GREEN DAY have had a meteoric rise over the last 18 years, from poky Dublin dives to colossal international stadia. But despite their maturing worldview and increasing political articulacy, they’re still as exciting a kick-ass punk rock group as ever.
November 9th marks the 20th anniversary of the dismantling of the Berlin wall, an event almost as momentous as Everton’s winning four years earlier of the European Cup Winners Cup. History of course being a subjective thing.
EDITORS’ new album finds them re-booting their sound with the help of super-producer Flood and the Prussian soldier’s helmet gifted to him by Bono. Also on the agenda when the band meet Stuart Clark are fatherhood, baby poo, Brooklyn block parties and stealing Michael Stipe’s megaphone.
The words “bastards”, “right”, “the” and “serves” sprang to Caught In The Net’s mind this week when it emerged that The Sun, The Daily Mirror and The Daily Mail had been duped into running a totally invented story about Avril Lavigne getting spectacularly gee-faced in an exclusive nightclub.
On a fleeting visit to Dublin the legendary Jack White sat down with Hot Press' Stuart Clark to discuss his past life as an upholsterer, jamming with Bob Dylan. Jimmy Page and The Edge and going for dinner with Loretta Lynne.
He’s made the Man U and Ireland right-back positions his own this season, and is playing what he admits is the best football of his career as a result. As the Republic gears up for a play-off crack at World Cup qualification, JOHN O’SHEA talks about life under Trapatonni, and reflects on another successful year at Old Trafford.
I’d hate to be a Massive Attack roadie. Not only do they have four vocalists, six banks of synths, live guitars, drums and percussion to worry about, but there’s a huge ticker-taping video screen to put up and take down every bleedin’ night.
aught In The Net is much enamoured of the video for the new Charlotte Hatherley single, ‘White’, which finds the former Ash and current Bat For Lashes guitarslinger splattered with paint. Before you make any unbecoming comments, it’s the clip’s Pollock-esque qualities we admire rather than the fact that Chaz is all covered in gunk.
Thirty-five years before going to Ennis to meet his relatives, Muhammad O’Ali and a 122-strong security detail journeyed to Kinshasa for his Rumble In The Jungle with George Foreman, who as far as we know doesn’t have any Irish blood.
Who better to launch this year’s Music Show than Irish band of the moment The Script? In a taster of what to expect from October’s RDS weekender, Danny, Glen and Mark treated a roomful of fans, music students and industry professionals to their thoughts on illegal downloading, songwriting, the dreaded Auto-tune and touring with Macca and U2.
Poxy fucking Irish weather!
Now that we’ve let the elephant out of the room – or should that be tent? – let’s concentrate on the musical delights that Day Two of the Picnic had to offer.
Caught In The Net’s girlfriend won’t like it because it doesn’t star Jennifer Aniston or a cutesy little dog/mouse/guinea pig/other household pet with human personality traits, but we know there are squillions of Hot Press readers counting down to December 18 when James Cameron’s 3-D sci-fi epic, Avatar, hits the big screen.
He has one or two other things going on at the moment, but if The Edge happens to be free on the first day of the Electric Picnic there’s a good chance you’ll find him and his wooly hat front of stage for reformed post-punks Magazine.
You’ve grown your hair and want to make a bitching rock record. Who do you call? Arctic Monkeys tell Stuart Clark about their remarkable journey from Sheffield to the Mojave.
It’s no rest for the wicket, as Stuart Clark gets bowled over by the DUCKWORTH LEWIS METHOD. Musical odd-couple Neil Hannon and Thomas Walsh explain why they decided to record a musical homage to cricket and talk about hanging out with Blur’s Damon Albarn, the Governor of the Bank of England and Sir Tim Rice.
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.
As the final countdown to Blur’s Oxegen comeback gets underway, Alex James talks about falling in and out with his bandmates, collaborating with New Order’s Bernard Sumner – and why Clonakilty Black Pudding will definitely be on the band’s Punchestown rider.
The first time The Killers played Oxegen they fretted whether anyone would turn up to see them. Now they’re sweeping in to headline the main stage. They talk to us about being chased by papparazi, growing up in Middle America and sharing a bill with Bono and, er, Gary Barlow
While we're sure it's a fabulous place, Larne's Older Fleet bar does seem a rather surreal choice of venue for Houston outsider folkie Jandek to kick off what will be his first ever tour.
The Answer have played to almost a million people on the current AC/DC tour. Not bad for an indie hard rock band from Norn Iron. Singer Cormac Neeson gives us the skinny on Angus Young’s love of Rory Gallagher, meeting Alice Cooper, and why Hunger is required tour bus viewing.
After years of pushing the self- destruct button, Pete Doherty has proved his detractors wrong with a solo album that's on a par with anything he did with the Libertines.
It's been sniffer dogs and paddywagons all the way as The enemy visit some of Britain's less salubrious Rock n' Roll locales. If they can stay out of jail, though a support tour with Oasis awaits.
12 steps to help you take on the Portuguese city of Porto, with all the best hotels, restaurants, and hot spots. Plus, top travel news from around the world
Having their budgets slashed three times in 18 months has made it harder than ever for Irish aid organisations to help the world’s poor and displaced. Despite Mr. Martin’s axe-wielding, Concern worldwide are determined to continue their work in what can be life-threatening circumstances.
We may be one bounced cheque short of joining Iceland in the Bankrupt Small Countries Club, but there’s good reason to celebrate our Irishness on March 17 when The Simpsons’ Paddy’s Day special premieres in Ireland on Sky1.
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!
Michelin star man Dylan McGrath has brought something of a rock ‘n’ roll aesthetic to Irish cooking. In a slap-up feast of an interview, he talks about his West Belfast childhood, kitchen stabbings and why he’s no time for mumsy housewives' choice chefs.
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.
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.
A look at some of the web craze after the election, including a newspaper hoax and Obama photos and- not related to the election- what's the latest with some bands.
As World AIDS day approaches, Stuart Clark travels to Swaziland to witness the devastating impact the virus is having on the country, and discovers how overseas organisations like Skillshare International Ireland are helping Swazis to help themselves.
Los Angeles’ punkerati were out in force as the Roger Grossman-directed What We Do Is Secret premiered in one of Tinsel Town’s less salubrious cinematic establishments.
While Electric Picnic did not lack for non-musical highlights, the hottest action was to be found on stage, where the likes of the Sex Pistols and My Bloody Valentine whipped up a storm.
Two weeks ago it was Triumph The Comedy Insult Dog, now it’s the turn of Nathan Explosion and Pickles to be introduced to the Caught In The Net masses.
With that long awaited third album in the pipeline, and an imminent Electric Picnic slot, Franz Ferdinad's Alex Kapranos talks to us about utilizing the doppler effect.
True, Caught In The Net would rather wank pigs in hell than attend a Panic At The Disco gig, but we wouldn’t be as fascistically anti-emo as the Russian parliament who want to make possession of an asymmetrical fringe a criminal offence.
Before he was the face of televised pop Jools Holland played empty pubs alongside U2, mentored a skinny kid called Mark Knopfler and rode to school in Daniel Day-Lewis's dad's Mercedes.
