Villagers' Becoming A Jackal just missed out on the top spot in the irish indie charts, released on Friday, climbing back to No.2, just behind Tommy Fleming's big selling Going Back.
In a development that is unprecedented in recent years, two different versions of the one song may end up at No.1 and No.2 in charts in Christmas week.
Irish comedy is a winner this Christmas, with the local DVD and video market exploding in a way that few industry insiders had predicted. And Tommy Tiernan is the king of the scene, grabbing the No.1 spot in the latest Irish charts, in the face of the most intense competition seen in this country yet.
They’re the unsigned bands who are currently storming the Irish charts with little aid from the mainstream music industry – meet Morello, Transmitter and Ginseng.
The battle for the Christmas No.1 seems to be heading in a rather traditional direction, with The Priests climbing back to the top spot in the Irish charts.
Director whose debut album We Thrive On Big Cities recently got to number two in the Irish charts, are emblematic of the extraordinary evolution of the indigenous music industry in recent years.
Paul Brady and Eddi Reader are raving about his work, and his album is surging up the charts – but Ireland’s latest singer-songwriter sensation Declan O’Rourke is still making his own breakfast.
He’s just knocked Lady GaGa off the top of the UK charts with his banging new single ‘I’m Not Alone’. So why is CALVIN HARRIS so worried about sounding like an oldie chasing after his fading youth?
The most unlikely blind date since Mork and Mindy, Damo and Ivor are currently squatting atop the charts with their dipso, erm, classic ‘Everybody’s Drinkin’.
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?
CARLOS SANTANA has made one of the most amazing comebacks ever. After years in the doldrums, his new album has dominated the US charts, selling over 7 million copies. NIALL STANAGE reports.
It took a national ad campaign to make the nation see that there's something very special about Dubliners Ellie and Lousie MacNamara. Now that their outstanding 2008 album Here, Not There has topped the Irish indie charts, Celina Murphy catches up with HEATHERS.
Pop rock is getting a pretty bad rap these days, but that hasn’t stopped Dublin foursome The Brilliant Things from taking on the charts with their ambitious self-titled debut album.
Almost unheralded, in "Raintown" Scotland's Deacon Blue have made one of the year's outstanding albums. Despite extensive critical kudos, however, the first two singles from the album - "Dignity" and "Loaded" - failed to make any inroads into the charts. A third single, the excellent "When Will You (Make My Telephone Ring)" looks as if it might enable Deacon Blue to prise open the door. Nevertheless the band must be perturbed at their relative lack of success to date.
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.
If there s one cast-iron prediction
to be made for 1997, it s that
THE BEAUTIFUL SOUTH will carry on carrying on up the charts.
JOHN WALSHE meets
Dave Hemingway and Jacqui Abbot to learn
more about life inside the mega
band with the low profile.
The last six months have brought some cracking singles, a raucous reception at Oxegen, a club-ready new album and – the top equivalent of Mecca – their very own arena tour. No wonder The Saturdays are a little bit more sparkly-eyed than usual. Hot Press catches up with Tipperary lass Una Healy to talk about topping the charts in 2011, breaking America and the special present she'll be getting in between.
From studying at the Brit School of Performing Arts and providing backing vocals for Westlife, to her Terry Wogan-facilitated assault on the charts and subsequent elevation to bona-fide star status, former Belfast resident Katie Melua has packed an enormous amount into her 19 years.
Heard the one about the stonemason who knocked Madonna off the top of the charts? Ahead of his Liss Ard headline slot Mick Flannery reflects on his success, his pathalogical inability to celebrate it – and plans for a stage version of his first album.
Heard the one about the stonemason who knocked Madonna off the top of the charts? Ahead of his Liss Ard headline slot Mick Flannery reflects on his success, his pathological inability to celebrate it – and plans for a stage version of his first album.
With a name like Shaefri, this 18 year-old Mayo lass was hardly destined to be an IT consultant, but, luckily, as her debut EP Venture demonstrates, she’s a perfect fit for the pop charts. words Celina Murphy
They're fronted by a dead ringer for Xena, Warrior Princess; they've just won the Heineken Hot Press Best New Band Award; and, like inbreeding, they're big in Alabama. They're junkster, and here, deirdre o'neill and graham darcy tell jackie hayden exactly what they've been up to since they first "trespassed" on the American Dance Charts.
When Cathy Davey's acclaimed third album The Nameless shot to the number one spot in the Irish mainstream and indie charts last month, it marked not just a triumphant return for an artist who'd been dropped by EMI after her critically lauded and commercially successful Tales Of Silversleeve, but a new dawn for independent Irish acts in general. But behind the writing of that album was enough guilt and grief to start a new religion. Here, in her most in-depth and revealing interview to date, Davey talks about how Zen helped her put mind and body back together after her grandmother's death, why daytime radio doesn't serve the people, organised religion is poisonous and modern medicine means we live too long. Oh, and why Crystal Swing just aren't funny. At all.
After a few years out of the limelight, Liverpudlian indie-rockers The Wombats are back and sitting pretty at No. 3 in the UK album charts. But, they tell Celina Murphy, all those big, booming choruses haven’t come easy...
The Saw Doctors, one of Ireland's most enduring acts are back in the frame. Their To Win Just Once, The Best Of The Saw Doctors album has debuted at No.3 in the Irish album charts.
Conquering the charts is one thing, but for maestro beatmaker Example, who reached his lifelong goal of scoring a No. 1 album last year, staying on top is another matter entirely. Ahead of a very special Arthur’s Day visit, Elliot Gleave talks chart success with Celina Murphy.
While Conor O'Brien maintains his spot at the top for the third week running, there are new Irish entries in the form of The Divine Comedy and The Rags
Over the past number of years, Today FM has consistently supported Irish music, playlisting records by local artists and doing in-studio sessions on a regular basis. in the process the station has played an important part in the increasingly impressive chart and sales achievements of irish acts.
Annual article: Phil Kieran and DJ Papillion were two of the outstanding names in a fantastic year for dance music, says Mark Kavanagh. Plus the dance charts of 2005.
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 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.
In what is a very strong performance by an independent Irish artist, current Hot Press cover star Jerry Fish has debuted at No.7 in the Irish album charts with his new record.
WHAT IS the connection between The X Files, massive drinking bouts, Man United fans and top ten hits? CATATONIA, that s what. The Welsh guitar popsters are currently nestling in the upper reaches of the charts with their hit Mulder And Scully , and JOHN WALSHE talks to vocalist CERYS MATTHEWS about their meteoric rise to the top.
The Corrs hit paydirt with In Blue, an album of memorable pop songs that topped the charts in over twenty countries around the world. It gave them the breathing space they needed to re-establish their roots, to live a little and to reassess their purpose as a band. Now, with the release of Borrowed Heaven, they’re back in the music biz frontline – slightly older, considerably wiser, but still with the same hunger to make great and honest records.
For many years a 'musician's musician', TOM PACHECO is now enjoying the commercial recognition he deserves thanks to a collaboration with Steiner Albrigtsen that's stormed its way to the top of the Norwegian charts. Here, the American singer-songwriter reflects on a remarkable career which has seen him hanging out with Jimi Hendrix and The Doors in New York, taking on the Nashville establishment and finally settling in Ireland where his star is also firmly in the ascendent. Interview: SIOBHAN LONG.
Champagne corks were popped last week as Snow Patrol joined that elite group of bands who’ve simultaneously topped the charts in Ireland and the UK. It’s all a far cry from the days when their fame was confined to the University of Dundee Students Union bar. Gary Lightbody takes time out from wowing the masses in Dublin and Belfast to tell Stuart Clark about their twisty and turny route to the top.
30 years after the music was originally recorded, Led Zeppelin topped the record and DVD charts in 2003 with the sound and vision of the band in all their pomp and glory. The guitar hero’s guitar hero, Jimmy Page reflects on the passion for music which inspired him then – and now.
The still vibrant 64-year-old on why Morrissey’s like Father Frank, why Iraq is like Vietnam, and on her meetings with Elvis Presley, Marilyn Monroe, Bono, Phil Spector and a whole Oval Office full of presidents.
PIGEON-HOLE THEM AS BELFAST HARDCORE MERCHANTS AT YOUR PERIL - IN THE PAST FEW MONTHS THERAPY? HAVE RELEASED TWO CLASSIC PUNK-POP EP'S THAT SHOOK THE BRITISH CHARTS, AND EVEN GOT THEM INTO THE PAGES OF TEEN-BIBLE SMASH HITS. AS THEY BEGIN RECORDING THEIR NEW LP, THEY TAKE TIME OUT TO GET NERVOUS ABOUT FEILE, GET ANGRY ABOUT THE BEATLES, AND EXPLAIN WHY THE DAYS OF THE NINE-MINUTE INSTRUMENTAL EPIC ARE OVER. INTERVIEW: LORRAINE FREENEY
Pigeon-hole them as Belfast hardcore merchants at your peril in the past few months Therapy? have released two classic punk-pop EPs that shook the British charts, and even got them into the pages of teen-bible Smash Hits. As they begin recording their new LP, they take time out to get nervous about Fiile, get angry about the Beatles, and explain why the days of the nine-minute instrumental epic are over. Interview: Lorraine Freeney.
Until recently one of the ultimate indie cult bands, The Flaming Lips have survived the ravages of heroin, acid and a hunting trip with William Burroughs. Now, their new album At War With The Mystics finds them taking their funky psychedelia to strange new places – including the upper reaches of the charts for the first time. Could it be that their moment has finally come? Interviews: Craig Fitzsimons (now) and Peter Murphy (then). additional reporting: Stuart Clark, Ed Power and Jackie Hayden
Don’t let her steal your heart away!
sheryl crow: Hot Press Readers’ Love Of The Year and Bob Dylan’s favourite singer-songwriter is the hottest new star in rock'n'roll. Helena Mulkerns charts the singular rise of Kennet, Missouri’s most celebrated slacker country queen.
At the time of writing indications are that Tori Amos’ ‘Cornflake Girls’ single will hit the No.1 spot in the British charts this week. Celebrations may indeed be in order – but for Tori right now there are far more burning issues to be talked through and dealt with. In an extraordinarily intimate, open and at times devastatingly honest interview, she talks about the horrific knife-point rape documented in ‘Me And A Gun’, the lingering wounds inflicted on her by the experience and the difficult healing process she has begun – including, she says, accepting the ‘prostitute’ in herself. Along the way she challenges a wide range of assumptions on love, sex, violence, religion, masturbation, feminishm, lesbianism and the main
man himself, Jesus Christ. By Joe Jackson.
The single 'Hold On' by Edenderry five-piece Frantic Jack single has crashed into the Irish charts at No. 9, the only independent release to enter the charts this week
Enya's album And Winter Came has taken the charts by storm all over the world, going Top 20 in no less than 21 countries, in its first three weeks on release.
Move over Abba, Irish 'Celtic soul' lads The Script have torn up the plot across the water, where their debut album has crashed in at Number One in the album charts.
Coldplay's Viva La Vida is likely to see the end of its current reign at the top of the Irish charts as U2 release re-mastered versions of their classic albums Boy, October and War.
The dance media may be calling 2000 ‘the year of hard house’, but for those of us who aren’t obsessed with inventing new fads, this will always be remembered as the year when UK garage and r’n’b broke out from the underground and stamped its Gucci loafers all over the charts, driving its BMW convertible through the clubbing mainstream and pouring its Dom Perignon all over the charts.
An old acoustic release from the legendary West African singer and kora player who topped the charts back in ’88 with ‘Yeke Yeke’. On Sabou (The Cause) he goes back to his Guinean roots combining ethnic harmonies, melodies and instruments with his own inimitable songwriting style.
By rights, this should be an awful novelty record. But ‘The J.C.B. Song’ is actually quite sweet. It is a simple track that looks at the world though a child’s eyes in an adult, lyrical manner. You’ll have heard it all over the place as the momentum gathers to push it to the top of the charts. I have to say that, musically, Christmas wouldn’t necessarily be a poorer place if it gets there.
Currently holding the British and Irish charts hostage with the irrepressible ‘Umbrella’, the Bahamian’s ‘Shut Up And Drive’, while less appealing, is unlikely to halt her chart domination. The song is rockier than previous offerings, and although her voice starts to grate, you have to give the girl credit for the sheer range of car-themed sexual innuendoes she manages to pack in.
Signed to Warner offshoot 14th Floor Records by the man who also signed David Gray and Damien Rice, things are looking good for the Luton DIY star who gatecrashed the charts with his home recorded single ‘Fly’.
Ironically (or, more likely, deliberately) it takes all of five seconds before the new Scissor Sisters' single awakens in you the urge to get up and dance like a crazy sugar-filled loon. Elton John plays on the track, which is fitting as it is the most Elton John-sounding song the man never wrote himself – lots of ‘70s glam disco flourishes that should guarantee it a place at the top of the charts.
The former Eurovision entrant Chris Doran returns with a Don Mescall-penned song, and it’s the meeting of two similar-thinking minds. In that their thoughts were of Ronan Keating, Richard Curtis rom coms, cute puppies, and whatever else is required in making turgid love songs. It’s unfortunate it missed the Mother’s Day rush, but it may just have enough generic appeal to make an mighty impression on the charts anyway. Shame on us.
In a slightly unfathomable move, the lead single from Hayes’s second album makes its appearance a couple of weeks after that record’s release, by which point it will have become clear that the singer has managed to sidestep that difficult second album problem with aplomb. All of which leaves ‘Happy Sad’ a bit redundant and most probably with little chance of troubling the upper reaches of the charts. Record company tactics aside, though, this is a lovely, warm and fuzzy song that moves the Hayes sound forward, if not in giant leaps.
Cutting to the chase, this album is full of Rihanna b-sides that sound like a carbon copy of everything in the charts right now and are completely personality free.
After Ms Furtado’s disappointing attempt to join the generic territory of Timbaland collaborators with ‘Maneater’ and ‘Promiscuous Girl’, it’s good to know he hasn’t completely beaten out of her the very thing that makes her unique. Though he’s still behind the glass wall for this, and it shows by being interchangeable with any old claptrap in the charts, ‘All Good Things’ displays Furtado’s honey-sweet voice in all its glory. It would have been interesting to hear its original form, with Chris Martin from Coldplay guest-starring, but alas, the record company gods intervened.
Featuring contributions from Sinéad O’Connor and Brian Eno, Seize The Day entered the Irish charts at number 5 and has gone on to achieve platinum status.
The Canadian duo have apparently been in “hibernation” since their 2004 debut left many a jaw dropped. And while the basic elements remain the same – pristine synths, melancholic melodies and that distinctive vocal – there is more meat on their bones now, a new focus on choruses and even more heart-rending moments of icy perfection. The glitch-hop references have faded, the ten songs on offer augmented instead by nods to pure house music, outstanding songwriting, Frank Sinatra (there’s a cover of his ‘When No One Cares’), The Blue Nile… and pop, pop, pop. So maybe this is new ‘new pop’ – a very modern music, adroitly aware electronica with soul, underground music with the controls set for the heart of the charts. Album of the year.
Two weeks after its official release, Kopek’s new single ‘Stop’ has debuted in the Irish charts at number 22, the highest charted independent single of the week.
Still relatively unknown, Jill Scott is set to raise her profile significantly with this impressive debut which has already entered the charts in the US. A former backing vocalist and songwriter, Scott has collaborated with such acts as The Roots, Common and Will Smith.
Bearing far more resemblance to the languid rhythms of Iranian cinema than Head On or other recent emanations from the Turkish new wave, Climates charts the slow, painful dissolution of a marriage.
The battle for dominance of the Christmas market is hotting up, with the runner-up in this year's Britain's Got Talent contest, Susan Boyle, going straight to No.1 in the Irish album charts this week.
The 'Live at the Rockpalast' series of DVDs seem to be going down well in Germany, with Thin Lizzy's charting at number five and Rory Gallagher's shooting to the top of the music DVD charts
Over the past year or two, the minty fresh blast of guitary poppy punk in the charts has induced delight among the jilted generation. Green Day, Offspring, Blink 182 et al have all knocked a few teeny bands out of the top ten.
Crashing guitars and nice melody lines abound here, as Lit become the latest American power poppers to pound their way across the Atlantic and into the charts.
On paper, On A Clear Day sounds like a sure-fire bet for dreariest movie of the year. Set in Glasgow (here we go) against a backdrop of mourning, shipyard closure and barfly depression, Gaby Dellal’s debut feature charts Peter Mullan’s quest for post-redundancy dignity by swimming the English Channel.
The verse-chorus-verse brigade will find themselves cut adrift but there is a real maverick musical genius at work here, after all this is the man who made an album of sampled football charts with Tackhead and called it The English Disease
Based on the book Goodbye Bafana: Nelson Mandela, My Prisoner, My Friend, the film charts the unlikely friendship between Robben Island’s most famous inmate and the official who censored his letters.
A quarter of a century since they topped the album charts and ruled the airwaves with their distinctive brand of West Coast pop/rock, not much has changed in the Fleetwood Mac camp.
Forty years since she belted her way to the top of the charts with a raucous version of the Isley Brothers’ ‘Shout’, the former teen soul singing sensation somehow manages to stave off the ravages of age.
A BIOPIC of the renowned cellist Jacqueline du Pre, based on her sister's book A Genius in the Family, this worthy but less-than-pleasant psychodrama charts the parallel lives of supertalented, tortured Jackie (Emily Watson) and her quietly-spoken sister Hilary (Rachel Griffiths).
Robbie Williams has a hell of a lot to answer for. Nowadays, every trained chump in the charts feels that they too can have a stab at credible solo stardom (and bagging an unspeakable amount of money from a major label).
THEY'VE HAD more hits than Madness, were the first reggae group to top the charts in the U.S. (with 'Red Red Wine') and have been the unofficial 'international ambassadors of reggae' for over a decade and a half now.
Let’s face it, we all love the Puerto Rican heart-throb that answers to the name Ricky; well, in small doses. In summer '99, 'Livin' La Vida Loca' lit up the charts as one of the finest sunshine and kookiness hits in recent years.
Tracks like ‘Nine Million Bicycles’ and ‘Halfway Up The Hindu Kush’ could easily trouble charts the world over; indeed virtually all the tracks are the epitome of radio-friendliness.
Buck 65’s last album, Talkin’ Honky Blues, was something approaching a revelation, proof that hip-hop could still be a potent, astonishing force. It was never going to top the charts or thrust its author onto MTV but it did promise much for the future, a promise that Secret House Against The World resolutely fails to deliver on.
Adapted by Christopher Nolan and his brother Jonathan from Christopher Priest’s novel about two competing magicians in turn-of-the-20th-century London, The Prestige charts the fortunes of suave Robert Angier (Hugh Jackman) and working-class runt Alfred Borden (Christian Bale).
Just Jack deserves better than to be dismissed as a one-hit wonder. Given the fickle nature of the pop charts these days, however, there’s a serious risk he might be remembered only for the novelty hit ‘Starz In Their Eyes’.
THERE WERE two Irish records in the UK club charts simultaneously for the first time ever recently. As Belfast boy Wand’s remix of Dubliner Kerri Ann’s ‘Do You Love Me Boy’ slipped from number 27 to number 29, Northern duo Agnelli & Nelson crashed straight in at number five.
Okay, it's not me or any of the other 1300 Ambassador ticket-holders who've been all over the charts like a rash recently, but that doesn't stop Snow Patrol's top 5 breakthrough feeling like a personal victory.
Fantastic Playroom sounds exactly like it sounds: often cute, occasionally lurid, always novel, a record with one eye on the alt-style supplements, the other on the charts.
David Kitt [pictured right], The Frank And Walters, The Walls and Royseven are among the artists who have been selected to have their videos made, in a special programme run by New York University, in association with Hot Press. Royseven's recently released debut album, The Art Of Insincerity, entered the Irish album charts at No.17 this week.
If, as the coolest of the cool are prone to say, grunge is dead, nobody has told it. More importantly, nobody's informed all the common folk who, at least in the States, are pushing Pearl Jam's Ten into its eighty-third week on the Billboard Album Charts.
Since new Radicals, currently the golden-bollocked boys of the American overground, are so fond of irony, they might like the fact that they strongly remind me of all those Scottish and northern English soulboys who dominated the UK charts around 1987-1988 (Hue & Cry, Danny Wilson, Deacon Blue, The Kane Gang, The Blow Monkeys et al).
There's a new star in the charts tonight, and throughout the land there is much rejoicing (especially in some of the more fashionable areas of London). One of punks more pathetic jokes, Adam Ant, forsakes his past of seedy night clubs.
IN THE benighted 1980s, the charts were full of whites trying to sound black: anti-rock outpourers like Mick Hucknall, Annie Lennox, Hue ... Cry, Bono, Kevin Rowland, all baring their beige-coloured souls, wasting their time in slavish imitation of James Brown, Curtis Mayfield et al.
Having debuted at Number One in the UK album charts last week, it would appear that working-class Coventry trio The Enemy are now officially the next big thing.
The Aftermath are the first rock band from Longford ever to hit the charts. But right now, they live in Mullingar, the new happening epicentre of rock’n’roll.
Another one from the archives: in a feature from 1987 – as Michael Jackson releases Bad – Neil McCormick charts the phenomenal career of the enigmatic star.
Twelve months ago The Cranberries were unknown outside of the hippest rock circles, now with the platinum success of Everybody Else Is Doing It, So Why Can’t We? they stand as the first Irish band to genuinely crack America since U2.-Much of the media attention given to them has focussed on Dolores O’Riordan, a singer whose unique approach to her craft underlines the defiantly independent path the group has trodden all the way to the top of the Billboard charts. Here she talks to JOE JACKSON about what by any standards has been a perfect year. Pix: Michael Quinn.
No, we're not taking the piss. Click below to hear a 30 second sampler of the star belting out a cover of 'I Fought The Law' from the soundtrack of his latest movie, Intermission...
The release of her second album Blue Planet should prove beyond all reasonable
doubt that DONNA LEWIS is no One Hit Wonder.
Interview: BARRY GLENDENNING.
He may have been beaten out of sight by Robson & Jerome, Wet Wet Wet, Lionel Richie and Unchained Melody , but Chris De Burgh was the undisputed star of Channel 4 s Top 10 Hits: Love Songs. BARRY GLENDENNING reports.
A DCFE initiative will provide a boost for Irish acts, while offering students an insight into what’s involved in releasing an album. words Jackie Hayden
The Thrills blamed for after-match riot, the word 'me' has been banned from songtitles that will be played on RTE, and who'd win a fight between Paddy Casey and Glen Hansard.
Another decade, another series: Hot Press goes behind the scenes of cult TV show Reeling in the Years to find out what’s going to make the final cut in Reeling in the Noughties.
It’s hard to believe, we know, but occasionally Dave Fanning likes to put his feet up and switch off from the outside world. Who would have thought, though, that he’d have such an interest in kitchen renovation?
The hype parade doesn't interest Carlow's finest, 79 Cortinaz. Whether it's cold-calling record stores or hand delivering CDs, they'd rather take a grassroots journey to the top.
COLM O HARE talks to EMBRACE frontman DANNY McNAMARA about the band s new album, their fondly remembered Glastonbury performance and being told to sound more like Shed Seven .
All told, the last ten action-packed years have seen Mary Black release nine solo albums - from her eponymous debut Mary Black through to the recent chart topper The Holy Ground. Here Chris Donovan takes a retrospective look at what's on offer - and concludes that herein lies the true meaning of the words Black Magic.
White-boy soulsters daryl hall and john oates have returned to keep America safe for accomplished, slick R n B and they re still packing in the punters after all these years. Interview: colm o hare.
Following up one of the biggest dance choons of 2008 couldn’t have been an easy task for cosmically-minded production duo SIMIAN MOBILE DISCO. Maestro primate number one Jas Shaw puts it down to a little bit of crafty collaborating and a lot of vintage *nsync records.
Kenny Rogers has been having hits since high school back in his native Houston. Ahead of his appearance at Ballinlough Castle, he looks back at his early inspirations and reflects on a long procession of hit records that have endeared him to rock, pop, soul and country audiences.
With the publication of U2 By U2, the band have finally got to tell the story of their success from their own perspective. It’s got some great pictures too.
She first caught our ears as the breathy vocalist covering ‘Let’s Dance’ on the Ballygowan ad, but Miss Paula Flynn now has her own album of original songs on release.
Noise terrorists Paranoid Visions have had their first hit record after 30 years. Is this mere carelessness or part of a cunning plan to subvert the nation?
Prior to their recent Dublin gig, THE BLUETONES talked to NADINE O REGAN about the fickleness of fame, artistic integrity, America and the dangers of sausage sponsorship!
Set in Dublin on the day that Ballymun flats were demolished, Danny and Chantelle (Still Here) is a modern love story for a modern Ireland, says playwright Philip McMahon.
They’re the YouTube sensations who have parlayed a novelty hit into a proper pop career. The Rubberbandits talk about riding, rhyming and the fashionista potential of plastic bags.
Gregg Allman is a true American music legend, steeped in the country, blues, gospel and soul of his Deep South birthplace. Both as a solo artist and as a key member of the Allman Brothers Band, he has survived five decades of performing and recording despite enduring the kind of tragedies that would sink most musicians.
Although still in their teens, the career of English popsters the Sugababes has been more eventful than most bands twice their age. Co-founder Mutya Buena tells us how they pulled through the dark times and why she’s pleasantly shocked at the NME’s coverage of the band
Having done serious box-office damage in the States, Our Lady Peace are now looking to conquer Europe. Mainman Raine Maida tells Patrick Hedlund why failure is not an option
A sister group whose family name begins with ‘C’ – little wonder that The Conways are being compared to you-know-who. Find out what’s different about the Sligo foursome.
1980s heroes Echo And The Bunnymen have pulled off the seemingly impossible - they ve made a credible, well-received comeback. Interview: peter murphy.
Still most famous in this part of the world for ‘Gangsta’s Paradise’, la rapper Coolio has certainly kept himself busy in the eight years since that hit. Movies, charity work and an appearance on Open House are all in a day’s work for the artist formerly known as Artis Leon Ivey Jr.
A brace of new albums from Lambchop suggests the soundbyte generation is ready for something more substantial. Eamon Sweeney talks it out with Kurt Wagner.
Back in the late ‘70s Colm Henry was house photographer to an up-and-coming Dublin combo called U2. Ahead of a new exhbition of his photographs of the band, he talks about their early years, and how the fab four were always learning.
Well, skip a light fandango if it isn’t The Pale, back with a new EP after the long absence that followed their massive contribution to the Irish rock scene of the early nineties. The Final Garden sees them re-emerge as a sturdier yet looser musical unit than of yore.
The future in nifty twelve-point type, summoned for you out of the ether by the Oracle of Hot Press, the redoubtable, all-powerful, spookily omniscient, scarily prescient, frighteningly knowledgeable but really quite friendly when you get to know him, Old Hayden. Read it and live better
Scottish alt. rockers Biffy Clyro released an ambitious double-disc album, Opposites, to widespread acclaim earlier this year. Within weeks it topped the charts. Ahead of their Dublin O2 gig, Jonny Rothwell talks to lead singer Simon Neil about his attraction to the dark side and his affinity for Irish fans...
Tired of mind games, Everything Everything now look to tug the heart strings. Singer Jonathan Higgs talks big gestures, inertia in rock, living forever as a computer and, as Arc rockets up the charts, admits that he's not too embarrassed to purchase a record with his face on the cover.
Back from hiatus and ready to rock once more, Matchbox Twenty have just topped the charts Stateside. Guitarist Kyle Cook explains how his move behind the desk helped shape his band’s first record in ten years.
Between solo records, fooling the press and penning his first novel, it’s a wonder that Kele Okereke had the time to reform Bloc Party, who with their fourth album, have just cemented their status as one of Britain’s finest guitar bands. With the record in question riding high in the charts, the frontman opens up to Celina Murphy about splitting up, getting back together and everything in between.
It’s true what they say; it’s a long way to Tipperary, especially when you’ve come via LA, Wembley Arena and the top of the charts. After five years as the green-eyed Irish beauty in heart-stealing pop phenomenon The Saturdays, Una Healy is plotting a homecoming gig in her old haunt of Thurles… and she’s bringing the other five (yes, five!) Saturdays with her.
Armed with an album that looks set to steamroll its way into the charts and hearts of the world, Edwin McFee meets up with NI’s latest success story The Japanese Popstars to talk about mainstream acceptance, signing to a major label, why Lisa Hannigan isn’t as bad a dancer as you’d imagine, and the joys of working with The Cure’s Robert Smith.
With a back-story straight out of a lurid true life documentary, soul-jazz sensation Rumer certainly has a lot to talk about. With her debut album storming the charts she talks about the shock of discovering the true identity of her father, her years in the wilderness as a struggling singer-songwriter and coming to terms with the fact her number one fan was slap happy British politician John Prescott.
Suddenly it’s safe to listen to Irish ballads again. The once-moribund genre has been rejuvenated by The High Kings who are currently playing to full houses and their second album Memory Lane is nestling in the charts. Jackie Hayden gets the how and the why from the band’s Martin Furey.
As their long-awaited second album crashes into the US charts at number one, Vampire Weekend's Ezra Koenig talks about Afro-beat, their love of The Edge’s guitar playing and their debt to the great soundtrack composers – and explains that the charges of cultural carpetbagging rested at their doorstep are unwarranted.
Tinchy Stryder is the fast-talking Star In The Hood who’s pretty much dominated the charts in 2009 with a nagging brand of infectious hip hop. Hot Press caught up with the Prince Of Grime to see if we can figure out his formula for Number Ones.
They’ve been heralded as the biggest thing in Irish rock since U2 – a prediction that proved prescient when The Script romped to the top of the charts with their debut album.
She's the multi-platinum artist you won't read about in the tabloids. AMY MACDONALD explains how she managed to top the charts without becoming famous.
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?
Having undergone a punishing regime of drink, drugs and debauchery during Guns N’ Roses’ heyday, few thought that iconic guitar-slinger Slash would ever again venture out into the mainstream rock arena. But having put together a motley crew of collaborators in Velvet Revolver, he’s now back at No. 1 in the album charts and rocking harder than ever.
Susanna Clarke’s debut novel, the epic Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell, is putting new blood into new magic, not to mention proving something of a sensation on the bestseller charts.
A year ago they were being paid fifty quid a gig, now they’re one of the biggest rock ‘n’ roll bands on the planet and about to take the Oxegen main stage by storm. A pun loving Stuart Clark discovers how Franz Ferdinand have become Top of the Fops.
