People they come together...

Moby has confirmed that he'll be visiting The Point Theatre before Christmas.

"It's not set in stone, but we're looking at either October or November," he divulges to hotpress.com. "The plan then is to come back in the summer of 2003 for a big outdoor show, which I'm really looking forward to after doing Slane with U2."

Is it just us or does the boy Melville have a special affinity for Irish audiences?

"Absolutely. When you look at an itinerary and see Dublin, Cork or Galway, those are the dates you get excited about 'cause you know they're going to be great. With Irish audiences, there's a unique balance between sophistication and enthusiasm. They're jumping up and down and having a blast, but at the same time you know they're very bright and getting the nuances."

Moby has also responded to his namechecking on the new Eminem single, 'Without Me'.

"Moby? You can get stomped by Obie", raps the Real Slim Shady. "You 36-year-old bald-headed boy blow me. You don't know me. You're too old, it's over. Nobody listens to techno."

"I've been dissed by Eminem," he beams. "You can't buy that kind of publicity. His diss of me is so gentle. He criticises me for being too old at 36, and says that 'no one likes techno, anyway.' I don't have the heart to tell him that I haven't made a techno record in eight years.

"I was very flattered. In the song, he singles out me, N'Sync and Limp Bizkit which is interesting company to be keeping!"

Is it a retaliatory diss, or a preemptive strike?

"Retaliatory. I personally find music that glorifies misogyny and homophobia very disturbing – and I've said it publically. It's one thing if you're talking to adults, but his fan base is very young. The average profile of someone buying an Eminem record is male, aged 11 or 12. I don't think it's healthy to have millions of male pre-teens thinking that sort of prejudice is cool or funny."