It may be 20 years since Tiffany last troubled the Guinness Book Of Hit Records, but that hasn’t dampened the ardour of two obessive fans who you really wouldn’t want minding your pet rabbit.
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.
Tabloid fiends that you are, you’ve probably heard that Roman Abramovich has offered Amy Winehouse a million quid to play at his new model girlfriend’s birthday bash...
Roy Keane’s playing days saw him involved in some memorable bust-ups, but as far as we can recall he never jumped into the stands while at Cobh Ramblers, Nottingham Forest or Man U and told his mum sitting in the posh seats to, “Sit yo’ your ass down!”
MTV draws our attention with foul-mouthed puppets, Steve Albini answers your questions in an online poker forum, and we tell you where to get your Deportivo Wanka football shirts.
Caught In The Net is suffering from a bruised ego this fortnight after discovering that there’s somebody who spends even more time trawling the web for juvenile content than we do.
Velvet Revolver axe-man Slash, one of the most influential guitarists of all time, joins bandmate Duff McKagan in reflecting on Guns N' Roses' hellraising heyday.
With the 2008 battle for the White House turning into the most gripping saga in years, the best-selling novel The Race, by Richard North Patterson, could hardly be more timely.
Life has never been so sweet for Pugwash's Thomas Walsh with a cracking new album, a song on an A-List Hollywood movie, and a cricket-loving pal to play with.
It was a well deserved triumph for bloody-minded independence when Glen Hansard lifted the Oscar for 'Best Original Song', with his Swell Season partner Marketa Irglova at his side.
In a revealing interview, the Minister with responsibility for drugs, Pat Carey, explains why politicians have to re-think their policy on recreational pharmaceuticals.
Pre-Christmas unrest in the Balkans brought unpleasant memories of late '90s ethnic cleansing back to the soldier turned singer-songwriter James Blunt.
Avert your gazes, sensitive readers. Jon McClure of Reverend And The Makers offers his thoughts on Johnny Borrell, Thom Yorke and “the most racist television ad of all time”.
...But the 50,000 people at the EXIT Festival liked it! Young Serbs, fed up with being blamed for the crimes of their erstwhile leaders, partied the weekend away in a walled fortress next to the Danube.
Whether feeding dubious cups of coffee to celebrity chefs or coercing Joe Strummer to dress up as an Indian on Top Of The Pops, Alex James is a man who knows how to squeeze every ounce of enjoyment out of life.
In which Editors, like Bloc Party before them, abandon urban ennui for the country life, recording that not-very-difficult second album in Grouse Lodge with Garret ‘Jacknife’ Lee.
Everyone knows Maxïmo Park’s Paul Smith is a fan of woolly hats and long, complicated novels. But did you realise Limerick is one of his favourite cities? Or that, as a teenager, he used to copy out all of Morrissey’s lyrics?
Snow Patrol‘s Gary Lightbody waxes eloquent about burnout, creativity, exotic fowl, and why David Healy should be made First Citizen Of The Republic And Overlord Of The Universe.
You can take the man out of Phibsborough, but you can’t take Phibsborough out of the man! Wayne Henderson talks about his lifelong love of Bohemians, the greening of the Championship and Ireland’s end of season trip to America.
He mightn’t have the blonde streaks, but Lee Carsley gets through twice as much work in 90 minutes as David Beckham and Cristiano Ronaldo put together.
The journey from Tallaght to the Premiership hasn’t always been an easy one, but this season has found Richard Dunne in the best form of his career for both club and country.
Following his Man of the Match performance against the Czech Republic, Paul McShane has been hailed as one of the finest young Irish players of his generation.
They’ll never win any prizes for speaking the Queen’s English but, with a number one album under their belts, mop-topped Dundee rockers The View aren’t too bothered.
First kisses, hanging with the hip-hop aristocracy and why life is better on the wagon are some of the topics for conversation as Hot Press hitches a ride on the tour bus with domestic goddess and soapy bath enthusiast Amy Winehouse.
Calls for the media to “name and shame” touts is being supported by the Fine Gael T.D. behind the proposed ‘New Prohibition of Ticket Touts Bill’, former All-Ireland winning Kerry fooballer Jimmy Deenihan.
In a rare interview, Simpsons writer Mike Scully talks about the show’s A-list musical guests, his love for Ned Flanders and upsetting the entire population of Brazil. He also tells us what to expect from The Simpsons Movie, which blockbusters its way onto the big screen in the summer.
Annual article: Soul sensation Amy Winehouse has the voice of a fallen angel and the mouth of a docker. And that’s before she’s even got a few vodkas into her.
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.
Renewing acquaintances with Hot Press, a chipper Noel Gallagher reveals how he helped Italy bag the World Cup, explains why Oasis are better than U2 – sort of – and tells us about the band’s new 'best of' collection.
Survivors don’t come more grizzled than the New York Dolls’ David Johansen. Here he recalls shooting the breeze with Muddy Waters and explains how Morrissey persuaded the Dolls to get back together over lunch.
Rumours of Bono and Len himself turning up proved to be unfounded, but that didn’t stop this Dublin Theatre Festival shindig being the stuff legend is made of.
She’s one of the sassiest, not to say iconic, frontwomen in rock. Up close however, Yeah Yeah Yeahs singer Karen O is just a big pussycat. Look, we’ve even made her cry.
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.
The biggest ever music exhibition in Ireland will cover all aspects of the entertainment business – with something for every music fan. What’s more, it is happening at the perfect time for Christmas browsing.
Primal Scream bandmate Kevin Shields may be complaining about the neighbours, but Mani hasn’t thrown the towel in yet. He tells us why things are looking up for the Scream.
Editors mainman Tom Smith is pining for his mainsqueeze Edith Bowman. HP advises him on an anniversary gift. Aw, bless. Still, he hasn't gone soft, as is borne out by copious potshots at Keane and Sugababes.
They blasted into the public consciousness at the end of 2005, when 'I Bet You Look Good On The Dancefloor' became the year's biggest breakthrough No.1. Since then it's been an extraordinary rollercoaster ride for the Arctic Monkeys, with bass player trouble, celebrity fans, EastEnders appearances and a row with fellow newcomers The Feeling to show for their efforts. Oh, and then there's the small matter of shifting nearly two million copies of their debut album...
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.
They come from Los Angeles, support Rotherham United and have a lead singer who loves Andrew Lloyd-Webber as much as he does Arcade Fire. Stuart Clark meets Orson's rather peculiar Jason Pebworth.
Finns can only get better as dodgy England World Cup songs, credibility-destroying Coke ads and blood-spurting Eurovision entrants star in our C.I.N. music special.
Loved by the Kaiser Chiefs and bushy moustached Ukrainians alike, The Chalets have partied their way round most of the western world in recent months. Stuart Clark hears about backstage beerathons, ding dongs with Kele from Bloc Party and monkeys in track-suits.
In the same week that Channel 6 launched with its exciting re-runs of Frasier and Everybody Loves Raymond, American TV viewers had to make do with the sixth season premiere of the boring old Sopranos.
