No shortbread please, we're ScottishThe way Colin Hynd tells it, Celtic Connections, Glasgow's persuasive 18-day Celtic music festival, wouldn't have been the success…Wed Jan 02 2002 - 00:00
Cult Hero: Vivian StanshallHow someone so charismatic and flamboyant could end up dying in a house fire, his home infiltrated by a gang of homeless alcoholics…Sat Dec 08 2001 - 00:00
Throwback to the laid-back from a charming rock starMany rock musicians engender respect, but few are also deeply charmingMon Dec 03 2001 - 00:00
Gavin Friday & The Friday-Seezer EnsembleThere's a vicious rumour going around that Gavin Friday is a bit of a chancer - part poseur, part passion, part pruneSat Dec 01 2001 - 00:00
Bob Geldof"This is weird." Geldof speaks for the rest of us from the stage of one of Ireland's most adaptable major venuesMon Nov 26 2001 - 00:00
Plastic BertrandHe was the irritating pint-sized, wet-look Belgian who seized the reigns of punk rock and made a laughing stock out of the movement…Sat Nov 17 2001 - 00:00
StereophonicsCombining old and new guard, filtering out bombastic prog rock and adding a dynamic twist of fag-end Brit pop, Wales's Stereophonics…Wed Nov 14 2001 - 00:00
Ryan AdamsHe comes across like a cut-price Bruce Springsteen backed by a hybrid mixture of The Band and Big Star, but Ryan Adams - the …Sat Oct 27 2001 - 01:00
The Old Grey Whistle TestWe were so much older then, but we're younger than that now - that's the only way to view a television warhorse music programme…Sat Oct 13 2001 - 01:00
TindersticksDespite their best intentions of remaining a fringe act, Tindersticks have, over the course of almost 10 years, built up a sizeable…Wed Oct 10 2001 - 01:00
The Paul Brady SongbookFor all his prestige and credibility as a songwriter, Paul Brady seems to need continually to prove himself - no bad thing for…Thu Oct 04 2001 - 01:00
Brian KennedyThere was a time when it seemed Brian Kennedy strived for a form of credibility that comes from peer pressure and certain irate…Wed Oct 03 2001 - 01:00
Cult Hero - Hannes BokBorn in Duluth, Minnesota on July 2nd, 1914, Hannes Bok was an outstandingly brilliant artist who was also an excellent writer…Sat Sept 29 2001 - 01:00
Acoustic 4x4It's hardly novel, but it works: showcasing four singer-songwriters is as good a way as any of pitching the work of disparate…Wed Sept 19 2001 - 01:00
Gary MooreAs reinventions go, Gary Moore's swapping of leather jackets and hard rock for comfortable clothes and a Les Paul guitar has …Wed Sept 12 2001 - 01:00
Cult HeroIn Rock music terms, he's the cult hero to beat all cult heroes, the man who had it all but who crumbled before our very eyes…Sat Sept 08 2001 - 01:00
U2,If Bono, U2's lead singer, is the driver of the machine, Adam Clayton, Larry Mullen jnr and Edge are the wheels that make it …Mon Aug 27 2001 - 01:00
Richard Thompson & Danny ThompsonNot the Thompson brothers and definitely not the Thompson Twins, Richard and Danny are two stalwarts of British contemporary …Wed Aug 01 2001 - 01:00
The FugsCombine boho poetry, a certain level of musical gaucheness and a healthy dose of shock tactics and you have The Fugs, an avant…Sat Jul 28 2001 - 01:00
Robbie WilliamsA primary question: what exactly do we want from our pop stars? Information? Entertainment? A mixture of both, with side orders…Wed Jul 11 2001 - 01:00
GabrielleGabrielle's success in Ireland continues apace - the last time she played this venue it was to a seated crowd who simply refused…Thu Jul 05 2001 - 01:00
Chris MillsA Chicago resident via a circuitous route involving stints in other parts of the US and Germany; a short-haired, string-snapping…Fri Jun 29 2001 - 01:00
Alanis MorissetteHopefully starting a trend of major artists using smaller venues in which to road-test new material, Alanis Morissette played…Sat Jun 16 2001 - 01:00
