Are Bono and the boys just a really good rock band or have they succeeded where the priests and politicians have failed and unlocked the neuroses of our colonial past? Joe Jackson indulges in a spot of cultural sparring with John Waters and finds the author of Race of Angels: Ireland and the Genesis of U2 well able to maintain his guard.
Republic Of Loose are that rarest of beasts – an Irish rock band who can get their groove on. Ahead of the release of their new album, they talk about standing out from the crowd.
With her own debut album, Eleanor McEvoy, one of the stars of A Woman s Heart , has come out of the folk closet and revealed herself to be a real rocker feedback, distorted guitars and all. Interview: Colm O Hare.
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.
A former member of the UVF, David Ervine was jailed in 1974 on explosives charges. His paramilitary past notwithstanding, he has emerged in recent years as one of the most impressive politicians in Northern Ireland. The subject of a new biography by Henry Sinnerton, here he talks about Johnny Adair, drink, drugs, his family and the crisis facing Unionism that threatens to derail the peace process
What links Richard Harris with Linda Ronstadt, Art Garfunkel with The Supremes, and Frank Sinatra with er, Ghost Of An American Airman? Why, the music of Jimmy Webb, of course, one of the most widely-respected songwriters of all-time. Here he talks to JOE JACKSON about his friendship with Richard Harris, his encounters with Elvis and his deep-rooted love of Irish music.
EDDIE IRVINE is Ireland s leading sporting playboy. The Grand Prix driver is a multi-millionaire whose taste for the extravagant runs to owning a private jet, a yacht and around ten cars. Here, the ladies man of Formula One talks to NIALL STANAGE about sex, drink, drugs, rock n roll oh, and driving.
He’s been many things: a roadie with De Danann, a carpenter with Druid, a founder of the world-famous Macnas theatre group and, not least, a six-foot four-inch Connemara man in a skirt and self-styled “cranky fuck”. But now Paraic Breathnach spends a lot of his time crying tears of rage. Olaf Tyaransen finds him down but definitely not out. Portrait Aengus McMahon
The Boomtown Rats came burning out of Dublin in the late ‘70s, railing against the Irish establishment to the audible gasps of the nation’s more conservative elements. With their remastered back catalogue having been recently reissued, Bob Geldof here looks back on a period of notoriety, controversy and personal angst, and also reflects on his ongoing efforts to highlight the issue of Fathers’ Rights. Interview by Peter Murphy. Photography by Mark Harrison.
At a time when public disillusionment with politicians is arguably at an all-time high, Cork Fianna Fail MEP BRIAN CROWLEY continues to buck the national trend by commanding a huge personal vote. But then, this is not a man who fits easily into any obvious political mould. A former rock singer and still a passionate music fan, he has survived a near-fatal car crash and learned to live with a permanent disability resulting from an earlier life-changing accident in his teens. Here, the man many tip to be a future President of Ireland, talks candidly to JOE JACKSON about matters personal and political. Pics: COLM HENRY.
He may have a wicked sense of humour but, ultimately, it's the way he sings 'em that has seen Kieran Goss lay to rest his partnership with Frances Black and produce one of the finest albums of the year. Siobhan Long has her ears caressed and her funnybone tickled by the newest member of Ireland's songwriting elite.
In the past, many Irish people suffered from an inferiority complex about their own culture – about the language, music, film and literature of this island. But music is one arena where things have changed dramatically. Report: Jackie Hayden
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
From the biggest international names to the most dynamic local creations, festivals make Ireland a good place to be in summer, even when the sun refuses to put in an appearance
IN THE FIRST PART OF A WORLD EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW IN THE LAST ISSUE OF HOT PRESS, BONO UNVEILED THE NEW U2 ALBUM, SPOKE ABOUT ITS GENESIS IN CYBERPUNK LITERATURE AND THE BAND'S HUNGER TO PUSH ROCK'N'ROLL TO ITS LIMITS. HERE HE ELABORATES ON HOW U2 GO ABOUT WRITING THEIR SONGS AGAINST THE BACKGROUND OF GLOBAL CHAOS, HIS ARTISTIC REFERENCE POINTS OUTSIDE MUSIC, THE SUBVERSIVE POWER OF HUMOUR, AND HOW HE ADMIRES THOSE WHO 'PARTICULARLY AGGRESSIVELY' DON'T BELIEVE IN GOD. AND THEN THERE'S THE STORY ABOUT JOHNNY CASH AND THE EMU. CAN THIS MAN BE FOR SURREAL? INTERVIEW:JOE JACKSON.