With his first two albums, Streets mastermind Mike Skinner established himself as one of the most eloquent, idiosyncratic and gifted vocalists and worsdsmiths of his generation. But the 27 year old came close to blowing it all on spread-betting and crack, not to mention engaging in an XXX-rated tryst with an unnamed pop starlet. Thankfully, he’s bounced back with the tell-all confessional of The Hardest Way To Make An Easy Living.
Indie golden boys Delays are back – and they’ve gone all shiny and techno on us. But then that’s what happens when you make a record with produer-to-the-stars Trevor Horn.
As soon as you spot Terry Hooley – the man who released ‘Teenage Kicks’, kids – holding court at the bar, you know you’re in for a classic Belfast rock ‘n’ roll night.
If not reinventing the wheel, Arctic Monkeys are certainly giving the spokes a good polish. Stuart Clark takes his place in the moshpit for their recent Dublin show.
Back in the '60s the MC5 made it on to the CIA's 'Most Wanted' list. Now, they're a chi-chi fashion accessory beloved of Jennifer Aniston and her Hollywood pals. Guitarist Wayne Kramer explains it all to Stuart Clark.
Christmas wouldn’t be Christmas without the dissection of the rock ‘n’ roll year that is the Hot Press Summit. Gathering round the table are the good and great of Irish music, but who let Podge & Rodge in?
In the second part of our world exclusive interview, Dolores O’Riordon talks about the upside of leaving The Cranberries, her debut solo album and what she's been getting up to on the phone with Angelo Badalamenti.
As editor of the Daily Mirror and News of The World Piers Morgan was one of the most powerful men in Fleet Street. He cultivated an influential circle of friends and enemies, among them Tony Blair, Naomi Campbell and -oh yes- Sinéad O'Connor.
A flyover near the old Harland & Wolff shipyard was the starting point for a remarkable three months that has seen Franz Ferdinand challenging U2 and Coldplay for the title of ‘Biggest Band In The World'. Daredevil photographic exploits completed, Hot Press jumped on their tour bus and got the lowdown on Snoop, Bono, Kanye West, Natasha Bedingfield and nights of debauchery with the Scissor Sisters.
He may be trained to kill, but recently James Blunt has been seducing vast swathes of the population with his poignant love songs. Lured to the Hot Press Chat Room, he tells all about his number one album, the Queen, being shot at in Kosovo and lesbian swim parties.
On the eve of Kraftwerk’s headlining appearance at the Electric Picnic, mainman Ralf Hütter talks with rare candour about David Bowie, U2, hip-hop, cycling and why sometimes even man-machines have to smile.
Older and wiser but still mad for it, Oasis have delivered their best album in years. In an exclusive – and expletive-filled – interview Liam Gallagher holds forth on fatherhood, brotherly love and explains why Coldplay and The Killers are limp-wristed also-rans.
How did Brandon Flowers, Ronnie Vannucci, Dave Keuning and Mark Stoermer go from the Las Vegas dive bar circuit to selling four million copies of their debut album, Hot Fuss? On the eve of the band's highly-anticipated Oxegen 2005 appearance, Stuart Clark talks to the people involved in the making of The Killers.
The distressing news from America is that one of George Bush’s mates has been implicated in a seedy sex for favours scandal. But that’s enough about being in the Republican Party…
Criticising dance acts for not playing live is a bit like slagging dogs for their inability to fly, but this is the first time I’ve been at a gig where the headliners’ presence isn’t required.
Unless Tom and Ed are triggering the giant clouds of dry ice or pointing the lasers at the balcony, their contribution to tonight’s proceedings is somewhere between zero and fuck all.
Stuart Clark discusses Michael Jackson’s trial, Roxy Music, The Killers, David Bowie and the ideal soundtrack for bonking with a newly peaceful and content Moby.
Stuart Clark discusses Michael Jackson’s trial, Roxy Music, The Killers, David Bowie and the ideal soundtrack for bonking with a newly peaceful and content Moby.
There must be some mistake, surely? A new British band that don’t stick needles in their arm, live in an East London squat or sound like a really, really bad Franz Ferdinand demo. Not that Kaiser Chiefs are going to win any prizes for originality. Named after one of South Africa’s most famous footie teams, the Leeds quintet have a big thing for The Jam, XTC, Blur and any other band to whom the term “quintessentially English” applies.
Russell Crowe, Keanu Reeves, Minnie Driver, Bruce Willis, Eddie Murphy, Gwyneth Paltrow, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Jeff Bridges, David Hasselhoff, Patrick Swayze…the list of Hollywood A-Listers who’ve made unlistenable records is depressingly long.
It was therefore with much trepidation – and a fresh bottle of vitriol – that I approached this debut six-tracker from Juliette Lewis who’s suddenly decided she wants to be a punk.
Our correspondent gets his snout out of the suey trough long enough to watch Hal, The Revs and former Snow Patrol man Iain Archer participate in the Eurosonic talentfest in Groningen. Words and Photos: Stuart Clark
“A scene that results in Pete Doherty isn’t much to celebrate,” declare Bloc Party as they outline their plan to save UK rock from the heroin chic brigade. Also up for discussion are Elton John, Ash, Thin Lizzy and why they’re nothing like Franz Ferdinand. Honest. Photos by Liam Sweney.
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.
They may be one of the hottest bands of the year, but Las Vegas synth fiends The Killers are planning to cool off this Christmas with some well-earned down-time and a skiing holiday in Utah. But not before they’ve discussed texting Charlize Theron, hanging with Elton John and that David Bowie tribute with Stuart Clark.
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.
When a gang of Ireland’s finest musicians, media stars and political types gathered in the Central Hotel for pre-Christmas drinks, there were fun and games aplenty. reporting: Stephen Bailey, Stuart Clark and Roisin Dwyer. Photos: Mick Quinn and Graham Keogh. Costumes: courtesy of The Dublin Costume Company.
By Motörbonce standards it’s a stripped down show with nary a scaffolding bomber in sight, but there’s no need for eye candy when you’ve got a song as gobsmackingly awesome as ‘Ace Of Spades’ at your disposal.
U2 are about to unleash their new album How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb. The world’s media are descending on Dublin. And Bono is back at the punch-bag, getting into fighting shape before the shit storm really explodes. The gloves are off. He’s got work to do. And he’s going to do it. Words Stuart Clark, additional reporting by Niall Stokes.
Manic Street Preachers have turned the guitars down, but not the bile. A slimline James Dean Bradfield tells a pleasantly plump Stuart Clark why John F. Kennedy, Billy Connolly and Jesus Christ Superstar are in league with Satan. Or words to that effect.
Stuart Clark talks to Everton star-turned-analyst Andy Gray about Ireland’s chances of qualifying for the World Cup, why HOtpress is his favourite music publication, and his remarkable lack of bitterness over Archie Gemmel’s goal being used in the shagging scene in Trainspotting.
Michael Moore, Billy Joel, Rupert Murdoch and “pussy vegan” Chrissie Hynde are all on the menu as gonzo New York chef Anthony Bourdain gets lightly grilled by Stuart Clark
Slash can go boil his silly hat, but Iggy Pop, The Rolling Stones and Kraftwerk are welcome to come and stay in Fagersta any time they want. Howlin’ Pelle and the boys talk heroes and zeros with Stuart Clark
If their rapid ascent has left Alex Kapranos & Co. gasping for air it doesn’t show as Franz Ferdinand launch into their Olympia set with a breakneck ‘Michael’. All that having to grab American audiences by the scruff of the neck has toughened them up to the point where on occasions they’re bizarrely redolent of Live & Dangerous-era Thin Lizzy.
