Hot Press
Hot Press is a fortnightly music and political magazine founded in 1977, based in Dublin, Ireland. It is distinguished by its anti-establishment stance and championing of Irish music, most notably early U2. It has been edited since its inception by Niall Stokes.
It currently has 51,000 readers every issue and over 90,000 every month in the Republic of Ireland alone, according to the Joint National Readership Survey 2006.[1] According to the Audit Bureau of Circulations, it had an circulation of 19,599 during the second six months of 2006.
The Hot Press Annual 2007 featured interviews with the Scissor Sisters and others. The cover was graced by Jake Shears. The first issue of 2007 was a Simpsons special where there is an exclusive interview with the show's executive producer Mike Scully. It includes musicians such as Snow Patrol's Gary Lightbody and other well-known people talking about their favourite Simpsons shows/moments. It also previewed the best of what was to come throughout the year in the worlds of music, film, sport and politics.
Hot Press has announced a war against ticket touts following a number of high profile incidents, such as the Arcade Fire ticket fiasco. [1] A number of fans were consulted for their views on the incident and were clearly angered. [2]
Regular features
- The Mad Hatter's Box - A random well-known person is asked random questions about themselves.
- The Shooting Gallery - Features letters from readers, responses from the editorial team to these letters and choice cuts from the HOTPRESS Message board. A Letter of the Fortnight is selected to win a €20 Dolphin Discs voucher.
- The Message An article by someone, usually the editor, Niall Stokes. The 2006 Christmas Special featured a Christmas Message from Podge and Rodge who wrote of how Ballydung Manor had been "inundated with D to Z list celebs for much of the year".
- Music News with Stuart Clark. Features the latest from the Irish music scene as well as international events.
- Frontlines - Investigation and analysis of a significant piece of current affairs, e.g. Youtube, Borat, drink-driving...
- Sam Snort - A casual glance at what's happening...
- Sexed Up with Anne Sexton. Features stories from her life, top sex tips, the sex life of a well-known person and The Sex O'Clock News (a look at the latest sexual innovations).
- Bootboy - A personal take on sex, men, politics...
- Sounding Off - The latest from the music scene in general. Contains interviews with bands and musicians.
- What's Going On - A complete guide to what's happening at the moment with extensive listings covering TV, radio, gigs, comedy, clubbing,exhibitions and theatre.
- The Moviehouse with Tara Brady. Features movie reviews and interviews with actors, directors, producers, etc.
- At Home With... - A piece about life at home with a well-known person.
- On The Game with John Walshe. Features games reviews.
- Hot Looks - Fashion feature where a guest shows off their unique style.
- Hoot Press - Comedy guide.
- Garageland - A comprehensive section covering news, views, information, gossip and demos on the homefront.
- Folk Centre with Greg McAteer. Features the latest news from the world of folk and traditional music.
- Hit The North with Colin Carberry. Features the latest music news from Northern Ireland.
- Charts - Top 30 singles and albums, what we were listening to 10 years ago, and download and ringtone charts.
- The Phantom - Out and about stories with images of social events and people.
Music
A large number of the most popular artists from the world of rock’n’roll and pop music have been interviewed by Hot Press, including those as diverse as David Bowie, Bob Marley, The Rolling Stones, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Fleetwood Mac, R.E.M., Kate Bush, Radiohead, Enya, Bob Geldof, Paul McCartney, Joni Mitchell, Robbie Williams, Beyonce, The Smiths, The Sex Pistols, The Clash, Oasis, Blur, New Order, 50 Cent, Green Day, The Strokes, Kylie Minogue, Westlife, Massive Attack, Alicia Keys, David Gray, P.J. Harvey and many more.
In recent times, Hot Press has published interviews with the new breed of modern rock band, championing Franz Ferdinand, The Killers, Arctic Monkeys, Editors, Bloc Party, Kaiser Chiefs, Maxïmo Park, Muse, Razorlight, HARD-Fi and Keane among others.
In 2006, Hot Press has also interviewed some of the new, emerging solo artists and songwriters from James Blunt and Sandi Thom to Lily Allen and Nellie Furtado. Well-known Irish artists from U2 and Enya through Sinéad O’Connor, The Cranberries, The Frames, Snow Patrol, Damien Rice and Ash to David Holmes, The Thrills and The Corrs have been interviewed extensively by the magazine, as well as the more recent or up-and-coming Irish artists such as Bell X1, Humanzi, Delorentos, Director, Republic of Loose and The Blizzards, as well as reviewing music from The Marshals, The Immediate, Travega and The Aftermath.
Festivals
Hot Press covers all the major international music festivals, as well as the Irish ones such as Oxegen and the Electric Picnic.
- Electric Picnic 2006
- Oxegen 2006
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Maximo Park
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Kooks
Hot Press released a special edition of their magazine in the weeks leading up to the Electric Picnic which took place in September 2006.Its cover was filled with those bands and artists who played the festival. The issue featured interviews with the bands who played the festival. A free CD was also distributed with each issue featuring ten songs from these artists, including Bloc Party, Duke Special, Broken Social Scene, Gang of Four, Hot Chip and Elbow.
Interviews
Over the years Hot Press has broken some of the biggest stories in music:
- Having discovered U2 in Dublin in the late 1970s, Hot Press coverage of the rise of the band was significant in its depth and insight, leading the band to international success.
- Sinéad O'Connor talked first to Hot Press about her lesbianism – the story later hit the headlines around the world.
- Hot Press writer Stuart Clark was present on the day that Oasis came closest to splitting up. He gained an insight into the life of Noel Gallagher, including an interruption to the interview during which the Oasis songwriter was told that Liam would not be gigging with the band that night.
"Fuck, no way man," he (Noel Gallagher) insists. "I'll probably get away with it tonight but I'm not as good a singer as he is. I'd much rather be stood in front of me amplifier doing the odd backing-vocal. The cunt! I tell you what I'm tempted to do - go on stage and tell the crowd his room number so they can go round the hotel and get their money back off him." [3]
- In a historic moment in rock music, Hot Press engineered the first meeting between Bono and Bob Dylan when they asked the U2 singer to interview the songwriting legend for the magazine and he agreed.
- Reporter Steve Cummins boarded the Babyshambles tour bus and provided a compelling close-up view of the bizarre and chaotic life of Pete Doherty and his band of rock’n’roll outlaws.
Contributors
Past Writers for Hot Press have included the authors of BAFTA award winning Father Ted, Graham Linehan & Arthur Mathews, author and Daily Telegraph columnist Neil McCormick, the late Bill Graham, Sunday Business Post US correspondent Niall Stanage, Irish Examiner soccer correspondent Liam Mackey, Irish Times columnist John Waters, food writer John McKenna author and Sunday Independent journalist Declan Lynch.
Competitions
All Write Now
As part of their thirtieth birthday celebrations in 2007, Hot Press in association with Vodafone Ireland ran a competition with a top prize of winning an internship at Hot Press. They asked students to submit no more than four hundred words about any music subject of their choice. The competition was open to all sixth year and third-level students in Ireland. The closing date for entries was January 29 2007.
Budding writers could send in a review of an album or gig, discuss music trends or simply vent their view on any aspect of music they love or hate. The judging was based purely on writing quality and originality as well as interest and entertainment value.
Four students won an internship at Hot Press, to take place next summer or autumn at the winner's discretion, as well as cash prizes and a selection of other prizes. A number of prizes were also given to runners-up.
The panel of judges included seasoned writers and musicians, such as Neil Hannon of the Divine Comedy; best-selling author Alex Barclay; Paul Howard of Ross O'Carroll-Kelly fame; Hot Press editor Niall Stokes and deputy editor Stuart Clark.[4]
Books
Hot Press has published a number of books:
- Diary Of A Man, by Dermod Moore, 2005. A collection of essays by the magazine's columnist aka Bootboy.
- The Rooms, by Declan Lynch, 2005. The third novel from Declan Lynch.
- The Palace of Wisdom (Sex Lines & The Story of O), by Olaf Tyaransen (2004, 2002, 2000) (all of Olaf Tyaransen's books have covers featuring paintings by Irish Artist Graham Knuttel
- McCann: War & Peace in Northern Ireland, by Eamonn McCann, 1998.
- My Boy, by Philomena Lynott with Jackie Hayden, 1996 Synopsis: The story of Phil Lynott as told by his mother. It is also her story, from the days as a single mother bringing up a young black child in Manchester and Dublin, through the heady success of Thin Lizzy, to the tragic chain of events which ended her son's life and plunged her into depression.
Trivia
- The magazine name is a play on the term hot press, a common Irish term referring to a domestic airing cupboard.
- Hot Press also released Phil Lynott: The Lost Recordings as a free CD with an issue released in August 2006 to commemorate the 20th anniversary of Phil Lynott's death. The CD featured 5 recordings which had never been released, including 2 tracks that had never been heard before.
- The cover of the 2006 Christmas Issue of Hot Press features illustrations of musical personalities from Ireland and abroad. They were created by the animation team Eyebrowy who have featured on Dave Fanning's The Last Broadcast and at the Electric Picnic.
Covers
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Previous issue
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Previous issue
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Previous issue
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19th October 2006
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2nd November 2006
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16th November 2006
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Bumper Christmas 2006 edition of Hot Press
Annuals
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Hot Press Annual 2005
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Hot Press Annual 2007