Nog Nog Noggin ON HEAVEN’S DOOR
Come with us on a fantastic voyage to the mythical kingdom of Gibletland in the wondrous empire of Sallynoggin where sex, drugs and rock'n'roll rule and where your decadent host is, eh, Dustin the Turkey. DUSTIN THE TURKEY!!!
Read on but beware of fowl play.
Your demented guide: LIAM FAY.
DENIS LEARY, sultan of sneer, is en route to Dublin to star in the Murphy s Ungagged Comedy Festival. By way of a little limbering up, and proving that there s no smoke without fire, here he lets rip on Noraid, The Kennedys, The Royals, Bill Hicks, Dean Martin, Oasis, Father Ted, drugs in Kerry and, oh yes, why he d like to go to Riverdance with a sniper s rifle . Interview: LIAM FAY.
JASON PIERCE of SPIRITUALIZED comes on down to talk about mythology versus reality, art versus autobiography and the economy inherent in a cast of hundreds.
Interview: PETER MURPHY
Fermanagh is a county that s accommodated a rake of musical traditions both past and present. Split by the sibling lakes of Upper and Lower Lough Erin, Fermanagh s musical identity is as diverse as her geography, to the extent that at times there s little or no crossover in musical style from north to south of the county and vice versa.
GREEN DAY have had a meteoric rise over the last 18 years, from poky Dublin dives to colossal international stadia. But despite their maturing worldview and increasing political articulacy, they’re still as exciting a kick-ass punk rock group as ever.
BECK is one of the most eclectically talented musicians of his generation. STUART CLARK sees the man play a stormer at Witnness and hears him talk about fame, musical obsession, heroes like Bowie and Black Sabbath and 'Britney fascism'
WILLIAM GIBSON is no ordinary science-fiction writer. Aside from coining such essential nineties' terms as Cyberspace and Cyberpunk, his work has also influenced everyone from computer hackers to scientists developing virtual reality technology. In the rock world, he's regarded as a visionary and artists as diverse as U2, Billy Idol and The Rolling Stones have all claimed inspiration from his novels. Interview: Liam Fay. Cyberpics: Cathal Dawson.
Morrissey famously said that he hoped the author would die in a motorway pile-up. David Crosby was freebasing when he gave him the best interview of his life. He once went a whole year without speaking to another human being. And now he s just updated his classic biography of The Byrds and made it five times longer. He s JOHNNY ROGAN, the rock biographer s rock biographer. And he s talking to Jonathan O Brien.
Don't write the singular Maria McKee; write the plural Maria McKee instead. Bill Graham encounters a mercurial talent in a variety of moods, musics and memories.
For close to a decade, Lillie’s Bordello has been the nightclub of choice for the famous and not-so-famous of Dublin cultural life. But with the passing of the Celtic Tiger era and the current uncertainty over the club’s future, can Lillie’s retain its position as the capital’s number one celebrity haunt?
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.
JOHNNY ROGAN didn't write just any old biography - he wrote a book about MORRISSEY which brought down a virtual pop fatwah on his head, with his subject declaring in public that he hoped the author would die a grisly death. Now, with the paperback version just published, the 'controversy' seems to have been given a new lease of life. It's not by any chance a publicity scam, is it? CATHY DILLON puts Johnny Rogan on the spot.
With an Irish tour approaching and a new album in the shops, Luka Bloom looks back on three decades that have taken him from busking in a pub in Newbridge to the big stages of Europe and America. In this candid interview with Jackie Hayden the man also known as Barry Moore talks about brother Christy, overcoming stage fright, finding an original voice, dealings with the music business, the need to combat racism - and why he remains a wannabe bogman
NIALL STOKES takes a very personal journey back through the music and memories of a friendship with a man he was proud to have known
THE DRIVE to Cork was a lonely one. Ry Cooder on the deck, that sweet slide guitar shooting off tracers: the memories, stacked up like a vast
rack of on-line CDs, kept slipping in and out of the engagement slot. No need ever to press the play button. Now and then I had to hold back the
tears as the music of past friendship flooded the car and, with it, a terrible awareness of all the things that might have, but hadn't, been done.
The news of Rory Gallagher s tragic death has sent seismic shock waves through the music world. Here was a man who managed to combine the gift of being an authentic creative genius with the even rarer gift of being a genuinely decent, honourable human being. Over the next six pages, Hot Press pays tribute to both the legend and the person, with contributions from the stars, friends, fans and colleagues who were touched by the Gallagher magic, and takes a trip through the backpages of an extraordinary career.
U2, Elvis Costello, The Pogues, The Waterboys, Emmylou Harris, Hothouse Flowers, The Everly Brothers, Christy Moore just some of the dozens of artists who contribute to an adventurous new five part TV series which traces the extraordinary return journey that Irish traditional music has made to America and beyond. Here, Liam Fay previews the programmes, talks to Philip King who originated and nurtured the project and hears many of the participants explain how they discovered the importance and influence of Irish music.
Ian Hunter, the former voice of MOTT THE HOOPLE, is back with a 38-track Greatest Hits & Rarities double-CD, plus an all-new album, From The Knees Of My Heart, to follow later this year. Now, from where past and present collide, he explains how he once broke into Elvis Presley s Gracelands, how he produced hits for Billy Idol and what it was like to tour with Queen as your support act. He even finds time to tell tales about Marc Bolan, Mick Ronson, and, incidentally, Mott The Hoople too Andy Darlington listens in.
With anti-Republican sentiment running high in the wake of the Enniskillen massacre and the O’Grady kidnapping, and with the first wave of joint RUC-Garda arms searches in progress, Kate Shanahan travelled to Belfast for an exclusive interview with Sinn Féin President, Gerry Adams. In it, the Westminster MP recalls his childhood in Belfast, evaluates the position the IRA now find themselves in and outlines his personal views on subjects as diverse as abortion, the Catholic Church, Dessie O’Hare, Bono and the role of violence in the Republican struggle.
Cork is happening enough at the best of times, but when the annual Guinness Jazz Weekend comes around, it's all too much. Where to go? What to do? What hangover cure to concoct? Let KEVIN BARRY show the way.
The latest Boy to leave the Zone, the launch of Mikey Graham s solo voyage has been attended by
controversy and criticism. But don t underestimate his determination. I m not the passenger, he tells PETER MURPHY. Portraits of the Artist: DECLAN ENGLISH
The old fashioned virtues of talent and charisma, combined with the latest innovations in media technology, look set to make JACK L Ireland's first superstar of the new millennium. JOHN WALSHE has the inside story on a man who is about to get to The Point.
The old fashioned virtues of talent and charisma, combined with the latest innovations in media technology, look set to make JACK L Ireland s first superstar of the new millennium. JOHN WALSHE has the inside story on a man who is about to get to The Point.
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.
When blues legend B.B. King came to town for his recent bash at College Green, as part of the Guinness Blues Festival, BILL GRAHAM caught up with the man whose extraordinary career has spanned many decades and which shows no sign of abating.
Pix: CATHAL DAWSON.
They say he s a Man Of The World it s just that for two decades the world in question happened to be Saturn. andy darlington meets peter green, the man who created fleetwood mac, then wrote the longest suicide note in rock n roll history.
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]
As his singular contribution to the birthday party, guest writer Elvis Costello offers a handful of stories from his ten years on the beat, which serve to illustrate why, in his own words, “I’d rather be a folk music fan than a teen idol.”
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)
He’s the joker in the Irish music pack, a working class hero who has at once conquered and subverted the mainstream. For his first album in six years JERRY FISH and his MUDBUG CLUB have also roped in some top-tier collaborators including rockabilly queen Imelda May and Carol Keogh.
When Jeff Buckley drowned in the Wolf River, Tennessee, five years ago, the world lost a fledgling musical visionary, his lone album Grace becoming a sacred text of loss and unfinished beauty. In his short 29 years on earth, his power and grace touched many, especially his mother Mary Guibert and his former bandmate Gary Lucas.
Think about direction, wonder why . . . It’s eleven years since Stano released his debut album Content To Write In I Dine Weathercraft. Despite his genuine originality and dedication to his art over the intervening years, he remains one of Ireland’s most enigmatic performers, more appreciated on the continent than in his homeland. Interview: Joe Jackson
For the launch of his second album, UNDER THE MOON, MARTIN HAYES returned from his new home in Seattle to his native town of Feakle, deep in the heart of Clare. BILL GRAHAM travelled west to meet one of the musicians responsible for the resurgence in Irish music and discuss his roots in the local tradition, and speculate on the possibilities and conflicts opening up within the genre.
Never mind figgy puddings and partridges in pear trees, there’s some serious seasonal business to be done as the annual HP-7 summit gathers in the crucible of cultural discourse that is The Central Hotel’s Library Bar.
While the entity that is U2 continues to be the dominant focus in the creative lives of its four members, away from the band, Bono, The Edge, Adam and Larry have all indulged in extra-curricular activities, bringing them – and their music - into contact with such legends as Bob Dylan, Robbie Robertson, Keith Richards, and Roy Orbison, By Dermot Stokes
In a presidential nomination field virtually devoid of candidates of real calibre and charisma, the name of ex-Boomtown Rat and Live Aid hero BOB GELDOF has cropped up again and again. Despite his outright denial that he will run for office, the rumour refuses to die away. Here, in an interview with LIAM FAY, he gives his assessment of Mary Robinson s seven years in the job, and his hopes for the future occupants of Aras an Uachtarain.
When Nirvana exploded out of Seattle with the classic grunge album Nevermind, they were hailed as modern primitives, punk upstarts whose hard musical edge and authentic street style were the antithesis of the dominant ethos of corporate rock. Two years on however, their reputation as Rock 'n' Roll rebels is somewhat less secure. Bill Graham sifts through two new biographies of the band, and talks to Victoria clarke, the co-author of a third which has been effectively surpressed by the Nirvana 'corporation'.
Winning an oscar was a culmination of a life-time's struggle for GLEN HANSARD. But success extracted a heavy toll on the singer, plunging him into self doubt and leaving him feeling confused and adrift. As The Swell Season prepare to release their second album, he talks about the long road back to sanity, his romantic break-up with songwriting partner MARKETA IRGLOVA and why, having derided Ireland in the press, he’s now proud of his home country
again. Plus Irglova talks about the end of their love affair and the challenges that fame and Fortune bring.
Is she a manufactured pop act made to look like a rock chick? is she a rock chick who sells records like a manufactured pop act? or is she something else entirely? Why’d Avril Lavigne have to go and make things so complicated?
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.
First there was the bad shit then the mad shit – the biggest-selling album in Irish history, an international hit and a record you hear “in every shoe shop”. So, having climbed the white ladder to phenomenal success, how does David Gray follow that?
It’s the guide Ladbrokes, the Central Bank, Mystic Meg and Mark Lawrenson turn to at the start of each year – Jackie Hayden’s cultural, sporting and political forecasts for the forthcoming twelve months.
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
As the first ever Green Party member in The Mansion House, Dublin’s current Lord Mayor, JOHN GORMLEY, is certainly unique. However, dismissed as a novelty by some and derided by others, the substance of his views as a politician have often been completely overlooked. Here, the capital’s number one citizen is unchained. Interview: JOE JACKSON. Pix: COLM HENRY.
John Banville places himself among some of the century’s most celebrated and notorious figures, in a frank interview which sees one of Ireland’s most revered and controversial writers musing on the raging battle between high art and popular culture, not to mention the war between the sexes . . . Tape: Joe Jackson Pix: Cathal Dawson
From dark age to middle age, Nick Cave is such a far cry from the blood-spilling junkie of rock legend that these days you’re likely to encounter him commuting to his 9 to 5. Except of course that his job is writing and making music, his new album is called Nocturama and there are, he admits, some sizeable blow-outs in the memory banks.
With his upcoming concert in Poulaphouca marking his solo Irish debut, it's been all too easy in the recent past to overlook Bob Geldof's standing as a musical and lyrical artist. The lines connecting the youthful Dun Laoghaire blues and Dylan aficionado with the creator of The Vegetarians Of Love are rarely traced in media-bytes that prefer to concentrate on Modest Bob, Live Aid Bob and Saint Bob. Here, Bill Graham, who knew the schoolboy, takes musician Bob on a freewheeling trip from then to now.
With his upcoming concert in Poulaphouca marking his solo Irish debut, it's been all too easy in the recent past to overlook Bob Geldof's standing as a musical and lyrical artist. The lines connecting the youthful Dun Laoghaire blues and Dylan aficionado with the creator of The Vegetarians Of Love are rarely traced in media-bytes that prefer to concentrate on Modest Bob, Live Aid Bob and Saint Bob. Here, Bill Graham, who knew the schoolboy, takes musician Bob on a freewheeling trip from then to now.
With his upcoming concert in Poulaphouca marking his solo Irish debut, it s been all too easy in the recent past to overlook Bob Geldof s standing as a musical and lyrical artist. The lines connecting the youthful Dun Laoghaire blues and Dylan aficionado with the creator of The Vegetarians Of Love are rarely traced in media-bytes that prefer to concentrate on Modest Bob, Live Aid Bob and Saint Bob. Here, Bill Graham, who knew the schoolboy, takes musician Bob on a freewheeling trip from then to now.
After a career barely spanning five years, there is a definite feeling amongst those who know about such things that POLLY
JEAN HARVEY is destined to be one of the true rock music greats. Her darkly visceral, sexual and lacerating work has struck a
raw chord, and made her the object of passionate adoration. But it has also cast her in the eyes of some as an
"axe-wielding bitch cow from Hell."
LIAM FAY travels to meet ze monsta, but instead finds a home-loving Yeovil lass who likes nothing better than gardening and whipping
up pots of rhubarb marmalade.
They go together like a horse and carriage. You can't have one without the other - or words to that effect. In fact, however, even rock 'n' roll has yet to invent an erotic language that does justice to the breadth and complexity of human desire. In pushing out the boundaries, madonna has taken on the role of sexual pioneer, and done it with courage and no little success. Niall Stokes weighs up the evidence . . .
Long before boomtime Ireland there was boomtown Ireland, a country where the national symbol was not a tiger but a rat. to coincide with the release of the best of the boomtown rats, Bob Geldof looks back to the tepid Irish scene of the mid-’70s from which the rats emerged, biting, snarling and laughing, to take on the establishment, Britain and, almost, the world.
Having had his fill of Eurovision and being ripped-off on the Irish circuit, Louis Walsh went for broke with the boys who would be boyzone. Now he can afford to speak his mind. JOE JACKSON is all ears.
Having had his fill of Eurovision and being ripped-off on the Irish circuit, louis walsH went for broke with the boys who would be boyzone. Now he can afford to speak his mind. JOE JACKSON is all ears.
Never mind pressies and OD’ing on cranberry sauce, the important thing about Christmas is that it signals the return of the HP-10 Summit. Absolutely no blushes are spared as Ireland’s rock ‘n’ roll elite dissects the musical year that was 2006. Keeping order: Stuart “Paxman” Clark. Taking photos: Graham “Paparazzi” Keogh. Taking the piss: Eyebrowy
Never mind pressies and OD’ing on cranberry sauce, the important thing about Christmas is that it signals the return of the HP-10 Summit. Absolutely no blushes are spared as Ireland’s rock ‘n’ roll elite dissects the musical year that was 2006. Keeping order: Stuart “Paxman” Clark. Taking photos: Graham “Paparazzi” Keogh. Taking the piss: Eyebrowy.
U2 are about to unleash their new album How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb. The world’s media are descending on Dublin. And Bono is back at the punch-bag, getting into fighting shape before the shit storm really explodes. The gloves are off. He’s got work to do. And he’s going to do it. Words Stuart Clark, additional reporting by Niall Stokes.
She possesses a strong, sometimes fiery voice that can suit a variety of material as evidenced by this collection’s mix of rootsy, country rock , soul and r’n’b.
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 quadruple-covered collector's edition of your favourite mag is dangerously close to selling out nationwide - so we need your help restocking while it lasts. Yes there IS something in it for you, since you ask
The Irish government has pulled the plug on the Dublin leg of A Beautiful Night by refusing to close O'Connell Street for five days to accommodate the concert.
Galway’s stable for unsigned talent, Origin Records, involving both the Zhivago Record store and Cuba live venue, follow up the successful release of this year’s To Boldly Go compilation with yet another album. This time, nine unsigned Galway-based acts contribute eighteen original tracks.
The younger generation of Irish singer-songwriters have tended to obscure Luka Bloom's place in the firmament. But with this more reflective and introspective album (his 10th), he restores himself to his rightful place in the pantheon of intelligent and passionate songsmiths with his uncanny ability to see the power and meaning in the atoms of daily life.
Anyone who ached with Shane MaacGowan on the Late Late Show will not be surprised to find him missing in action from this new album apart from some co-writing credits.
For all the romanticism and swoonsome sentiment, Baxter’s sound is
frightfully muscular. Aided tonight by a string quartet, his set is bracing
and uplifting in spades. Predictably, ‘Half A Man’ builds to a swooping
crescendo, ‘The Moon & Me’ is brimming with vitality and substance, while
his heartfelt rendition of ‘Almost There’ is almost unbearably perfect. As
it was always meant to be, ‘My Declaration’ is an inspiration, intensely
stirring the senses with little more than a perfect falsetto and a string
quartet.
For all the romanticism and swoonsome sentiment, Baxter’s sound is frightfully muscular. Aided tonight by a string quartet, his set is bracing and uplifting in spades. Predictably, ‘Half A Man’ builds to a swooping crescendo, ‘The Moon & Me’ is brimming with vitality and substance, while his heartfelt rendition of ‘Almost There’ is almost unbearably perfect. As it was always meant to be, ‘My Declaration’ is an inspiration, intensely stirring the senses with little more than a perfect falsetto and a string quartet.
For all the romanticism and swoonsome sentiment, Baxter’s sound is
frightfully muscular. Aided tonight by a string quartet, his set is bracing
and uplifting in spades. Predictably, ‘Half A Man’ builds to a swooping
crescendo, ‘The Moon & Me’ is brimming with vitality and substance, while
his heartfelt rendition of ‘Almost There’ is almost unbearably perfect. As
it was always meant to be, ‘My Declaration’ is an inspiration, intensely
stirring the senses with little more than a perfect falsetto and a string
quartet.
For all the romanticism and swoonsome sentiment, Baxter’s sound is
frightfully muscular. Aided tonight by a string quartet, his set is bracing
and uplifting in spades. Predictably, ‘Half A Man’ builds to a swooping
crescendo, ‘The Moon & Me’ is brimming with vitality and substance, while
his heartfelt rendition of ‘Almost There’ is almost unbearably perfect. As
it was always meant to be, ‘My Declaration’ is an inspiration, intensely
stirring the senses with little more than a perfect falsetto and a string
quartet.
With The Book Of Lightning, Waterboys fans will be thrilled to have Mike Scott back on form, while the uninitiated will get a chance to understand what all the fuss was about.
Not quite what the world needs right now you might be forgiven for thinking – yet another instalment from the erstwhile Sultan of Swing. But to be fair to Mr Knopfler he has hardly been ingratiating himself into our lives since the demise of the colossus that was Dire Straits over eight years ago. Movie soundtracks aside, this (astonishingly) is only Knopfler’s second solo album.
Although 1988 saw the continued assault on discerning sensibilities in the shape of SAW, there were (surprisingly enough!) one or two reasons to be cheerful.
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!
A year bedevilled by inconsistency, 1987 cruelly ruptured all the upheaval theories linking it to ’67 and ’77. Lots of brilliant singles and precious few (and few precious) albums.
THE BALLOT–BOXES HAVE BEEN OPENED, THE VOTES SCRUTINISED UNDER THE STRICTEST OF SECURITY AND NOW THE RETURNING OFFICER STEPS UP ONTO THE STAGE TO ANNOUNCE THE RESULTS OF THE 1993 HOT PRESS READERS’ POLL
You will cheer, You will scowl, You will stare in disbelief - but don't blame us...
'cos it's all your fault! Yep, it's the Hot Press Reader's poll Results.
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.
With former Engine Alley skinthumper Emmaline Duffy-Fallon out, and a full-time violinist (Sheila Sullivan) and backing vocalist (Veronika Megyeri) in, it's a new (and improved?) Racketeers on this, their second album.
It's the way that the movie business works. It took 15 years to raise the money to make the biopic of Ray Charles life. It got done in the end, as they say, but Ray himself couldn't wait around to see its release: he died at the age of 73, in June of last year.
THESE TWO compilations have been released to commemorate the tenth anniversary of promoter Vince Power's hugely successful annual celebration of Irish music.
SNORRRRTTTTT whewwww SNORRRTTT whewww SNORRRTTT whewww Ah, it s yourselves. Excuse me while I remove this mask and put the cylinder to one side. Yes, folks, it s that time of year again. Esteemed Ed is off on his annual hols leaving me, Samuel J. Snort Esq world s leading rock journalist, porn movie stuntman and brain chemist in charge.
Take a respected, if neglected, vocalist, give him a bunch of songs from hip contemporary writers, place him in front of some hot musicians and see what shakes out
1985 has got to remember as the year when one of the most spoiled, wasteful, self-indulgent and ephemeral industries on earth suddenly woke up, not only to the urgent insistence of its conscience within the person of Bob Geldof, but to its power to actually achieve something, (to raise money and thereby save lives), given the right motivation and mechanism.
We all think we know what Belfast stands for, but beneath the headlines is a city with a very specific industrial sensibility – something constantly reflected in the bands it produces.
Keyboards at the ready, modems on standby: here it is, a quick-fire tour of some of the entertainment websites from the north that matter. In theory, we were going to give you the definitive A-Z guide, but we couldn't find anything beginning with a Q or an X . Neverthless, here we go . .
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.
Ani diFranco is not one to rest on her laurels. This, her twelfth album, was recorded only a matter of months after Little Plastic Castle, which was released last year to huge critical acclaim.
One of the most useful lessons re-learned during the Heineken Green Energy Careers In Music seminars in Dublin, Cork and Galway is that while those in the business have a reasonable grasp as to how it works and why, from the stand-point of a seventeen-year-old would-be, the Music Industry can appear like one ginormous complex monster.
CHRISTY HITS the chill-out zone? It’s enough to put the heart across club culturalists and hardcore troubadours alike. Moore’s often bedecked his songs with gaudy tapestries, but on Traveller, in partnership with Leo Pearson, he’s cross-pollinating folk forms with deep space beats, head music and ambient swashes, sticking his neck out further than ever before.
The Cathedral Quarter Arts Festival offers a take on modern Belfast that rings true, as well as an eclectic musical line-up and some controversial readings from modern UK writers says Colin Carberry
A misbegotten, footsore bone-crushing trek through the industrial badlands of Northern Germany finally left me in a single hotel room in Frankfurt uncorking a dutyfree bottle of Old Bushmills.
Tributes have been pouring in, to one of the most important figures in the Irish music industry over the past fifty years, the concert promoter Jim Aiken, who died yesterday (free content)
From Neil Hannon’s orchestral manoeuvres to Brian Kennedy’s literary debut, the Belfast Festival at Queen’s looks set to provide some of the cultural highlights of the season.
What producer Rick Rubin’s done for Diamond is rescue him from the super-sized supper set and corporate private party circuit. The result is an album that sits closer to Lee Hazlewood or Tim Hardin than Billy Joel (another hard-nosed ballad-toting veteran whose talent is all too often mismanaged by unsympathetic handlers).
Like Dinsdale Piranha in the old Monty Python sketch, Cathal Coughlan uses sarcasm. Sometimes with a sledgehammer, elsewhere with a stiletto - but he never stoops to the tender, poisoned compliments of polished English irony. Cathal Coughlan is no member of the loyal opposition.
Skibbereen is the unlikely location for one of the most impressive festival line-ups of the year. Simon Basketter hears how Liss Ard can attract some of the biggest international names in rock.