Having dominated the charts here for the past ten years, Ash are gearing up for a full-scale invasion of America. Stuart Clark dons his hard hat as Tim, Mark, Rick and Charlotte tell him about their new record of mass destruction Meltdown, and the A-list celebrity company they’ve been keeping in the city of angels.
While 2004 has not been an especially spectacular year to date, there is good reason to believe that rocks big guns are likely to deliver the kind of records that will revive spirits in the industry. Chris Donovan previews some of the albums that are likely to top the sales – and the critical – charts before 2004 is out...
While 2004 has not been an especially spectacular year to date, there is good reason to believe that rocks big guns are likely to deliver the kind of records that will revive spirits in the industry. Chris Donovan previews some of the albums that are likely to top the sales – and the critical – charts before 2004 is out...
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.
It is five years since rapper TUPAC SHAKUR was gunned down on the streets of las vegas in a gangland-style shooting that took place on September 7, 1996. Since then he has become the subject of one of modern music’s most bizarre death cults, as he continues to sell millions of records and to top charts all over the world. but behind his death lies a story of hip-hop babylon – a sordid tale of intrigue, egos, drugs, sex, intimidation, violence – and, almost by the way, some great and enduring music.
By PETER MURPHY
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
With Lights Of The City, underground faves JUBILEE ALLSTARS have finally made the album they ve always talked about. And they re still talking about disappearing Dublin, real Irish pop, love songs, dinner parties and much more. words: EAMON SWEENEY. Star Charts: Declan English
A new compilation album charts DONAL LUNNY s extraordinary musical journey to date but Colm O'Hare finds that the COOLFIN founder still has his eye fixed firmly on challenges to come
Once he cleaned up in the charts, now he s cleaned up himself. Bruised but unbroken, MARC ALMOND is back and busy on all fronts. And, whisper it, there s even talk of SOFT CELL reforming. Interview: NICK KELLY.
It's been 33 years since Belfast girl Ruby Murray topped the UK charts with 'Softly Softly'. Since then, the female singers from the North have rarely scored internationally. Dana last hit the top 50 in '79. Newry stomper Clodagh Rodgers wowed Eurovision in '71 with her hot pants and a rendition of the oompah crowd-pleaser 'Jack In The Box'. And, er, that's about
Siobhan MacGowan s debut album Chariot confirms that the sister of you-know-who is a force to be reckoned with in her own right. Here she tells Joe Jackson how her music charts an emotional journey from darkness into light. Pix: COLM HENRY
As soul-pop heavyweights M People gear up for another assault on the charts and a brief Irish tour, Nick Kelly shoots the breeze with their well-travelled Mancunian music maestro, Mike Pickering.
In the second and final part of his exploration of the Secret Sexual History of Elvis Presley, joe jackson describes the king s prowess as a peak performer, reveals the great loves of his life, and charts his sordid, sad and ultimately tragic decline and fall.
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.
With a herd of their fellow Bostonians stampeding the charts and a fine new album Big Red Letter Day to their credit, BUFFALO TOM seem especially primed to cash in on the commercial success that has been dangled teasingly in front of their faces for years. But are they too normal to be
rock 'n' roll stars? LORRAINE FREENEY tracked the band in London with that very question in mind.
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.
Dublin is a shithole basically! that's the opinion of Kevin Shields, one of the two Irish members of My Bloody Valentine, who quit the fair city six years ago because of what they saw as the stifling atmosphere of the place. Since then they've lived and gigged all over Europe and their 1988 album Isn't Anything has put them on top of the critical approval lists and independent charts. Here, taking a break from their US tour, the band reflect on their art, their careers and what they see as the general awfulness of the Irish music scene. Interview: Helena Mulkearns
From small-time ramshackle punk'n'Irish troubadours to 'international touring act' in the space of six incident-packed years, The Pogues have not only produced music to consistently surprise and delight - they've put it in the charts too! With the help of band members Phil Chevron and Jem Finer, Bill Graham examines The Pogues' enigma in advance of the outfit's impending Christmas single 'Yeah, Yeah, Yeah, Yeah, Yeah' (phew!) and their seasonal show at The Point Depot in Dublin.
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
Come Into The Garden
Colm O'Hare meets Fionnuala Sherry, the only Irish person to win the Eurovision for Norway and half of new age superstar group Secret Garden
Following the implosion of Suede, drummer Simon Gilbert quit the rock'n'roll business and moved to Thailand, only to hook up with a pair of fellow ex-pats, making big music under the Futon banner.
He's been painted as a loud-mouthed yob but The Courteeners' Liam Fray is actually a complete sweetheart - so long as you don't ply him with liquor and encourage him to slag his rivals.
Having released his debut mixtape, The Travelling Man, late last year and collaborated with Professor Green in January, Wexford rapper Maverick Sabre is getting his sunblock and wellies ready to play Europe’s biggest festivals this Summer.
jasper carrott's days as a director of Birmingham City FC may be long gone, but despite having some 20 successful years in the comedy business behind him, there are still some people out there who haven't forgiven the Brummie for his 1975 single 'Funky Moped'/'Magic Roundabout'.
Interview: Barry Glendenning.
With the huge success of his sophomore album and a brand new masterwork in the offing, 2004 has been a capital year for US singer-songwriter and adopted son of Eire, Josh Ritter.
Donegal three-piece The Revs have in two short years become one of the country's most successful independent outfits, but, as Nadine O'Regan discovers, the majors are beckoning
Nada Surf frontman Matthew Caws is not your archetypal rock star. Instead of pouring his pennies into a shiny red cock-on-wheels with a black leather interior, this sensibly-minded young buck claims the best way to travel is, in fact, the humble bicycle.
From punk princess to MTV starlet to French warbler, it’s been a long strange journey for Belinda Carlisle. But right now, what she really wants to do is open a donkey sanctuary.
Having scored huge chart success with the dance anthem ‘Maniac’, acclaimed Irish DJ Mark McCabe is now broadening his musical horizons with his intriguing debut album, Music From The Fourth Place.
IARLA O LIONAIRD has a new star-studded solo album out but the Afro Celt Sound System continue to teach him that music can be enjoyable and not just sublime . Interview: Colm O'Hare
Never mind CD:UK, Top Of The Pops and Later With Jools – you really know you’ve made it when the phone rings and it’s Sparks telling you they love you. Stuart Clark hears about the irresistible rise of Glasgow hotshots Franz Ferdinand.
rob thomas is cautiously optimistic that his multi-million selling outfit, matchbox 20, will not succumb to the Hootie syndrome. Interview: colm o'hare.
COLM O HARE speaks to Fran Healy and Dougie Payne of TRAVIS about ongoing success, irritating Radiohead comparisons and avoiding the nightmare of 9-5 existence.
As rock’n’roll’s finest get ready to remake ‘Do They Know It’s Christmas?’ Colm O’Hare talks to the man who kickstarted it and numerous other hits, Midge Ure.
Taking the best – or at least, the most over-the-top – pieces of KLF, Slayer and Radiohead, Enter Shakarai are the hottest thing on eight legs at the moment.
Perennial chart favourites of the early to mid ‘80s, Madness remain adored by their fans. Flying trumpeter Chas Smash explains why he wouldn’t change a thing.
His tearful acoustic ballads have become a phenomenon. In a forthright interview José González discusses his terror of writing lyrics and meeting Craig David and tells of his parents’ flight from oppression.
When five-year-old Michael Stafford was uprooted from his life in Hackney to a new home in County Wexford, it seemed unlikely that the wee innovator would be getting nods from the Beeb and selling out shows in London’s finest hip-hop establishments at just 19 years of age. Celina Murphy hops on the MAVERICK SABRE bandwagon.
LCD Soundsystem's frontman James Murphy talks about working with Justin Timberlake, his Cork ancestors and recalls the time he almost hooked up with Arcade Fire
Just because you’re not “slapping a bitch” or “shooting people” doesn’t mean you’re a “christian rap act”. DJ Nu-Mark of Jurassic 5 makes the case for the defence.
She’s already an eccentric treasure in her native Australia and now she’s ready to take on the world. More importantly, Megan Washington is ready to conquer Ireland.
Top 20 singles, festival gigs – Boy Kill Boy have come a long way from the East End. But they know where they really want to end up – lovely Mullingar.
Dublin-raised soul singer Helena Jesele gives us the scoop on her upcoming debut album, tells us about her childhood in Ireland and explains how the nuns — yes, the nuns — partially inspired her current career.
Fresh from the success of ‘Shrooms, in which she has a leading role, Lindsey Haun shoots the breeze about music, film and growing up as the daughter of a soft-rock legend.
They're rocky in a drum 'n' bass sort of a way, and will be right at home in November when they play Ireland. Lauren Murphy meets Pendulum's Gareth McGrillen
placebo have probably garnered more column inches in the British press for frontman
brian molko s effeminate appearance than for their music.
colm o hare meets the men who want to be a band that parents hate .
No, the term “sexy tech” doesn’t refer to the HP design department; it’s Philadelphia producer King Britt‘s mission to put the hip-shake back into techno under The Nova Dream Sequence banner.
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.
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.
Coldplay, White Stripes, Strokes, Queens, Garbage, Oasis, JJ72, Franz... With a whole slew of major albums in the pipeline, it looks like ‘05 will be the wrong year to kick that addiction to noise.
UNLESS YOU’VE BEEN FREQUENTING THE LATE-NIGHT HOSTELRIES OF DUBLIN, YOU’RE UNLIKELY TO HAVE HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO ENGAGE IN A BATTLE OF WITS, ER, MANO A MANO, WITH ACE QUIZ MASTER GEORGE “I KNOW A LOT MORE THAN YOU DO” BYRNE. WORRY NOT. THAT’S WHAT THE HOT PRESS QUIZ OF THE YEAR IS FOR. NOW GO FOR IT. SECONDS OUT!
No, she doesn’t hate Tim Wheeler but yes, she does look up her own chart position first. A solo Charlotte Hatherly on Bowie, Star Wars and life with and without Ash.
englebert humperdinck s legendary career stretches over the past 30 years. Now, however, it s reinvention ahoy! as he releases . . . a dance album. adrienne murphy meets The King Of Romance and is told she has a beautiful handshake .
Simon Napier-Bell is one of the most successful managers in UK pop history. In preparation for his appearance in Mindfield at Electric Picnic, he talks to Olaf Tyaransen.
Irish teen popsters B*WITCHED last month became only the seventh act in chart history to see their debut single go straight in at Number One in the UK Top 40. Are they the latest great white hope for pop music, or simply a troupe of over-hyped cod-ceili dancers? And what does all this signify for the Irish music industry as a whole? peter murphy reports.
They knock out a critically-adored album every year, they pack out venues from Texas to Toyko, and, just in case you need any more convincing, One Direction are fans; the unsinkable Bombay Bicycle Club chat to Hot Press about the perils of fame.
They’ve sold millions of records but don’t expect to find Beautiful South frontman Paul Heaton breaking out in a grin. Unless England have been stuffed at football.
In 2011, stars didn’t come much bigger than Adele and Bon Iver. Now meet a band who’ve already got both artists in their fan club. The Alabama Shakes are a soulful blues and rock outfit from – you guessed it! – Alabama, who’ve already earned themselves a devoted following, despite forgoing every pop trend in the book.
They’re one of the most buzzed about dance acts on the planet right now. So what the hell are The Count and Sinden doing signing with indie mainstay Domino?
Venturing across the pond for his first London headline show since his days with A House Dave Couse was delighted, and not a little surprised, to play to a packed house. Might his stop-start solo career finally be gathering momentum?
The Cranberries and They Do It With Mirrors
Kevin Barry looks at a dilemma which has baffled many Irish bands – and reports on how two of Limerick’s finest have responded
The Cranberries and They Do It With Mirrors
Kevin Barry looks at a dilemma which has baffled many Irish bands – and reports on how two of Limerick’s finest have responded.
16 years after recording one of the definitive hard rock albums, MEAT LOAF takes a return trip to hell and brings STUART CLARK along with him for the ride.
John Walshe talks to World Party mainman Karl Wallinger about his quest for independence, his growing profile as a songwriter and his plans for a new online news channel
John Walshe meets Paul and Ashley from The Frank & Walters and hears all about their latest album, Beauty Becomes More Than Life, why they don t want to go to posh parties and how major labels take all the fun out of being in a band.
John Walshe talks to the most exciting British band of the year, the decidedly Latin-monikered Gomez about their meteoric rise to fame and how shaggy-haired studenty types are suddenly going for the boy band look.
Summer time, and the record stores are going to be full to bursting with some cracking albums across all genres. John Walshe examines the hottest album releases set to hit the shelves
As one fifth of The Spice Girls, Melanie C had already sold 55 million records by the time she was 24, not to mention the 12 million she flogged afterwards as a solo artist. These days, things are a teensy bit harder, but the artist formerly known as Sporty reckons girl power is still alive and well
With Kid Rock, Eminem and D12, Detroit has challenged the supremacy of east coast and west coast hip-hop acts.
COLM WALSH caught up with D12’s Kuniva and Wendy Case of the Detroit news to find out what’s going on.
Italian-born multi-instrumentalist antoni o'breskey considers Ireland to be his spiritual home, so much so that he changed the spelling of his name just for us. siobhán long finds out more.
With heroin use spreading beyond Dublin, the country faces a new outbreak of drug addiction. But does the government have the will to tackle the crisis before it spins out of control?
The Dublin Theatre Festival is fast approaching its 50th anniversary, but the organisers haven’t let anticipation of next year distract them from the task in hand. There’s a rake of quality shows to check out over the coming weeks, from Ibsen to Leonard Cohen.
Honorary Irish actress Anne-Marie Duff talks to Tara Brady about her new movie, Imagine This, which takes a fascinating look at the formative years of one of the most iconic musicians of all time, John Lennon.
Cast as fictional conjoined twins who start their own punk band Harry and Luke Treadaway have delivered one of the year’s funniest and most moving performances in the mocumentary Brothers Of The Head.
Currently riding the crest of a wave following the unexpected chart success of ‘Danger! High Voltage’, Electric Six frontman Dick Valentine here puts paid to those rumoured Jack White/Bill Clinton collaborations.
Hot Press visited BellX1 in their city-centre studio, where the group are working on the follow-up to Music In Mouth. “There’s been a lot less fuck-acting this time around,” they tell John Walshe. Photo: Liam Sweeney
The suggestion that Roy Keane lost the dressing-room at Sunderland has been questioned by England legend Peter Beardsley who also talks about Paul Gascoigne’s woes, Paul McGrath and the tackle that gave the world a glimpse of his tackle!
Ten years after his last solo album, and twenty years after he formed Frankie Goes To Hollywood, Holly Johnson is back with a new album and a new outlook on life. Interview: RICHARD BROPHY.
He helped invent synth-pop and is famous for his huge open-air shows. Now Jean-Michel Jarre is going back to basics to reprise his landmark Oxygene album.
The cultural fallout of the economic meltdown and the primacy of art and music in Irish life will be two of the subjects up for debate when writer Joseph O’Connor and musician/filmmaker Philip King get together at the Peacock Theatre in Dublin
How did a young girl from the Yorkshire depths end up starring in two back-to-back Irish movies? JODIE WHITTAKER talks about channelling her inner Celt for Swansong: The Occi Byrne Story
The legacy of a punk great is scrutinised in a new documentary Joe Strummer: The Future Is Unwritten. Filmmaker Julien Temple explains what motivated him to make a movie about his old friend.
