The Music Quiz: What early '60s song did Lennon & McCartney wrote for the Stones?
Which South American country completes The Waterboys' song title: Transcendental [Blank] Blues?
Brazil
Venezuela
Chile
Peru
Anaïs Oluwatoyin Estelle Marinho is better known as...?
Arlo Parks
SZA
Raye
Mahalia
Which Oscar winner appears in the music video for country singer Zach Bryan's Nine Ball?
Christian Bale
Reese Witherspoon
Nicole Kidman
Matthew McConaughey
Which influential sci-fi writer appeared on stage with psych/prog band Hawkwind on numerous occasions and whose work inspired some of their albums?
Brian Aldiss
Ursula K Le Guinn
Michael Moorcock
JG Ballard
The title The Bride Stripped Bare, Bryan Ferry's 1978 solo album, was inspired by European artist...?
Pablo Picasso
Henri Matisse
Marcel Duchamp
Man Ray
Complete the title of the 2010 memoir by Mötley Crüe's Vince Neil: Tattoos & Tequila: To Hell and Back with One of Rock's Most [Blank] Frontmen.
Notorious
Scandalous
Infamous
Legendary
Which deity is David Byrne talking about on I Met [Blank] at a Downtown Party, a new track from his forthcoming album?
God
Holy Spirit
Buddha
Aphrodite
In 2005, Cotswold Rail locomotive train #47828 was named after UK punk rocker...?
John Lydon of Sex Pistols
Viv Albertine of The Slits
Joe Strummer of The Clash
Poly Styrene of X-Ray Spex
John Lennon and Paul McCartney wrote which early '60s Rolling Stones song?
Come On
I Wanna Be Your Man
Little Red Rooster
Not Fade Away
What is the J in Mary J Blige?
Juliet
Jane
Jennifer
June
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Irish Times
a day ago
- Irish Times
Wreckquiem review: Pat Shortt is well capable of an audience-pleasing expletive in an adroit performance
Wreckquiem Lime Tree Theatre, Limerick ★★★☆☆ At one point in Mike Finn 's new play someone comes up with an inspired solution to embittering, age-old divisions. A group of passionate music-lovers gathered at Dessie's Discs, a record shop in Limerick, compare different fandoms: the near-uncontrollable cries of Beatlemania; the howling swoons over Take That; the shrieks of admiration that greet Harry Styles. The shrewd focus is on what they all have in common, bridging the gap between dad rocker and Gen Z: 'It's the same scream.' Whether it's Abba (categorised under Overrated, someone decides) or Dionne Warwick ('Finally, some taste!'), music can seemingly allow us to channel ourselves. For Finn, it's almost as if there's no time for infighting. Behind the record shop – a bright haven designed by Emma Fisher, with wooden floors, nicely lit display cabinets and wall art – a wrecking ball looms. In a city ceded to sprawling development, a new shopping centre and luxury accommodation complex is trying to squeeze out Dessie, a broke and single man in his 50s, living out of his second-hand record store and, in Pat Shortt's adroit performance, well capable of an audience-pleasing expletive – 'There's a Relaxing Shite section. You can find everything from whale noises to Enya .' READ MORE What follows is a thesis on the importance of music, woven by Dessie's regular customers: Paulie, a fortysomething (Patrick Ryan) living with his mother, and possessing a fan's encyclopedic knowledge of release dates, chart positions and Grammy wins; Maeve ( Joan Sheehy ), an older collector, going through an uncertain life transition; and Chantelle ( Sade Malone ), a teenager skiving off school, and committing instead to saving the shop. Finn's references are old-school melodrama. There's an all-important unopened letter that's yet to get into the hands of its intended recipient. A possible acquisition of the shop – a shady deal proposed by Fintan (Mark O'Regan), a former musician who has sold his soul for a suit, and is now a slimy site manager – threatens to put Dessie's life in flux. Those methods of suspense aside, the play often ambles without consequence, as if casually exploring its contents. (Sorry, just browsing!) Its