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?
Ex-punk that I am I’m not going to berate anybody for having a go/creating their own scene/trying to get up people’s noses, but as much as they want it to be 1976 Selfish Cunt aren’t going to ferment revolution by giving themselves a self-consciously rude name/swearing a lot/sounding like a very bad S*M*A*S*H.
Yet another pop star spawned by a reality TV show – this young Texas-born singer-songwriter (and sister of Jessica) comes courtesy of MTV’s Ashlee show, which tracked her through the whole process of recording this album.
OK, so ‘Laura’ wasn’t bad, they were pretty good at Oxegen and they seem like thoroughly nice people, but the Scissor Sisters are really not the saviours that everyone makes them out to be.
An unexpected resurgence in UK hip-hop anyone? JTWR has been known to rap in similarly irreverent tones to Goldie Lookin’ Chain but – probably given the latter’s new found prominence – ‘Ourtime’ is a far more edgy affair than some of his more light-hearted work, although still blessed with clever word play.
Third singles off albums are notoriously tricky affairs (if you’re not Justin Timberlake) and Uh Huh Her is certainly not stacked with unforgettable pop songs.
You can almost smell the hairspray as Silver Addictive take a leaf out of The Darkness’ book and timewarp their way back to an age when crunching power chords, backcombing and very tight trousers reigned supreme.
Oh dear. After all the accolades, the successful tours and the lifetime achievement awards, Duran Duran have misconstrued this as a burning desire on the part of the world to hear an album’s worth of new material.
It’s funny how the small things make all the difference. Had Úna Keane’s primary instrument of choice been the acoustic guitar, then the chances are that we might have passed over her debut release, saturated as we are by such things. Luckily for all concerned, Keane is a classically trained pianist and it’s this extra dimension that lifts the four songs included here.
A spirited return from Halite, perhaps buoyed by the fact that their not the first Irish band to survive major label messing and come out of it in a stronger position.
The Detroit Cobras are one of those bands that have always been a better idea on paper than in reality, yet at last the concept seems to be falling into place.
Now here’s an unusual proposition, an American in her late teens who seems as versed in the world of ’50s crooners as that of Eminem and co. Her music takes in both extremes and is utterly and completely charming, sweet yet hugely intelligent at the same time.
Now here’s a turn up for the books. First Ian Brown does a gig full of Stone Roses material and then he pitches up with quite possibly his finest solo record to date.
The 25th anniversary edition of London Calling includes an album’s worth of previously unheard material, and most of it’s amazing! Stuart Clark talks to Mick Jones.
Defecating lemurs, exploding dogs, dirty movies, alien abduction and, of course, the longest feet in pop. it can all only mean that Gruff Rhys & Co. are back.
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.
Crack houses, stripping, underwear parties, hate mail from Pink Floyd fans and Elton John’s dog – are you ready for a tasty slice of camp pop history as told by Jake Shears of the Scissor Sisters?
That’s ICE T, mind, and make sure you use capitals. The rapper turned TV star is coming to a stage near you, and still has plenty to say about hip hop/rock, Michael Moore, George Bush, acting, porno and, of course, ho’s.
With Paul McGuinness now taking care of business, The Rapture can’t be entirely kidding when they tell Stuart Clark that they have no problem with becoming the biggest band in the world.
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.
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.
“We’re not Beethoven”, clarifies Young Heart Attack screamer Jennifer Stephens, who surprisingly is a bit more at home with Mötorhead, The Darkness and even The White Stripes.
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.
Asked in the ’70s about Black Sabbath supposedly being Satanists, Ozzy Osbourne famously replied: “The only black magic we ever got into was a box of chocolates.”
A black NYC rap crew collaborating with members of the white rock aristocracy? Nowadays it wouldn’t raise an eyebrow, but back in 1986 the Run DMC/Aerosmith interface was the stuff of cultural revolution.
From quasi-Motorhead tribute act to one of the biggest rock ’n’ roll bands on the planet, the Metallica story has been crying out for a proper telling which it finally gets courtesy of this meticulously researched biog.
The cross-dressing avant garde experimentalists get the remix treatment courtesy of Carl Craig, Carter Tutti, Motor, Radcliffe and Two Lone Swordsmen who steal the show with their mash up of ‘United’.
Court cases! Vintage wines! Smack! Bad craziness! A burst pancreas! And a chart-topping album! It can only be the posthumous but never-ending saga of the defining rock band of the ’80s and ’90s. Stuart Clark gets the latest from Duff McKagan
Names like Lord Composer & The Silver Seas Orchestra, Harold Richardson & The Ticklers and Lord Messam & His Calypsonians mightn’t mean much here but in Jamaica they’re the stuff legends are made of
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.
A spell in jail and another working in the music biz helped push Ollie Byrne in the direction of running a football club. The colourful Shelbourne chairman offers some typically forthright views on Dunphy, Racism, the FAI and the National Stadium as the new domestic season gets under way.
A former member of Shane MacGowan’s band the Popes adds his voice to the criticism of Shane’s manager Joey Cashman. And Shane’s father Maurice also rejoins the fray.
Whereas the likes of Interpol and Franz Ferdinand build on their retro influences, the Australians are so religiously devoted to theirs that they might as well go the whole hog and become a tribute act.
Hot on the heels of The Darkness' blitzkrieging of The Brits – is it me or is Justin's lunchbox getting bigger? – comes this equally bulging 38-track compendium of cock rock heroes past.
Never mind Cradle of Filth and their “Jesus Is A Cunt” t-shirts, if it’s real, honest to Beelzebub offensiveness you’re after look no further than Norwegian death metallers Gorgoroth who’ve been charged with blasphemous obscenity following a particularly boisterous gig in Poland.
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.
Gigs with Mick ’n’ Keef and Angus ’n’ Malcolm, and a potential ding-dong with The Strokes – it’s only rock’n’roll but Jet like it as does Stuart Clark.
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.
Following on from the orgy of excess that was the Christmas and New Year period, we’re sure that you’re all trying to undo the damage by cutting down on calories and making regular trips to the gym. Us? Well, we’re planning to spend even more time in 2004 sitting on our big fat wobbly arses.
Russian cosmonauts, mexican desperadoes and cranky italian elephants – it’s all in a day’s work for solo too supremo Ned O’Hanlon, the man entrusted with documenting the multi-media extravaganza that is the U2 live experience.
From rockers on the breadline to the political leader who has turned his mother into a deity, it’s all been grist to the mill of Caught In The Net in 2003. Stuart Clark presents the top ten.
I can still hear their taunts – “Clark’s talking through his arse again!”... “It’s not the ’70s anymore, Granddad!”... “I had my suspicions but now I know you’re a wanker!”
As it was my mother saying it, that last one was particularly hurtful.
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.