Jackie Hayden looks back over the career of the legendary soul singer Wilson Pickett who died last month, and talks to Andrew Strong about the man’s impact on his own career.
DISCO PIGS stars, CILLIAN MURPHY and ELAINE CASSIDY, tell CRAIG FITZSIMONS about how they were drawn to the intense relationship and Cork patois of Pig and Runt
Mary Coughlan returns to Midnight At The Olympia on February 4th, but this time it's with an unreserved optimistic outlook, and the determination to put all her troubles behind her. Interview Lorraine Freeney
Nope, it’s not a Jim Morrison tribute; it’s an initiative which sees musicians such as The Blizzards, Neosupervital, Julie Feeney, Roesy and Brian Palm design a special set of doors.
Based in Glasnevin and founded by producer Mark Hadfield, businessman Chris Hehir and Brian McFadden, Chilli Studios proves that home digital recording hasn't yet usurped state of the art commercial studios.
One of the most hotly anticipated events at the Galway Comedy Festival is the show featuring stand-up comedian from the characters of Father Ted. Jackie Hayden talks to the evening's host Frank Kelly, a.k.a Father Jack.
She’s been beaten up and bruised by the record industry but now, after a multitude of set-backs, Luane Parle is finally getting her career on track. She talks about the long road to redemption.
He's resident DJ at Mr. C's End club, records for the End label, runs his own Plank stamp, and, with fellow co-Ender Layo makes some rather fine music as the Usual Suspects. He's Matthew B, and he's here to talk to Digital Beat. Interrogating the suspect: Richard Brophy.
He’s the electric fiddle playing bad boy who claims Foals as an influence and found fame via-reality television. No, you haven’t seen anyone quite like Daithí Ó Drónaí before!
He’s the classic indie shyboy who quit music to become a bingo announcer because he can't bear the rock 'n' roll gossip mill. Now Jens Lekman is back with his finest album yet words.
She's the red-haired electro-pop debutante of the year. La Roux frontwoman Elly Jackson talks about her love of the 80s and tells us why Blur were the only decent rock band of the past 20 years.
Early this month Beat 102-103 opened for business as ireland's first regional radio broadcasting station covering Carlow, Kilkenny, Waterford, Wexford and Tipperary. according to the beat manifesto the station is targeting the 15-34 year old age group with “an upbeat and entertaining programme schedule provided by young presenters, with the aim of giving the youth of the region a service to reflect their tastes and attitudes.
At the tender age of 20, he s already the most successful Irish DJ ever. Mark Kavanagh chats to Fergie, the first Irish DJ tipped for Premier League superstardom.
Roo are confident, savvy and unflinching in their aim to make remarkable music. There s something about their looks and attitude that remind you of George Best in 68: blessed with handy skills and unfazed by older, less talented rivals. Roo are the best new prospect from these parts. They can be funny, too.
The Walls are about to embark on their most extensive Irish tour yet, including their biggest Dublin gig to date at the Ambassador and may be about to finally break the bank
A compilation, a new album in the works, more distressing rumours about Richey and the prospect of the greatest football song ever – Eamon Sweeney finds Nicky Wire of Manic Street Preachers with plenty to talk about
The Walls are about to embark on their most extensive Irish tour yet, including their biggest Dublin gig to date at the ambassador and may be about to finally break the bank
Evoking the surrealism of Flann O’Brien and the social heft of John McGahern PAUL MURRAY’s Skippy Dies has been hailed an instant classic and bagged a Booker Prize long list nomination. The author looks ahead to his spoken-word appearance at Electric Picnic.
Kevin Rowland, whose Dexy's Midnight Runner's album Don't Stand Me Down has just been re-released in a radically new version tells Stephen Robinson "Never say never" when asked about a possible Dexy's reunion
Surviving the exit of Darren Emerson, as well as various personal traumas and professional challenges, Underworld have re-emerged with their most positive album yet in 100 Days Off
In the instant world of pop music, it would be fair to say that life can be a bit of a rollercoaster – as some of our homegrown teenybop maestros discovered in 2001. But WESTLIFE and SAMANTHA MUMBA are still riding high.
BY STEPHEN ROBINSON
UK white hopes mansun have toned down their visual image but their music remains as defiantly maverick and angular as ever. Interview: deirdre cartmill.
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
The vibrant Leeside comedy scene has a new young man in a hurry. Ahead of his first visit to Edinburgh Chris Kent talks about cracking them up down south.
Donegal rockers The Revs have been ensconced in Malmo’s prestigious Yellow Studios for the last three months working on the eagerly anticipated follow-up to Suck. Steve Cummins joins the group in Malmo for an exclusive listen to what many expect to be their breakthrough album.
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.
Being dropped by a major has helped THERAPY? relocate their soul. The result is shameless – “a very simple punk rock’n’roll record,” says ANDY CAIRNS proudly.
Interview: PHIL UDELL
Having survived their initial mauling at the hands of the British music press, Asia-obsessed psychedelists KULA SHAKER have returned for a second innings. Frontman CRISPIAN MILLS lays off the poppadoms for long enough to chat to JACKIE HAYDEN about his band's new album, Strangefolk.
He’s Tom Baxter’s kid brother, huge in France and Peter Gabriel is such a fan he signed him to his record label. Ladies and gentlemen meet CHARLIE WINSTON, the latest UK crooner set to capture Irish hearts.
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.
He may have just re-launched his stuttering acting career with a charming Ken Loach rom-com but that’s not to say Eric Cantona has lost any of his zen instructability.
She’s come from nowhere to be a European-wide chamber pop phenomenon, a veritable Bjork for the dinner party set. But Agnes Obel confesses that overnight success has come at a heavy price.
When glam popsters Slade released a movie in 1974, they were widely assumed to have made a Hard Days Night-style lark. In fact Slade In Flame was an acid-bath satire of the music industry. Singer Noddy Holder looks back at the controversy.
Inspired by a renewed interest in Christianity, MAIRE BRENNAN of CLANNAD has spread her solo wings again. It s better to be addicted to faith than to drugs, she tells JACKIE HAYDEN
Matisyahu is a rapper with a difference. As a Hassidic Jew he lives a strictly orthodox lifestyle. Whatever you do, don’t describe his music as ‘heeb-hop’.
Once an unwitting part of the punk movement, Squeeze have survived the vagries of fashion to become pop elder statesmen, Stuart Clark takes a trip down south London way and swaps a few yarns - but not spit - with Glenn Tilbrook.
He is best known as a musician and a songwriter, but Nick Kelly has a parallel career as a very successful advertising ‘creative’. So much so, that he was recently asked to be a judge at one of the advertising industry’s big international events, the annual Shark Awards.
A successful novelist, Adrian McKinty had to think long and hard about setting his latest novel in the conflict-riddled Northern Ireland of his youth. He explains how he came to the fateful decision and how his love of ‘80s indie rock shapes his writing...
When DAVID DONOHUE set out to make a television documentary about horse racing he had no idea of just how high the stakes would become.
Reporting: LIAM MACKEY
There are no guarantees of success in the music biz, but if you have what it takes there is plenty of expert help available to ensure you give it your best shot.
US chart-topping rockers tool like nothing better than hob-nobs, baiting journos and calling their children after prog rock bands. stuart clark shares the chocolate biccies
Shakespear s Sister siobhAN FAHEY makes her acting debut in a powerful new short movie that goes to the heart of the Dublin heroin epidemic. Here, she tells craig fitzsimons about the legitimate highs of working in both music and film.
With elections to the Dáil and the Seanad on the way, 2007 is likely to throw up a fresh generation of political contenders. Craig Fitzsimons casts an eye over some of the young guns likely to make a splash.
From a darkened studio in Artane to the bright lights of Top Of The Pops and beyond that 'Orinoco Flow' has taken Enya and all who sail with her on an unprecedented voyage of discovery. Niall Stokes joins the key figures as the flow swells into a torrent of success and is pleased to report that nobody on board is in danger of losing their bearings.
She’s been labeled the Queen of Dubstep, but Katy B is just an old-fashioned pop singer at heart. The Brit school, her Irish roots and nicking tents at the Electric Picnic are all on the agenda as she meets Ed Power
Having lost ground with their extremely difficult second album, CSS have come up with a new record, La Liberación, which returns them to the top of the electro-rock pile. Ed Power talks new beginnings and catsuit chic with Lovefoxx.
Why are the Spice Girls animals ? Why would Crispian Kula Shaker benefit from a hefty spell of National Service? And why should you never trust a hippy? These are just some of the burning issues that Dr. Alex Paterson of The Orb would like to address. Oh yeah, and he also talks about his band s ace new album Orblivion, as well as his exotic, not to say erotic, yesteryear escapades on the road with LL Cool J and Motvrhead. Our man with the shiny black Panasonic tape recorder: jonathan o brien.
After an initial reluctance to tell the outside world about his predicament, author and poet PAT TIERNEY this year went public about his HIV-positive status, and encountered a far more compassionate response than he had anticipated. Interview: LORRAINE FREENEY
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.
When we catch up with Bell X1 frontman Paul Noonan on a fine August afternoon, he’s bracing himself for a grueller of an autumn schedule that will begin with a handful of festival appearances – including an Electric Picnic set – and culminate in full-on month-long European and US tours. Reading dispatches from the band’s recent blogs, it’s apparent that the landscape of modern touring is far from Beat Generation romance and way closer to a Ballardian landscape of endless petrol stations, motorways and ferry docks.
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.
Melbourne born virtuoso classical guitarist John Williams is best known for a pair of unlikely chart hits, one with fusion outfit Sky, the other being 'Cavatina', the theme to Michael Cimino's The Deer Hunter. But beyond the pop spectrum he's enjoyed a long and distinguished career.
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.
From Timeless to Celebrity Big Brother to stopping Esso, and all points in-between – is it any wonder Eamon Sweeney has to ask if the real Goldie would please stand up
I can't say I'm exactly in the Ester Rantzen-league when it comes to caring for other people but something I've just said to Ed O'Brien hasn't so much pricked my conscience as stuck a dirty great big hole in it.
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.
Panic At The Disco frontman Brendon Urie talks about channelling The Beatles, recording at Abbey Road and the influence on their music of Fight Club author Chuck Palahniuk.
Bob Geldof recently received the freedom of the city of Dublin. But three decades ago, when Geldof first crashed the Irish entertainment scene, with his band, The Boomtown Rats, he was a thorn in the side of both politicians and priests in a notoriously conservative country.
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.
Things are on the up and up for Snow Patrol whose long-overdue commercial success means they’re now getting matey with pop divas, soap stars and footballers. Gary Lightbody tells Stuart Clark how it all went right.
The emergence of The Boomtown Rats inspired a new generation of in-your-face Irish bands who re-energised an Irish music scene that has become moribund and predictable.
The sex lives of flamingos may seem an unusual premise for a Disney nature film but documentarians MATTHEW AEBERHAND and LENDER WARD weave cinematic magic from this most unlikely of source materials.
Is the time right for Welsh rock n rollers STEREOPHONICS to cash in on their Brits Best Newcomer award of 1998? It is, explains a frustrated KELLY JONES to BARRY GLENDENNING, but only if they can get out of this fucking airport.
She was the overnight sensation ten years in the making. As she prepares to make her way to Sligo Live KT Tunstall talks about how it’s getting ever harder to sell records, speaking her mind about Shakira and being splashed all over the tabloids.
Boasting sales of 16 million albums, 18 million singles and counting, Canadian chameleon Nelly Furtado dominated pop in the noughties with her highly-marketable, shapeshifting sound. Now, after a six-year absence from chats and yet another trip to the drawing board, she's back. Celina Murphy finds out how on-stage meltdown helped the Grammy-winning singer get her groove back.
He may be able to put more bums on stadium seats down under than INXS but elsewhere no one seems to give a XXXX about Jimmy Barnes. That could all be about to change though as Stuart Clark
discovers when he has his hand broken by Australia's best-kept secret.
It’s that time of year when gongs are being dished out. Guest columnist Rossa O Snodaigh of Kíla makes the case for a change of emphasis. Plus news, gossip and all that jazz.
With the last broadcast up for a Mercury and Slane just around the corner, Jimi Goodwin of Doves is happy to enthuse about Planxty, U2, The Streets and Sean O'Hagan. Just don't call his band "the new Radiohead"
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
Controversial, irreverent, combative, they were the punk band you couldn’t ignore. As they approach their 40th anniversary, The Stranglers remain as vital as ever. Singer and bassist Jean-Jacques Burnel talks exclusively to Hot Press about his difficult relationship with ex-frontman Hugh Cornwell, drummer Jet Black’s health woes and their place in British rock history...
TRACY CHAPMAN S eponymous debut album was one of the biggest sellers of last year more than ten years after its release.
She spoke to PETER MURPHY about her life before and after fame, that album and the race issue.
You’ve never seen them like this before. Now available on DVD with extra features and footage, the new edition of The Beatles Anthology is as close to a definitive visual tale of the band as we’re ever likely to get. Producer Chips Chipperfield tells Colm O’Hare how it came together
She’s New Zealand’s biggest musical star. For her new album, Bic Runga retreats from sunny pop songs in favour of an introspective sound inspired by the death of her father.
An Irish band who don’t entirely fit in at home, Relish can console themslves with a great new album Karma Calling, and an international fanbase that stretches from the U.S. to Japan.
She's swapped her Cardigans for a blanket of mid-life melancholia. From her new home in Harlem, Swedish indie-babe Nina Persson talks about her downbeat new album as A Camp,
hooking up with a former Smashing Pumpkin and why life in a band can be like a prison sentence.
An Irish band who don’t entirely fit in at home, Relish can console themslves with a great new album Karma Calling, and an international fanbase that stretches from the U.S. to Japan.
At a time when the British hip-hop scene is again witnessing extreme violence, COLM WALSH meets MC HARVEY of SO SOLID CREW and discovers how the problem is affecting the UK garage scene
Stuart Clark – himself a black belt in origami – discovers how The Ramones and kickboxing chinese detectives have helped Ash to overcome their sordid heavy metal past and become Top of the Chops.
Neil McCormick’s quest for rock and roll fame has been chronicled in the comedy rock movie Killing Bono. He talks to Roe McDermott about the making of the movie, why Bono told McCormick to kill him – and how naked women and goats played a part in his job interview for Hot Press…
Clive Owen has enjoyed unexpected A-List status thanks to his performances in the likes of Children Of Men, Closer and Inside Man. But as he tells Tara Brady ahead of the release of his new movie The Boys Are Back, for him it’s still all about the script.
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!
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 the behind-the-scenes beat boffin behind Mercury-winners The xx. Here, Jamie xx talks about the experimental vein running through his work and tells us why Britney Spears has gone cutting edge...
Noel Gallagher and Paul Arthurs of Oasis talk about their staggering rise from being unemployed no-hopers to Top Ten chart act striving to outshine T.Rex, The Beatles and Neil Young to name but three and show Tony Clayton-Lea how to order a peanut.
Ahead of their Dublin stop-off this week, The Damned’s Captain Sensible talks to Stuart Clark about longevity, mad Argentine football games, Lemmy and the difficulties of teaching Sid Vicious the bass.
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.”
Now three years in the media spotlight, musical force of nature and icon to a generation of young women Adele opens up about the making of 21, bad relationships and being single.
Did you ever find yourself wondering ‘Where have I heard that song before?’ Well, Andy Darlington may be able to help as he trawls through the tangled undergrowth of that increasingly common phenomenon: The Cover Version
Trip-hop legend Tricky on how he's falling in love with Europe, why he's dying to work with Kylie and why if you live in a rough part of the UK, it's best to carry a knife.
You may recognise this baby-faced entrepreneur as one of the mainstays of the independent Irish music scene, but Dylan Haskins is now hoping to bring his D.I.Y. attitude to Dáil Éireann.
DOMINO RECORDS has released some of the most essential music of the 90 s by the likes of Sebadoh, Palace Brothers, and Elliott Smith. NICK KELLY talks to lynchpin Laurence Bell and one member of the label s current roster, Stephen Pastel of The Pastels.
After suffering from a particularly nasty bout of 'difficult second album' syndrome, GOATS DON'T SHAVE have come up trumps with a record that's destined to take them way beyond their present cult status. PAT GALLAGHER tells COLM O'HARE how they managed to avoid becoming the world's first folk techno band and why doing-it-yourself is definitely the best policy.
In the first part of a major interview conducted at last year’s Music Show in the RDS, BOB GELDOF talks candidly about life as an illegal immigrant in Canada, how the Boomtown Rats took on official Ireland and then went on to duke it out with the Pistols and The Clash, and what triggered his involvement in Live Aid. Plus, a look back at Bob and the Rats on the cover of Hot Press.
Great slogans, great scams, great music and wreckless eric too. 20 years after the label first saw the light of a record shop, richard balls gets some of the key players to reminisce about the glory days of stiff records.
In the middle of the noughties, Scissor Sisters were the biggest, gayest thing in pop. Then they came down with writer’s block and vanished for five years. Now they return to a music scene that has changed utterly...
He s the Godfather of TV-Astronomy. He s not only the size of a minor planet, he even has one named after him. He knows all the secrets of Life, the Universe and Everything. He is Patrick Moore. And now he tells Andy Darlington about his Flying Saucer Close Encounter , his musical input into 2001: A Space Odyssey, why there are no Skating Rinks on the Moon and much more groovy cosmic stuff
Following the leak at the Fukushima reactor, there is a growing feeling that a slow-burning catastrophe may be unfolding. US professor Alexis Dudden insists that something must be done.
It sounds like the stuff of hype and overnight success – from struggling garage band to next big thing and accolades from noel gallagher, morrissey and bono – but even at an average age of 23 The Thrills have paid their dues. Olaf Tyaransen hears how the summer’s hottest band went from worshipping whipping boy to having beck’s da play on their debut album.
GEORGE BYRNE joins the stars of stage turned stars of screen at the CORK FILM FESTIVAL as one band's star-crossed story takes another unexpected turn. Snaps: GEORGE BYRNE.
He predicts rocky times ahead for the economy and says the housing boom is unsustainable. But what’s really troubling David McWilliams is all the flak his latest book has attracted.
As London nu-folk act Noah & The Whale get set to release fourth album Heart Of Nowhere, frontman Charlie Fink sits down with Maeve Heslin to discuss nostalgia, filmmaking, Twitter... and Stag parties!
The High Priest of Soul, AL GREEN is one of the greatest singers this century has known. Coinciding with his recent trail of magnificent shows in Dublin, the mercurial Rev granted this exclusive interview to KARL TSIGDINOS.
Pics: Bernard Walsh.
There are literally hundreds of acts to see at Oxegen 2011. Here, the Hot Press collective goes for broke, picking the ones that you really must not miss during the three day bonanza
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.
Between charming our pants off with their last album, Build a rocket boys!, performing at the London 2012 closing ceremony to an estimated global audience of 750 million, and releasing their long-awaited B-sides collection, art-rock titans elbow simply couldn’t be in a better position to steal the show at this year’s Electric Picnic.
The JD Set is a well-established part of the music calendar. This year there was a difference as the bands taking part visited a rudely-named cave to knock out a racket. Olaf Tyaransen caught up with headliners The Vaccines...
Morrissey of The Smiths has taken the place of both Duran Duran and the Thompson Twins, single-handedly wiping them out, at least on my one increasingly [used] cassette. When I told him whose conversations we were taping over he said, "Good. I'll talk louder then." Not a man to be taken lightly.
One of the finest white soul voices Britain ever produced, Rod Stewart reminisces about the sozzled Faces days, discusses Bob Dylan, his penchant for blondes, and recalls the thyroid cancer that almost robbed him of his voice seven years ago.
[oops this was mis prompted as oxegen video interviews in our e-zine - they're here ]
The co-creator of Lizzy’s trademark dual guitar sound, Scott Gorham remains one of the all-time great rock ‘n’ roll players. Here he talks to Peter Murphy about the other guitarists who’ve passed through the ranks, getting into scraps with Philo and Lizzy’s proud legacy.
The BLUE ANGELS have waited a long, long time for the release of their debut album Coming Out Of Nowhere. Now that this occasion has finally arrived the big question is: what next?
TARA McCARTHY talks to SHANE O'NEILL
With 1993 going down as the year that Irish rock finally emerged from U2’s shadow, HOT PRESS takes an introductory look at four of the rapidly emerging outfits that are poised to make headlines and sell bucket–loads of records in ’94.
Schtum, Ash, Joyrider, Compulsion.
In an age when hype springs eternal, DAVID GRAY is that rare phenomenon a success story scripted by the fans rather than the industry. And a distinctly Irish success story at that. A certifiable platinum-selling box-office blockbuster in this country, the Welsh singer-songwriter still awaits a similar eruption of Gray fever in Britain, Europe and America. But his latest album, White Ladder, could be the record which tells the world what Ireland already knows. Now as he prepares to wow the faithful at Galway s Big Beat festival, JOHN WALSHE presents the inside story of the best kept secret in the west.
Pics Mick Quinn
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
His decision to take care of business may have been a turning point but, at heart, Kieran Goss remains primarily preoccupied with his guitar and his pen.
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 brought the plight of the Guildford Four to the silver screen and shot a weepy film about the Irish diaspora. Now Jim Sheridan has made a movie with the sultan of bling, rap star 50 Cent. It’s all Bono’s fault, he tells Tara Brady.
ENYA: THE LATEST SCORE
From the Gweedore family that gave the world Clannad, another success story in the making. Enya,whose new album featuring music for the forthcoming TV series The Celts , is already making waves months before the programme itself goes on air, is joined by producer Nicky Ryan for a three-way conversation with Bill Graham. Pix:Colm Henry.
He’s the success story of the year and not even your humble Hot Press know-it-alls predicted it – scruffy song and guitar man Ed Sheeran may have just signed his first record deal six months ago, but he’s already shifted a million singles, with album sales not far behind. Celina Murphy meets the 20 year-old folk-rapper to talk fans, Lego and sneaking into Beyoncé’s album launch.
Now on their third album, Kings Of Leon have rubbed shoulders with Bob Dylan, U2 and the Pixies, and can count Led Zep and the Rolling Stones among their fans.
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.
He’s one of the outstanding Irish songwriters of the modern era. Now Paul Brady is taking fans and newcomers alike on an intimate journey, with an album chronicling some of his favourite career moments. Here, he looks back over his extraordinary 45 years in the business, argues that the emerging generation has shot itself in the foot and, controversially, takes the Government to task in relation to copyright
Painter, sculptor, composer and, of course, the all-action hero who got everyone kung-fu fighting. Tailor made for a part in Kill Bill, renaissance man David Carradine discusses his eventful life and times.
Robbie Williams has enjoyed stratospheric success, both with Take That and as a chart-topping solo artist. But he's also experienced the dark side of stardom, wrestling with a variety of demons – and suffering the occasional knock-out blow. Now, with the release of Take The Crown he's determined not just to reclaim his title as pop's heavyweight champion, but to do it in style.
Nearly a decade after the release of their debut single, U2 are widely regarded as the No. 1 rock band in the world. But the album and the film "Rattle And Hum" depict another kind of reality entirely. Larry, Adam and The Edge talk to Niall Stokes.
A hit album, critical acclaim, sell-out shows… everything was going swimmingly for DAVID KITT until a sunday paper made serious allegations about him and his Government Minister Dad. In a gloves-off interview with COLIN CARBERRY, Kittser responds to his detractors and explains why, despite the journalistic flak, 2001 has been a great year
A superb new documentary offers an intriguing portrait of one of the biggest rock bands on the planet. Tara Brady meets the film's director Joe Berlinger (pictured, left with Bruce Sinofsky).
The first Woman’s Heart compilation was released in 1992, spawning an international multi-million sales phenomenon. Now the concept is back with a special CD set Then And Now that links the artists from that ground-breaking release with the latest generation of Ireland’s female singers.
The Smiths: the band who helped re-write the book of guitar rock, the indie darlings who became mainstream legends, the dream of a group which gave the world the unique reality of Morrissey. guitarist Johnny Marr recalls the thrilling heyday of Manchester’s finest.
At just 23, Siniad Lohan is one of the brightest prospects to have appeared on the Irish music scene for some time, with the Woman s Heart stars taking her to their collective bosom not to mention her acclaimed debut album which is nestling comfortably in the Top 10. Siniad an scial: Siobhan Long.
He helped invent disco, funk, r 'n' b and hip-hop. And when he wasn’t changing the face of popular music, Chic leader NILE RODGERS found time to chin-wag with pop’s best, bravest and weirdest. Here he talks about hanging with David Bowie, Slash and Madonna and reveals his oft-overlooked hippy leanings.
Having already conquered Ireland and the UK, SAMANTHA MUMBA is poised to join Britney and Christina at the top of the American pop chart. Not bad for someone who two years ago was fired from a panto by Twink! Now, with her new album Gotta Tell You ready for release, the Dublin singer talks candidly to JOE JACKSON about drugs, sex and the break-up of her parents marriage
From strange days coming second in a yoghurt-sponsored competition and playing awful gigs sandwiched between boy bands, Damien Dempsey, with a little help from Shane, Sinéad and Christy, has survived and thrived. Eamon Sweeney meets a rap balladeer with a hit album, a social conscience and more than a few stories to tell.
JONATHAN O’BRIEN (real name) meets
WREKKED TRAIN DAVE (not real name) of the
LO-FIDELITY ALLSTARS (real name) and finds out how CLAUDIO GENTILE (real name) fits into their chaotic scheme of things.
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
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.
She deserves to be as big as Florence + the Machine. So why is big-eyed pop goth Natasha Khan – aka Bat for Lashes – still a cult singer? With her most anticipated album yet on the way, she talks about her rivalry with Welch, her bouts of self-doubt and her decision to pose (almost) nude on the cover of the new record.
Over a pint of lager, Amanda talks about her debut novel, kissing girls, losing her virginity and explains why it's hard to find a straight man in Dublin.
He’s the theoretical physics graduate turned comedian who conquered mainstream TV. Now Dara O Briain has published his first book, Tickling The English, part tour diary, part travelogue, part historical/sociological treatise. Here he talks about the myth of national identity, the loneliness of the long distance comedian, drink as a creative laxative... and that infamous Tommy Tiernan Electric Picnic interview.
It is every boy's wildest fantasy (bar, perhaps, Brett from Suede) to make a living playing with a fantastically successful football side. Craig Johnston was there, saw that and quit while he was ahead. But he has continued to make his dreams real. Gerry McGovern meets the kangaroo who won't be tied down, sport.
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
Once mobbed as an Irish hybrid of The Beatles, Bob Dylan and George Best in his folk singer days, Johnny McEvoy went on to a lucrative career in the Irish folk-country scene. With a new single recorded with Sharon Shannon, and an RTÉ documentary about his life, he looks back on the highs and lows of the eventful career of a performer who was once called Liam Zimmerman
Although john squire and his new band The seahorses have taken something of a critical mauling following the release of their album Do It Yourself and some less-than-sparkling live shows, the former Stone Roses axeman is surprisingly unperturbed as peter murphy finds out.
The big time came knocking but Jack L said, "No thanks, I’d rather do my own thing." In a revealing interview, he explains why he’d rather be an underground star and tells of how melancholy gets him out of bed every morning.
JJ72 are being cast as the great new hopes of Irish music. Intense, passionate and melodic, their music has captured an increasing number of fans. With a single in the UK Top Thirty and a debut album about to hit the shelves, they tell NIALL STANAGE how good they are and how good they want to be. Portrait of the Artists As A Young Band: MICK QUINN
You cook them, we serve them up in the Q&A cantina. At the table to answer the questions posed, in our second serving this fortnight, by members of hotpress.com: Ash
He’s jammed with Bob Dylan, partied with Keith Moon, sued The Byrds, traded spiky tops with Rod Stewart, had close encounters with Presleys Reg and Elvis and played "name that key" with John Lee Hooker, but arguably the best moment in his life was when he was named small breeder of the year. RON WOOD, the man who would be the queen mum of rock 'n' roll, tells a mean tale.
Words: STUART CLARK. Pictures ROGER WOOLMAN
Known for his hyperactive - even threatening - live performances, Iggy Pop is sure to deliver one of Féile '93's most invigorating performances. Here, with an overview of the ex - Stooge's unconventional career, Hot Press prepares you for what's to come.
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?!
Andy Darlington travels to Manchester to meet the Stone Roses, an outfit who’ve progressed past the point of being just a band to become something altogether bigger...
From pioneering ambient-trad with Clannad, through to her brand new concept album 'Two Horizons', Moya Brennan can now look back on 30 years of lending her voice and harp to some of the most distinctive music ever to come out of Ireland.
In Dublin recently to lend his support to the AIDS Action Alliance all-star Olympic Ballroom bash, Tom Robinson took time out to reflect on his Spokesman For A Generation past, his nervous breakdowns, his sexual re-orientation and his re-embracement of the Quaker faith
One of the most familiar faces and voices in Irish broadcasting, Dave Fanning has interviewed just about every rock and movie star worth knowing. But here Olaf Tyaransen goes behind the public image to unearth some of his more secret history: working with the disgraced “Captain” Cooke; nude interviewing with U2; getting ripped off by the nanny; and much more.
Currently the hottest female property in music, Alicia Keys has come a long way from the little girl whose first record was kermit's 'it's not easy being green'. Admittedly, she's had some serious assistance from heavy friends - including music biz mogul Clive Davis - but mainly she can thank her own prodigious talent and spirit of independence. Matt Diehl hears how Alicia Keys came to share the grammy limelight with U2
When Pulp released the obsessively carnal This Is Hardcore, it was widely touted that the band's main mover, Jarvis Cocker, had lost the plot entirely. But Pulp are back on the road now and Cocker is in fine form - as eloquent when talking about pornography and sex as he is reflecting on the vagaries of the press and his relationship with his father. Interview: peter Murphy.
When Pulp released the obsessively carnal This Is Hardcore, it was widely touted that the band's main mover, Jarvis Cocker, had lost the plot entirely. But Pulp are back on the road now and Cocker is in fine form - as eloquent when talking about pornography and sex as he is reflecting on the vagaries of the press and his relationship with his father. Interview: peter Murphy.
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.
SIMON FOWLER of OCEAN COLOUR SCENE speaks to Colm O'Hare about the band s new album, his outing at the hands of the tabloid press, and hanging out with Noel Gallagher.
