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 Hot Press's "40th birthday" on the cover of the June 2017 issue | |
| Editor | Niall Stokes |
|---|---|
| Categories | Music,current affairs |
| Frequency | Monthly |
| First issue | June 1977 |
| Country | Ireland |
| Language | English |
| Website | hotpress |
| ISSN | 0332-0847 |
Hot Press is a monthly music and politics magazine based inDublin, Ireland, founded in June 1977. The magazine has been edited since its inception byNiall Stokes.
Hot Press was founded in June 1977 by Niall Stokes, who continues to be its editor to the present day.[1][2] Since then, the magazine has featured stories in the music world, both in Ireland and internationally.[3]
The first issue ofHot Press featured Irish blues rock musicianRory Gallagher ahead of his headlining performance at Ireland's first open air rock festival, theMacroom Mountain Dew Festival, in 1977. The magazine has covered the career ofU2 since the late 1970s.Sinéad O'Connor first talked toHot Press about her lesbianism.[4]
The magazine has been at the centre of several controversies: for example,Hot Press writerStuart Clark was interviewingOasis band member and songwriterNoel Gallagher when Gallagher found out that his brother Liam would not take the stage for that evening's performance, and the band came close to splitting up.[citation needed]
Hot Press was at the centre of a legal dispute over the copyright of the termDe Dannan in 2009 after it featured an advertisement using the term to promote a new tour by the traditional group.[5]
In September 2009, an interview conducted byOlaf Tyaransen with the comedianTommy Tiernan atElectric Picnic 2009 proved controversial when Tiernan made some remarks which were later perceived asantisemitic. The comments were reported in the Irish and international media;[6][7] however, both Tyaransen andHot Press editor Niall Stokes, as well as Tiernan himself, defended them as being taken out of context.[8]
In 2020, in reaction to theCOVID-19 pandemic lock down in Ireland, Hot Press held a set of online music sessions called the Lockdown Sessions featuring artists such asCelaviedmai, Doppler, andTebi Rex.[9][10]
Past writers forHot Press have included ninthPresident of IrelandMichael D. Higgins,[11] the authors ofBAFTA award-winningFather Ted,Graham Linehan andArthur Mathews,Sunday Times television reviewer Liam Fay, author andDaily Telegraph columnist Neil McCormick,Bill Graham,The Sunday Business Post US correspondentNiall Stanage,Irish Examiner soccer correspondent Liam Mackey, author Damian Corless, the formerThe Irish Times columnistJohn Waters and film critic Tara Brady, food writer John McKenna,Sunday Independent journalistDeclan Lynch andThe Guardian football writer,Football Weekly regularBarry Glendenning,Daily Mail writerJason O'Toole and Olaf Tyaransen[citation needed].
Current writers include Peter Murphy,[12] Jackie Hayden,[13] and Pat Carty.[14]
Hot Press has had a centrist stance on politics and social issues.[citation needed] During the2007 general election it supported many smaller left wing parties such as theGreen Party andLabour.[citation needed] It was critical of the thenFianna Fáil government, pro-Seanad reform and was opposed to the June 2007 decision of theIrish Film Censor's Office to ban the videogameManhunt 2[15] This is the first time a video game has been refused certification by the IFCO.[16]
The magazine has interviewed several politicians, includingSinn Féin'sGerry Adams,DUP'sIan Paisley Jr.MLA, leader of theGreen Party,John Gormley andMinister for Finance,Brian Cowen.
The sort of smug know-all commentator... I suppose if anything annoys me, that annoys me... I could instance a load of fuckers whose throat I'd cut, and push over the nearest cliff, but there's no percentage in that. – FormerTaoiseachCharles Haughey speaking toHot Press writerJohn Waters in 1984.[17]
In his May 2007 interview withJason O'Toole, formerMinister for Health Cowen admitted to smokingmarijuana, saying,
Anyone who went to theUCD bar in the '70s that didn't get a whiff of marijuana would be telling you a lie. I would say there were a couple of occasions when it was passed around – and, unlikePresident Clinton, I did inhale! There wasn't a whole lot in it really – (it was like) a Sweet Afton, as a 10-year-old, under a railway bridge on a rainy day, in small town Ireland in the late '60s. I certainly got more enjoyment out of a few pints.
This confession later provoked much criticism from opposition parties in theDáil. MinistersWillie O'Dea andBrian Lenihan Jnr played down the controversy, denying Cowen was "setting a bad example".[18] Mr. Cowen later becameTaoiseach following the resignation ofBertie Ahern.
In June 2007,DUP'sIan Paisley Jr.MLA caused uproar in an interview with Jason O'Toole by publicly denouncing acts associated with homosexuality. This was the year beforeIris Robinson, wife ofFirst Minister,Peter Robinson made her thoughts on the issue.
Hotpress.com is the magazine's website which as of this writing offers free articles to readers. It was launched in 2002, initially promising a free archive with 25 years of content.[19]
TheHot Press Yearbook is released annually.[1]
Hot Press has published several books:
