As he prepares to play to 1/12th of the Irish population, Stuart Clark gets the inside word on Ed Sheeran from some of his closest musical allies, recalls his own interviews with the stadium-filling superstar, and hears about his very first visit to Dublin home from home, Whelan’s. Speaking with a broad spectrum of people who have worked with Ed along the way, this exclusive preview traces Ed’s Irish roots, his development as one of the most ambitious solo performers in the world, and how he refused to comprise along his steep climb to the top. It also features an touching recollection by photo-journalist Barbara Lindberg on the crucial day when Ed met Damien Rice at show in Whelan's – a day now immortalised in a superb cover pic of the 13 year-old Ed, shot by Barbara.
Looking ahead to the summer then, we’ve also got massive festival guideline in this issue. With the Irish music festival being in rude health and there being more events than ever before, we list the top one-day events and weekenders to attend over the next few months.
Helping us out on the festival front, we have extensive interviews with Manic Street Preachers, who talk about their new album Resistance Is Futile, and the tumultuous state of international politics; Delorentos, who return to the festival scene with their finest album to date, True Surrender; Bob Geldof, who pulls no punches as he talks about Repeal, the Pope, W.B. Yeats, and the Boomtown Rats supporting Queen this summer.
In the Hot Press Interview this fortnight, Jason O’Toole meets with Peter Boylan. The former master of the National Maternity Hospital, Dr. Boylan has been one of the most outspoken pro-choice figures in the Irish medical world. In a hugely revealing interview ahead of the Repeal referendum, he says that the Eighth Amendment cost Savita Halappanavar her life, talks about fighting the Church in his medical career, and reflects on how working in the UK changed his conservative views on abortion.
In our Frontlines section, as part of our festival feature, we speak to the Managing Director of Festival Republic, Melvin Benn, about the need to improve female representation on festival line-ups and how a new initiative from Festival Republic called ReBalance can contribute to fixing this problem. We also preview a nationwide push for effective ‘treat, don’t punish’ drug policy, which we urge readers to get involved with…
In our film section, Roe McDermott meets Jessie Buckley, to talk about her new serial killer flick Beast, and Andrew Buckley, to talk about appearing alongside Cillian Murphy in new film The Delinquent Season.
On top of all that, we also have interviews with the likes of David Kitt, Dream Wife, Brand New Friend, Aislinn Loganand David Baldacci as well as all the usual previews, reviews and news that you'd expect from Hot Press, including coverage of the newest releases from Delorentos, Cathy Davey, Paul Alwright and more.