It was a Jubilee ago that The Sex Pistols exploded onto the world stage and changed music forever. Except little has changed, according to John Lydon and that's why he's back
One of the key panelists at The Music Show at the RDS on February 25 and 26 will be Brendan Graham, internationally-acclaimed Irish songwriter, former IMRO chairman and fervent champion of the rights of songwriters and composers. Here he looks back over the highs and lows of his extraordinary songwriting career, and reflects on the challenges affecting today’s songwriters.
AGEING PUNK STUART 'CIDER'N'SPIT' CLARK REHEATS THE WHITE HOT CAULDRON OF 1977 IN A DISCUSSION OF TIMES PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE WITH THOSE CHARMING MEN FROM MANCHESTER, BUZZCOCKS. PIC: CATHAL DAWSON
No, it's not the overworked Hot Press subs finally snapping beneath the strain of a hectic production schedule but a finely argued debate by our finest writers on the phenomenon of naff. What is naff? Are you naff and if so how do you go about rectifying matters? Read on and be saved . . .
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.
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
The Coronas were about a week into their 2008 American tour when they realised Colonel Kurtz was driving the bus. They can laugh about it now, oh yes. Sat around a table in the Library Bar on the eve of the release of their second album, the foursome – singer Danny O’Reilly, guitarist Dave McPhillips, bass player Graham Knox and drummer Conor Egan – are still young and hardy enough to take it in their stride.
With the release of his second solo album, Running Dog, Nick Kelly has cemented his reputation as one of the leading contemporary songwriters in Ireland. Here, the former Fat Lady Sings frontman talks to Jackie Hayden about the break-up of one of Dublin's most respected bands, financing his solo career through the largesse of his fanbase – and the ongoing joys of artistic independence.
RICHARD THOMPSON s new album Mock Tudor consolidates his position as one
of the most articulate and influential songwriters around. GEORGE BYRNE met him.
After 14 years and 20 million album sales, Westlife will bring the curtain down on an amazing career with two dates at Croke Park this month. In one of his last major interviews as a member of the band, Kian Egan talks about their lively relationship with Simon Cowell, the impact of Brian McFadden’s dramatic departure in 2004 and why this was the right moment to end it all.
When Rory Gallagher hits the stage at this year's Macroom festival gig, it'll be his last appearance in Ireland, a year that has seen him forgo some of the spotlight he's enjoyed over the previous ten years in Britain and Ireland in particular.
From Donegal to London and beyond, altan s breathtaking music continues to win new converts. As the band showcase material from their latest album, Runaway Sunday, at the international headquarters of Virgin Records,
mairiad nm mhaonaigh tells sarah mcquaid:
It s all about letting it rip.
The most momentous journalistic event of the decade nay, the millennium has come to pass. They said it could never happen, but after months of careful pre-planning and tense negotiation, nick kelly has finally interviewed NICK KELLY. Here, the Stars Of Heaven fan remorselessly grills the former Fat Lady Sings mainman about his long sabbatical from the music industry, his perception of modern culture, and his cracking new album Between Trapezes. Pix, gimmicky t-shirts and
unfeasibly large trousers: mick RAGING PUFF QUInn.
The tent's pitched, the acts are booked and this year's Live At the Marquee extravaganza by the Lee looks set to outstrip all previous years in terms of variety and pulling power...
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.
. . . or overlooking Fountainstown beach in Co. Cork, anyway. METISSE have everyone talking, owing to the sheer unique nature of their music. KEVIN BARRY met them.
When dreams of breaking the UK didn’t pan out The Walls decided to break all the rules and do things their own way. The former Stunning men have followed the same unconventional path ever since.
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.
Jinx Lennon is a true original, a rock'n'roll outsider whose music throbs to the pulse of rural Ireland. Here he talks about attending cocktail parties with David Norris and explains why Dundalk just might be the strangest town in Ireland.
On the release of a double CD retrospective of his forty years as a performer-songwriter, Johnny McEvoy talks to Jackie Hayden about his early days as Ireland’s answer to Bob Dylan, meeting the great man himself, supporting and introducing The Rolling Stones, defending The Wolfe Tones, not apologising for the troubles in the North, U2 and the key albums that have inspired him.
During the heady days of Italia ’90, The Stunning provided the unofficial soundtrack to the nation’s summer-long party, playing a series of uproarious shows around the country and treating the top-ten like their local. thirteen years later, having just re-released their classic album, Paradise In The Picturehouse, the group reflect on what a long, strange trip it’s been and why they’re not ready to hang up their guitars just yet.
A new album, an exclusive gig and opinions on Velvet Goldmine, the Internet and life, love and happiness. STUART CLARK meets the legendary DAVID BOWIE.
It is hardly a surprise to learn that the fifth Super Furry Animals’ album was due to be christened Text Messaging Is Killing The Pub Quiz As We Know It.
She’s shaping up to be one of the break-out stars of 2009, with a number one album and a Mercury Prize nomination to her name. We catch up with Florence And The Machine’s Florence Welch, who talks about becoming an overnight sensation, reflects on her bizarre childhood and explains why her most controversial song really isn’t as contentious as it’s made out to be.
She learned her craft with the Wild Oscars and Kaydee, and more recently featured on the John Hughes album Wild Ocean. Now, Tara Blaise has taken flight with the release of her debut album Dancing On Tables Barefoot – a record that unveils an impressively free-spirit and a desire to live life to the full.
They may have been one of the most consistently hotly-tipped bands in Ireland over the past three years but Lir are still mere babes in the great rock’n’roll scheme of things. It’s ironic then that they should so often be accused of harking back to the ’70s. Interview: Jackie Hayden
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.
Although dissatisfied with mainstream media and wary of having his own work pigeonholed, former Smiths guitarist Johnny Marr revels in his role as elder statesman to a generation of maverick musicians and is no less proud of his new album, Boomslang.
Having learned his trade with Muddy Waters and just about any other blues legend you care to mention, BUDDY GUY has long since become one himself. On the eve of his showcase gig in Dublin's Olympia, he tells PETER MURPHY of his struggle to pass the blues torch on to another generation.
With preparations well underway for Cork city’s hosting of the European City Of Culture festivities in 2005, the indigenous music scene is already rising to the challenge
Following the huge commercial success of Set List and ‘Fake’, The Frames look poised to ascend to rock’s premier league with the upcoming worldwide release of the Burn The Maps album. Kim Porcelli joins the band on the day of their triumphant show at Marlay Park to discuss the pros and cons of pop-stardom, the departure of dave odlum, the abiding influence of mic christopher, and the challenge of creating their most eagerly anticipated record yet.
They toured the world throughout the ‘70s, earning rave notices from Bono, The Edge and Melvin Bragg, upsetting the clergy, terrifying the American public in the company of Blue Oyster Cult and the J Geils Band and out-glamming even Bowie with their flamboyant sartorial taste. With a new DVD on the way and much speculation about a possible tour, legendary Celtic rockers Horslips here talk to Hot Press about a decade of adventure, decadence and great music.
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.
Carl Perkins, the rock pioneer who wrote Blue Suede Shoes and no less than four songs for the Beatles, is dead. ANDY DARLINGTON remembers his career from Sun Records and the legendary Million Dollar Quartet , through to Johnny Cash s Live At San Quentin . . . and a movie knife-fight with David Bowie
Mark McClelland was a feature and music writer for Cork's Evening Echo for four years. Here, he presents his top ten most significant musical acts to emerge from Cork.
They may not be that just yet but if current plans for global domination go according to the script Linkin Park will be very soon. Stuart Clark travels to London to hear the band’s new album Meteora and finds that American rock’s hottest property are surrounded by the kind of security normally reserved for Michael Jackson
The tears have stopped falling – because those who bitterly mourned the demise of The Go-Betweens soon discovered that what they got instead was a double-helping of the weird genius which had inspired the band in the shape of solo albums from Grant McLennan and Robert Forster. With both of them releasing new records and working on a film script together, everything seems to be coming up roses. Why Lorraine Freeney even got to see a breathtaking reunion gig . . .
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
Recorded in the bucolic splendour of County Westmeath, Bloc Party's second album is a labyrinthine concept album about urban living. Better to take a risk, says frontman Kelé Okereke, than to repeat yourself .
One of the leading lights in Irish music since the 1970s, Dave Fanning has led the life, brilliantly heading up the rock posse in RTÉ and rubbing shoulders with a vast array of music legends. Back in pole position on RTÉ 2fm’s night-time schedule, he has seen off rivals elsewhere to remain at the centre of the broadcasting action. With his autobiography just released, it’s time for a natter. As ever with the man they call Fanning, what we get is a remarkably open and honest exchange
Full profiles on Faithless, Antony & The Johnsons, Slayer, The Who, Bell X1, Status Quo, The Flaming Lips, 50 Cent, Madness, Christy Moore, Elton John and Lionel Richie.
Ireland lost one of its greatest guitarists last weekend with the passing of the legendary Gary Moore. Here, friends and colleagues pay their respects to a uniquely talented musician.
Her split with Damien Rice caused headlines around the music world. Now Lisa Hannigan is taking her first steps as a solo artist with a wonderfully ethereal debut album, Sea Sew. She talks to hot press about the end of her partnership with Rice, her hopes for the future and the influence of romantic entanglements on her powerfully feminine songwriting.
From the backstreets of Waterford to a place on the podium next to the Beatles, Gilbert O'Sullivan lived an extraordinary life. Now 60, he looks back on his rollercoaster career.
Sharp suits, a global fan base, his own luxury recording studio - David Gray has certainly come a long way. On the eve of the release of his latest album, he talks about the dark side of success and explains why he wants to leave the singer-songwriter tag behind
Every Picture Tells A Story
You don’t have to hire the services of a professional photographer or the PR agency to help your band achieve world domination. But it certainly helps! Colm O’Hare offers some valuable advice to the would-be stars of tomorrow and talks to some music biz insiders who can point you in the right direction.
Never mind the naysayers, Dublin 2006 is spilling over with white hot talent. Steve Cummins and Shilpa Ganatra run the rule over the capital's new breed.
They may have been one of the electro-pop sensations of the past few years, with some serious hit singles to their name. But with their second album, Congratulations, MGMT have flipped controversially into another dimension. So how come they’re so intent on leaving pop behind? And can they bring their audience with them?
The Boomtown Rats are undoubtedly the most important band ever to emerge from - or get out of - Ireland. They've had more front covers, appeared on more radio and TV shows and most importantly sold more records than any Irish group or artist has ever done.
A fresh generation of bands is tearing up the rule book and redefining what it means to be Irish. To celebrate this new wave of talent, we catch up with the best of them.
One by one, the members of CHILL Ireland s answer to the Spice Girls occupy the Hot Press hot seat. Popping the questions: JOE JACKSON. Pix: Cathal Dawson.
How the mafia did Noel a favour by twatting Liam; the U2 song Oasis might cover; the most he’s spent on cocaine; a great night out in Ireland’ and what it will say on his tombstone. Noel Gallagher answers the reader’s questions. Turning up the heat Stuart Clark.
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.
Since their debut single ‘Wired To The Moon’ went gold here The Revs have established themselves as Ireland’s hungriest and most energetic rock combo, with an appetite for gigging and an eye for publicity that has seen them embroiled in a number of amusing controversies. But behind the brash exterior is the fascinating story of three dedicated young musicians who have overcome their status as outsiders to build one of the biggest and most loyal grass roots following of any local act. Now with the release of their debut studio album, Suck, they are ready to go international.
In a Hot Press exclusive brian kennedy is interviewed by his friend Pat McCABE. On the agenda: Belfast, religion, Joni Mitchell, The Beatles and the current state of popular music. Pics: Cathal Dawson
Sting – all dull AOR anthems, mawkish charidee singles and empty celeb blather, right? wrong! The artist formerly known as Gordon Sumner here talks to Hot Press 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...
He may be better known as manager of The Corrs – but John Hughes has been a musician for well over 30 years. Besides, with a US top 50 album to his credit in the 1980s, his new record – the remarkable Wild Ocean – is just the latest instalment in an extraordinary journey that has taken him close to the edge and back. interview: Niall Stokes
During the late eighties, Aslan were among the most celebrated of Irish rock acts, immensely popular at home and signed to EMI, a major multinational label, on which they released their debut album, Feel No Shame. And then it all came unstuck, amid squalid tabloid accusations of drug addiction, egotism and recrimination. Now they re back, older, wiser and more resolute but with their musical batteries recharged, a new contract with BMG under their belts and that old emotional band intact. Report: Liam Fay (with additional reporting by George Byrne).
...And the kids just keep on comin’, as Hot Press investigates another assortment of motley crews with songs in their hearts and stars in their eyes, and concludes that the future is indeed so bright, you’ve gotta wear shades.
FLEXIHEAD, MEXICAN PETS, THE GLEE CLUB, IN MOTION
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
Jackie hayden meetsjournalist turned PR guru, Tony O Brien and speaks to him about his rock n roll adventures with the likes of U2, Michael Stipe and Bruce Springsteen.
Leaving behind his desk job, Paul Oakenfold has enlisted a galaxy of stars to perform vocal duties on hs new album Bunkka including Tricky, Nelly Furtado and, uh,
Hunter S. Thompson
During the late eighties, ASLAN were among the most celebrated of Irish rock acts, immensely popular at home and signed to EMI, a major multinational label, on which they released their debut album Feel No Shame. And then it all came unstuck, amid squalid tabloid accusations of drug addiction, egotism and recrimination. Now they’re back, older, wiser and more resolute – but with their musical batteries recharged, a new contract with BMG under their belts and that old emotional band intact. Report: LIAM FAY (with additional reporting by GEORGE BYRNE). Pix: MICK QUINN
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
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'
As suede prepare for their headline slot at Dublin Castle next month, their stock has never been higher, thanks mainly to the success of their fantastic third album Coming Up. craig fitzsimons talks to singer brett anderson about it and invites him to take stock of the last few wildly successful months.
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”.
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.
He's already made the transition from underground hip hopper to blue-eyed soul boy du jour. Now Plan B has written and directe Ill Manors, a damning indictment of cameron's broken Britain, and is also about to star alongside Ray Winstone in a reboot of classic 70's cop caper The Sweeney ("Get dressed, you're nicked!") A wellied-up Stuart Clark meets him and his crew in a north Yorkshire forest.
Rsismn Murphy was born in Dublin, raised in Arklow, lived in Manchester and moved to Sheffield. That was when it all started to go right. Linking up with Mark Brydon, she formed Moloko an eclectic and soulful outfit who ve gone on to become one of contemporary music s hottest properties. Now they re back in Ireland for the Creamfields extravaganza.
Interview: Barry Glendenning. Camera: Steve fisher
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.
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
One of the defiant young bands in Ireland in aeons, The Riptide Movement have gone from busking on Dublin’s mean streets to getting radio airplay in Turkey! Now, with their second album safely nestled in the Irish top 10, they talk about the struggle for recognition, the perils of busking –and their plans to conquer America.
Fame has come remarkably quickly for Lily Allen, with her sensational debut album Alright, Still hitting the No.1 spot in the week of its release. But, with babysitting for Bez on her CV, anything is a breeze – and the bolshie young singer is taking it all in her stride. Plus, having lived in Ireland for a number of years, she has more than a few interesting tales to tell. Just don’t ask her about Bob Geldof...
