Media matters

LAUNCH OF HOTPRESS

It may be hard to believe it in this multi-media dominated world, but when hotpress was launched in 1977 it was the first serious attempt to create a media forum for all that was best in Irish music. At that time, Irish newspapers ran a token column on pop music once a week and we had only one radio station, Radio Eireann, which steadfastly ignored rock music except for the odd hit single and provided it wasn’t loud enough to wake the director-general. In due course, Billboard magazine, the bible of the US music industry, was to acknowledge that hotpress was one of the key factors in the international success of Irish contemporary music.

RADIO 2 COMINATCHA

The arrival of hotpress was only of several factors that signalled that Ireland had a youthful audience eager for a diet of tasty rock and quality pop unlikely to be satisfied by a diet of numbing pap by the James Last Orchestra and others of that ilk. The arrival of Radio 2 (now 2FM) heralded the emergence of Dave Fanning as iconic figure for Irish rock youth and in due course the Fanning Sessions, pioneered by Ian Wilson, were to serve as a major contribution to the nurturing of homegrown talent. The station has been a safe haven and nursery for quality broadcasters, from Larry Gogan to Ian Dempsey, Mark Cagney, Aine Hensey, Declan Meehan and Tony Fenton.

INDEPENDENT RADIO

Although the general music fan had been well served by RTE Radio 1 and 2FM, the arrival of independent radio in 1992 changed the musical soundscape in Ireland forever. Notwithstanding the failure of Century Radio, and a few hiccups here or there, the network of stations has opened up new promotional channels for artists with enough suss to develop positive relationships with them. Several stations have been most inventive in allowing artists to perform live in studio, while Galway Bay FM have taken this to even greater heights by issuing compilations of such recordings. At a time when evening listening for rock fans has never been better we have cause to be thankful to Today FM for the emergence of Tom Dunne, John Kelly and Donal Dineen.

HOTPRESS AWARDS GO NORTH

With the ceasefires enabling a healthier live scene in the North, the hotpress Awards moved to Belfast for the first time in 1997 for a memorable night at the BBC studios in the capable hands of Mike Edgar. For many of the southern-based musicians, and the attendant media, this was their first visit north for many’s a long day. The extensive television coverage helped restore faith in Belfast as a cool music city and there are still people lunching out on tales of derring-do from that memorable event. In fact it was so good the hotpress Awards has since taken place regularly up there, with presentation duties being handled by Edgar, Ulrika Johnson and Patrick Kielty and acts as vital as U2, Divine Comedy, The Frames, Ash et al all eager to toss in their tuppenceworth.