Stick ‘em up punks, it’s the fun lovin’ criminal! No, your eyes do not deceive you and, before the Daily Mirror asks, no, Niall has not gone mad again.
It was a year when all manner of ecological malaise seemed to come home to roost. In particular the Sudan was in turmoil, putting our own nasty little problems of smog, toxic waste and criminal fish kills into sharp relief –
When your friendly local A&R man (and yes, he's almost certain to be a man) sits down to wade through his latest intake of demos, what exactly is he looking for?
I phoned Monaghan and they were all out. Well, most of them anyway. And yet. And yet. The compass did yield a handful of musicians, with references to many more whom we valiantly attempted to locate, without success. Monaghan s best-known scions must surely be Paddy Cole and Big Tom.
How the Sunday Independent is boosting the tourism industry by convincing English readers that Ireland is populated exclusively by amiable drunkards, rock stars, men who drive fast cars and women wearing little or no clothing.
In rock terms, that's what U2 are, having successfully defended their crown against all-comers since The Joshua Tree crashed to No.1 in the US in 1987.
Is it credible that the man who commanded the British Army in Iraq never voiced his misgivings about the war to the British Prime Minister, Tony Blair?
It's the new millenium but our cover stars aren't looking so cheery. There's serious moodiness from Noel Gallagher, Van Morrison, Bono, Roisin Murphy, Beck, and Billy Corgan. But we think we saw Fran Healy crack a smile...
Ossie Kilkenny, the top music industry accountant who has worked with many of the biggest acts in the world, including U2, Morrissey, Oasis and Van Morrison, has said that the record industry is finished.
A simmering dissatisfaction with the amount of Irish music being played on Irish radio bubbled over at Music Ireland, with a debate that was, by turns, lively and illuminating.
As St Patrick’s Day approaches, what better time to celebrate all that’s great about Irish culture. From music and film to food and literature, Ireland has always punched far above its weight.
PHIL LYNOTT would have been 50 on 20th August this year. Here, PETER MURPHY profiles the legendary Philo, and talks to other stars about his enduring influence.
There is a huge wealth of music talent in Ireland today. In this economic meltdown, the government should help the industry live up to its potential through the introduction of initiatives that would make Ireland a better environment for musicians.
Music Piracy is a continuing problem, and it s not just internet innovation which is fuelling its rise. COLM O HARE spoke to some of those trying to
preserve legitimate music
Think you've got them all right? Or maybe you fancy a sneaky peak (you're only cheating yourself you know!). Either way, you've got the questions – we've got the answers....
‘That’s entertainment’ was the message of the year but not as Paul Weller intended it, for in 1986 popular music was closer to mass entertainment as Declan McManus’ pater knew it than any year since Elvis Presley swivelled his hips on the Ed Sullivan show.
Now that American rock ’n’ roll has succumbed to its self-destructive urges and with its British counterpart reduced to self-indulgent navel exercises, the stage is now set for the radical rejuvenation of Irish music both as an international commercial viability and as a cultural touchstone for the new generation at home. Bill Graham meets philip king, the captain of the flagship of the latest revival river of sound, and finds that in the wake of the Riverdance phenomenon, it’s full steam ahead for Irish trad. Pix: NUTAN.
Q: Which top Irish quiz-masters’ pathological obsessions include Something Happens, Shamrock Rovers and the amount of shopping days left to the next Suede gig? A: George “You Started, So I’ll Finish” Byrne
Last issue we profiled a selection of Irish acts who released records for the Christmas market. Here JACKIE HAYDEN, GERRY McGOVERN AND COLM O’HARE PROFILE five more who've come up trumps – from Jimmy MacCarthy, one of Ireland's best known songwriters, to young hopefuls, Sunbear.
Jesus Christ And The Church Of Gnostic Rock. Peter Murphy on the good, clean, but mostly dirty, fight for the soul of the Devil s Music. Part One: The Old Testament.
That’s the philosophy behind Cross Border Media, a label which has had a remarkable impact on Irish music since its foundation just three years ago. A special report by Colm O’Hare and Jackie Hayden
There are those who believe that the future of music as an art form is seriously under threat from the rise of music piracy. Where will it all end? The truth is that no one truly knows.