characters often gather in the shop and exchange memories of their lives and marriages, in what resembles random elicitations of ideas. Andrew Flynn , directing this Pigtown production, seizes it as something cosily reassuring: a feelgood comedy. More compelling is the effect of music, and how it seems to stir its listeners. In homage to Dancing at Lughnasa, one touching scene allows the shop's visitors to become arrested by a recording of the late Dolores O'Riordan , of The Cranberries, singing Dreams, before the dismal clangour of a jackhammer pulls them – and the audience – out of its spell. That is certainly one way of depicting art as a portal for human transformation, especially amid bleak predictions of gentrification and a cultural ghost town. At one point Chantelle makes a striking defence, as the vinyl covers hanging on the walls suddenly take on the radiance of stained glass under Zia Bergin-Holly's eloquent lighting: 'It's not just a building. It's a cathedral.' Wreckquiem is at Lime Tree Theatre , Limerick, until Saturday, July 5th
Irish Times
2 days ago
- Irish Times
Bluesman Joe Bonamassa buys Fender guitar in same Cork shop his hero Rory Gallagher bought his
Blues guitarist Joe Bonamassa has fulfilled a long-held ambition by buying a sunburst Fender Stratocaster guitar in the Cork music store where his hero Rory Gallagher bought his signature instrument more than 60 years ago. Bonamassa, from New York, is in Cork to play three sold-out concerts next week as part of the Live in the Marquee series. He will perform Gallagher's Irish Tour '74 set in full to mark the 30th anniversary of the Ballyshannon-born guitarist's death in 1995 at age 47. After arriving to prepare for the concerts, Bonamassa visited Crowley's Music Store on Friar Street and bought the Stratocaster from Sheena Crowley, whose father, Michael, sold Gallagher a similar guitar in 1963. 'I've always wanted to buy a sunburst Fender Stratocaster from Crowley's Music Centre in Cork,' Bonamassa said on Instagram. 'Today I did. Big thanks to Sheena and all the great folks I met today.' READ MORE Bonamassa, who has sold more than 10 million records, has been a Gallagher fan ever since his father, Len, introduced him in the 1980s to the Cork musician via the 1972 Live in Europe album. Rory Gallagher playing his signature sunburst Fender Stratocaster guitar. Photograph: Michael'We have some Rory Gallagher in the US, we didn't get a whole lot, there's a much more extensive catalogue available in Europe ... but the one that really stuck out to me and that I wore out and listened to death was Irish Tour '74, which I think is really him in essence,' Bonamassa said previously. Ms Crowley, who says she remembers Gallagher calling to talk to her late father when their shop was on Merchant's Quay and later MacCurtain Street, recalled the story behind Gallagher's signature guitar, which became one of the most famous in rock music. 'It had been ordered by Jim Conlon, who was playing with The Royal Showband,' she said. 'He had wanted a cherry red Stratocaster, but Fender sent a sunburst one, so he decided against taking it and so my father sold it as a second-hand guitar. Rory bought it and the rest is history.' She said she was delighted to have Bonamassa follow in Gallagher's footsteps. 'Joe just took it off the wall, literally, and he served himself. He came in with probably the best attitude of anyone I ever met. He was just so cool, no acting like a celebrity, just very natural. He just sat down in the corner and plugged the guitar into the amp and started jamming.' Joe Bonamassa performing in Texas. Photograph:Ms Crowley said Bonamassa soon afterwards told her 'I'll take that'. Gallagher 's signature Fender Stratocaster guitar was auctioned by Bonham's in London last year. Denis Desmond's Live Nation Gaiety Productions bought the guitar for a little over €1 million, saying it would donate it to the National Museum of Ireland.
Irish Times
3 days ago
- Irish Times
The 10 best Irish albums of 2025 so far
Amble: Reverie (Warner Records/Amble Music) ★★★☆☆ Exactly how Amble have struck such a popular nerve – after less than a year, the trio are already selling out arena-size venues – with what are essentially simple folk tunes isn't a mystery: people love sincerely delivered melancholy. Lonely Island, Mariner Boy, The Boy Who Flew Away, Of Land and Sea, Little White Chapel, and Ode to John are tailor-made for heartstring-plucking singalongs. Robbie Cunningham, Oisín McCaffrey and Ross McNerney have clearly pooled their songwriting skills in a way that leans towards the balladeering side of traditional music. Fans of more disorderly takes on Irish folk – The Mary Wallopers, for example – might raise an eyebrow, but there's no denying Amble's low-key charm offensive. Bren Berry: In Hope Our Stars Align (Mercenary Records) ★★★★☆ Now in his early 60s, Bren Berry was a member of the 1990s Irish contenders Revelino, a supercharged indie-rock band that could make guitars ring and choruses chime just by thinking about them. Come the close of that decade, Berry was approached to work on a new Dublin venue by the name of Vicar Street. Waving goodbye to a career as a musician seemed inevitable, but a few years ago any resignation must have turned to rediscovery. The outcome is a 12-track solo album that takes classic guitar-centric compositions and invests them not only with life experience but also with a sleek blend of Jesus & Mary Chain, REM, Beach House and The Byrds. If there are better songs of the genre than Bullet Proof, Beautiful Losers, Turn on Your Radio and Winter Song, then we haven't heard them yet. [ New Irish albums reviewed and rated: Paddy Hanna, Lullahush, Cushla, Maria Somerville and Danny Groenland Opens in new window ] Curtisy: Beauty in the Beast (Brook Records) ★★★★☆ Building on the promise of What Was the Question, his debut album, from 2024, Curtisy – aka Gavin Curtis – returns with a collaborative mixtape that veers into more sombre narrative territory. Once again working with the producer Hikii (aka Mark Hickey), the Tallaght rapper has created songs whose cinematic qualities are underscored by smart sampling. Curtisy also collaborates with the singer-songwriter Shiv (on Left, Right!) and his fellow Dublin wordsmith Flynn (Drive Slow), but the tone from start to finish is emphatically his. Rob de Boer: Man to You (Bridge the Gap) ★★★★★ If any album released in the past six months reflects strolling along rural footpaths with the fragrance of flowers wafting around you and the promise of a 99 with a flake at the next local shop, then it's Man to You. The musician and producer Rob de Boer – think of him as the sonic twin of blue skies and light breezes – delivers a masterclass in fusion. He brings soul, jazz and contemporary influences – plus old-school rhythms – to bear on a line-up of songs that conjure the hazy strains of John Martyn, Oscar Jerome, Nina Simone and Bill Withers. And pay attention to de Boer's lyrics, which reflect on his sexuality amid religious conservatism and society's ideas of adulthood. READ MORE Matthew Devereux: Keep Sketch (House Devil Records) ★★★☆☆ Matthew Devereux of The Pale follows up House Devil, his solo album from 2024, with a far leaner piece of work. Mostly autobiographical, it allows memories to fly across the decades. We hear of schoolboy fistfights (Government Milk: 'most times it was all just mouth, all over in a second, no messing about'), forays into illegal substances (Drug Stories: 'Lying on my back, high on aerosol, watching the clouds form') and other tales of growing up on Dublin's northside. What stands out is Devereux's uncluttered music, which allows the songs to shine. There's smart Krautrock here (Seven Grams), touches of Being Boiled-era Human League there (the title track) and understated hints of Depeche Mode elsewhere (Government Milk again). The result is a toned-down album from a songwriter who merits more attention. [ New Irish albums reviewed and rated: The Would-Be's, Varo, Curtisy and Pete Holidai Opens in new window ] Danny Groenland: Burning Rome (Self-Released) ★★★★☆ Danny Groenland released his debut album, Love Joints, in 2014, so he's an