He may have turned the volume down a bit, but Ricky Warwick‘s Tatoos & Alibis album still rocks like a bastard. Stuart Clark meets him and his multi-platinum mate Joe Elliott.
With a little help from Timbaland and The Neptunes, Justin Timberlake’s debut solo album justified propelled him from N’Sync baby food salesman to purveyor of the slickest dancefloor pop since the days when Michael Jackson was black. here, via the wonders of modern technology, HP eavesdrops as the boy wonder receives a Woodward & Bernstein-style investigative enema from the Euro-press.
A Garda seizure and anecdotal evidence suggest that the dangerous drug DOB – aka ‘Snowballs’ – is well established in Ireland. and there’s worse to come.
Contrary to the usual hysteria around drugs, Irish authorities have been alarmingly slow to respond to the availability of a truly dangerous pill – dob.
Fancy getting fit? Caught In The Net presents slavercise: the perfect regime for those who need a little extra motivation (whip-cracking noise) Whtt-tchhhh!
Lowestoft’s finest have come up with a lorry-load of impossibly joyous pop-metal anthems, the likes of which haven’t been heard since David Lee Roth and Van Halen were spandexing their way round the ginormodome circuit.
Genital warts, cherry popping, male pattern baldness, archery and kate moss… it's access and, indeed, excess all areas as hotpress readers subject darkness mainman Justin Hawkins to a thorough probing.
Instead of trying to be self-consciously cutting edge, Bowie spends most of his 26th studio album belting out orthodox rock ‘n’ roll songs with a band that includes long-time friend, producer and vibemaster Tony Visconti.
The taciturn reputation of Black Rebel Motorcycle Club has often had journalists thinking in terms of ‘blood’ and ‘stone’, but Stuart Clark finds Peter Hayes in downright garrulous form on the subjects of their new album, Johnny Cash, mermaids and Arnie.
Having given rave reviews in the past to The Onion, TV Go Home, The Portadown News and Landover Baptist Ministries – Google them, kids! – Caught In The Net is pleased to bring you details of another superior spoof..
RTE are set to screen a documentary series about Carlisle United football club. But the fly on the wall had better keep his ears covered since the team’s manager, Dubliner Roddy Collins, is no shrinking violet. And, as Stuart Clark discovers here, even on subjects unrelated to football, the brother of boxing champ Steve doesn’t pull his punches. Images Liam Sweeney
Armed with a bigger budget, it might’ve been tempting for Snow Patrol to buff up their sound, but thankfully they’ve retained the rawness and fragility of old.
Stepping out from under the shadow of Tricky – but refusing to leave her former amour entirely behind – Martina Topley Bird has staked her own claim with one of the albums of the year. Comparisons with Billie Holiday may be flattering but, as she tells Stuart Clark, she’s too “pig-headed” to be anyone other than herself
Despite plenty of years of mayhem, Therapy? are not only surviving but thriving – at least in Amsterdam where, as you might expect, Stuart Clark spends a nice restful time with the boys.
Sunshine, killer skunk, low riders and being cool in the barbershop – even allowing for all the “shooting people and shit”, it’s easy to see why Tricky is happy with life in Los Angeles. And he’s also just made his best album since Maxinquaye.
He wasn’t going to sing and then he sang. He wasn’t going to talk to the press and then he talked. And, finally, when he was good and ready, Paul McCartney wowed an audience with his greatest hits. Stuart Clark sees Macca in Manchester warming up for Dublin
Driven along by their now trademark keys, ‘Last Of The Big Time Benders’, ‘Sing Song Sung’ and soon-to-be-released single ‘I Built A Gun’ are as good a triumvirate of tunes as you’ll hear from any young(ish) Irish band.
With their new album, Gotta Go There To Come Back, in the bag, Stereophonics have chosen a very special gig at the Heineken Green Energy extravaganza in Dublin, to make their return to the stage. No wonder the boys are feeling bullish! Chris Martin, Ronnie Wood, Fran Healy, Rod Stewart, Noel Gallagher, U2 and the Rolling Stones – Kelly Jones has opinions on all of them! So who’s feeling the lash of the ‘phonics frontman’s verbal assault, then?
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 key is that beneath all the bombast and bluster, Joe Elliott & Co. are hopeless music fans desperate to give punters the same adrenaline rush they got all those years from the likes of Bowie, Mott The Hoople and Sweet
Massive Attack explain why they are outspoken opponents of the proposed war in Iraq, give high praise to Sinéad O’Connor and reveal how a porn soundtrack left them gasping for airtime.
Caught In The Net roots out the best and worst of that there information superhighway they call the internet, pardner. This fortnight: The Ozporns and The Hebrew Hammer. Oy
Despite huge record sales, high-profile support slots and endless MTV rotation,
Good Charlotte are still good boys who choose early nights over conspicuous consumption. Stuart Clark finds out how, and why
What a year it’s been for that colossal, decentralised intellectual landfill we call the internet! This list of 2002’s best websites is neither definitive nor exhaustive. But on the plus side, it’s right here
It’s Christmas, time for some of the leading lights of the Irish musical family to return from far-flung stages and convene for a traditional evening of reflection, revelation, conversation, merriment and, well, gargle. The guests: Glen Hansard and Colm Mac Con Iomaire of The Frames, Gemma Hayes, Mundy and David Kitt.
Forget socks and toiletries, the days of truly demented presents are now upon us. Human limbs, bejewelled bikinis, barrels of liquor and whole ungulate quadrupeds, chopped and delivered to your door: It’s all on the net.
From gigs with cider punks in limerick to playing for Fidel in Havana and from the low of Richey’s disappearance to the high of performing before Wales’ victory over Italy – life has never been boring for the Manic Street Preachers. Stuart Clark listens intently as Nicky Wire discusses their defining moments
The author and former Conservative MP on clashing with Ian Paisley, shaking hands with Gerry Adams, sex and drugs in the house of commons, what Margaret Thatcher did and didn’t know about her closest aides and why kissing and telling on John Major is justified
By releasing an album in association with Phantom FM, EMI/Virgin records have placed a question mark over radio play for their artists – and have risked a clash with the ODTR
Hotpress hitch a ride on the Wilt tour bus for the band’s whistle-stop tour of Europe. For tales of on-stage abandon, backstage debauchery and bizarre drumming accidents, read on. Plus Cormac Battle’s tour diary
The Divine Comedy return to the live arena in September and have recorded several tracks for a new album 'that's going to be fab', according to the ever-immodest Neil Hannon
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"
He was one of the most controversial figures in the history of Irish broadcasting, turning Radio Nova into a money-making machine and courting confrontation with the gardai, RTE and the NUJ. With the end of the pirate era, he moved to England, where he came unstuck, following a scam that deprived Rupert Murdoch of millions. Many a colourful adventure later, Chris Cary is back in the news - and determined that he can convince the powers-that-be to let him operate the national long-wave frequency that once housed Atlantic 252.
Where other bands moan about the music industry or spend small fortunes bringing their stage designs to life, Stereophonics like to keep it nice and simple. Or at least as nice and simple as it gets when you tour with U2, get advice from Prince Charles and see Slipknot with their masks off
Stalking round the stage like a centaur on angel dust - the man has the weirdest posture - he doesn't let up until everybody in the audience is as drenched in sweat as he is
Bobby Gillespie's still staying up all night but now it's because there's a baby in the house. Otherwise, it's all systems go for Primal Scream at their bunker hq - Witnness cometh, Mani's back and Kate Moss, Kevin Shields, Robert Plant and AndrewWeatherall all feature on the groundbreaking evil high
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
Heathen may not be the spectacular return to form that some people are claiming, but it’s certainly a far more cohesive affair than its predecessors, Earthling and …hours, which both buckled under the weight of their experimentation.
Stuart Clark meets The Bellrays' vocalist Lisa Kekaula and hears how she developed that voice, why Lemmy is a big fan and why she's in bed with Alan McGee
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.
Dressed in regulation black shirts and white ties, The Hives manage to make each of their garage punk anthems sound like the most important sub-three minutes of your life
As Dublin readies itself for the Holidays In The Sun festival, Stuart Clark talks to Menace mainman Noel Martin about the birth of punk, Shane MacGowan's Union Jack and why John Lydon wasn't the most popular boy in school!
Cornershop have re-opened for business with a little help from Noel Gallagher and none at all from the BBC. Stuart Clark finds Tjinder Singh is less than miffed
Having spent Easter Sunday contemplating what complete bastards the British are, we thought you might like to peruse the range of IRA action figures that are available at www.canfodmins.com/gallery.htm
You know that your pop star interviewee is confident about the quality of his splendid new album, when he's happy to talk about everyone else under the sun. So it is with Pet Shop Boy Neil Tennant as he gives the thumbs up or down to Eminem, Liza Minelli, Kylie Minogue, So Solid Crew, Boy George and Westlife. Keeping score: Stuart Clark
While being as effortlessly abusive as our EU cousins takes years of practice, we've come up with a few starter phrases that’ll have even the locals blushing
and didn’t like what he saw... Fatboy Slim tells Stuart Clark about an encounter with Man Utd so unpleasant that even Zoe Ball is thinking of switching her allegiance to Brighton. Plus: the highs of Normstock and the lows of So Solid Crew
The music industry will implode the moment you buy one, but if you don't mind committing grand theft audio www.web.ukonline.co.uk/boomselection will tell you - and the Anti-Piracy Squad - everything you need to know about the current craze for bootlegs
This issue coinciding with Valentine's Day, Caught In The Net has decided to show it has a sensitive side that's willing to woo and not just jump into bed on the first date
A veritable den of dubious delicacies, the menu includes Cream Collon Biscuit Rolls, Coq Fromage Turkey, Pschitt! Lemonade and - tee hee hee - Grated Fanny Light Meat Tuna
Where hip and hype go together, that's where you'll find The Hives who are buzzing to tell Stuart Clark all about Kylie, curling, punk rock, nice forests and bad Norwegian jokes
The sense of expectation is tangible as Woody, fag and glass of red wine in hand, saunters on and launches into a deliciously loose version of ‘So You Want To Be A Rock ‘N’ Roll Star’.
Blood, parties, testosterone, gonzoid lyrics – that nice ANDREW WK has a little something for just about everyone. "Hell, I don't even mind if your other favourite artist’s Enya," he tells STUART CK
Footie fans who want to ensure that they’re fully prepared for the World Cup finals should check out the ‘How To…’ guide to Japanese toilets which can be found – trousers down and squatting – at www.asahi-net.or.jp/~ADBY-HYS/movie.htm
A less violent way to release that pent up testosterone is to buy one of the anatomically correct inflatable sheep that can be found at www.muttbone.com
The highlight of the year – and probably the decade – was scamming a trip to Havana to see the Manic Street Preachers do their live thing in front of Fidel Castro
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
The most wondrous glam metal band since Motley Crue or a bunch of overhyped Swedes who should realise there’s no market for second-hand Iron Maiden riffs?
Madonna pulled, Jimmy Somerville balled and Adrian Crowley saluted as Stuart Clark scythes his way through this fortnight's Caught In The Net undergrowth
It's been ten years that's shaken a fair bit of the world and now, suddenly, OASIS are back. what better time for a reflective, confessional, candid and scandalous one-on-one with a man who always gives great quote, NOEL GALLAGHER. Interview: STUART CLARK
As the RUC continues to undergo serious changes, STUART CLARK meets RICHARD LATHAM, a former officer who has a story of danger, death, politics and sex to tell
For a city so often celebrated in song, it was inevitable that the horrific events in new york would be felt as keenly in the music world as in any other section of society. STUART CLARK reports on the industry response and compiles a broad selection of individual reactions to the attack
DESPITE CERYS MATTHEWS going into rehab last week, the Witnness organisers remain confident that Catatonia will make it over for their Saturday night appearance on the More stage
Nerdlinger frontman Cormac Sheehan inadvertently got caught up in the rioting in Genoa last week while attending the G8 summit protest with anti-capitalist group Globalise Resistance.
THE IRISH ORGANISERS of the Russian Orphans Holiday Project are looking for artists of all musical persuasions who’d like to take part in an upcoming fundraising gig.
The Black Crowes! Blowjobs! Journey! Drink! Bob Seger! Vick’s inhaler! and why Keith Duffy is more fun than the Manic Street Preachers! Stereophonics let their hair down in the company of Stuart Clark
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
He has warts on his face, chemical paste in his blood, viagra in his dick and a heart full of rock 'n' roll. "There are occasions when I do preach temperance," Lemmy tells a startled STUART CLARK Woooooargh! Photography: SIMON ROCHE
To give him his full title, he's the Minister of State at the Department of Tourism, Sport and Recreation with responsibility for local development and the National Drugs Strategy. But it's for the latter responsibility that EOIN RYAN TD has earned the unofficial title of "Ireland's Drug Czar". As a new seven-year strategy is unveiled, STUART CLARK enquires about leisure, legalisation, decriminalisation, health, creativity, crime and punishment – and whether or not cannabis really is "a gateway drug". Photographs: PHILLIP TOTTENHAM.
Darina Allen, eat your heart out. New York chef ANTHONY BOURDAIN has done it all, from chopping out lines to chopping off fingertips, along the way dealing with the Mafia, Madonna, a dead man in a freezer and the palpitating heart of a cobra. STUART CLARK hears about cooking as rock'n'roll. CATHAL DAWSON serves up the pictures
Stuart Clark joins Bon Jovi for one wild night in Mexico city and hears how the band survived drink, drugs, dodgy haircuts and, ah, parasitical infections to hobnob with a beatle and stake their claim as “one of the best rock ’n’ roll bands on the planet”
SINÉAD O’CONNOR HAS pulled out of the Wotapalava festival, which is travelling to 17 American cities in July, and features a number of artists with gay credentials.
SPARKLEHORSE TAKE CARE of headline duties when the Witnness Rising tour swings by the Empire, Belfast (June 27th); Warwick, Galway (28th); Savoy Theatre, Cork (29th); and Whelan’s, Dublin (30th @ 2 and 7.30pm).