Neil YoungLess prosaic than Leonard Cohen, more simplistic than Joni Mitchell and more viscerally exciting than Bob Dylan could ever be…Thu Jun 14 2001 - 01:00
Roxy MusicThis could have been a travesty: an acclaimed British rock band re-forms after almost 20 years for a brief world tour that is…Tue Jun 12 2001 - 01:00
Mary Chapin Carpenter, Shawn ColvinHaving one excellent singer/songwriter on the bill is good enough; two is spoiling usTue Jun 05 2001 - 01:00
Joe MeekJoe Meek was born in April 1929, in Newent, Gloucestershire, and died in February 1967, in London, when he shot himselfSat May 19 2001 - 01:00
Grand DriveIt's a rare thing that a band from South London/Brighton way comes up with a record that sounds as if the members have been brainwashed…Mon May 14 2001 - 01:00
Hamell On TrialA late addition to the festival proved to be the highlight: a scarred, bullet-headed, 40-something New-York-Stater, whose scatter…Thu May 10 2001 - 01:00
Jason Ringenberg Kilkenny, Carlsberg Rhythm & Roots FestivalRingenberg is the man with the most history here: the leader of ground-breaking cowpunk band Jason & The Scorchers, torch…Tue May 08 2001 - 01:00
Paul BurchWhile Ryan Adams was across the road in the Watergate Theatre being precious in front of a couple of hundred people, Lambchop…Tue May 08 2001 - 01:00
Roky EricksonBorn Roger Erkynard Erickson in 1947 in Dallas, Texas, Roky Erickson was founder member of The Thirteenth Floor Elevators, a …Sat Apr 21 2001 - 01:00
Who wants to fit in, anyway?Standing alone - but not aloof - from most Irish rock bands, Cane 141 have crept up from the lower ranks of the ne'er-do-wells…Sat Apr 21 2001 - 01:00
TelevisionSo the band that unleashed one of the bona fide classic rock albums of the past 35 years finally arrived in Ireland and appeared…Wed Apr 18 2001 - 01:00
Finding the elixir of lifeOver the past 20-odd years, New York's Television have achieved the virtually impossibleSat Apr 14 2001 - 01:00
Spell-binding developmentNot many people have a fiddle-playing grandfather in a band called The Senile DelinquentsFri Apr 13 2001 - 01:00
Linda LovelaceIt's a name that is mentioned in either impolite company or in the context of exploitation of womenSat Mar 31 2001 - 01:00
Who is Eva Cassidy?Posthumous success in the pop and rock worlds often happens - you only have to look at the industry behind Presley, Hendrix, (…Sat Mar 31 2001 - 01:00
Kim Richey, The ShelterOut on her own with just a few bags, a guitar and a bunch of songs, former environmental education worker Kim Richey looks like…Wed Mar 07 2001 - 00:00
Basil BrushThose of a certain age and pedigree will recall with fondness Basil Brush, the rebellious fox glove puppet with the upper-class…Sat Mar 03 2001 - 00:00
Gong: it's been a strange tripAny self-respecting hippie, young and old, would have a soft spot for Gong, the onomatopoeically-titled avantgarde, anarchic …Sat Jan 27 2001 - 00:00
Divine ComedyHere he is again: the dapper, thin frame, the clevercousin remarks, the nice Kurt Cobain lank hair, the wonderful songsWed Jan 24 2001 - 00:00
`Positive energy tinged with anger'It is a long way from standing in front of 80,000 people at Slane to playing two nights at the Olympia, but Richard Ashcroft …Sat Dec 16 2000 - 00:00
Not as moody as he looksWhat the world doesn't want these days is another stultifyingly boring singer-songwriterSat Dec 02 2000 - 00:00
PlaceboThe cosmopolitan trio of Placebo (singer/guitarist Brian Molko is American; bassist Stefan Olsdal is Swedish; drummer Robert …Sat Dec 02 2000 - 00:00
Sack full of good thingsIn a classic case of persistence versus foolhardiness, Dublin band Sack have come through the bad, obscure times to reach a point…Sat Nov 25 2000 - 00:00