artist who's in it for the long haul. Repeated listens to Burning Rome unearth layer upon layer of fine-tuned soul/R&B/jazz that revels in the joys of being influenced by the likes of politically motivated artists such as Curtis Mayfield, Stevie Wonder and Marvin Gaye, and by earworm acts such as Steely Dan. Groenland's lyrics tackle topics such as institutional racism, social division and all manner of other inequalities. The cherry on top is the quality of the satin-smooth songs. Maria Kelly: Waiting Room (Veta Records) ★★★★☆ Maria Kelly 's follow-up to The Sum of the In-Between, her 2021 album, is 'an exploration of the roadblocks, both internally and externally, that keep us feeling powerless and take away our agency'. These barriers include the housing crisis, societal opportunities, dwindling relationships and, perhaps most crucially, Kelly's experiences of chronic pain and the Irish health system's engagement with it (hence the name of the album). Despite the subject matter, songs such as the title track ('I wait to hear my name, I wait to feel okay ... Tell me what's wrong') His Parents' House ('I'd rather be anywhere else, feel like myself, take my time, feel like my life is mine') and Slump ('I'm in a slump and I can't wake up, I've been feeling this way all week') present Kelly's relatable worldview via melodic hooks and nimble indie-pop choruses. Van Morrison: Remembering Now (Virgin Records/Exile Productions) ★★★★☆ Even though he has released six other albums in the past five years, there hasn't been a dependably good Van Morrison LP since the early 1990s. Remembering Now changes that. We can, perhaps, find the source in Kenneth Branagh's 2021 film Belfast, for which Morrison wrote the score and a new song, Down to Joy – the first of many tracks on the album that hark back to the songwriter's autumnal glory days. It isn't Astral Weeks, but there are plenty of astral moments in songs as languorous as Memories and Visions; When the Rains Came; Love, Lover and Beloved; the title track; and Haven't Lost My Sense of Wonder (a rare instance of Morrison referencing one of his songs, in this case the title track of A Sense of Wonder, his 1984 album). At the top of the pile is the gliding nine-minute closing track, Stretching Out. Most of the songs feature the sublime string arrangements of Fiachra Trench. [ New Irish albums reviewed and rated: Van Morrison, 49th & Main, Baba, Liffey Light Orchestra, Kean Kavanagh and A Smyth Opens in new window ] Somebody's Child: When Youth Fades Away (Frenchkiss Records) ★★★★☆ Under the name Somebody's Child , Cian Godfrey has been inching closer to commercial success for some time, yet despite close to 30 million streams on Spotify, there doesn't seem to be as much of a buzz about his music as there is for other acts. That certainly deserves to change with Somebody's Child's ambitious second album, the tracks on which range from festival-fit big moments (The Kid, My Mind Is on Fire, and Wall Street) to slighter but no less powerful intimacies (Irish Goodbye, Time of My Life, The Waterside, and Life Will Go On). Despite sounding not unlike The Killers and The National – he recorded the album with the latter's frequent producer Peter Katis – Godfrey's music is distinctive enough to remain all his own. The Would Be's: Hindzeitgiest (Roundy Records) ★★★★☆ Second chances don't come any sweeter than this. Most of The Would Be's were teenagers when their debut single, I'm Hardly Ever Wrong, attracted the interest of John Peel, Morrissey and several big record companies, in the early 1990s. Fast-forward a few decades and the older, wiser Co Cavan band are still releasing textbook indie pop. That's How It Gets You is an open-topped summer tune par excellence, Stay Tuned is tailor-made for the next James Bond movie, Stupid Little Heart is redolent of The Smiths' best, and Home Is Not a House is a contender for the prettiest ballad of the year. On the horizon: some Irish artists with new albums to watch out for in 2025 July: Sons of Southern Ulster, Cian Ducrot, Poor Creature, The Swell Season. August: CMAT, Kingfishr, Caimin Gilmore. September: Junior Brother, Elaine Mai, The Divine Comedy, Altered Hours, Sprints. October: RuthAnne, Lowli, Beauty Sleep, J Smith.