RON SEXSMITH ARRIVES in next month for shows at Dolan’s, Limerick (July 19th); Roisin Dubh, Galway (20th); Savoy, Cork (21st); Olympia, Dublin (22nd); and McGrory’s, Culdaff, Co. Donegal (23rd).
YOU CAN’T KEEP a good man down dept. Having found not one but three new homes, Aidan Walsh returns to action on June 16th with an over-18s blow-out at Dublin’s Sallynoggin Inn.
TRICKY, TEXAS, CATATONIA (pictured l to r), Faithless, Elbow, Neil Finn, Cold Chisel feat. Jimmy Barnes, Future Pilot AKA and The Walls are the latest acts to be confirmed for Witnness, which takes place at Fairyhouse on August 4th and 5th.
The Managing director of Treasure Island, Robert Stephenson, is encouraging a ‘concerted youth movement’ to highlight the issue of discrimination against teenagers by adults.
They say they’ve come from hell to bring us foot and mouth. But in reality they come from a small village outside Ipswich. STUART CLARK meets CRADLE OF FILTH, metal maniacs and purveyors of blasphemy, horror and gore – and, as you might expect, ends up talking about mums, kiddies, Winnie the Pooh and moisturiser
ASIAN DUB FOUNDATION treat fans to a sneak preview of their Sound System album when they swing by the Empire, Belfast on May 12th as part of the DigitalT 2001 festival.
SAMANTHA MUMBA AND her 11-year-old brother, Omero, are none too pleased this week after being told that they're going to have to re-shoot all of their scenes in The Time Machine.
THE FUN LOVIN' Criminals, Groove Armada, Ian Brown and Armand Van Helden are the first batch of acts to be confirmed for the Lynx Zero Gravity event, which is taking place at a secret London location on July 7th.
THE FUN LOVIN' Criminals, Groove Armada, Ian Brown and Armand Van Helden are the first batch of acts to be confirmed for the Lynx Zero Gravity event, which is taking place at a secret London location on July 7th.
THE FUN LOVIN' Criminals, Groove Armada, Ian Brown and Armand Van Helden are the first batch of acts to be confirmed for the Lynx Zero Gravity event, which is taking place at a secret London location on July 7th.
THE FUN LOVIN' Criminals, Groove Armada, Ian Brown and Armand Van Helden are the first batch of acts to be confirmed for the Lynx Zero Gravity event, which is taking place at a secret London location on July 7th.
ALTHOUGH YET TO be officially confirmed, hotpress understands that Shane MacGowan & The Popes are set to play back-to-back shows at the Olympia on May 18th and 19th.
ALTHOUGH YET TO be officially confirmed, hotpress understands that Shane MacGowan & The Popes are set to play back-to-back shows at the Olympia on May 18th and 19th.
JJ72 FANS DESPERATE for new material will be pleased, nay, thrilled to hear that the band are making a number of exclusives available through their .com website.
MADONNA’S IRISH FANS were left feeling somewhat neglected last week when it was announced that the nearest her Drowned World Tour will be getting to dear old Eireann is London.
Belfast, then Glasgow and NEXT STOP – the cover of the Radio Times?
Stuart Clark joins fast-rising Snow Patrol on Scottish manoeuvres. PICS: IAN McMURRAY
THE HEIR TO Dr. John’s voodoo blues throne, John Hammond, pays an April 21st visit to HQ.
He comes armed with a new album, Wicked Grin, that was written and produced by his old mucker, Tom Waits.
SHANE MacGOWAN IN ‘Everything Louder Than Everything Else’ Shocker! Yup, the hotpress cover star has made a foray into Kerrang! territory with Celtic pagan metallers Cruachan.
THE CORRS HAVE been confirmed as one of the headliners at the South African “Freedom Day” concert, which is taking place in London’s Trafalgar Square on April 29th.
MASSIVE ATTACKER Daddy G and Jarvis Cocker are the respective Saturday and Sunday night headliners as Dublin’s Morrison Hotel plays host to an Easter DJ extravaganza.
MASSIVE ATTACKER Daddy G and Jarvis Cocker are the respective Saturday and Sunday night headliners as Dublin’s Morrison Hotel plays host to an Easter DJ extravaganza.
THERE WAS MUCH jubilation at Clare FM and Galway Bay FM last week as Austin Durrack and Jon Richards were presented with their respective Fairplay For Airplay awards.
The miniscule number of you who bought their last album, La Peste, will know that the Alabama 3 have decided to tone down the Southern preacher bit and concentrate on the tunes. It's an attempt to get away from the "novelty band" image, which has resulted in savage critical maulings in the UK, and collective head scratching on the other side of the Atlantic.
It was one of rock's most bizarre and impressive spectacles - the MANIC STREET PREACHERS live in Cuba, in front of an audience including Fidel Castro! STUART CLARK was there, and spoke to JAMES DEAN BRADFIELD about Bill Clinton, Top Of The Pops, Bono, Elian Gonzales and the band's new album
Irish legend, Arsenal loyalist and now manager of Champions League surprise package Leeds United, DAVID O'LEARY knows the game of football inside out. Here he talks to STUART CLARK about money, agents, Après Match, Eircom Park, Man Utd., Robbie Keane, Mick McCarthy, his rows with Jack Charlton and Brian Kerr, and why he definitely wants to manage Ireland - at 50!
First of all this issue, we'd like to apologise to our fundamentalist readers for suggesting that they're a humourless bunch of bigots who wouldn't recognise a joke if it walked up to them, administered oral sex and said, "How's that for the second coming!"
MARILYN MANSON may be the epitome of Middle America's worst nightmare but, as STUART CLARK discovers, he's not that bad, really. On the agenda: Bono, Eminem, Moby, George W. Bush and the Columbine shootings
He s so vain, but brian molko is also one of the most astute men in rock n roll. Having put his hedonistic days behind him honest! the placebo mainman talks to stuart clark about martyrdom, maturity and Marilyn Manson.
Everton s DANNY CADAMARTERI and West Ham s
RIO FERDINAND are two of the football stars promoting the Show Racism The Red Card initiative. STUART CLARK reports
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
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'
BLOODHOUND GANG might not be paragons of good taste, but they do live out the rock n roll lifestyle like no other band. JIMMY POP talks to STUART CLARK about swearing, drugs, porn stars and amusing Germans! Pop Pic-er: Declan English
He was soccer s hardest man. Now he s in the process of becoming a genuine Hollywood star. Here VINNIE JONES talks to STUART CLARK about being mates with Madonna and Brad Pitt, his years with the Crazy Gang, and why he dislikes Johnny Giles
Critical brickbats aside, the success of TRAVIS seems to know no bounds. Here FRAN HEALY and co talk to STUART CLARK about drugs, Oasis, Paul McCartney, Ali G, and drunkenly dancing on computers! The man who took the photos: STEVEN FISHER
DAVID HOLMES new album is likely to
elevate him to the world s DJ-ing A-list.
STUART CLARK visited him in Belfast to hear tales of voodoo, punk, Primal Scream and, er, Gilbert O Sullivan.
Pictures: MYLES CLAFFEY
DESPERATE TO start your own white militia but don t know where to find the necessary hardware?