From Oasis to The Ping Pong Bitches, ALAN McGEE is living proof that there s life after
success, excess, Labour, near-death and, oh yes, Creation Records. Even if you re a Rangers
supporter. Interview: STUART CLARK
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.
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'.
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.
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.
In the second and final part of an extensive interview, MIKE SCOTT discusses inspiration and influences, recalls his difficult solo years and explains the death and resurrection of THE WATERBOYS. Interview: PETER MURPHY
Thought that’d grab your attention! Having made his name with such arthouse classics as In The Mood For Love, Fallen Angels and Chungking Express, legendary Hong Kong director Wong Kar-Wai is back with the eagerly anticipated 2046. A dazzling collage of existential longing, wacky sci-fi and lurid pulp thrills, it confirms his status as, well, one of the real greats of modern cinema.
He began working in music as a drummer, but Dave Pennefather's greatest success has been as MD of Universal Music. Hot Press looks back over the life and times of a man with a larger than life reputation.
Most cities and towns have their trouble spots and their danger zones, but Limerick's have been given more than their unfair share of publicity. Such a focus on the negative has tended to detract attention from the positive aspects of this resurgent city, with its vibrant music scene, its buzzing university, the warmth and friendliness of the people, its obsession with rugby, and er, Ryan Turbidy.
1 guitar + 1 drum kit + 1 boy + 1 girl = The White Stripes. In other words, sweet, sweet noise meets the best brother and sister penned pop since The Carpenters. Eamon Sweeney meets Detroit's finest, who play Dublin Castle on Saturday, May 4th as part of the Heineken Green Energy Festival
They love Ireland and Ireland loves them. As the Arcade Fire ramp up for world domination, the band talk about love, death, war and making music in churches.
Trailing a new album and a new contentment, Dolores O Riordan tells Stuart Clark about how she got rid of her hang-ups and learned to love being a pop star.
As they hit the road on a major stateside tour, U2 had left the memories of those first rehearsals in Larry Mullen’s kitchen far behind. Here we present an intoxicating trip down memory lane. By Bill Graham, April 5, 1981
Blow me down, it’s that chirpy Counting Crow adam duritz again, flapping his vocal chords on everything from bunking off the MTV awards, why the Rolling Stones are still “fucking great” and why he won’t be emigrating to Utah just yet. Witness for the defence: Niall Crumlish.
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.
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.
Fetishised in film and song, suicide has become part of the everyday language of pop culture. So why are schools so afraid even to talk about it? There is always a better way.
The Kooks' first album was a million-selling sensation. As they unleash the long-awaited sequel, frontman Luke Pritchard talks about the death of his father, his feud with television presenter Simon Amstell and much more...
As the founder of Island Records Chris Blackwell can claim a unique role in the evolution of popular music. He pulls up a chair and shoots the breeze about his Jamaican heritage, his relationship with Bob Marley and taking power-lunches with U2.
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.
Snow Patrol‘s Gary Lightbody may be the thinking woman’s indie sexpot, but with their new album Eyes Open going supernova all over the shop, the poor fella has no time to capitalise on his status, given that the only people he sees on a regular basis are his band and crewmates. With whom, he assures us, “penetrative sex is out of the question.” Also on the agenda: break-ups, infidelity, the Northern body politic, U2 and, of course, underpants.
The Script just keep on getting bigger. In the middle of the Irish three-pieces six sell-out Dublin and Belfast shows, a straight-shooting Mark Sheehan takes time out to talk about the excesses of life on the road, why HMV failed, getting serenaded by Paul McCartney, the controversy over Rihanna and Chris Brown – and the emotional impact of current album, #3. WARNING: This article may contain swearing...
Ahead of the band s heineken green energy gig in Dublin, PETER MURPHY talks to
NINA PERSSON of THE CARDIGANS about success, sexuality, self-esteem and joyriding!
What do you get when you lock indie gods Carter The Unstoppable Sex Machine and Dublin's up-and-coming Blink in a room with unlimited booze and a tape machine? Well, you're about to find out as Blink ask their tourmates Carter how many pairs of underpants to bring along, whether or not you can leave stage to prevent wetting them and who washes them if you can't. Pix: Leo Regan
What do you get when you lock indie gods Carter The Unstoppable Sex Machine and Dublin's up-and-coming Blink in a room with unlimited booze and a tape machine? Well, you're about to find out as Blink ask their tourmates Carter how many pairs of underpants to bring along, whether or not you can leave stage to prevent wetting them and who washes them if you can't. Pix: Leo Regan
Deep Throat was a smut blockbuster and pop-culture sensation. A new documentary, Inside Deep Throat, examines its impact on feminism, cinema and – oh yes – porn. It also sheds light on the tragic truth behind the movie, explains director Fenton Bailey.
It had been years since anyone had heard from David Bowie, the rock icon who seemed happier to fade away rather than burn out. But suddenly, in January, came a new single with his first album in a decade to follow. Stuart Clark reflects on the Thin White Duke’s remarkable career, and then talks to his right-hand man, Dubliner GERRY LEONARD, about 2013’s most-anticipated return.
Sex and sanctity, grit and glitter, penthouse and pavement, God and the Devil, and all conical points in between!
PETER MURPHY dials M for ADONNA, the pre-eminent pop icon of this and every other year
STUART CLARK meets man-of-the-moment NORMAN COOK (aka FATBOY SLIM). On the agenda - tabloid intrusion, drugs, his love affair with Zoe Ball, and The Housemartins.
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.
A former drug dealer, he’s been shot at nine times and lived to tell the tale, emerging as one of the most controversial and uncompromising figures in rap. But there's more to 50 Cent than the popular legend suggests. For a start, there’s a new commercial edge to the music, as his US and Irish number one album The Massacre demonstrates. Plus, as one of the new faces of Reebok’s ‘I Am What I Am’ campaign, he’s taken to the role of cultural icon with considerable zest. Oh, and besides, he’s a bit of a wow with the ladies.
We asked the fans to vote for U2's Greatest Hits and they did - in their thousands. The result is a selection of 20 tracks which, without doubt, would combine to produce a record to rank among the weightiest and most powerful anthologies in the history of rock. The full track listing is not without its controversial selections and omissions, however. Bill Graham and Niall Stokes take us through the fans' vision of the fab four's dream album.
having debuted with sex, lies and videotape, director Stephen Soderburgh was widely tipped as hollywood's next big thing. instead he spend almost a decade in the wilderness before returning to the mainstream with hits like erin brockovich and ocean's 11, and a fruitful new working relationship with george clooney. now, in advance of his latest movie, solaris, Tara Brady asks: where did it all go right?
Annie Nightingale on BBC Radio One is Dance Music s fixture for insomniac clubbers. But for the BBC s first-ever female DJ this is just the latest incarnation of a career that began, sort-of, by insulting John Lennon. ANDY DARLINGTON reads the book, sits in on the show, and even finds time for an interview.
The Heineken Rollercoaster Tour is taking to the road again and this time the capital is nobody’s hometown gig. From Kells come Turn, from Limerick Woodstar and from Cork The Frank and Walters. Next stop: a venue near you.
DERMOT HANRAHAN, Chief Executive of Dublin's FM104, is in fighting form. He tells Joe Jackson about the station's transformation from near-insolvency to runaway success, slates the station's critics, praises Eamon Dunphy and defends late-night talk shows. Dermot-ologist: MYLES CLAFFEY
After being a magnet for A&R men during the 80s, Dublin has recently developed into something of an underachiever. The city may have the second biggest growth-rate in Europe but there are a hell of a lot of gigs and records that simply aren t selling. peter murphy casts a critical ear over the capital s music scene and decides that what s required is a full-scale artistic enema.
Peter Murphy meets former Led Zeppelin bassist JOHN PAUL JONES as he releases his first solo album. On the agenda pacts with the Devil, Jones musical education, and thoughts on Eno, Nico and Charles Mingus.
With the release of their acclaimed third album Flock, which went straight to No.1 in Ireland, Bell X1 have staked their claim not just to greatness, but also to potential world domination – a possibility which is reinforced considerably by their powerful showing in the Hot Press Readers’ Poll. Here, in an emotional and revealing interview, the band’s photogenic frontman Paul Noonan discusses life, art, love, death... and music.
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.
Over the hills and far away, Chumbawamba come out to play! They get knocked down. But they get up again. They get dropped by Indie One Little Indian, and then get signed up by Capitalist major EMI. Then the Tub-Thumpers Anonymous go on to score the most unlikely hit single of 1997. So what now for Alice Nutter and her chums? ANDY DARLINGTON reports.
Over the hills and far away, Chumbawamba come out to play! They get knocked down. But they get up again. They get dropped by Indie One Little Indian, and then get signed up by Capitalist major EMI. Then the Tub-Thumpers Anonymous go on to score the most unlikely hit single of 1997. So what now for Alice Nutter and her chums? ANDY DARLINGTON reports.
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.
The grand dame of country and western music tells Olaf Tyaransen about her enduring passion for her music, her attachment to her tennessee roots, the ups and downs of her 36-year marriage and her ambitions to record an album of traditional Irish tunes
His career was almost over before it began. But hard work - and a surprise hit - have turned Edmund 'Mundy' Enright into one of Ireland's most widely adored stars. Here he reflects on some of the high points of what has been an amazing journey, during the course of which he has rubbed shoulders with some of the greats.
For the person in the eye of the storm, massive success can involve a titanic struggle. Especially when, as you’re trying to keep your bearings, ordinary life jumps up to punch you in the teeth. Now, after death, birth, fatigue, grief, joy and the "mindfuck" that is "the tidal wave of success," it is time, says David Gray, to get back to the music. and – whisper it – maybe even have a little holiday.
With the release of their fourth and finest album "For The Birds", THE FRAMES have zoomed straight into the Irish top ten for the first time. Now, with critical acclaim ringing in their ears, and their glowing fanbase sensing that something special may be about to take place, they prepare to take the Green Energy Weekend by storm. could it be their time has finally come? Interview: KIM PORCELLI. plus mainman GLEN HANSARD gives us a glimpse inside his private diary. out of frame: MICK QUINN
Hot Press is 20 years old? Drokk it , so is 2000 AD! The mag edited by an Alien, produced by Art & Script-Droids, and read by Earthlets everywhere the one which revolutionised the comic industry, and of the Graphic Novel. ANDY DARLINGTON assesses its cultural impact and legacy.
The success of The Frames, Juliet Turner and Damien Rice, amongst others, has inspired a new do-it-yourself attitude among Irish musicians and bands, who are no longer prepared to wait for the imprimatur of a major label to get their records made. Here, Hot Press presents a step by step guide to becoming a DIY record magnate
The success of The Frames, Juliet Turner and Damien Rice – amongst others has inspired a new do it yourself attitude among Irish musicians and bands, who are no longer prepared to wait for the imprimatur of a major label to get their records made. Here Hot Press presents a step by step guide to becoming a DIY record magnate. Words: Tanya Sweeney. Additional reporting: Jackie Hayden
The success of The Frames, Juliet Turner and Damien Rice – amongst others has inspired a new do it yourself attitude among Irish musicians and bands, who are no longer prepared to wait for the imprimatur of a major label to get their records made. Here Hot Press presents a step by step guide to becoming a DIY record magnate. Words: Tanya Sweeney. Additional reporting: Jackie Hayden
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.
Fashion designer, punk Svengali, musical maverick, filmmaker and occasional pervertor of justice. MALCOLM McLAREN has been all of these things – and more – in a rollercoaster career that's seen him become a hero to some and an unscrupulous villain to others. STUART CLARK tools up at Ron & Reggie's Gangland Surplus Store for a showdown with the man who manufactured cash from chaos! Scene-of-the-crime photographer: COLM HENRY.
The glitz and glamour is but the tip of the iceberg a lot of blood, sweat and tears has also gone into making THE CORRS the huge success they are. And it s not just about the music either the tricky business they call show has to be negotiated too. NIALL STOKES gets the inside story from the captain of the ship, manager JOHN HUGHES, with supporting testimony from some of the crew.
Arriving in Dublin in the last sixties as a 16 year old guitar wunderkind, Belfast born Gary Moore embarked on a musical career that has seen him go through several metamorphoses and achieve numerous notable success in the process.
With his work on the soundtrack to In The Name Of The Father bringing him into the full glare of media attention Gavin Friday takes this opportunity to put to rest any accusations of riding on U2’s coat-tails. Confident and brimming with ideas for his solo career, The Spotlight Kid gives the lowdown to an eager BILL GRAHAM.
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]
After a lengthy period spent "feeding my brain" CERYS MATTHEWS insists she’s really "up for it" again. Although our stop press news suggests her optimism may be slightly premature. Meantime, OLAF TYARANSEN hears about love, politics, presidents, boy bands and CATATONIA's best album yet
Our annual HP-7 summit brings together some of the pre-eminent movers and shakers in irish music to reflect on everything from backstage catering to the end of war, pestilence and famine. Your host: Stuart Clark.
They’ve tasted global success, headlined the Aviva and won tens of thousands of new fans thanks to singer Danny O’Donoghue’s gig judging the UK edition of The Voice. But they’ve never stopped taking risks and on their latest album, called simply #3, The Script open up as never before about heartache and loss. Taking time out from trashing their hotel suite, they discuss fame, personal upheavals and the night will.i.am stood them up for Bill Clinton.
As judge in the Voice of Ireland, Bressie is one of the country’s best known faces. But he is also an ambitious musician with his sets still set on international stardom. On the release of his second album Rage And Romance he talks about the price of Über-celebrity, his fight against panic attacks, what Jamelia and Kethryn Thomas are like on a night out – and why for the foreseeable future he’s embracing celibacy...
2004 was an extraordinary and chaotic year in the life of Pete Doherty. Having made the running as front man with The Libertines, he was sacked from the band. His heroin addiction public, he careened into all manner of potentially damaging conflicts. When he re-emerged recently with Babyshambles, the hope was that he might have begun to clean up his act. But when hotpress finally caught up with him in Dublin, on the final date of the band's tour of the UK and Ireland, we were witness to some truly bizarre and troubling scenes. [Frontline report: Steve Cummins]
Plus: Amid rumour and counter rumour concerning the future of the band, Libertines drummer Gary Powell offers a no holds barred view of the damage inflicted by Pete Doherty's heroin addiction on the career of a band that had the world at its feet. [Interview: Paul Nolan]
He’s a legend, an icon and a farmer. His hit singles tally in this country is surpassed only by Elvis Presley and Cliff Richard. He is, above all else, the man who brought... ...us ‘Do You Want Your Old Lobby Washed Down’ and ‘Carrots From Clonoun’. Behold the unexpurgated brendan shIne on sex, drugs, drink, the accordion, grunge, GATT and Donie Cassidy’s wig. Interview: Liam Fay. Pix: Cathal Dawson.
An overnight success story that was years in the making, The Strokes have been dismissed as flagrant hype and lauded as the saviours of rock 'n' roll. Eamon Sweeney, a journalist who has spent more time in their company than most, gets the fullest account yet of the rise and rise of New York's band of brothers. "Whatever happens, we'll be there together," they tell him. "we won’t let each other fall."