Well, fret no more my fascist friends, because The Small Arms Review has finally made it over the Atlantic. A must-read for anyone who wants to build their own fortified compound in the Wicklow Mountains, the magazine is packed with ads for companies like US Ordenance, who can fix you up with a Vickers Semi-Auto .303 machine gun for just $4,495 (including p&p).
THERE S NOTHING I enjoy more after leaving Hot Press than to go home, loosen my cravat and indulge in a good nutty shag. However, it is increasingly the practice of the working classes and newly-moneyed to pour scorn on such manly pursuits. The days of a public school education automatically earning one respect are, it appears, at an end. The landscape would be unbearably bleak were it not for The Chap, a new gentleman s quarterly which has become quite the rage in polite society.
SEX, HUMOR And Truth it proudly proclaims on the cover and, sure enough, Hustler is almost as famous nowadays for upholding the Fifth Amendment as for what the porn world so sensitively titles hamburger shots.
After years when her triumphs were in danger of being masked by her tribulations, DOLORES O RIORDAN is back in defiantly upbeat form. She talks to STUART CLARK about confidence, critics, Calvin Klein and her confirmation-size breasts ! Pics: MICK QUINN.
After half a century as the adventurous tripper s drug of choice, LSD is being given a designer makeover. In our continuing series on drugs, STUART CLARK checks out the hallucinogens.
IT'S AMAZING what a remix can do. Twelve months ago Moloko were trip-hop also-rans, a bargain basement Portishead whose main contribution to popular music had been calling their debut album Do You Like My Tight Sweater?
Law enforcement agencies are worried it could be the new ecstasy. In the fourth part of Hot Press investigation into drugs STUART CLARK reports on the new breed of super-amphetamines
Could the legal status of E soon change? In the third part of Hot Press continuing investigation into drugs, STUART CLARK reports on the clubbers pill of choice.
IF ANYONE deserves to be a fabulously wealthy rock star, it's Cathal Coughlan. For the past 15 years, he's churned out classic after classic, with nary a hint of a high-maintenance blonde, a spell in tax exile or a week in the Priory.
STUART CLARK checks out the inside story of L!VE TV, perhaps the daftest tabloid telly station in the world (ever), and wonders how Irish television might follow suit.
It s the morning after the night before and BRET EASTON ELLIS feels like he s got Marilyn Manson playing inside his head. A dinner date with fellow penslinger Irvine Welsh has gone seriously pear-shaped and like his most famous literary creation, the Californian is fit to kill. STUART CLARK offers tea and solpadeine, and in return gets the lowdown on American Psycho, trans-Atlantic stalkers and why both Air Supply and the Teletubbies are evil. Pix: Cathal Dawson.
More people than ever may be smoking it but Ireland s marijuana laws remain among the most draconian in Europe. In the second part of our series on drugs in Ireland, STUART CLARK presents the dope on dope.
YOU CAN pretty much guess what was said at the first editorial meeting.
We re going to produce a magazine like Loaded, except without the humour, irony and people who possess a modicum of journalistic talent.
IT S A great concept, you ve got to admit. A Limey journalist who doesn t know his Big Punishers from his Lil Kims goes to South Central, spends a year hanging out with the local hip hop hopefuls and produces the first book on gangsta rap that you don t have to be dope, fly or packing heat to understand.
NEVER MIND share prices and gross national products. If you want to gauge how tigerish an economy is, take a look at what people are shoving up their noses.
When the Be Here Now tour fell apart at the seams in 1997, the end seemed nigh for Britain’s biggest rock’n’roll band. Then Noel Gallagher gave up drugs and moved to the country. With a stunning new album on the way, the Oasis mainman tells Stuart Clark where it all went right.
HAVING DECIDED that smooth career paths are for wimps, Primal Scream have embarked on a flight of musical fancy that's wildly oscillated between brilliance (Screamadelica) and sub-Black Crowes retro cack (Give Out, But Don't Give Up).
IT'S BEEN a bit grim up North since Ash became chart regulars. True, The Divine Comedy have made the top 30 a better, more decent place with their pop whimsy, but in terms of cheesegrater riffs there's been little to float one's boat.
STUART CLARK travels to New York to see and hear ONEIDA - the best American band you haven't heard of, yet - and to take the eve of the millennium pulse of the city that never sleeps. Pics: PETER MATTHEWS.
I'M NOT entirely sure that it's what the web's founding fathers had in mind when they put up the first server, but as an example of how the 'Net has given individuals a global voice, you won't find better than the homepage maintained by a Turkish fellow named Mahir.
"Ireland to win at home and then draw in Turkey," LIAM BRADY is confident that Mick McCarthy's men can qualify for Euro 2000 - and given this man's footballing credentials, who's to argue? EAMON DUNPHY, perhaps? Interview: STUART CLARK.
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.
Or should that be The Clash? Well no, actually, cos there's no Clash, Damned or Pistols in 1999. But there s still joe strummer, who was there when Shane got his ear bitten off and, 22 years later is back for his own second bite with THE MESCALEROS. I ve seen everything that it s possible to see go down and I ve survived it, he tells STUART CLARK who finds himself shanghaied on a ferry to Stranraer.
Main pix: MICHAEL QUINN.
THE CHARLATANS are back firing on all cylinders, and talking global domination. TIM BURGESS and JON BROOKES talk to STUART CLARK about the joys of L.A., the dangers of Jack Daniel s and falling down Noel Gallagher s
marble staircase. Pics: MICK QUINN
ME AND the boys are heading down to Central America for a couple of weeks. Nothing too taxing overthrow a democratically-elected President and replace him with this right-wing dictator bloke who s bunging us $500,000. If you want to come along for the ride, give us a shout.
co.uk, with their spiky sound and their hearts set on superstardom, are the new great white hopes of the northern rock scene. STUART CLARK met them.
PiX: MICHAEL TAYLOR
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.
Irish film-maker BILL HUGHES has just completed a documentary on the past 100 years of homosexual life in Ireland. ANGELA McGOLDRICK met him to talk about the programme, and his own experience as a gay Irish person.
When THE JIM ROSE CIRCUS comes to town, some very strange people want in on the act. STUART CLARK met them and ended up talking about body piercings, glass eating, and the legality of public displays of female genitalia. Pics: CATHAL DAWSON.
Super Furry Animals are yet another Welsh band poised for huge success on the back of their new album. They talk to STUART CLARK about their rejection of Brit Pop, strange Japanese fans and the glory days of The Free Wales Army. Pics of Super Furry Animals with super furry animals: Mick Quinn.
THEY RE NOT quite in the Tommy Hilfiger or Yves St. Laurent league yet, but 1998 found the Los Angeles County Coroner s Office selling over $1 million worth of its death-themed fun wear.
Forget brain surgery or being Shane MacGowan's oral hygienist, the toughest job in the world has got to be that of an A&R man.
At around about the same time that I was telling everybody that Thee Amazing Colossal Men were going to conquer the world with their second album, a demo from five pasty-faced Londoners went from the Clarkian desk to bin in record time on account of its tired Bowiesms.
WITH THE Spank, sorry, Bank Holiday Weekend upon us, we thought you d be interested in a magazine that enables you to get the most out of your leisure time.
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.