For years, Holly Johnson delayed having a HIV test. When he did, it checked positive, and Holly began a journey of self-discovery that has seen him develop enormously. Now, the former lead singer with Frankie Goes To Hollywood is proud, committed and highly politicised . . .Interview:Joe Jackson
The fourth series of RTÉ Two's highly-acclaimed Other Voices, presented by John Kelly, was recorded over an extraordinary eight days during the madcap run-up to Christmas, in the thoroughly invigorating coastal environs of Dingle. Hot Press reporter Craig Fitzsimons was there to soak up the phantasmagoria, as some of the hottest talent from Ireland and abroad descended on the tranquil Kerry town to make heavenly music.
Hot Press picks the homegrown noisemakers who are just too good to let slip under the radar. We’ve left out those who’ve arguably already made it such as Maverick Sabre and Two Door Cinema Club. Instead we’ve focused on the newcomers who may not yet be in the limelight but from whom you’ll be hearing lots in 2012!
At the end of another eventful year, Andrea Corr takes time out to reflect on life, death, love, health, music and her role, off-stage and on, in the family that plays together. Interview: Niall Stokes
Yup, we thought you'd like our stab at a tabloid headline. Thing is, there was a time when Danny Boy O'Connor looked inexorably set on a course for the California State Penitentiary. Then he discovered the therapeutic qualities of the House Of Pain and apart from the odd skirmish with the 2FM Roadcaster, there's been no looking back since. Crime reporter: Stuart Clark.
After more than 15 years in the business, Aslan are still able to command massive, devoted audiences in music venue and record shop alike. John Walshe joins the Lions' club on the road
Astrology. an ancient science or a load of cosmic nonsense?
FERGUS GIBSON is probably ireland's best-known astrologer, a man who gave up a hit-making career in music to concentrate on another kind of stardom. Here her talks about his astrological work with David Bowie, Iina Turner and Garth Brooks, explains why your aura always reveals the truth about your love life, describes his own encounters with strange and inexplicable phenomena and, finally, gives our own STEPHEN ROBINSON a personal palm reading. star gazer: Cathal Dawson
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.
He didn't lack for enemies when alive, but the death of MALCOLM McLAREN from cancer saw former antagonists such as the Sex Pistols' John Lydon lining up to praise his contribution to music, in particular his role in helping foment the punk scene in ‘70s Britain. To mark the passing of the man who helped create the stereotype of the media-manipulating rock Svengali, we revisit an interview conducted with the sly old maestro in 1994. In it, he talks about the Pistols, the New York Dolls, Kurt Cobain, the British Royals and Naomi Campbell.
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.
The recent murder of
the notorious b.i.g., following the killing of Tupac shakur six months ago, has been linked by many to the prolonged East Coast-West Coast feud which threatened to tear the US hip-hop community apart. jonathan o brien reports on how life
chillingly imitates art in the gangsta rap wars.
From A to Z, Paul Nolan and Ronan Fitzgerald introduce all the runners and riders for Punchestown – throwing in a baker’s dozen of acts who are not to be missed * along the way
From Dickie Valentine to The Darkness: Andy Darlington dusts the five decades of Christmas records and chats to Slade's Noddy Holder about his haunting ghost of Chris- singles Past.
She’s a muse, a role model and a style icon all in one, but how much do we really know about indie’s favourite frontwoman? Florence Welch opens up to Hot Press about chilling with Karl Lagerfeld, wowing the crowds at the Grammys, and why the best day of her life is just around the corner.
Christmas wouldn’t be Christmas without the festival of chat that is the Hot Press roundtable summit — in fact, you might say it’s more important than An Bord Snip, Nama and the campaign to have Thierry Henry exiled to French Guyana put together. This year, our panel of the rock world’s great and good get animated about ‘Le Main de Dieu’, surviving the recession, the passing of Stephen Gately and Michael Jackson and encounters with famous friends such as Madonna, Annie Lennox and Taylor Swift.
In 1982, a band emerged on Dublin’s northside that would go on to write some of the biggest songs in the Irish rock canon. Still going strong thirty years on, Aslan are about to embark on their busiest period ever. As they ready themselves for the fray, the iconic Dublin rockers tell their remarkable story.
Getting press accreditation for the world’s greatest cycling race seemed like a dream come true. Then the Tour de France turned into the Tour de Farce. SHANE STOKES recalls the death of innocence during three tumultuous weeks in July.
He’s the original rock and roll poet, a punk icon worshipped by rock stars, movie-makers and at least one of Galway’s discerning homeless population. Bard of Salford John Cooper Clarke talks about his long struggle with drug addiction, his second career as a Ronnie Wood lookalike and his influence on The Simpsons.
John Walshe travels to Berlin to see Ash in superlative live form on Paddy's night. And no wonder: the band reckon their new album, free all angels could put them in the Michael Jackson league! plus: why they're so down on Louis Walsh, Westlife and Ronan Keating and so up for Bono, John Hume, David Trimble and - wait for it - Darius of Popstars. Flash photography: Mella Travers
From the pits to the pits no, hang on, that s the story of Welsh soccer. Or is it Welsh rugby? For the manic street preachers, by contrast, it s all onwards and upwards. james dean bradfield tells jonathan o brien about their unlikely climb to the top.
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?
If you’re Randy Newman you’ll also need a piano, some borrowed dominants and lashings of irony. And that’s just for starters. Joe Jackson hears about the private, public and musical lives of one of American music’s most singular talents.
From girls-next-door to super starlets, elvis presley had em all. Yet not all his relationships with women were consummated, and there are even those who claim that none ever replaced his mother in his affections. Still, The King found plenty of outlets for his wild and boundless physical appetites, as Joe Jackson reports in this investigation into The Secret Sexual History Of Elvis Aaron Presley. Part one of a two-part Elvis confidential special.
As the punk revolution took hold in the UK, Manchester was notable for the bleak, industrial soundtrack even its most successful bands were making. But that all changed with the explosion there of a new and hedonistic culture, centred in and around The Hacienda, a club run by the city's most influential music biz entrepreneur, the boss of Factory Records, TONY WILSON. The story of the transformation of the city into the centre of rock'n'roll's emerging drug and club culture – of the change from Manchester to Madchester – is told in 24 Hour Party People. With the Happy Mondays as it primary musical focus, there's no shortage of on-screen drugs and fighting – but this is really the extraordinary saga of one of the great rock'n'roll towns, in all its gory glory… Tara Brady reports
30 years after the savage Tate/LaBianca murders that epitomised the dark side of the American hippy dream, CHARLES MANSON aka God aka The Devil, continues to exert a potent influence on popular culture. In part one of a two-part feature, PETER MURPHY recalls the twisted vision of a charismatic man whose personal interpretation of The Beatles Helter Skelter helped give rise to one of the crimes of the century.
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
It’s Christmas – which means it’s time for the yuletide institution that is the Hot Press Summit. Donning novelty Santa hats and wrapping themselves in tinsel, this year’s round tablers got stuck into the financial crisis, listed their 2010 highlights, musical and otherwise, and shared stories about being thrown in jail on the US-Mexico border, performing to lots of drugged up French teenagers and hanging out backstage with heavy metal gods.
In 2000 he was a young musician with nothing to tie him down. The intervening decade was a remarkable one for Damien Rice, who scaled the heights with his wonderful debut album, released in 2002, and simply titled O. But far more important to him than all of that is the fact that he loved, and then lost, an extraordinary woman by the name of Lisa Hannigan.
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.
Exclusive: Kevin Shields, the missing presumed lost genius of Irish rock, re-emerges to tell the truth about sandbags and barbed wire, the making of Loveless, early Dublin days with Gavin Friday, Liam O Maonlai and U2, and his Bafta-winning work on Lost in Translation.
He was the cheeky chappy in Boyzone, the cheery one with the boy next door personality. Then the band broke up and he didn’t know what to do with his life. So Keith Duffy did what nobody expected: he became a well-regarded actor and soap star. As he prepares to make his debut with the acclaimed Druid Theatre company, he speaks frankly about his quest for meaning in life, the controversial break-up of Boyzone in 2000, their successful reunion and Stephen Gately’s tragic death.
Senate leader Donie Cassidy, a reluctant interviewee, opens up about his rivalry with Fianna Fail colleague Mary O'Rourke and reminisces about his days in the show-band business.
It’s a different world than it used to be! In this special extended birthday column, The Hog takes a necessarily selective – and typically colourful – look at the 30 most important influences on the process of change that has brought this country all the way from there to… well, where else but here?
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
Find out what Brian Cowen thinks is in store for Ireland in light of the global financial crisis and the government's unpopular decisions on medical cards and education cuts.
What on earth is milky-white, squeaky-clean, God-fearin PAT BOONE doing,
wearing leather
and studs and singing heavy metal anthems? JOE JACKSON delves behind the year s most bizarre comeback to extract a rare and fascinating interview with a man who once alienated rockers and now finds himself ostracised by Christians.
He may have ranked among the biggest-selling artists in the world in 2002 – but the ambition that has driven Eminem to pop’s dizziest heights shows no sign of abating with the release of his own biopic, 8 Mile. On track to becoming Hollywood’s latest darling, with all the attendant pressures and provocations that entails, will his art survive?
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.
Twenty years ago, on October 3 1992, Sinead O’Connor ripped up a picture of the Pope on the iconic US television show Saturday Night Live. It was a moment that would change her career – and her life.
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
Johnny Ray invented rock ’n’ roll. Elvis Presley marked the beginning of the downfall of popular music. The Beatles only ever wrote one great song. Cranky stuff maybe, but when the speaker is Tony Bennett – the man Sinatra called “The best singer in the business” – you have to listen. Joe Jackson does and, in this exclusive interview, hears how a Jewish-Italian New York kid grew up to be a musical legend, a respected painter and a man who, at 67, can still kick ’90s rock off MTV.
To cap another highly eventful rock‘n’roll year, a slew of Ireland’s most hip and happening musician types and gatecrasher Phill Jupitus converge on Dublin for the 10th Anniversary Hot Press Summit. President Higgins, The Stone Roses, Amy Winehouse, the Boys In Green & marauding North Korean submarines are all on the agenda as 2011 is subjected to CSI-style forensic examination.
It's been a long strange trip and no mistake, one that describes a discernible line from
Harry Smith's Anthology Of American Folk Music through to the Handsome Family.
But there's even more going on beneath the surface. GREIL MARCUS, the music critic's music critic,
is PETER MURPHY's guide on a mystery train whose other passengers include Elvis Presley, Robert Johnson, Mark Twain, Nick Cave, The Blair Witch, Bill Clinton, The Band, Siniad O'Connor, Beck, William Burroughs, William Faulkner and Bob Dylan. And that's just the first class carriage. All aboard
Nirvana - Ten years after. Peter Murphy talks to producer Butch Vig, musician Mark Lanegan and critic Greil Marcus, and gets the inside story of the making of Nevermind, the classic album that changed the face of music, unveiled the anthem 'Smells Like Teen Spirit' and brought the world face to face with a screaming soul called Kurt Cobain.
Irish singing sensation The Priests have added to their recent chart success by scooping the Guinness World Record for ‘Fastest-selling UK debut for a classical act’.
The news caps a busy week for the group, during which they appeared on the Late Late Show, a week ago today, and featured as Video of the Day on the Ellen De Generes Show on St. Patrick's Day
A mere 17 years after last doing it with ‘The Hay Wrap’, The Saw Dactors are back at number one on the Irish singles chart with their beefed-up version of Sugababes’ ‘About You Now’.
Things just keep getting better for Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova with the Once soundtrack jumping 24 places to number seven in this week’s Billboard American Album Chart.
Aftering the news that The Frames are to support Bob Dylan down under, Glen Hansard's week has gotten even better as the film he co-stars in, Once, has made it into the American box-office top 20.
Tuam legends the Saw Doctors will be seeing out one of their most successful years yet with a gig in the Royal Theatre in Castlebar this New Year's Eve.
This is Beyonce without the booty, Pink without the attitude, Kelis without the lollipop, but it’s a solid album that showcases Knight’s talent and might just earn her the standing of a British Anastacia
In a near-surreal recent development, Ronan Keating is looking like cracking the American market via, wait for it, country music songwriting. Yee-ha, etc
Oscar winning songwriter Lionel Richie, who won an Academy Award for 'Say You, Say Me' from the movie White Nights, has announced an Irish show at the O2 in March.
The idea of the Afro Celts as a singles band has always been something of a non-starter, but ‘When You’re Falling’ finds them reading and able to move amongst the pop elite.
Oops! ...She’ll only be here the once. With puns thankfully out of the way, Ms Spears brings her Femme Fatale tour to the O2 on October 24 with special guest Joe Jonas in tow.
After much will they/won’t they speculation, That Petrol Emotion have confirmed that they’re reconvening for an Electric Picnic appearance on August 30.
Late in November of 2002 The Frames played four nights in Vicar St, Dublin to capacity audiences. The highlights of those gigs have found their way on to their first official live album, Set List [hotpress.com member offer]
Special guests You Me At Six, Paper Route, and Now Now Every Children will play during the Grammy nominated rock band's Dublin show on Saturday 12 December.
Having become the first single to reach the UK number one on downloads alone, Gnarls Barkley's single 'Crazy' have made history again - and this time, it's a record that's stood for 12 years.
The ex- X Factor contestant has to settle for second place as ‘Swagger Jagger’ was unable to topple The Wanted’s ‘Glad You Came off No. 1 in the singles chart.
Sales of The Hurt Locker, the dramatic story of a U.S. bomb disposal team in Iraq, have surged following the film's success in eclipsing Avatar, to pick up 6 Oscars at last Sunday's Academy Awards.
Their track 'Moves Like Jagger' which features pop temptress Christina Aguilera has usurped the Wanted's 'Glad You Came' to go No. 1. Meanwhile Jedward's head of hair continues to er, head the album chart.
For many the greatest Irish band never to have made an international breakthrough, A House boasted an ace card in the quirky, uncompromising songwriting brilliance of Dave Couse.
All set to represent Ireland at this month's Eurovision song contest, Dustin the turkey is appearing in HMV tomorrow (May 3) for a Q&A session and signing.
The apparently not-so-mild-mannered-after-all David Gray is less than impressed with the I'm-so-rich-it-hurts apologias of pop's Mr Tortured Bigmouth, Robbie Williams. Ooh, get him
The second long- play, 'In Love With The Dudley Corporation', from the Dublin based band is out on Februrary 2 on Scientific Laboratories Records, with gigs around Ireland and Britain to follow.
On the occasion of the Queen of England's golden jubilee, the Sex Pistols re-release God Save the Queen, probably the most controversial record of all time. Why thank you, says her Maj, doubtlessly: exactly what we wanted
“I must begin by thanking the Lord above for the opportunity to share the gift of music to the world.” So says Christina Aguilera, a teen star so sickly sweet she makes you want to gag.
She can certainly pout. She can also do a pretty good Whitney Houston impression.
All About Chemistry is the Minneapolis trio, Semisonic's new alternative pop offering. Since their last album Feeling Strangely Fine they've gone from indie underdogs to platinum-selling stars and this album is full of diet rock tunes, most of which are easy listening and agreeable.
Time-travel flick The Time Machine catapults Samantha Mumba to box-office fame (Top 4 in the US on Paddy's Weekend). Meanwhile, her very own Blair Witch project is well under way
There'll be a buzz of activity on Harcourt Street in Dublin over the coming weeks, with Kila, Just Jack, Peter Bjorn & John being amongst the newly announced gigs at the POD complex.
No, not that LeToya. Far from being a Jackson scion, LeToya Luckett is a survivor of another dysfunctional family, having been an original member of Destiny’s Child.
